Das Boot!

[Mike OTDP]

One of the best reads is Eugene Fluckey's Thunder Below. It's a great story...except that it's not fiction. Fluckey was an insanely aggressive CO.

[308Mike]

One of the best reads is Eugene Fluckey's Thunder Below. It's a great story...except that it's not fiction. Fluckey was an insanely aggressive CO.

THANKS! I'll have to check that one out. Another good book is Boomer, by Charles D. Taylor. Here's a couple of the Amazon reviews:

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "A Good Build-Up to a Pulse-Pounding Climax", December 24, 1999
By John J. Rust - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boomer (Mass Market Paperback)
A first-rate, plausible job on this story. A Soviet sleeper agent rises through the ranks to command an LA-class attack sub. Then he uses it to sink US ballistic missile subs and neutralize American strategic power in the Pacific. Charles D. Taylor did a great job bringing the characters to life. Little by little he builds the tension, showing how the rest of the men under sleeper Wayne Newell's command react when they think they are at war. The stress, the pressure all start to wear at their psyche. Doubt creeps in, eventually the crew begins to question its captain. The strain of the mission pulls you in. Add to it the Naval commanders trying to figure out what's happening in the Pacific. The final, 3-way sub battle is a rush! You can't put the book down until you reach the end.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Scenario, believable enough to make you nervous, December 13, 1999
By "ksc1" (San Francisco, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boomer (Mass Market Paperback)
Charles D. Taylor has a fine grasp on naval power, the covert arms such as the SSN's and SEALs, and this scenario is chilling as ever: what if one of our SSN captains is really a sleeper agent, and he's turned one of our best subs to hunt the targets it was supposed to protect: our Ohio-class boomers? I originally thought the scenario was a bit far-fetched, but after reading the book, I think he carried it off quite well.

Although I would have preferred a different ending, this one was acceptable and not necessarily a disappointing end to a great book.

[skb12172]

How about Patrick Robinson's books? Except for the fact that he was a neighbor of Teddy the Swimmer and constantly kissed his ass in these novels, the stories aren't bad...especially the first three. I've read...

Nimitz Class (1997)
Kilo Class (1998)
H.M.S. Unseen (1999)
U.S.S. Seawolf (2000)

Here's a blurb on the author.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Ro ... 8author%29

[Greg]

Everyone: What did you think of the ending? I think it was a bit of a letdown, realism be damned.

I thought it was sad, frustrating and depressing as hell. Also natural and inevitable when you look at it in the larger historical context.

[308Mike]

Personally, I'd like to hear CU74's and perhaps anyone else's opinions of sub driver's books, especially by those who were bubble-heads - and if I inadvertently left out anyone who rates credit as a submariner, I apologize from the bottom of my heart as you folks have some BIG BRASS ONES to go down in a ship that sinks on purpose, to the depth of several hundred feet knowing you could be crushed in a minor hull failure (which anything that breaches BOTH hulls is a catastrophic failure), and by the time your vessel collapses is now at such a depth that your individual survival is virtually unimaginable - or you'll be crushed at depth (so hold your breath as long as possible and the end will be quick as you ascend).

I KNOW bubble-heads are a breed apart from the rest of the navy, and sometimes take a lot of ribbing, but in MY book, they are part of the crew which gets the utmost respect and admiration for the jobs they do - since the VAST MAJORITY of them are not known, disclosed, or available to the general public for MANY, MANY, years (I should say DECADES later).

Our submarine fleet and Spec Ops folks have done jobs which modern fiction writers dream of.

Frankly, I for one, am DAMN PROUD of our submariners - even if they take a lot of other crap from the rest of the fleet. And I'm more than happy to buy them a drink anywhere I may run into them (when I find out they were a submariner - but finding them has been exceedingly difficult as they don't talk about it: the "Silent Service" lives on).

ALL you folks have my undying gratitude.

Semper Fi!

[cu74]

Personally, I'd like to hear CU74's and perhaps anyone else's opinions of sub driver's books, especially by those who were bubble-heads....... you folks have some BIG BRASS ONES to go down in a ship that sinks on purpose.........,

My opinion of sub driver’s books is too outdated to be useful since I stopped reading that stuff years ago. I did not read Admiral Fluckey’s Thunder Below, (which was not written until 1992) but am familiar with his exploits from reading about Barb’s patrols elsewhere. Fluckey was not the only “insanely aggressive CO”, but he was one of the few who lived to tell his story. Most of the others are still on patrol……

I have no comment on any of the other books listed in the various posts since I have not read them. Moreover, I have never developed an interest for fictional submarine stories. Other than Clancy’s Red October, I have read none.

Past and present submarine types do not substitute sinks for submerges, as we are well aware of the differences in the two words. To use computer terminology - submerging is a feature; sinking is a bug. If submerging turns into sinking, you are well and truly screwed………..

In my mind it isn’t the submariner who has the Big Brass Ones; I think of pilots landing on a carrier at night in the rain, or the demolition experts disarming IEDs, or a number of other 'occupations' that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up. We humans are a strange and diverse species. What strikes fear into one may only be mildly interesting to another and be the source of adventure to yet another.

One of my high school classmates was an Airdale and each of us was sure that the other was insane by virtue of our choice of Navy service. My choice was perfectly logical; I can swim – even underwater – but I cannot fly no matter how hard I wave my arms. He could not understand how I would happily serve aboard a diesel-electric submarine; I did not understand how he could voluntarily take to the air in an aircraft that was maintained by enlisted sailors. (I have known sailors who could ruin a stainless steel cannonball with a rubber mallet.)

[Vonz90]

Bubble heads had the highest casualty rate during WWII of anyone (including infantry, etc...)

While I was in 'Stan, I had an argument with an Army O-type who thought that, other than SEALs, the Navy did not have any combat arms posititions. My answer was how could the naval battle of Guadalcanal have been fought without any combat arms guys on either side.

[308Mike]

We humans are a strange and diverse species. What strikes fear into one may only be mildly interesting to another and be the source of adventure to yet another.

Quite accurate, I'd say.

I've done rock walls which are absolutely terrifying for others to think about doing, nor have any desire to even contemplate in the safest manner possible. Things which to me seem little more than a steep hike and others believe are "death-defying" as I jog up and down the rocks setting up safety ropes for the rest of the classes.

I completely understand the drive and desires of those wanting to climb rock walls, high mountains, sail the oceans, run rapids, fly like a bird, swim like a fish (and breathe underwater), and do similar things.

There aren't many things I wouldn't do, but in my time on earth, I've come to accept there are many others who can't do certain things or have no desire to do some things but love to do others which many believe are unthinkable (like BASE jumping) - yet it ALL depends on your perspective and what you desire and value.

So CU74 is entirely accurate regarding his statement about one person's fear being another's amusement - BTDT, GTTS.

Bottom line = YMMV

Just remember who's life and experiences it is, and if it's not your's, there's NO WAY you can be thinking or feeling the SAME WAY they do - even if you both just went through the SAME EXPERIENCE!

Semper Fi!!

[Denis]

Now you've seen Das Boot, you might enjoy Operation petticoat for comic relief.

A university lecturer of mine was on one of the US submarines that had cameo roles in The Hunt for Red October. He used to come to university balls in his dress uniform - very smart indeed.

[Evyl Robot]

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was not previously familiar with Das Boot. It didn't take me reading but a couple of posts to figure out you weren't talking about Beerfest.