Interesting stuff from a new book

[HalfLifeExpert]

I just finished a new book I got a few months ago, not long after it came out.

It is titled Hunters and Killers Vol. 2: Anti-Submarine Warfare from 1943

Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Killers- ... ne+warfare

I have not read volume one, as I was primarily interested in Cold War and Modern ASW. This book basically covers the Battle of the Atlantic from mid 1943 till the end of the war, the Pacific War, and the Cold war.


One interesting part of this book is that the authors claim that the Soviet Navy, had the Cold War turned hot, never intended to wage a "third battle of the Atlantic" by sending subs out into the ocean to raid convoys.

They claim that the Soviets recognized that they would not have the same advantages the Kriegsmarine had (bases in Norway and France), and the U-boats still failed to stop the convoys.

Instead, the Soviets planned to target convoys in more littoral areas like the North Sea as well as concentrating attacks, possibly nuclear, against destination ports in Europe as a way of countering trans-atlantic convoys.


I bring this up because I was quite surprised by this, and wanted to know if anyone else has read this in other books, as it does counter a lot of perceptions, and makes a lot of the WWIII Convoy battle scenarios seem a little unrealistic given the apparent Soviet views on the situation.

[Rory Noonan]

I bought this book based on the above post; it arrived today and I've spent all afternoon glued to it. It's a great read, thanks very much for recommending it.

[Coiler12]

ORIGINAL: HalfLifeExpert
I bring this up because I was quite surprised by this, and wanted to know if anyone else has read this in other books, as it does counter a lot of perceptions, and makes a lot of the WWIII Convoy battle scenarios seem a little unrealistic given the apparent Soviet views on the situation.

I wasn't surprised by the post (I still haven't read the book itself). I knew Soviet naval doctrine was extremely defensive, and one of my sources I've seen was a declassified CIA document from 1981 that while believing some convoy interdiction would happen, believed to it be a small and secondary priority done with at most a handful of diesels.

(That document was the inspiration for my Best of the West, Worst of the East scenario, by the way, even if the actual submarine choice shifted from "the Tangos and Foxtrots mentioned in the document" to "a random Lua generator giving you a chance to command everything from rusting Whiskeys and Novembers to brand-new Kilos)

[hellfish6]

I wish this was in kindle/ebook format. I move too frequently to lug around many hardcover books.

[juanchopancho]

I thought you were referring to this book Hunter Killers which is also top notch:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/14091 ... UTF8&psc=1

One of the better books I've read about the encounters during the cold war.