Book Reviews & Books of Interest

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Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship

Tom Clancy. New York: Berkley Books, 1993. Bib. Gloss. Illus. Photos. $14.95 ($13.45). Paper.

Reviewed by Commander P. Kevin Peppe, U.S. Navy

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The short story on Submarine: A good book—one best read by jumping to the parts that pique your curiosity. Move, wander, take it a little bit at a time. This is a “go-to” book that both young and old can rely on when something Jack Ryan does or says raises their interest.

The long story: Tom Clancy with the assistance of John Gresham—has produced as complete an account as exists on the men and machines that make up the modern U.S. and British submarine forces. From the training of junior officers to the technology of weapons and sensors to the tactics used in support of submarine roles and missions,

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Clancy has woven as rich and lively a tapestry of today’s submarines and submariners as you are likely to find.

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A wealth of technical information—presented in terms understandable to the general reader—helps make Tom Clancy’s Submarine a “rich and lively ... tapestry of today’s submarines and submariners.”

The difficulties such an effort must have entailed are only hinted at. This was an impossible undertaking a few years ago, but Clancy has taken advantage of the quiet noise now being made by the heretofore “silent” service. His inside-out look at the workings of the finest class of attack submarines in the world—as represented by Commander Houston K. Jones, U.S. Navy, and the USS Miami (SSN- 755)—provides details and insights never before available to the general public.

Drawing heavily on the expert advice and testimony of Vice Admiral Roger Bacon, U.S. Navy (Retired)—the last in a long and distinguished line of submarine “Barons,” Assistant Chief of Naval Operations for Submarine Warfare— Clancy has managed to combine both the romance and intrigue that has traditionally have characterized the submarine force with the deck-plate, no-nonsense reality that gives the reader an understanding of just what goes into getting these superb warships to sea and back again, day in and day out.

Submarine meets a wide variety of

needs. At the beginning, there is a brief historical perspective that sets the stage, providing the reader some background in the exploits and heroics that are the institution of U.S. submarining. While a full and complete bibliography is provided at the back of the book. I’d like to see later editions list the principal sources after each chapter. This would relieve the reader of the effort involved in getting at fuller and more detailed accounts of the section just completed.

For the technically curious, there is a full and detailed account of a wide variety of gadgets and gizmos. From general descriptions of just how the huge sections of the hull are assembled to detailed accounts of the extremely sensitive guidance control and homing elec

tronics of the Advanced Capability Mk- 48 heavyweight torpedo, Clancy has assembled in one place answers to a host of the most common “How does it work?” questions. In providing a comprehensive glossary of common submarine terms and acronyms, he has not only unlocked the code to everybody, but has done a tremendous service to the young submariner on his first boat struggling to qualify in submarines and earn his dolphins. Without a doubt, certain sections of this book will become invaluable to future generations of prospective submariners.

I’ve always been fascinated by the people and routine that characterize the

submarine force. It is here, perhaps, that Clancy has done the reader the greatest service. The particular—and, in some cases, peculiar—training and lifestyle of the modern submariner are explained in vivid and lively prose, drawing heavily on the real-world experiences of Clancy and Gresham. In simply describing how the trash gets taken out, Clancy provides some sense of just how strange a place the modem submarine can be.

As a sort of bonus. Submarine provides a rare glimpse—for American readers at least—into the heart of the magnificent submarine force of the Royal Navy. In this section, Clancy correctly observes that no U.S. submariner has been through the “Per- isher”—the demanding British course for prospective submarine commanding officers. I’ve always supposed this lack of U.S. participation to be an effort on the part of my Royal Navy friends to avoid the embarrassment of having a Yank come out on top. So while I’d be more than happy to have a go at it, I completely understand their reluctance.

A final thought on this section, which perhaps suffers only from being too short. While I and other professional U.S. submariners might politely take issue with Clancy’s contention that the Brits produce “the world’s finest quality submarine captains,” none of us would argue that the special relationship shared between two forces on opposite sides of the Atlantic has yielded—and will yield—benefits far in excess of any of its costs. Indeed, the author significantly understates the incredible strength of the Royal Navy when he says that “the responsiveness of their submarine force is multiplied far beyond their small numbers.”

