United States submarines compiled a tremendous record of achievement during World War II, but they paid heavily for their successes. A total of 52 submarines were lost, including 48 sunk directly or indirectly by enemy action. The personnel losses - 374 officers and 3,131 operational enlisted men - represented 16 percent of the officers and 13 percent of the enlisted men in the "silent service." Although relatively meager compared to Germany's losses of 700 to 800 subs and the 128 lost by Japan, this roll call of honor was still higher than that for other types of Allied ships. Three valuable appendices list the subs lost by Germany, Japan, and Italy."United States Submarine Losses: World War II" is a ship-by-ship description of each American sub lost at sea, including as many facts as can be determined regarding the circumstances of their sinking, as well as brief accounts of the combat accomplishments of each vessel and a list of their crew members at the time of their loss. These concise vignettes cover some of the most renowned submarines of the war, such as the Tang, which in its five patrols was credited with sinking 31 Japanese ships totaling 227,800 tons and damaging two, for a total of 4,100 tons - a record unexcelled among American subs. Some ships gained fame in the Navy for other reasons, such as the five Japanese destroyers sunk by the Harder - four on one patrol - "earning the reputation of being the Submarine Force's most terrible opponent of destroyers." This important book serves as a valuable reference work, an account of the often heroic efforts of U.S. Navy submarines in World War II, and a memorial tribute to the submariners who gave their lives for their country. 1946; reprinted 1963: 248 pages, ill.

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