Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001
Reviews (72)
Provides a real insight in to the reasons for the different types of Soviet submarines
This was a great book for understanding the the paths the Soviets and the US took in their submarine designs. Of particular interest was the contrast between Rickover's micromanagement and dictatorship limiting the paths of innovation and the multiple design bureaus of the Soviets and their desire to find solutions both nuclear and non-nuclear to the American carrier and submarine threats.
Fantastic detail about the submarines in the Cold War era.
The amount of information contained in the book surprised me. Having served in the U.S. Navy on a cold war submarine, I was told I could never talk about the technology associated with them, but here most of it was in this book. Fascinating reading about the subs my opposing countries were using. One of the better books I now have in my personal library.
Outstanding look at submarine technical history
I just received my copy of the long-awaited book "Cold War Submarines: US & Soviet Design & Construction" by Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore. I found I could not put it down, and it was well worth the wait. The authors spent years interviewing key figures and reading material from both sides of the Cold War. It starts just after the Second World War, and looks at each side's diesel and exotic propulsion plants and designs. Early submarine cruise missile and ballistic missile programs on both sides are detailed. In the section on submerged speed, the US Albacore and Skipjack class are highlighted, as is the early Soviet Papa class and the Alfa class. The book examines each generation of nuclear submarines, both attack and missile firing, on the two sides (US & Soviet). The design decisions and compromises made with each class are detailed. The text is complemented with some excellent photographs. Several but not all of the very good photos are familiar to those of us who have massive sub book collections, but will probably be new to most with "casual" submarine interests. There are newly drawn, superb line drawings of both US and Soviet submarines throughout the book, complete with some (non-classified) details of internal layouts. These drawings include some "might have been" designs. Such long sought after details as the 1960's CONFORM submarine, a truly remarkable design concept are covered, and there is a picture of a model of the submarine (now I can die in peace). This is the innovative Concept Formulation submarine that Rickover had killed in favor of the 688 class. In the process of killing the program, he ordered almost all details and documents on CONFORM destroyed. The book also delves into other fascinating topics on both sides, such mini-subs, special purpose submarines, and an amazing section on aircraft carrier submarines (with some unique line drawings!). The two "gold standard" books in submarine design history are Friedman's two volume account of US Submarines ("US Submarines through 1945" and "US Submarines since 1945") and Polmar's one volume "Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990". This book easily belongs with these other volumes. The overall production is extremely good, printed on glossy paper. On a scale of 1-10, I gave it a 15! (and I'm a harsh grader!)
How German Third Reich technology ended up contributing to both sides during the subsequent cold war.
Excellent. One of the best sources on 'Cold War' era (post WW2) submarines developed by the USa and The USSR, and a (not-surprising) testimony to the incredibly advancements made by Germany in its final 'Elektro-boots (the Types XXI and XXIII submarines), in that both nations used the XXI and the XXIII as basic starting points for building their own advanced submarine craft (one of the great things about defeating and plundering the Germans....you get high quality loot!).
Cold War Submarine Essentials
Polmar has written many fine technical histories of Cold War and Military Industrial Complex topics. This one is especially nice with the proliferation of illustrations, diagrams and photographs including many photos from his own extensive collection. Given the enormous financial investment the Western Naval Powers and the Eastern Communist Bloc naval powers put into developing, crewing, maintaining these silent underwater deadly weapons, every taxpayer from all sides should learn about this subject.
The undersea Cold War was hotter than published accounts (thus far).
As a Cold War submariner and former sonarman, I find this exhaustive study excellent reference material for my library. While we grouped all Soviet submarines (acoustically) by their shared propulsion systems, this book does so chronologically. The level of detail is more than adequate for anyone with an interest of not just how the US and Soviet submarine forces evolved, but why. At the time, the Soviets were more interested in quantity, while the USN relied on quality, construction, sensors, quieting, and training.
Buy it because you need this book!
One of the three best books on the subject of sub design and history. You need this book!
Polmar's Best
Cold War Submarines is without doubt one of Norman Polmar's best books on US and Soviet submarine design and operations. I have several of Mr. Polmar's previous works on Soviet submarines: Guide to the Soviet Navy,Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990 and other's. This particular work has new data, interpretations of design, and operational information both for the US Navy and the Soviet Navy. I particullary liked the layout comparing and illustrating the generational designs by both nations. Submarine operations and design information are obscure and fairley hard to data to come by; Mr. Polmar has made the information available for both the historian and technical specialist. Well done!
A very high detail historical reference.
Many books about submarine history only cover the same few general facts, they even seem to share the same list of factual errors. This book is a true exception. This book is extremely detailed and thorough, if you enjoy things from H I Sutton or the book Blind man's Bluff I think you'll find a great deal of value in this book also.
Covers Much More than the Title indicates
I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dougherty's enthusiastic reader review. The authors have put together a virtual encyclopedia on modern sub design and construction with real insight into what the subs were intended to do, and how some politicians and bureaucrats sabotaged the projects. I found particularly illuminating how each side of the Soviet-US conflict used the records and existing prototypes of Nazi Germany's U-Boat experiments. Baker's line drawings and diagrams are quite helpful in visualizing the boats, as are the ample photos of the real subs and scale models. This is a book to which I will return again and again whenever there is some news item about undersea naval competition.
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