Final Patrol: True Stories of World War II Submarines by Don Keith

Final Patrol: True Stories of World War II Submarines Reviews

• 
  Kenneth McKinley

  Sixteen US and one German U-boat is all the submarines from World War II that we have preserved in various locations around the country. In Final Patrol, Don Keith gives us a brief history of each sub and details how they came to escape the scrap yard and become museum pieces for us to be able to appreciate. You can tell that Keith has a love affair with these vintage machines and their history and it shows in his writing. This propels Final Patol from being a bloated tourist pamphlet to an interesting book that you can read alone or use it as an accompaniment to planning vacations to see these wonderful examples of military might from a bygone era. The down side is that not all of the submarines from the era that are on display have an interesting history. Many of them were simply launched too late at the end of the war to see much or any fighting at all. While this doesn't diminish what they are, it does make for some dry reading if you were expecting to read exciting tales for each one of the subs. Final patrol is still a solid read and I'll be visiting my third sub on the list next month in Hawaii.
  
  
• 
  John

  As the author points out at the beginning of the book, submarine warfare was largely missed because their efforts were generally invisible. There were no flags planted at their victories an no lines on maps moved with their successes.
  
  The book is seventeen brief biographies of submarines, generally in the Pacific theatre. There are lots of exciting and heroic stories. Each story ends with the story to preserve the subs in various museums.
• 
  Ray Savarda

  Mostly stories about the last patrols of submarines that are now on display somewhere in the US. Not all of them are all that engaging. For sure, some good stories, esp the one about the German U505 and how it was captured intact by the US and was a goldmine of secret code data.
• 
  Richard

  Considering that I work on board one of the boats described in this book, I found it quite interesting.
  
  The book begins with an overview of submarine actions during the Second World War, and then delves into the histories of the old fleet submarines that are currently museums in the United States. If you are very well versed in submarine history and lingo, these stories may seem to be lacking the level of detail that other books might. However, it does a wonderful job highlighting the surviving ships and explaining their relevance to those who haven't already studied naval history in depth.
  
  My one gripe is an accuracy issue - the author has made some errors when referring to post war modifications, specifically a confusion between having a snorkel installed, the GUPPY modification program, and Fleet Snorkels. For the casual reader, this does not detract from the story.
• 
  Jim Foley

  For anyone who loves submarines as much as I do, this book is a must-read.
  
  There are 16 World War II submarines on diplay and open to the public in various locations around the US. This book documents the exploits of each of them, both during the war and afterwards, including the fight to save them for future generations to appreciate.
  
  The author has combined information gleaned from officical Navy records with interviews with the remaining veterans who served aboard them to produce a fascinating history of each boat.
  
  The book also serves as a guide to the locations of each boat, for someone who intends to visit each one.
  
  As I do.
• 
  James Yong

  This book is a gripping account of the notable exploits of the sixteen surviving plunging boats that you can go and visit today!
  
  Don has done a great job researching and compiling stories that provide an albeit small window into the lives of these brave men who manned these engineering marvels. For a lay-person like me, the stories helped me to visualise the stress and almost inhumane conditions the sub sailors of the past had to work in to pull off these amazing stunts.
  
  This book is well worth a read if you want to hear at least a few stories of how sub sailors and their surface brethren turned the tide of war
• 
  Bill Subalusky

  An interesting and insightful look at World War 2 from the submarine perspective. Gives away just a little of the secrets of the silent service. An excellent read for anyone interested in US submarines.