A Tale of Two Subs
An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships,
and Extraordinary Heroism
Jonathan J. McCullough
Reviewed by Joan Johnston
I'm not a historian, but I've been fascinated by the sea battles fought in World War II ever since I first saw Midway and In Harm's Way, two movies that address the naval war in the Pacific. I've also seen Run Silent, Run Deep and the more current submarine movies — K-19, the Widowmaker comes to mind — that focus on the rigors and dangers of the submarine service. I've read W.E.B. Griffin's World War II fiction series, which addresses the breaking of Japanese codes by the Americans. So a great deal of the information on code-breaking and defective detonators on torpedoes and their effects on the submarine war in Jonathan J. McCullough's A TALE OF TWO SUBS wasn't new to me.
I'm sure there's a connection between USS Sculpin and USS Sailfish, but that connection doesn't seem to be the focus of this book. The adventures of the Sculpin and the Sailfish merely provide a context for McCullough to discuss the amazing ability of the American code-breakers to determine where the Japanese navy would be and when, and the frustration of sub commanders when they were there and could have sunk Japanese ships — except their torpedoes malfunctioned.
What McCullough was able to do that made this book easy and informative reading, was to put a human face on these events. His depiction of depth charge attacks are vivid and terrifying. What I found most profound in this book is the resistance of the naval bureaucracy to admitting to problems with the detonation of torpedoes, despite reports from submariners that the problems existed. The same naval bureaucracy resisted development of escape vehicles for submarines. McCullough gave several examples that demonstrate that if you make waves in the navy, you're liable to sink your own ship.
I would love for everyone in the modern navy to read this book — and learn from it.
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Barnes&Noble About the Reviewer:
Joan Johnston is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of 47 novels and novellas with over 10 million copies of her books in print. Joan has a B.A. and M.A. in Theater and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She has been a director of theater, drama critic, newspaper editor, college professor and attorney on her way to becoming a full-time author. Joan splits her time between homes in Florida and Colorado.
For more about Joan visit www.joanjohnston.com.
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