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For the scholar and strategist, there is an abbreviated summary of those national roles and missions the submarine force has for so long been responsible. A particular strength in Clancy’s accounting of roles and missions is the emphasis attached to enabling tasks, at which the submarine force is so experienced and expert. While most efforts at explaining just what a submarine is and does focus narrowly on its unequaled ability to hunt down and sink other submarines, Clancy

has painted a far larger and more detailed picture. He goes to some length in telling the stories of precision strike, special operations, offensive and defensive mining, battlefield preparation, and surveillance. While the degree to which the ultimate stealth machine lowers the risk to U.S. forces remains to be quantified, he has done a great service in providing an unclassified window through which the reader might look at submarine roles and missions.

Not surprisingly, Tom Clancy has produced a detailed and descriptive account of contemporary submarining. As interesting and provocative as the book is to the curious professional, it is the young reader who stands to realize the greatest return on the time spent with Submarine. As stimulating as it is informative, this book provides the young enthusiast with a glimpse into a world few have explored and fewer still have experienced. I cannot help but think that the next Admiral Bacon or Commander Jones will be one of today’s high school students who, having consumed all this fine book has to offer, decides to enter into the deep and mysterious world that Tom Clancy so clearly describes.

Commander Peppe is the prospective commanding officer of the USS Hyman G. kickover (SSN-709).

Fenwick Travers and the Years of Empire: An Entertainment

Raymond M. Saunders. Novato, CA: Lyford Books, 1993. 360 pp. $21.95 ($19.75).

Reviewed by Eric M. Smith

Fenwick Travers is a rounder, a bounder, and a scoundrel. He is a coward and a cad. A crook. A defiler of women, innocent or otherwise. Worst of all, he is politically incorrect—even by the standards of the unenlightened days of the late 19th and early 20th century.

Unfortunately, he also happens to be a lieutenant in the U.S. Army who, in this comic novel’s opening pages, gets caught in bed with his first sergeant’s wife. Presented tongue-in-cheek as the recently rediscovered memoir of a deceased general, Fenwick Travers and the Years of Empire proceeds downhill or uphill—depending on your literary taste and sense of humor—from there.

In 1892, young Travers, the bastard son of an unknown soldier and a wayward mother, escapes a small-town Illinois upbringing and begins his military career by enlisting in the 7th Cavalry to fight Indians and marauding Mexicans on the Arizona border. Trouble over a female—a hilariously frequent occurrence for Travers—ironically causes him to be

kicked upstairs to West Point to become an officer and a gentleman—by an act of Congress if not by natural inclination.

In determined pursuit of a life of sloth and glandular pleasures after he is commissioned, Travers nevertheless finds himself in the thick of whatever action comes along as the United States—and its armed forces—emerge onto the international stage. You might say he was looking for lulls in all the wrong places.

In 1898, he goes to Cuba in time to charge up San Juan Hill (here more precisely identified as Kettle Hill) with a prickly Teddy Roosevelt and his horseless Rough Riders. He consorts with other historical figures like the author of The Red Badge of Courage author Stephen Crane and an immensely fat and annoyingly petulent General William Shafter, the commander of the ill-organized U.S. expeditionary force, as well as a cast of unsavory fictional characters.

Later, he is posted to China, where he becomes an unlikely hero of the Boxer Rebellion and fights beside a prophetic roster of the future enemies of the United States—-Germans, Japanese, Russians, and even Vietnamese (still known as Tonkinese at the turn of the century).

could have remained safely ensconced >^|,*l q_Q| that and succeeding space ventures ad^[1]-

Fenwick Travers and the Years of Empire is most easily compared to George MacDonald Fraser’s series of Flashman books, in which a similarly engaging Victorian rogue, British officer Harry Flashman, encounters amusing misadventures around the globe. Indeed, the publishers of Fenwick Travers make no secret of this borrowed literary kinship.

