The Uss Flier

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The USS Flier

Author : Michael Sturma
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2008-02-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813172897

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The USS Flier by Michael Sturma Pdf

The fate of the USS Flier is one of the most astonishing stories of the Second World War. On August 13, 1944, the submarine struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Sulu Sea in less than one minute, leaving only fourteen of its crew of eighty-six hands alive. After enduring eighteen hours in the water, eight remaining survivors swam to a remote island controlled by the Japanese. Deep behind enemy lines and without food or drinking water, the crewmen realized that their struggle for survival had just begun. On its first war patrol, the unlucky Flier made it from Pearl Harbor to Midway where it ran aground on a reef. After extensive repairs and a formal military inquiry, the Flier set out once again, this time completing a distinguished patrol from Pearl Harbor to Fremantle, Western Australia. Though the Flier's next mission would be its final one, that mission is important for several reasons: the story of the Flier's sinking illuminates the nature of World War II underwater warfare and naval protocol and demonstrates the high degree of cooperation that existed among submariners, coast watchers, and guerrillas in the Philippines. The eight sailors who survived the disaster became the first Americans of the Pacific war to escape from a sunken submarine and return safely to the United States. Their story of persistence and survival has all the elements of a classic World War II tale: sudden disaster, physical deprivation, a ruthless enemy, and a dramatic escape from behind enemy lines. In The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine, noted historian Michael Sturma vividly recounts a harrowing story of brave men who lived to return to the service of their country.

Eight Survived

Author : Douglas A. Campbell
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2011-10-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9780762797882

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Eight Survived by Douglas A. Campbell Pdf

On the night of August 13, 1944, the U.S. submarine Flier struck a mine in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines as it steamed along the surface. All but fifteen of the more than eighty-strong crew went down with the vessel. Of those left floating in the dark, eight survived by swimming for seventeen hours before washing ashore on an uninhabited island. The story of the Flier and its eight survivors is wholly unique in the annals of U.S. military history. Eight Survived tells the gripping story of the doomed submarine and its crew from its first patrol, during which it sank several enemy ships, to the explosion in the Sulu Sea. Drawing on interviews with the survivors and on a visit to the jungle where they washed ashore—where a cast of fascinating characters helped the U.S. sailors evade the Japanese—Douglas Campbell fully captures the combination of extraordinary courage and luck that marked one of the most heroic episodes of World War II.

Surviving the Flier

Author : R. J. Hughes
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2011-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0984612416

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Surviving the Flier by R. J. Hughes Pdf

Based on the memories and unpublished memoirs of the last survivor, Alvin Jacobson, the gripping story of the only WWII submariners to escape their sunken sub, elude the enemy, and return home.

Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity ...

Author : Claude C. Conner
Publisher : Savas Publishing
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2013-09-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9781940669045

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Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity ... by Claude C. Conner Pdf

As chronicled in Silent Victory, Clay Blair's monumental history of United States submarine operations in World War II, the submarine war against Japan was a relatively little known war-within-a-war. It was waged by an initially small but expanding force of boats that eventually made more than 1,400 war patrols and sank almost 1,400 Japanese merchant ships and naval vessels. Many American submarines carved out enviable records, including USS Guardfish, the subject of Claude Conner's remarkable memoir of service aboard a US fleet boat as an enlisted man. Conner, who served as a Radar Technician, weaves a compelling tale of his service during several war patrols in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese. His firsthand account spans the spectrum in detail and emotion, describing everything from humorous personal incidents to the boat's bone crushing battle against the sea; the thrill of sending an enemy ship, to the bottom of the deathly terror of being trapped in a flooding conning tower. A significant portion of Conner's reminiscence describes the friendly-fire sinking of USS Extractor, which came about when Guardfish's skipper mistook the ship for a Japanese submarine. Along with the tragic sinking, Conner offers important information about Extractor and her crew, several detailed firsthand recollections of survivors, and an engrossing account of the Court of Inquiry that followed and for which Conner testified as a witness. Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity is a fresh and compelling account of an enlisted man's experiences during the hellish submarine war against Japan, and recognized today as a classic of the genre.

Atlantic Escorts

Author : David Brown
Publisher : Seaforth Publishing
Page : 176 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2007-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781844157020

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Atlantic Escorts by David Brown Pdf

Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.

