U-boat commander - Softcover

Prien, Gunther

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0426035860 ISBN 13: 9780426035862

Publisher: Tandem (Universal-Tandem), 1969

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Royal Oak was one of the mightiest battleships of the British Navy although, prior to the start of the Second World War, it had been scheduled for retirement. Nonetheless, when it was sent to the bottom of the sea on 14 October 1939 the shock was felt thoughout Britain. How could it be vulnerable to attack when it lay inside the great naval base of Skapa Flow, ringed by defences that were believed, by the Royal navy, to be impregnable?

U-47, commanded by Gunther Prien, had found a way though the maze to the heart of the anchorage where the Royal Oak lay. Suddenly two torpedoes blew the mighty battleship apart and it capsized with the loss of over 800 men. In the mayhem that followed, Prien and his crew escaped unnoticed.

Gunther Prien went on to become, until his death in May 1941, the leading U-boat commander and was awarded Germany's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross - with the Oakleaves being awarded posthumously. U-Boat Commander is Prien's own account of his early life, his training for U-boat command in the early years of Hitler's Third Reich up to the sinking of the Royal Oak.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tandem (Universal-Tandem)
• Publication date: 1969
• ISBN 10: 0426035860
• ISBN 13: 9780426035862
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 159