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The only problem is that Fenwick Travers, described as a “rollicking” tale on the dust jacket, fails to rollick sufficiently. Good timing is as essential to the writer of humorous prose as it is to the standup comedian, yet this book’s sluggish pace does not sustain its farcical purpose. Raymond Saunders, a serving U.S. Army officer and 1974 West Point graduate, too often slows Travers and the plot down with meandering stretches of dialogue and informative but overlong narrative.

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Here is a regrettably typical sample of the ungainly exposition that can come from the mouths of Saunders’ characters:

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author’s difficulty with aerial refueling ^1!,| ^tit-

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. . . We know that they’ve been routed from the vicinity of Havana and that most of western Cuba is firmly under Spanish control,” answered Elliot. “The rebels exercise some degree of dominion over eastern Cuba, primarily from Santiago to the eastern tip of the island, Punta de Maisi. Their chief is a fellow named Garcia, and he’s reputed to be the most effective of the rebel leaders. As to their location, strength, and arms, however, we can only guess.

This is not to say that Fenwick Tn>\ vers doesn’t have its moments. There iyj an abundance of accurate details of mill itary life of that era and colorful dq scriptions of campaigns. This volume w provide patient readers with some entefj taining glimpses into a fascinating periof of U.S. history as well as the delightfulbl flawed character of its hero. Neverthcf less, because of its often laborious pac^£ Fenwick Travers turns out to be a god idea that is weakly realized.

Mr. Smith is columnist and cartoonist for The Cot ital, a daily newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, ^ author of Not By The Book: A Combat Intelligent^ Officer in Vietnam (Ivy Books, 1993).

100 Missions North: A Fighter Pilot’s Story of the Vietnam Wa^r|

Brig. Gen. Kenneth H. Bell, USAF (Ret.)’ McLean, VA: Brassey’s (U.S.), 1993. 314 pp. Ind. Gloss. Photos. $24.00 ($21.60).

Reviewed by Colonel Hays Parks, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired)

When the U.S. bombing campaig¹¹™ (code-named Rolling Thunder) again^s'| North Vietnam commenced on 2 Mart'

1965, Air Force Captain Ken Bell wn^! midway through a payback tour for*] Master of Science degree he had earn¹ on active duty. Serving as a project e>¹'¹ _ gineer managing the rocket engines o^Or; the Titan II launch vehicle for the Gern' [y₆ ini space program. Bell undoubted!)^B_er[

been assured of a successful career.

F-86D and F-102A interceptors for si* • years before graduate school; therefore he fought to return to the cockpit^a> quickly as possible. He succeeded, andj ^ 100 Missions North is his story.    "Hq

General Bell moves briskly through £ survival school to training in the F-IO^P

that the Air Force converted from the rd‘ fQf₍ for which it was developed—high-spe^e" delivery of nuclear weapons in Europe-

Thunder. Bell’s transition to the F-105 '■ ^UQ\

ficient emphasis on aerial refueling. Tb

acknowledged, and made relevant whei¹ ° ft). in the autumn of 1966, he is ordered ¹⁰

proceed to Takhli Air Force Base in Th^;l1' |k>. land by transpacific flight in a F-105. Hf ®l

ings—one of which resulted in damag^e '6^,, to the boom of the KC-135 tanker^'’ candid and well-told.                \     '

Bell paints an excellent picture of d¹’ f

Proceedings / January

100 Missions North provides a firsthand and detailed account of what it was like to fly the Air Force’s F-105 Thunderchiefs in 1966-1967 during the Rolling Thunder air campaign against North Vietnam.

state of affairs after 18 months of Rolling Thunder operations. Like their Navy counterparts operating from Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf,[2] ^{[3] I} Air Force units experienced severe losses operating in the highly constrained operational environment devised by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara for execution of air strikes against North Vietnam—with no discernible gain. It is clear to the newly arrived pilot that his chances of completing the requisite 100 missions over North Vietnam are not good.