The USS Swordfish

Author : George J. Billy
Publisher : McFarland
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2020-01-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9781476636788

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The USS Swordfish by George J. Billy Pdf

Among the more than 260 American submarines that patrolled the Pacific during World War II, the USS Swordfish in 1941 was the first to sink a Japanese armed merchant ship, marking the beginning of the submarine's colorful history. A series of seven commanders led Swordfish's 13 war patrols. Each skipper had a distinct leadership style. Some were successful in sinking enemy ships; others returned to port empty-handed. Yet all patrols risked dangerously close encounters with the enemy and the unforgiving nature of the open sea. Drawing on archival sources and interviews with veteran sailors, this first full-length history of the Swordfish provides detailed accounts of each patrol and covers the mysterious disappearance of the legendary submarine on its final mission.

A Strange Whim of the Sea

Author : Tim Loughman
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2022-11-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780813196237

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A Strange Whim of the Sea by Tim Loughman Pdf

On January 16, 1944, the submarine rescue vessel USS Macaw ran aground at Midway Atoll while attempting to get a towing line to the stranded submarine USS Flier. The Flier was pulled free six days later, but another three weeks of salvage efforts plagued by rough seas and equipment failures failed to dislodge the Macaw. On February 12, amid huge waves, the ship began to slip aft into deeper water. As night fell and the Macaw slowly sank, the twenty-two sailors on board—ship's captain Paul W. Burton, his executive officer, and twenty enlisted men—sought refuge in the pilothouse, but by 2:30 a.m., that compartment had flooded almost entirely. Burton gave the order to open the portside door and make for the foremast. Three men climbed it but most of the others were swept overboard. Five of them died, including Burton. Three sailors from the base at Midway also lost their lives in two unauthorized rescue attempts. Drawing on survivors' contemporaneous written statements and interviews conducted over a span of thirty years, A Strange Whim of the Sea: The Wreck of the USS Macaw traces the ship's service from its launch on San Francisco Bay to its disastrous final days at Midway. Ultimately, for Burton and the Macaw the real enemy was the sea, and in a deadly denouement, the sea won. Highlighting the underreported role auxiliary vessels played in the war, A Strange Whim of the Sea engages naval historians and students alike with a previously untold story of struggle, sacrifice, death, and survival in the World War II Pacific.

Troopships of World War II

Author : Roland Wilbur Charles
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 392 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 1947
Category : Transports
ISBN : UOM:39015012354554

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Troopships of World War II by Roland Wilbur Charles Pdf

"This book contains authentic photographs and salient facts covering 358 troopships used in World War II. In addition, other vessels of miscellaneous character, including Victory and Liberty type temporary conversions for returning troops, are listed in the appendices ..."--Pref.

Unknown Waters

Author : Alfred Scott McLaren
Publisher : University of Alabama Press
Page : 269 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2008-01-22
Category : History
ISBN : 9780817316020

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Unknown Waters by Alfred Scott McLaren Pdf

This book tells the story of the brave officers and men of the nuclear attack submarine USS Queenfish (SSN-651), who made the first survey of an extremely important and remote region of the Artic Ocean. The unpredictability of deep-draft sea ice, shallow water, and possible Soviet discovery, all played a dramatic part in this fascinating 1970 voyage.

War Beneath the Waves

Author : Don Keith
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2010-04-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9781101186244

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War Beneath the Waves by Don Keith Pdf

From the national bestselling author of Final Patrol comes a gripping story of heroism under the sea. In November 1943, while on war patrol in the Makassar Strait, the USS Billfish submarine was spotted by the Japanese, who launched a vicious depth charge attack. Explosions wracked the sub for fifteen straight hours. With his senior officers incapacitated, diving officer Charlie Rush boldly assumed command and led key members of the crew in a heroic effort to keep their ship intact as they tried to escape. Now, in War Beneath the Waves, this intense story is finally told in all its harrowing detail. It is an inspiring tale of one man's leadership and courage under fire, and of the remarkable efforts of a submarine crew to do their duty and save their ship.

Hitler's Attack U-Boats

Author : Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Publisher : Frontline Books
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2020-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781526771025

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Hitler's Attack U-Boats by Jak P. Mallmann Showell Pdf

