“A brilliant history of the USA’s underwater exploits,” filled with photos (Books Monthly)

In 1900, the US Navy took its first submarine, the Holland VI, into service. With a single torpedo tube, it had a crew of six, weighed eighty-two tons, and traveled submerged at 6.2mph at a depth of up to seventy-five feet.

Contrast this to the 18 Ohio Class nuclear-powered submarines that entered service in 1981. Weighing 21,000 tons with a crew of 155, its underwater speed is estimated at thirty mph at a depth of some one thousand feet. It carries sixteen nuclear warhead ballistic missiles with a range of 4,600 miles.

This photographic history in the Images of War series provides detailed insight into the many US Navy submarine classes. Particularly fascinating is the post Second World War program of nuclear powered submarines starting with the Nautilus and progressing to the Skate, Thresher, Sturgeon, Los Angeles, and George Washington. Admiral Hyman G Rickover’s role as father of the nuclear navy is also examined in detail.