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The year 2001 marked the centenary of the Royal Navy's
submarine fleet, the Silent Service, from its first operational submersible
Holland I in 1901 to the giant nuclear vessels of modern times. En route,
British submariners made a vital contribution to the nation's defence,
although not without great human cost. More than 5,000 British submariners
died in the service of their country through two world wars (in which
14 VCs were awarded). They were also at the very forefront of activity
during the Cold War.
John Parker draws heavily on the personal testimony
of men involved in outstanding episodes, and tragedies, in that century,
with fresh insight into classic wartime stories. These include the young
officer who led the capture of the first Enigma machine from a U-boat,
the commander who launched The Man Who Never Was which fed the Germans
false invasion plans, courageous men in midget X-craft attacks on German
and Japanese battleships and the submarine-borne Special Operations
across Europe and from Australia.
The sinking of the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano
during the Falklands war by HMS Conqueror, the first British nuclear
submarine ever to fire in anger, is fully recounted and there is input,
too, from Britain's allies, notably long-established links with the
US and Canada in the forty-year war of nerves against the Soviet empire.
Parker brings the story right up to date with descriptions of life aboard
the new breed of submarines carrying Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent
and accounts of modern missions including the firing of submarine-launched
cruise missiles on Belgrade during the Kosovo crisis.
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Published by Headline in hardback 2001 and in paperback
in 2003 |