“A definitive introduction by a highly recognized authority who writes beautifully and clearly.” —Naval Historical Foundation The fact that German submarines almost managed to cut off Britain’s vital imports during the First World War hadn’t been forgotten by Hitler—and when, in 1935, he repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, Britain, magnanimously, signed an Anglo-German Naval Agreement. This allowed the Germans to build their submarine strength up to one third of the Royal Navy’s tonnage. When war broke out in 1939, German U-boats went quickly into action, but with only four years of production and development, the main armament of these submarines was considerably weaker than equivalent boats in other navies and many other features, such as living conditions, were also significantly inferior. Yet, the German U-boat onslaught against British merchant ships in autumn 1940 was highly successful because the attacks were made on the surface at night and from such close range that a single torpedo would sink a ship. Soon, though, Allied technology was able to detect U-boats at night, and new convoy techniques, combined with powerfully armed, fast modern aircraft searching the seas, meant that by 1941 it was clear that Germany was losing the war at sea. Something had to be done. The new generation of attack U-boats that had been introduced since Hitler came to power needed urgent improvement. This is the story of the Types II, VII, and IX that had already become the ‘workhorse’ of the Kriegsmarine’s submarine fleet and continued to put out to sea to attack Allied shipping right up to the end of the war. The Type II was a small coastal boat that struggled to reach the Atlantic; the Type VII was perfectly at home there, but lacked the technology to tackle well protected convoys; while the Type IX was a long-range variety modified so it could operate in the Indian Ocean. This book by the renowned Kriegsmarine historian explores these attack U-boats at length, including details of their armament, capabilities, and crew facilities; the story of their development and operational history; and just what it was like to operate such a vessel.

World War II

Author : Linda Warner
Publisher : Page Publishing Inc
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2020-11-09
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781642989267

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World War II by Linda Warner Pdf

1 Alone, among other men who are also alone. Sleep a little on deck as others keep watch. Wake up. Shake off the groggies. Clean the guns. Reflect. Check the torpedoes. Weary. Wander the deck. No talk of family. Our futures—too tenuous. Survive in the moment. Time floating by in seconds and minutes. Too cold at night. Too hot in the day. Wet. Sunburned. Debilitating hunger. Tokyo Rose lurking in the mangroves. All of this punctuated by intense moments of what happens in war. Historians describe big battles, relate statistics, and overview events that changed the world. But it’s also compelling to visualize how real men experienced real life day by day. It was 1944, and Bill was eighteen. He thought life had prepared him for twenty months in the Pacific on PT Boat 244, but had it? This book records his war memoirs, always inquiring, was there a ghostly presence that beckoned him, brutalized him, haunted him? He probes the questions many veterans ponder: Why did I enlist? The beckoning. Who were the people that most affected me? What did I experience? The brutalizing. What were the lingering consequences? The haunting. When bombs fell upon Japanese cities, the war ended, but not for Bill. For him, it continued for decades of being haunted by night sweats, horrific dreams, confusion. How, after seven decades, he found relief from PTSD is a message that he urgently shares.

German Destroyers of World War Two

Author : M. J. Whitley
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : History
ISBN : IND:30000022671782

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German Destroyers of World War Two by M. J. Whitley Pdf

The definitive study of Germany's destroyer arm throughout World War II.

Final Patrol

Author : Don Keith
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2006-10-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9781101118597

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Final Patrol by Don Keith Pdf

During World War II, the U.S. Navy's submarine service suffered the highest casualty percentage of all the American armed forces, losing one in five submariners. But despite the odds, these underwater warriors accounted for almost 60 percent of Japanese shipping losses, and were a major factor in winning the war. 16 U.S. submarines - and one German U-Boat - that saw action during WWII are now open to the public. Most have been restored and authentically equipped. Final Patrol takes a fascinating look at these subs and the personal stories of the brave sailors who lived, fought, and often died in them. Now, visitors can climb into these cramped steel cylinders, peer through their torpedo tubes, and imagine diving under the sea - perhaps for the last time - to stalk a fanatical enemy who threatened our nation's freedom.

Fremantle's Submarines

Author : Michael Sturma
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2015-09-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612518619

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Fremantle's Submarines by Michael Sturma Pdf

From unpromising beginnings in March 1942, the Allied submarine base at Fremantle on the west coast of Australia became a vital part of the Allied offensive against Japan. Pushed back from the Philippines and the Netherlands’ East Indies, American submariners, accompanied by a small group of Dutch forces, retreated to Fremantle as a last resort. The location was chosen for its good harbor and the fact that it was outside the range of land-based Japanese aircraft. Unfortunately the base was also far from their patrol areas and supply lines, and it was difficult to reinforce should the enemy attack. Thanks largely to a welcoming civilian population, morale quickly improved. The hospitality and sense of belonging fostered by Western Australians became legendary among Allied submariners and remains central to their wartime memories. Perhaps as a result of such a positive experience, the Allied forces became much more successful in combat. Intertwining social and military history, Fremantle’s Submarines relates how courage, cooperation, and community made Fremantle arguably the most successful military outpost of World War II from the standpoint of troop morale.