Type XXI U-Boat

This is the fourth book in the truly excellent "Anatomy of the Ship" series which I have been asked to study and review. Whilst I was already familiar with the Type VII U-Boat, this was not the case with the Type XXI - so I had to do some additional research into the vessel before embarking on this review - which, incidentally, refers to the new "revised" edition of the book produced in late 2002. As with the V1 and V2 rockets, the Type XXI U-Boat was, much needed by Germany in the closing stages of World War Two but arrived too late to save them from defeat. It was an all-electric submarine and the closest it came to serious warfare was when U-2511 - having already received the order to cease hostilities, carried out a successful mock attack on a heavily defended British Cruiser without being detected. As the book quite rightly asserts, had this weapon appeared a few years earlier, the fierce battle of the Atlantic might have had a very different outcome. Conway Maritime Press are well known for their "Anatomy of the Ship" series in which they provide the finest technical documentation for specific ships or ship types ever published. "The Type XXI U-Boat" is hard-back measuring 10¼" (wide) x 9¾" with 127 pages of detailed and factual information. This wide format allows the publishers to produce first class detailed line drawings of every aspect of the ship in a size that is easy to see and follow. All the information is right there. Commencing with a potted history of how the type XXI came into being, we are then treated to a series of "Tables" which provide us with such technical details as; Design particulars, weights, boats delivered and commissioned and what happened after the war. This is followed by a chapter entitled "Construction" in which the publishers have reproduced 10 pages of stunning historic photographs - some of which still show their post-war classification of "Confidential." After a short chapter on the SU and CHG underwater detection equipment we are then treated to another 36 pages of historic photographs - showing almost every aspect of this type of vessel, before coming to 69 pages of detailed line drawings. And once again, the information is very technical, very detailed and, by all accounts, very accurate. Under the first main heading "General arrangement and external appearance" we have drawing after drawing showing every aspect of the Type XXI in 1944 itemising each of the slight changes made as the vessel evolved throughout the planning and design process. Not only is the entire hull shown in both elevation, plan and cross-section, there are individual close-ups showing different aspects of the bridge layout and deck gun configurations. Then everything is repeated for the internal features both longitudinally and by cross section before concluding with a close examination of the conning tower and Junkers air compressor. Finally the book includes the internal arrangements and main deck plans of the "Wilhelm Bauer" - the only Type XXI submarine to have been restored and which is on display in Bremerhaven. Like it's sister book on the Type VII U-Boat, this is not about what this or that specific vessel achieved - although they do all get a mention. As the title suggests, this is a book about the design and construction of a "Type" of ship and, yet again, I find myself congratulating both the authors and publishers for a job well done.