The Submarine: a History.

• Author: Kreyche, Gerald F.
• Position: Book Review

THE SUBMARINE: A History BY THOMAS PARRISH PENGUIN GROUP, 2004 576 PAGES, $29.95

This may not be the definitive book on submarines, but it sure comes close. The author, a specialist in military history, gives readers an absorbing account of this underwater craft, beginning with the recent recovery of the Civil War's Hundley. Brought to the surface from its watery grave near Charleston, S.C., on Aug. 8, 2000, it had torpedoed a Union ship, then itself sank about one-half mile away. Entombed were the bodies of its nine crew members. They were the needed manpower for turning the shafts that engaged the propeller, enabling the vessel to navigate at four knots. With this introduction, Thomas Parrish now treats us to a review of the trials, tragedies, and successes of this behemoth of the deep, ranging from early models with wheels to move on the ocean floor to the latest in nuclear submarines, such as the 447-foot-long Triton, which can hurl Polaris missiles and circumnavigate the globe without resurfacing.

The evolution in the technology of the craft is fascinating, as the author shows how the steam engine, storage batteries, gas and diesel engines, and lastly, nuclear power, all were tested as propellants. The difficulties encountered by each are delineated. Improvements such as double hulls, diving planes to power descents, gyroscopes, periscopes, deck guns, snorkels, increased torpedo capacity, etc. bring us up to date on this mighty vessel.

Contributors to the birth and technology of the submarine were many, among whom Robert Fulton was prominent. Paradoxically, the two "fathers of the submarine," John Holland and Simon Lake (the latter was founder of the Electric Boat Company) had a problem in selling its idea to the military in various countries. Navy bigwigs thought it simply was a novelty, and when it did become fully operational, were indecisive in categorizing it as a "commerce raider" or a warship. The deadly use of torpedoes solved the issue, as in World War I when a German U-beat sank three British cruisers in a single day.

Opening up a new mode of warfare, navies of the world had to rethink their role. Previously, battleships were their big weapons. New rules of international law had to be promulgated for this brazen l'enfant terrible, as increased...