U-Boats at War in 100 Objects 1939-1945

I am quite a fan of the series of '100 Objects' books, as the authors provide an authoritative summary of a range of effects and items, relating to different aspects of the Second World War, and they are a good resource for collectors. 

In this book Gordon Williamson, using a carefully selected range of surviving U-boat memorabilia from private collections, describes 100 iconic elements of the U-Boat service and its campaigns. The range of items under consideration include the uniforms and insignias the men wore, the weapons, equipment and technology used, and Williamson also explores the conditions in which the U-boat crews served, from cooking facilities and general hygiene down to the crude toilet facilities. The key individuals of the U-boat arm, and the types of U-boats themselves are also examined.

As this topic is relatively focussed, it is also helpful that the enemy they faced is also covered, examining the ship-borne and airborne anti-submarine weaponry utilised against the U-boats. This helps to provide a balanced view point of the U-boat campaign, although if your area of interest is specifically U-boats this may not add much to the book for you. 

The images of items from collections are complemented with colour and black and white photographs from the war. One small criticism is that the picture quality is variable. The majority of images are clear and crisp, but a few are less vibrant and the image of the extremely rare and unique Soldbuch belonging to Karl Dönitz is unfortunately low resolution.  Overall I would recommend anyone with an interest in the U-boat campaign, and particularly with an interest in collecting militaria associated with U-boats, to consider purchasing this book. 

Thanks to Pen & Sword for the review copy. 

Available from:
Pen & Sword

Operation Demon - The Evacuation of British Commonwealth Troops from Greece 1941

'Operation Demon' is the new book from author Brian Crabb, and it tells the little known story of theevacuation of Allied troops from mainland Greece in April 1941. 

 

In late April 1941, as the German Army overran the country, just over 51,000 Britsh, Australian and New Zeland troops were taken from the shores of Greece at night, to avoid the risk of Luftwaffe attacks.  The evacuation did not run entirely to plan, and three ships - the Dutch troopship Slamat and HM destroyers Diamond and Wryneck on 27 April 1941, were tragically lost, leading to the loss of over 1,000 soldiers and sailors - a story little known today.

'Operation Demon' provides an intricate narrative of this episode of the Second World War, and is available as a limited edition illustrated hard back with extensive appendixes - some of which can be read on Brian's website. This is a unique book and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean and the campaign in Greece and Crete during the Second World War.

Available from:
Email the author: briancrabb @ talktalk.net
Author's website