Allied shipping was in a desperate situation in 1942, as the Germans were building U-boats faster than the British and the Americans could sink them. By the summer of 1943, however, the tide had turned, and Germany had lost the strategic initiative in the Atlantic. This is the story of the great offensive that allowed the Western Allies to gain the upper hand in the Atlantic war. Morison describes the development of new weapons on both sides that revolutionised the art of antisubmarine warfare: acoustic torpedoes, guided missiles, the hedgehog, the snorkel, the airborne microwave radar, the sonobuoy, and the"huff-duff" or high-frequency direction-finder. With thrilling immediacy, he chronicles air attacks on U-boats in the Bay of Biscay, hunter-killer groups that protected escort carriers by hunting down wolf-packs of German submarines, skirmishes conducted by radar under cover of darkness and heavy fog, and the dramatic sinking of the Scharnhorst in the North Atlantic. Bristling with action as well as fascinating technical detail, Morison's account brilliantly conveys the interplay of suspense and surprise as first one side, then the other gained the advantage. About the Author Samuel Eliot Morison, an eminent Harvard professor, was appointed by close friend Franklin D. Roosevelt to write the history of U.S. naval operations during World War II after convincing the president that too many wartime histories were written after the fact or from a distance. Hailed for its accuracy, narrative pace, and detail, this monumental work presents a complete record of the U.S. Navy's war at sea, covering the strategic planning, battle tactics, and technological advances, as well as the heroic actions of American sailors.

About the Author
Samuel Eliot Morison taught history at Harvard from 1915 to 1955, except for active duty service in the Navy on board eleven different ships in all theaters of the war. In addition to this series, Rear Admiral Morison wrote many other popular and award-winning books on maritime history, including Two Ocean War. Morison, who died in 1976, was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, two Bancroft Prizes, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.


Book Information
ISBN 9781591145769
Author Samuel Eliot Morison
Format Paperback
Page Count 448
Imprint Naval Institute Press
Publisher Naval Institute Press