General Bell flew his first mission on 23 October 1966; his 100th on 15 June 1967. He takes the reader through the first mission in detail before proceeding through the remaining 99—highlighting the more important and/or more exciting ones. Each loss of a pilot or aircrew (the F-105F Wild Weasel had a two-man crew) is noted, and the inside front and rear covers list those men, when and where they were lost, and whether they died or were captured—a tribute by Bell to his comrades who did not return, as well as a poignant reminder to the reader of the daily risk that these men faced. As Bell’s mission numbers grow, so does his responsibility, and the author (now a

major) approaches the end of his tour as a flight leader on the first attack on the MiG base at Kep on 13 June 1967. That Secretary McNamara’s policies prohibited attacks on North Vietnamese fighter bases for more than the first two years of Rolling Thunder remains incomprehensible, and this book reveals the high price that U.S. aircrews paid for this malfeasance. By the end of the author’s 100 missions, the reader is exhausted—not by the pace of the book, but by the feeling of having accompanied the author in each of those missions. 100 Missions North is a good read, and a painful reminder of Washington micromanagement and mis- judgment at their worst.

Inevitably, General Bell’s book must be compared to Colonel Jack Broughton’s Thud Ridge (Lippincott, 1969). Thud Ridge is the classic view from the cockpit—Air Force, Navy, or Marine—of the Rolling Thunder campaign. The comparison becomes all the more inevitable because Broughton was vice commander of the wing in which Bell flew. Bell also was Broughton’s deputy on a hair-raising mission that was described in detail in Thud Ridge.

Where General Bell spares no detail,

his narrative fully complements Thud Ridge. The contrast lies in emphasis. Broughton describes only his more significant missions; Bell takes the reader on every one—to the detriment of some that undoubtedly deserve more attention. For example, Bell flew wing on the 10 March 1967 mission against the Thai Nguyen steel works in which Captain Merlyn H. Dethfelsen earned the Medal of Honor. I was privileged to hear a superb presentation by General Bell detailing it. The five pages he gives it here do not do the mission justice. Perhaps General Bell’s modesty or the publisher’s page limit prevented a lengthier narrative. However, it is a minor distraction in an otherwise superb book. 100 Missions North is an excellent lessons-learned account, and is highly recommended.

Colonel Parks has been an instructer at the Naval Fighter Weapons School and Naval Strike Warfare Center.

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Books of Interest

By Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

'X' Crucible of Empire: The Spanish- American War & Its Aftermath

James C. Bradford, Editor. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1993. 291 pp. Append. Figs. Illus. Ind. Maps. Notes. Photos. Tables. $31.95 ($25.56).

Such modern considerations as joint service operations, intelligence gathering, the strategic importance of the Philippines, and the most effective role of the U.S. Marine Corps are all issues that surfaced nearly a century ago during the Spanish-American War. In this collection of nine revealing and thought-provoking essays, these and other issues are explored, including “The Struggle for Samar,” “Naval Service in the Age of Empire,” and new discussions of the Sampson-Schley controversy by two different historians.

The Ship That Stood Still:

The Californian and Her Mysterious Role in the Titanic Disaster

Leslie Reade. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993.

385 pp. Append. Bib. Diag. Ind. Maps. Notes. Photos. $30.00 ($27.00).

One of the controversies surrounding the disastrous sinking of the Titanic has been the role of the nearby Leyland Line steamship Californian. Could she have come to the aid of the doomed White Star liner? Could some of the more than 1,500 people who perished that night have been saved? Did her officers and crew see the Titanic’s distress signals? If so, why did the Californian ignore the age-old tradition and law of the sea by not responding to the dying ship’s pleas for help? Reade devoted his life to answering these and other related questions. The result is this detailed and gripping investigation.

Deciphering the Balkan Enigma:

Using History to Inform Policy

William T. Johnsen. Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, 1993. 106 pp. Maps. Notes. Free. Paper.

This monograph from the Strategic Studies Institute of the Army War College is a concise, informative look at the complex but important situation in the Balkans. The diversities of language, religion, and culture are explained, as are the historical background and political complexities that have made this part of the world such a “tinder box.” A final chapter entitled “Policy Insights and Assessments” provides some important food for thought.

