Nautilus: A History of Submarines and Underwater Exploration

"Nautilus' tells the story of the submarine, a vessel which revolutionized naval warfare in the course of 50 years, and the men who designed them and worked on them. In their short history submarines and submersible craft have played a decisive role in two world wars and today they roam the oceans, bearers of nuclear arsenals, ready to surface anywhere and strike any target. The book starts with the dramatic story of how Russian scientists and naval officers set about the task of constructing a nuclear submarine from scratch and with little knowledge of advances in nuclear physics in the rest of the world. The story then goes back to the days of the early pioneers, and follows rivalries and developments up to the First World War. During the war, submarines went into conflict for the first time. The German U Boat commanders became heroes at home as they roamed the seas, sinking hundreds of thousands of tons of British shipping. After the war miniature underwater craft, used for commando raids and suicide missions, were developed. In the Second World War we follow the fortunes of three subs - one British, one American and one German - and share the experiences of hunted and hunters, in a conflict in which for the first time submarine operations were integrated into overall naval strategy with devastating effect. These events are brought vividly to life through many eye-witness accounts from the men who fought and worked on the boats, as well as from designers and crew. A final chapter tells of the rivalry between the two superpowers - the USA and Russia - the building of the world's most powerful nuclear submarine fleet, and the extraordinary power of the American Admiral Rickover who dominated the American nuclear submarine programme for nearly 40 years, and was responsible for the world's first nuclear submarine, "Nautilus". There is a non-military side to the development of underwater vehicles too. For years man has descended into the oceans to observe and explore, discover and retrieve. The book tells the story of the men who took the first tentative steps into the deepest regions of the oceans. We see how oceanographic technology developed to create a new generation of robotic submersibles to explore and examine the furthest regions of outer space.