Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em

Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em
Author: Mike Ostlund
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2011-11-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0762784296

Now in paperback, revised and updated, the stirring and authoritative account of one of World War II's most highly decorated submarines Find ’Em, Chase ’Em, Sink ’Em is the first book to recount the tragic and mysterious loss of the World War II submarine USS Gudgeon. In April 1944, the highly decorated submarine USS Gudgeon slipped beneath the waves in one of the most treacherous patrol areas in the most dangerous military service during World War II. Neither the Gudgeon nor the crew was ever seen again. Author Mike Ostlund’s “Uncle Bill,” the operator of a farm implements business, was aboard that ship as a lieutenant junior grade. Through extensive research of patrol reports in U.S. and Japanese naval archives, interviews with veterans who had served aboard the Gudgeon before its final patrol, and the personal effects of the lost men’s relatives, Ostlund has assembled the most accurate account yet of this remarkably successful submarine’s exploits, of the men aboard from steward to captain, and of what we now know about her demise. Find ’Em, Chase ’Em, Sink ’Em details the memories and life lessons of the young men who went to sea aboard Gudgeon before its last patrol knowing hardly anything, and came home having seen too much.

Sink ‘Em All

Sink ‘Em All
Author: Vice-Adm. Charles A. Lockwood
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 618
Release: 2017-07-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1787207250

Originally published in 1951, in Sink ‘Em All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific Vice-Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, who commanded the U.S. submarines in the Pacific during the greater part of World War II, provides an official account of wartime successes and tragedies. Writing with writes complete authority and authenticity, he describes his efforts to improve the provisions and after-patrol accommodations of the submariners, and of his on-going struggle to improve the effectiveness of torpedoes and other tools vital to the war effort. “It is to be hoped that this interesting narrative will be widely read, and that the exploits of our “Silent Service” will take their proper place in the minds of our citizens. Certainly no one is better qualified to tell this story than the author, Vice-Admiral Charles A. Lockwood [...]”—Foreword by Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy Another fascinating read from Vice-Admiral Lockwood, and a valuable addition to your collection.

Sink ÕEm All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific

Sink ÕEm All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific
Author: Charles A. Lockwood
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2017-11-27
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1387400738

Sink 'Em All by Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, the U.S. Navy commander of the Pacific submarine fleet during World War 2, is the exhaustive and definitive account of submarine warfare between the US and Japanese 1942-45. Lockwood's intricate narrative is the breathless story of every submarine in the US fleet and what they did during the war, their misses, near misses and hits. He takes us into the cramped quarters of mess-halls and control rooms and brings the chief actors in the grueling conflict to life.

Mars Adapting

Mars Adapting
Author: Francis Hoffman
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2021-03-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1682475905

As Clausewitz observed, “In war more than anywhere else, things do not turn out as we expect.” The essence of war is a competitive reciprocal relationship with an adversary. Commanders and institutional leaders must recognize shortfalls and resolve gaps rapidly in the middle of the fog of war. The side that reacts best (and absorbs faster) increases its chances of winning. Mars Adapting examines what makes some military organizations better at this contest than others. It explores the institutional characteristics or attributes at play in learning quickly. Adaptation requires a dynamic process of acquiring knowledge, the utilization of that knowledge to alter a unit’s skills, and the sharing of that learning to other units to integrate and institutionalize better operational practice. Mars Adapting explores the internal institutional factors that promote and enable military adaptation. It employs four cases, drawing upon one from each of the U.S. armed services. Each case was an extensive campaign, with several cycles of action/counteraction. In each case the military institution entered the war with an existing mental model of the war they expected to fight. For example, the U.S. Navy prepared for decades to defeat the Japanese Imperial Navy and had developed carried-based aviation. Other capabilities, particularly the Fleet submarine, were applied as a major adaptation. The author establishes a theory called Organizational Learning Capacity that captures the transition of experience and knowledge from individuals into larger and higher levels of each military service through four major steps. The learning/change cycle is influenced, he argues, by four institutional attributes (leadership, organizational culture, learning mechanisms, and dissemination mechanisms). The dynamic interplay of these institutional enablers shaped their ability to perceive and change appropriately.

Fremantle's Submarines

Fremantle's Submarines
Author: Michael Sturma
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2015-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612518613

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.