Suddenly We Didn’t Want to Die: Memoirs of a World War I Marine

Elton E. Mackin. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1993. 272 pp. Ind. $19.95 ($17.95).

Mackin served in every major campaign of the U.S. Marine Brigade as it fought as part of the U.S. Army’s 2d Infantry Division in World War I. As part of what was called the “Suicide Squad,” he survived the bloody fighting at Belleau Wood, the crossing of the Meuse, Blanc Mont, and other notable campaigns to record his harrowing experiences in this revealing memoir.

Arms Control: What Next?

Lewis A. Dunn and Sharon A. Squassoni, Editors. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993. 175 pp.

Gloss. Ind. Notes. Tables. $40.50 ($38.47) Paper.

Leading specialists argue the role of arms control in a post-Cold War world. Favoring changes in method and approach but not abandonment of the concept, these experts address such issues as regional security, nuclear material, and naval arms control.

Australia’s Navy 1992-93

Department of Defence. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing $ervice, 1992. 104 pp. Illus. Photos. $14.95 ($14.20) Paper.

This full-color presentation shows the various elements of the Royal Australian Navy and describes recent operations and developments. The role of Australian ships in enforcing U.N. sanctions against Iraq in the Red Sea and deployments to Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific are recounted.

Cruise Books of the United States Navy in World War II: A Bibliography

Dean L. Mawdsley, M.D. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, 1993. 160 pp. Bib. Ind. $6.00 ($5.70) Paper.

Early in the 20th century, the tradition of high school and college yearbooks took to the sea in the form of cruise books. These commemorations of major deployments of fleet units mean the most to those who partici

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pated, but there is a great deal of cultural anil historical material to be found in these unique publications. Mawdsley has compiled an ex- tensive list of nearly 800 cruise books that appeared during the World War II era. Included are ships, aviation and SeaBee units as we# as medical units, officer-training classes, and a host of other assorted participants in World War II.

New Guinea: A Novel of War at Sea

VAdm. William P. Mack, USN (Ret.). Baltimore. MD: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1993. 430 pp. $22.95 ($21.80).

Alden Sorenson, protagonist of one of Admiral Mack’s earlier novels. Pursuit of the Sea- wolf is commanding officer of USS Carson- a 1,600-ton destroyer destined to fight in the Southwest Pacific as part of the U.S. force’ sent to wrest New Guinea and Morotai frofl¹ the Japanese. Like Admiral Mack’s other novels, this one immerses the reader in a tale of World War II at sea as only a veteran could tell it. Those who have read his other book’ South to Java or Checkfire! will need no encouragement to get underway in this latesi Mack work, and those who begin with this oik , will soon be reading the ones they’ve missed-

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One Tough Marine: The Autobiography of First Sergeant Donald N. Hamblen, USMC

1st Sgt. Donald N. Hamblen, USMC (Ret.), and Maj. B. H. Norton, USMC (Ret.). New York: Ballantine Books, 1993. 337 pp. Maps. Photos. $22.50 ($20.25).

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On a routine training parachute jump, Sergeant Hamblen of the Marine Corps’ Force Recon- naisance became entangled in high-voltag* power lines and, although he survived, one 1 ep had to be amputated six-inches below the knee- Not only did this “tough Marine” manage 1° remain in the Corps, he went to Vietnam and fought behind enemy lines as part of the super- secret Studies and Observation Group. Hi* | combat record alone makes a worthy read; h>’ courage and tenacity—under arduous physical and emotional challenges that would defe^al most of us—is an inspiration.

Light Strike: Harrier IIs, Hornets, and Corsair IIs

Joe Cupido and Tony Holmes. London, UK: Osprey Aerospace, 1993. 127 pp. Illus. Photos. $15.95 ($15.15) Paper.

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Books marked 4. are the Naval Institute Press selections

Meticulous line diagrams, striking color ph°" tos, and a fact-filled text detail the structure capabilities, and employment of the light strik^s aircraft of the Navy and Marine Corps. Th^e different configurations of each aircraft—iⁿ" eluding the A-4 Skyhawk—are covered and cockpit photos reveal why flight training cannot be accomplished overnight.