In the original dustsheet. Black cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

• F.B.A. provides an in-depth photographic presentation of this item to stimulate your feeling and touch. More traditional book descriptions are immediately available.                       

On 12 August 1943, Lieutenant-Commander I. J. Galantin took command of the fleet submarine USS Halibut on Midway Island. For the next fourteen months, Galantin and his officers and crew would play their part in the Silent Service’s unrelenting attack on Japan’s navy and merchant marine. But it was in Luzon Strait in November 1944 that the submarine and its crew underwent their greatest ordeal, recounted here by Galantin. Detected and driven down while attacking a decoy, Halibut was subjected to an assault of appalling ferocity. Badly damaged by more than 250 depth charges, her position known to her attackers, and with key equipment out of commission, the crippled submarine and crew endured hours of desperate manoeuvring and helpless waiting before the enemy finally gave up and the grievously mauled Halibut managed to surface and reach safety. The Halibut never sailed again.

Review: This book by I.J. Galantin was a great book to read! I am an avid reader of WWII books – especially Navy and submarine history. This is an excellent account of what it was like to skipper a submarine in the Pacific in WWII. He begins with a brief account of his training, then launches right into details of his experiences aboard the submarine USS Halibut. Especially riveting are the accounts of being depth charged during several battles. Galantin’s book also provides an insight into things that were going wrong with various weapons and systems in submarines. These details give the reader some insight into why the U.S. submarine service did not fare well in the aspect of casualties! His writing on these elements are not overly detailed, so the reader can easily understand them. He says he wrote this book for all the sailors who served on the Halibut and did not know anything about what went on in other areas of the ship during battle. What he also does is give readers who weren’t there a great narrative of WWII submarine warfare! I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in submarines, World War II, or naval history. Once I started reading it I couldn’t stop!