The Wisconsin 3,800

The Wisconsin 3,800
Author: Tom Mueller
Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2009
Genre: Soldiers
ISBN: 1608440850

"The Wisconsin 3,800" examines the lives and deaths of more than 30 men and women who were killed in World War II and buried overseas, or were MIA. There are heart-wrenching personal ordeals of people from all services and in all world zones, and some surprising discoveries. The book puts a human face on enormous battles and puts historical context into the deaths of individuals. The servicemen and women in the book come from places like Appleton, Milwaukee, Racine, La Crosse, Viroqua, Waunakee, Augusta, Rice Lake, Glenwood City, Merrill, Juneau, Door County, Kewaskum and many points in between. Their story is Wisconsin's story. Twenty-five years ago, Tom Mueller had an opportunity to visit his soldier uncle's grave in France as a newspaper writer. He was the first in his family ever to go there, and it started a passion to tell the stories of other Wisconsin men and women in World War II. For several years, his Milwaukee editors entrusted him to determine the topic of the page one Memorial Day feature, do the research, take and / or obtain photos and write the package. The Wisconsin Veterans Museum calls Mueller's book "a valuable new resource for everyone interested in Wisconsin's contributions to World War II, from historians to enthusiasts to relatives of the veterans." This book is made possible through the generous support of: American Family Insurance Marcus Theatres Corp.

War in the Pacific

War in the Pacific
Author: Peter Harmsen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 371
Release: 2022-05-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1922615366

War in the Pacific is a trilogy of books comprising a general history of the war against Japan; unlike other histories it expands the narrative beginning long before Pearl Harbor and encompasses a much wider group of actors to produce the most complete narrative yet written and the first truly international treatment of the epic conflict. War in the Pacific: Formidable Foe – 1942-1943 Details the astonishing transformation that took place from 1942 to 1943, setting the Allies on a path to final victory against Japan. The central importance of China is highlighted in a way that no previous general history of the war against Japan has achieved.

Patrol Area 14

Patrol Area 14
Author: Dave Lotz
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2018-01-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1543446884

As the war in the Pacific progressed, the role of the US submarines evolved to meet the challenges confronting the United States Navy in the Western Pacific. This story is vividly portrayed in Patrol Area 14 and details the exploits of the US submarines in one specific patrol area of the Pacific Ocean, the waters of the Mariana Islands, whose control became essential to victory in the Pacific for the United States and defeat for Japan. Patrol Area 14 describes the submarine patrols from solitary patrols beginning in 1942 to aggressively patrolling the offshore waters, to bold approaches to harbor entrances, to sinking ships within sight of the islands in spite of determined Japanese air and sea anti-submarine efforts and supporting the US invasions of the islands in 1944.

Surface and Destroy

Surface and Destroy
Author: Michael Sturma
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2011-03-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0813129990

World War II submariners rarely experienced anything as exhilarating or horrifying as the surface gun attack. Between the ocean floor and the rolling whitecaps above, submarines patrolled a dark abyss in a fusion of silence, shadows, and steel, firing around eleven thousand torpedoes, sinking Japanese men-of-war and more than one thousand merchant ships. But the anonymity and simplicity of the stealthy torpedo attack hid the savagery of warfare—a stark difference from the brutality of the surface gun maneuver. As the submarine shot through the surface of the water, confined sailors scrambled through the hatches armed with large-caliber guns and met the enemy face-to-face. Surface and Destroy: The Submarine Gun War in the Pacific reveals the nature of submarine warfare in the Pacific Ocean during World War II and investigates the challenges of facing the enemy on the surface. The surface battle amplified the realities of war, bringing submariners into close contact with survivors and potential prisoners of war. As Japan's larger ships disappeared from the Pacific theater, American submarines turned their attention to smaller craft such as patrol boats, schooners, sampans, and junks. Some officers refused to attack enemy vessels of questionable value, while others attacked reluctantly and tried to minimize casualties. Michael Sturma focuses on the submariners' reactions and attitudes toward their victims, exploring the sailors' personal standards of morality and their ability to wage total war. Surface and Destroy is a thorough analysis of the submariner experience and the effects of surface attacks on the war in the Pacific, offering a compelling study of the battles that became "intolerably personal."