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"All sailors face risks, have always
faced risks. But none more so than submariners." These words,
written by oceanographer and explorer Dr. Robert Ballard,
demonstrate the dangers associated with submarines.
In his new book, "Lost Subs," naval
historian Spencer Dunmore examines the development of the submarine
and some of their most tragic accidents. Combining meticulous
research with state-of-the-art underwater photography, Spencer
provides a rare look into the fate of some of history’s most
important submarines and the efforts to locate and recover the
wreckage.
In "The Birth of the Submarine,"
Spencer describes their early history and the initial attempts to
use them for military purposes. Two groundbreaking efforts in
submarine development occurred in 1776, when David Bushnell’s
egg-shaped sub Turtle attacked the British warship HMS Eagle,
and in 1801, when Robert Fulton (of steamship fame) tested the
Nautilus in a one-hour demonstration.
"The First Underwater Weapon of War"
recounts the submarine’s entry into naval warfare and its use as a
weapon. Launched in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, the
Confederate States’ ship CSS H.L. Huntley was designed in part to
help break the Union blockade of Southern ports. Although the
Huntley sank a Union warship on its maiden voyage, the sub itself
sank under mysterious circumstances as it returned to port.
In "The Submarine Comes of Age," the
efforts of developers John Holland and Simon Lake are analyzed.
Holland is credited with developing the first submarine for the U.S.
Navy. Named the USS Holland, this submarine was purchased by the
Navy in 1900 at a cost of $150,000.
"Battle Under the Sea" describes the
efforts of opposing sides during World War I to employ the submarine
as a tool of war. It is during this time that the German U-boat
emerged as a formidable weapon. The most famous episode involving a
German U-boat occurred in 1915 when the German sub U-20 attacked and
sank the passenger ship Lusitania. In this attack, 1,195 passengers
— including 123 Americans — were killed.
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"Lost in Peace" continues the theme of
the submarine as weapon. During a trial run in 1939 the USS Squalus
sank shortly after leaving Portsmouth, N.H. Thirty-three members of
the crew were rescued, while 26 members lost their lives. The Royal
Navy’s Thetis was not as lucky on its first dive. An accident in one
of the torpedo tubes caused the sub to unexpectedly dive; the
resulting disaster killed 99 crewmen.
By the time of World War II, Germany
had completely revolutionized the wartime use of submarines. "The
U-boat War" documents the advances of submarine warfare by the Nazis
and the Allied efforts to combat this disadvantage. In 1942 the
United States enjoyed a spectacular success against the U-boats when
the Coast Guard cutter Icarus sank and captured the Germans’ U-352.
The most famous submarine accident of
the Cold War came in 1968 when the USS Scorpion failed to return
from a reconnaissance mission involving Soviet activities in the
Canary Islands. The apparent cause of the sub’s disappearance and
sinking was a piece of aluminum foil in one of the battery cells
used in the torpedoes. All hands were lost in this tragedy; one-year
later naval ordinance ordered a redesign of the battery.
The concluding chapter, "Disaster Under
the Barents Sea," relives the tragic events surrounding the sinking
of the Russian nuclear sub Kursk. The sub sank in 2000 in the
Barents Sea and was raised from the ocean floor in 2001. Although
there is no definitive answer for the cause of the Kursk disaster,
one possible cause centers on a faulty torpedo.
"Lost Subs"
is recommended for readers who enjoy military history, underwater
archaeology or the development of the submarine.
[Richard Sumrall, Lincoln Public
Library District] |
