Hirschfeld: The Story of a U-Boat NCO, 1940-1946

Seaforth Publishing Paperback 9781848326224

There have been many memoirs written by U-boat commanders of the Second World War, a book such as this, based upon the diaries of a senior Petty Officer telegraphist, written in 'real time' is something very special. Wolfgang Hirschfeld, whose diaries Geoffrey Brooks has translated is a born story teller. 

The principal chapters describe his experiences during six war patrols in U-109, in which he served as the senior telegraphist. His is a tale which covers the whole kaleidescope of emotions shared by men at war - a story of immense courage and fortitude, of remarkable comradeship born of the dangers, frustrations and privations shared and of transitory moments of triumph. 

Throughout runs a vein of humour, without which resistance to stress would have been virtually impossible. We get to know one of Germany's great U-boat aces, 'Ajax' Bleichrodt, holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and, in a special biographical appendix, learn how he finally cracked under the strain. The role of Admiral Karl Donitz, the dynamic commander of the U-boat service, so fascinatingly described by Hirschfeld, is of special interest - not least because even this dedicated Nazi had clearly realized by September, 1942, that the war was fast being lost. 

In 1944 Hirschfeld was promoted Warrant Officer and found himself on a large, schnorkel-equipped boat (U-234) heading for Japan with a load of high technology equipment and, in addition, a quantity of uranium ore. The possible significance of that uranium has been deeply researched by Geoffrey Brooks and is discussed in a second appendix.

An entertaining read documenting what life was like in the German Navy during the Nazi regime. Wolfgang Hirschfeld had extensive combat experience onboard U-109 and U-234. In 1945, U-234 was transporting two senior Japanese officials as well as a complete ME-262 jet fighter and nuclear materials to Japan at the time of VE Day. Surrendering to USS Sutton, Hirschfeld's war was over.

Illustrated and revamped from original German version, this final effort is a very interesting read indeed.

U-108 At War

By Alistair Smith

ISBN 9781848846678 Paperback 144 pages Pen and Sword Press July 2012


Smith has done a very good job attempting to make sense of this private photo collection illustrating just what life was like on a Second World War U-boat. Amazingly none of the subjects seem to mind which leads one to conclude that there was no censorship ban on photography as in most Allied navies. 
A few minor errors of note in the text:
-There was no Province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1941
-Misidentifies the ubiquitous drifter, used by most European navies, as merchant vessels
- No Type XXI submarines went to France in German service
- Cam ship aircraft pilots would bail out near a ship and not just over land
- Allied Convoy commander was a Commodore not a Commander
- Confused a boat rope with boat lowering in one caption
- Photo on page 144 looks like a toilet seat and hence why the crewmember was in that awkward spot
Apart from this, the photos and most of the text gives one of the best looks at what it was like to have served in the U-boat force with one of the highest fatality rates of any service during this conflict.
Congratulations to Mr Smith and Pen and Sword on this worthwhile addition to the historical record.

Why the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) Was Lost: The Death of a Submarine in the North Atlantic By Bruce Rule

Why the USS Scorpion (SSN 589) Was Lost: The Death of a Submarine in the North Atlantic

By Bruce Rule

9781608881208 2011 Self-Published

This book is not a traditional historical text, but instead a compilation of materials related to the tragic loss of USS Scorpion in 1968.

The book contains a number of tables, correspondence and graphs that largely debunks, via information in the public domain, that Scorpion had been sunk by the Soviet Navy. Mr Rule has come to the same conclusion as many historians – Scorpion was sunk by one of her own MK37 torpedoes that somehow managed to start itself while in the tube. Although not mentioned in this work, the torpedo is widely believed to have been fitted with a nuclear warhead, a regular occurrence in Cold War ASW operations. Luckily it appears the warhead never exploded.

Such a detailed work, a labor of love by the author, will likely only be of interest to serious students of submarine operations and naval history. We certainly commend Mr Rule for his efforts to bring the Scorpion story to life again; a difficult undertaking as most official records are still classified.