The Winning Edge: Naval Technology in Action, 1939-1945

In this surprisingly lively approach to recording the impact of technology on the war at sea, Kenneth Poolman follows comprehensive descriptions of each new technical development with dramatic examples of its use in action. To combat the savage campaign mounted by German submarines and surface raiders to keep vital supplies from the Allies, Allied navies deployed new weapons like ASDIC (sonar), RDF (radar), high frequency direction-finding, forward-firing mortars, and rocket projectiles, all thoroughly examined by the author along with the U-boats' use of acoustic torpedoes, Schnorkel tubes to breathe underwater, radio-controlled missiles, and supersonic undersea detectors in a war that became a conflict of technologies. This book also covers the use of radar in the Pacific against the Japanese “long lance“ torpedoes and shows how U.S. submarines overcame their own faulty torpedoes to decimate enemy shipping, and how carrier airpower, controlled by multichannel high-frequency radio, dominated surface actions. He details the development and use of sensitive listening stations that relayed enemy messages to cryptographers. The special amphibious craft that put troops ashore in all theaters are included in the book as well.