Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic Review

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(More customer reviews)There has been great interest in the Museum of Science and Industry's current restoration of U-505. With perfect timing, this newly released book will help fill a gap in people's knowledge of the U-boat war in general, and U-505's remarkable history in particular.

Most people know U-505 was captured intact, and eventually became the chief exhibit at the MSI in Chicago. The fact that it was the first warship captured by the US Navy since the War of 1812, and the only warship captured during WWII, makes U-505 of great historic value. Stopping there, however, would sell the story short. Before and after its capture, the boat enjoyed an extremely interesting career. Most U-boats ended their war as final resting places for their crews or, if they were lucky, survived the war without any successes to speak of. Neither was true for U-505.

Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic, edited by Theodore P. Savas, is not just another "How U-505 was captured" story. Instead, it is a collection of chapters by some of the best U-boat historians writing today. Gathering them all together to write on this subject was a risky proposition, for many similar compendiums produce a disjointed and unfocused book of uneven quality. Theodore Savas, as an experienced editor and writer, has avoided these pitfalls by gathering the finest talent available and getting the best possible from each contributor. The various chapters fit seamlessly together and add substantially to the final product.

The greatest U-boat man alive today, Erich Topp (U-552), opens the book with a Foreword that is typically reflective of what the subject means for mankind. The other contributors are mostly well known to aficionados of U-boat books. Timothy Mulligan and Eric Rust in particular make welcome and long overdue returns (with Rust contributing a moving Introduction). Other familiar names are Lawrence Paterson, Jak Mallmann Showell and Jordan Vause. These veteran writers are joined by Mark Wise, a naval intelligence officer, and Keith Gill, U-505's curator in Chicago at the MSI.

The story of U-505 is shaped by two complex components: the type of U-boat it was, and the men that gave it life. The Type IX was a weapons system and thus the limitations and strengths of this system's design imparted a template for the successes and failures experienced by its crew. With great clarity and insight, Eric Rust writes of the corresponding strategic successes and failures of the larger picture of Type IX deployments in "No Target too Far: The Genesis, Concept, and Operations of Type IX U-boats in World War II."

While in some part mirroring the whole U-boat war, Type IXs in many respects enjoyed a separate experience apart from the war fought by the Type VIIs. Rust presents compelling arguments for what made Type IX operations unique in their repeated successes as the long reaching arm of the Kriegsmarine. Often misunderstood and underrated, the Type IX was a design that repaid astute deployment, even rating statistically better in some ways than the more famous Type VII. Well read U-boat fans and newcomers alike will find much of interest here, as Rust paves the way for the balance of the chapters that follow.

Like all warships, the organic component making up each individual u-boat was critical to its success. The close working relationships aboard these boats form a large part of the 'mystique' that intrigues so many of us. Timothy Mulligan shows why U-505 personified Karl Döntz's famous statement that a U-boat crew was a "community bound by fate." In a chapter of the same name, and in his customarily meticulous but easy style, Mulligan covers in depth the men who made up U-505's crew, their positions, and their changing makeup due to crew turnover during the boat's career. He cuts through the numbers and details to paint a clear picture of what was really going on in U-505 and the larger U-bootwaffe at different times as fortunes waxed and waned.

For readers who enjoyed Mulligan's masterful examination of the men of the U-bootwaffe in his book Neither Sharks Nor Wolves, this is a welcome repeat demonstration of his talent for seeing through numbers, names and dates and finding an underlying trend, a human side to the procession of more than 100 different men who served aboard U-505. Where Mulligan's book turns a scholar's eye to the whole community of submariners, this chapter focuses on the story of a single boat. As he concludes, the background and character of the men who crewed U-boats are not easily defined, and thus defy stereotyping.

Mulligan offers relevant insights into the background and personal stories of many who served on U-505. One hundred and fifteen officers and men were assigned to U-505. Unfortunately, there was not room to give them all mention, but the examples we see are representative in their variety. This section is a pivotal element to the book, for the events that follow are indeed those of a shared community, who like any other combat unit, had its fair share of ordinary men, enigmatic men, men who rose to the occasion, men who did their best, and some men who failed when put to the test. Mulligan also disproves the notion that U-505 was an unlucky boat, for most of the men who served on U-505 survived the war. For a service that suffered losses like no other before or since, that alone is a noteworthy observation.

Lawrence Paterson offers the next chapter, telling the story of U-505 from an operational point of view. "From Lion's Roar to Blunted Axe: The Combat Patrols of U-505" carries the readers along as the boat is launched, commissioned, worked up, and sent to the front to hunt allied shipping. Few people realize U-505 made several successful patrols before her last effort off the west coast of Africa. This is Paterson's expertise: bringing to life operational histories. Those who have read his First U-Boat Flotilla and Second U-boat Flotilla books will know what to expect: detailed, accurate narrative woven around anecdotes, facts, and official records from primary sources. Paterson is a prolific writer with three published books and a fourth on the way.

Paterson fans get a bonus chapter later in the book called "Collision Course: Task Group 22.3 and the Hunt for U-505," which tells about the final fateful encounter between the Allied hunters and the Axis U-boat. Savas made a good choice here, as Paterson always breathes life into operational details and "tells history" with ease.

Many readers are familiar with Ultra and the project to break the ciphers used by BdU to communicate with and control U-boat operations. Mark Wise and Jak Showell shed light on the lesser known story of the American side of the intelligence war. Wise is a signals intelligence specialist and much of what is offered in their joint chapter entitled "Deciphering the U-boat War: The Role of Intelligence in the Capture of U-505" was new to me.

Another overdue return to U-boat writing is Jordan Vause's contribution, a much needed analysis of the moments leading up to the capture of U-505 from the perspective of the Germans. "Desperate Decisions: The German Loss of U-505" offers an in depth examination of not just what happened at the time of the boat's capture, but why it happened. Vause shows us that actions and decisions have consequences, and some decisions lead irrevocably down a path that can't be altered. It is written in the typical Vause style.

The story of U-505 does not end with the boat's capture. I admit that initially I was a little dubious about the final section, but soon realized how wrong I was. Keith Gill, the boat's curator, tells a fascinating story of how U-505 escaped scrapping to become the MSI's star exhibit in "Project 356: U-505 and the Journey to Chicago." It was not, as many think, just simple matter of towing U-505 to Chicago and putting her on exhibit. Getting the boat there was nearly impossible, and Gill offers a gripping account of the constant on-the-edge failure, politics, bickering, money, egos, legal hassles, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Now you can find out the whole story. Gill makes it clear that we really are lucky the boat survived all the bureaucratic bungling to be preserved as a memorial for us all to see and ponder. Gill also casts aside the "unlucky boat" label often attached to U-505. After reading Hunt and Kill you will agree with him.

There are 3 maps of U-505's operational patrols and over 60 photos in Hunt and Kill. Comprehensive explanatory (and very interesting) notes and informative appendixes round off this well executed book. The writers are all perfectly suited for their topics, the subject is deeply interesting, and with current restoration and re-housing of U-505, the timing is perfect. Savas has once more assembled a star team of writers and together they have produced a winner. He also makes it clear that the book could not have been accomplished without their expertise.

If you are interested in U-boats or Naval History, Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic is a must have.

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