Synopses & Reviews
Since the start of the 20th Century there have been several thousand books published about submarines and on the order of a thousand discussing aircraft attacks on ships. The principal weapon of most of those submarine attacks and many of the aerial attacks--both by land- and carrier-based aircraft--was the torpedo. Indeed the torpedo and the mine share responsibility--by a large margin--for sinking more ships than those lost to gunfire and bombs over the past 100 years.
However, only a handful of these books have been about torpedoes. Ship Killers will fill that gap by discussing U.S. Navy torpedo development through the end of the Cold War. It begins with a brief description of the weapons developed for "submarines" prior to the beginning of the 20th Century--the efforts of Americans Bushnell and Fulton, the spar torpedo of the Civil War, and the U.S. Navy's attempts to imitate the Whitehead torpedo. Then, from the beginning of the 20th Century, the book will discuss American torpedo development in peace and during war, and their use--from submarines, surface warships and small combatants, and aircraft, including blimps and helicopters. The book will also covers the technologies and politics involved in torpedo development, and many unusual efforts to deliver torpedoes.
Synopsis
There have been many books published about submarine and aircraft attacks on ships. While the torpedo was the principal weapon of most of those submarine attacks and many of the aerial attacks, there are only a few books on this weapon. In this book, Thomas Wildenberg and Norman Polmar provide a definitive work on the development and use of the torpedo by the U.S. Navy. Their book begins with an overview of the early undersea weapons developed by Bushnell and Fulton, the spar torpedo of the Civil War and attempts to imitate the Whitehead torpedo, and then focuses on American torpedo development for use from submarines, surface warships and small combatants, and aircraft.
About the Author
Thomas Wildenberg is the author of three books on naval history and biographies on Joseph Reeves and Howard Hughes. He lives in Burtonsville, MD. Norman Polmar is the senior consultant for national security programs at Gryphon Technologies A resident of Alexandria, VA, he is the award-winning author of more than forty books.