This is the third book in the 'Duel' series that takes a close look at those pieces of military hardware that fought each other during conflict. So far, the focus has been on World War II, but I'm thinking that there is plenty of room for expansion.

This edition looks at the U-boat and Destroyer Escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic. To be more precise, it looks at convoy escorts. During the opening phases of the war, the British had to make do with whatever happened to be at hand, even to the point of developing whalers into small corvettes; the Flower Class. These were efficient and quickly built, but the absolute pits to be a crewmember of as the North Atlantic was not kind to these boats.

Eventually, when the US got involved in the war, the huge industrial capacity of the United States was able to launch more ships than the Germans could sink, while at the same time getting the upper hand on the dwindling number of U-boats.

On the German side, there were fewer than two dozen U-boats in service when WWII started, none of them really ocean-worthy as it was felt that all the submarine combat would take place near the shore.

Well, that wasn't how it worked out. Eventually, two classes of U-boat, the Type VII and Type IX were developed as ocean going submarines. The Type IX was larger and had greater range and more crew comfort, but it was also slower to dive. Most U-boat men preferred the smaller but faster diving Type VII.

Early in the war, the U-boats were king, but by the end, it was almost certain death to go on patrol. This was shown by statistics where over 80% of German submarine crews were killed.

The author takes a good look at the two antagonists, covering their development and the see-saw changes in fortune as one side got the upper hand and the other countered it. There are stories of battles and important figures for each side in the events that unfolded. Technical specifications are also given with all of this highlighted by well-chosen period photos, diagrams and artwork.

In all, an excellent addition to what is sure to become a popular series. I know you will enjoy it as much as did I.

October 2007

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