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Lawrence Paterson
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Schnellboots Hardcover – January 1, 2011

by Lawrence Paterson (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 243 ratings
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Books
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 2011
  4. Dimensions
    6.57 x 1.34 x 9.61 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1848320833
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1848320833
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Books (January 1, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1848320833
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1848320833
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.57 x 1.34 x 9.61 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 243 ratings

About the author

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Lawrence Paterson

Lawrence Paterson

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I have been writing non-fiction Second World War Kriegsmarine history books since 2000; my first book published by Pen & Sword in 2002.

It’s a subject that has always interested me – not just military history but the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in particular. This probably stems from both my Grandfathers; one of whom fought in the Australian Army during World War One at Gallipoli, the Somme and Paschendale to name but three, the other in the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy during World War Two in the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Growing up in New Zealand there were many veterans of that conflict that lived nearby and the war still seemed very raw to most New Zealanders even 30 years after its end. However, rather than be part of the ‘black hat/white hat’ approach to Germans and other former enemies, both of my Grandfathers taught me that war is a very complex and personal experience and that most events were ‘shades of grey’. It is rarely a simple ‘good guy versus bad guy’ thing – regardless of whether the cause that soldiers serve is a just one or not. That lesson stays with me today.

The desire to write about the U-boat service first began when I was living near Brest in Brittany, France. I am a scuba diving instructor and spent a great deal of time diving on wrecks left behind by the Kriegsmarine, all in the shadow of the huge U-boat bunkers created in Brest’s military harbour. Encouraged by authors Jon Gawne and Robert Strauss I submitted the proposal for the ‘First U-Boat Flotilla’…and it went from there.

It has since been my privilege to write about many aspects of the Wehrmacht and also finish my first book on Allied forces about the remarkable men of Operation Colossus and the birth of the British Airborne service.

Some of my books have been translated into French, German, Finnish, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Latvian, Japanese and Polish.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
243 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jonathan Mattson
5.0 out of 5 stars Waited for this book forever
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
I had seen this book on Amazon as a pre-order and then the date passed and the book never seemed to come up. I was so pleased when literally years later I could buy it in a kindle version. I have yet to find any book that gives more than a superficial overview on German s-boats.

Paterson gives as great of an operational account as he did of his books. Not only do you get the actual military operations but you quickly realize how the German naval command had serious issues with being able to utilize their minimal resources at the most effective point.

When they had a chance to use them against a ill prepared England instead they are off in Norway, the Baltic, and Mediterranean. Eventually they are even in the black sea. As if a few s-boats could stop an invasion of Norway or assist the conquest of the Caucasus region.

Highly recommended if you have an interest in the German navy or quirky minor naval units of the war. Wish we had something like this on American pt boats.
10 people found this helpful
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Karl
4.0 out of 5 stars Only book I ever found on the Germans S boats.
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
Interesting book. Describes the cost of men fighting a war with defective badly developed equipment. These S boats lacked reliable engines, armor, rudders and torpedoes to be combat ready.
The book needed a better description of the boats. Finally, I greatly admire the men that fought and sacrificed themselves with equipment of such a high attrition rate.
3 people found this helpful
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P. Weiser
5.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive History, Well Done
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is an amazing, almost shot-by-shot history of the S-Boot service. It's well-organized, well written, and illustrated with photos. I think I found one (1) typo, which is amazing for a book of this length. There are only a couple of additional things I'd have liked to see. First, scale drawings of the various S-Boot classes - not so much for modeling (though I'd use them for that, too) as to get a feel for the boats' layout. And second, discussion of crew selection and training: there are references to the school establishment on the Baltic - including, toward the end, emergency combat use - but there must have been a syllabus for turning even experienced sailors into effective S-boot crewmen.

