The Best Books on Undersea Warfare 

Though Great Britain did not invent the submarine, the Royal Navy was one of the most innovative when it came to undersea warfare. By 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Britain had more submarines than any other country, and they used their fleet to decisive effect. They closed the Baltic to the Germans and crippled the Turkish army at Gallipoli. 

In World War II, British submarines had a major role in defeating the Germans in North Africa, amongst other unheralded victories. This book showcases illustrations and pictures of some of the most large, strange, and important British submarines during these two world-changing conflicts.

This book focuses on the careers, lives, and deaths of six German U-boat commanders during World War II. Germany knew they were no match for the Royal Navy on the seas, but they had a chance under the seas. The U-Bootwaffe was Germany’s only hope of doing naval damage, hoping to sink more than the Allies could build, and the deeds of some of the most remarkable commanders were largely ignored until this book, which is filled with tales of suicide missions, prison escapes, lost expeditions, and some of the deadliest aces of the entire war.

At the dawn of the 20th century, the US Navy took its first submarine into service: the Holland VI. It could move at a speed of a little over 6 mph at a depth of 75 feet. Eight decades later, nuclear powered American submarines could move 30 mph at a depth of 1,000 feet, with 155 men and 16 nuclear warheads on board. This collection, part of the Images of War series, provides a look at over a century of the evolution of US Navy submarines. 

With plenty of photographs and illustrations, the book takes a particularly detailed look at the nuclear submarines that came about after World War II, but is filled with information for any enthusiast of American submarines.

A follow-up to Clay Blair’s The Hunters, which covers 1939-1942, The Hunted covers the second half of the Second World War, during which Hitler’s U-Boats suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of some spectacular, devastating defeats, a complete role reversal to their early undersea successes in the war. 

Using exclusive sources and meticulous detail, Blair covers each and every movement of the U-boats, including instances of capture, futile operations in the Americas, and strife within the German command. Blair wishes to de-mystify the legendary effectiveness of the U-boats, and paint a clearer picture of the true scope of their threat in World War II.

Humanity’s survival was at its most precarious during the Cold War, with global relations always teetering on the brink of nuclear war. One of the deterrents that saved society was the idea of mutually assured destruction. Eric Thompson’s memoir recounts life aboard one of the vessels that guaranteed mutually assured destruction, the nuclear submarines of the Royal Navy. The stories and insight of a life working with and within nuclear submarines are told here, leaving no details to spare.

Starting with an account of the sinking of the Lusitania, whose nearly 1,200 civilian casualties helped accelerate World War I, Gray writes about the early years of the German U-Boat and its influence on the Great War. U-Boats were untried, unknown, and unrestrained, and were the secret weapon to try to bring down Great Britain and its mighty Royal Navy. This goal was closer to reality than most people realize, and by 1917 the United Kingdom was on the verge of surrender after years of bloodshed; by the end of the war, over 5,700 ships had been destroyed by the U-Boat, and this book details the menace they were throughout World War I.

The Battle of Midway was one of the most important conflicts in the Pacific Theatre and in World War II at large. Much has been written about the battle, but little of it has been dedicated to the role that submarines and undersea warfare played in the American victory. While aviation and intelligence were the true heavy hitters, the Japanese had flawed tactics for their submarines which gave the US Navy an advantage in the month-long battle. The book goes in depth on these tactics, as well as the design, construction, and expectations for both nations in order to give the comprehensive history on submarines at Midway that has been so far lacking.

This book goes into extreme detail about the nuclear submarines of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. From their first submarines, the basic November class which was originally designed to fire just one torpedo, the Soviet fleet quickly evolved to more impressive classes. The remarkable Alfa class was hulled with titanium and was faster than American submarines despite a smaller crew size; the Victor class focused on hunting NATO submarines; the Akula class forms the majority of the current Russian submarine fleet. Anyone with an interest in these submarines will enjoy illustrations on the design and development of these classes and more.

Not all submarines are lost in times of war. This book is a comprehensive collection of every accident and disaster to befall a submarine, from the first incident in 1774 to the 21st century loss of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. Each account contains details of the sinking, descriptions of the rescue attempts, and analysis of what went wrong, and by viewing these disasters in chronological order, we can trace the evolution and development of submarines throughout history.