Those are my only suggestions and, since this is a battle history, their absence does not really detract. Very good book.
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer Carlos Badias
3.0 out of 5 stars Tells you all you need to know about Eboat operations in WW2.
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is not a novel with action scenes and exciting adventures. It is a report of the units activities in their different theaters of operations. And they were heroic, but told in official, "matter of fact" language. But detailed and informative.
4 people found this helpful
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P Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive History of the "FastBoat" units and their personnel.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2022
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This volume is the product of exhaustive research into the units, men and boats that made up the Schnellboote units" of theGerman Navy in WW@.
One person found this helpful
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scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2022
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Great read, hard to put down. Technical and some story lines.
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Tridelta
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
For the most part, an excellent book on a topic that has been largely under-reported. There could have been some better drawings/diagrams of the different boats, but there were some excellent photos. Worth buying.
2 people found this helpful
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Jim Carone--Capt.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent operational history.
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
HB w DJ//flat white paper//338 pages//109 bw photos //4 maps. Ive read this one and an excellent account of their operations. Highly recommended.....jim
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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circlefish
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2019
Verified Purchase
A truly fascinating book. Great detail . Some of the English is a bit clunky at times but a minor poi t in an otherwise interesting read. The story moves along well and brings light to an otherwise mis understood and neglected arm of the German forces. Well worth the gamble of buying it...would form some great scenarios for naval wargaming,
One person found this helpful
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Empe
5.0 out of 5 stars Opera omnia
Reviewed in Italy on January 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
anche se in formato sintetico, sulle motosiluranti tedesche che durante la II Guerra Mondiale combatterono su tutti i fronti marini, dal Mediterraneo al Mar Nero, senza contare la Manica e il Mare del Nord tenendo alto lo stendardo di una Marina numericamente e qualitativamente inferiore a quelle nemiche. Se siete interessati alla materia non potete perdervi questo volume, specie in formaoto kindle, specie in offerta a poco piu' di 1 euro.
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ernesto s. schmid rossello
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesante
Reviewed in Spain on December 6, 2019
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Ameno
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JoRo
4.0 out of 5 stars Highly Detaliled History
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book lives up to its title as "A Complete Operational History" as it contains a wealth of information about the S-Boats. I found it very interesting although the sheer volume of information contained within the pages makes it difficult to absorb on occasions.
2 people found this helpful
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J. J. Bradshaw
3.0 out of 5 stars Excellent chronicle of events but very basic analysis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book provides a very comprehensive chronicles of German S Boat operations in WW2. The book opens with the pre-war development of the S Boat, interestingly considering the fact that the S Boats were noted for using displacement type hulls which combined excellent seakeeping and speed in the initial development stage the German Navy did evaluate planning and semi-planning hulls. The book provides a technical overview of the boats but it is very much an operational history. Early boats were powered by either MAN or Daimler Benz diesels but very quickly the rather mediocre MAN engines were abandoned and the famed and excellent Daimler Benz engines were standardised.

The main body of the book is a chronological sequence of operations by theatre, moving from the Norwegian campaign, Channel, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black Sea and back to the Channel and Baltic at the end of the war. Whilst very detailed in terms of which boats were deployed on which operations, from which base ports and under which commanders etc there is not much analysis of strategy or the human story of the crews. After a strong start I found that the book became a bit repetitive, it becomes a bit of a repetitive cycle of some S Boats laid some mines, some S Boats attacked a convoy, a flotilla moved from port A to port B etc. Clearly there is a need for this sort of chronicle of events, but because it is not balanced by some in depth analysis of what the boats were aiming to achieve, strategy and their successes and failures I found my interest waning.

The author does not seem to have a very high opinion of Karl Doenitz and notes his willingness to spend the lives of his men freely, at one point all but accusing the commander of S Boats, Rudolf Petersen, of cowardice on account of his unwillingness to throw the lives of his men away to no purpose. Petersen appears to have been a highly competent commander who combined a toughness and a willingness to take the fight to the enemy with a sense of caring for the lives of those he commanded.

The book closes rather abruptly with the end of the war, that may seem logical but it would have been nice to have a summary chapter which analysed the contribution made by the S Boats and an evaluation of their achievements (and otherwise). While this review may seem a little negative, I'd say that for anybody wanting a record of S Boat operations then this book is ideal. If rating it purely as a chronicle of events I'd probably give it five stars. The book contains photographs and illustrations which enhanced the book. One jarring error which made me raise an eye brow was stating that August 8th is Battle of Britain Day,confusing Eagle Day with Battle of Britain Day which of course is September 15.
13 people found this helpful
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