Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001

This was a great book for understanding the the paths the Soviets and the US took in their submarine designs. Of particular interest was the contrast between Rickover's micromanagement and dictatorship limiting the paths of innovation and the multiple design bureaus of the Soviets and their desire to find solutions both nuclear and non-nuclear to the American carrier and submarine threats.

The amount of information contained in the book surprised me. Having served in the U.S. Navy on a cold war submarine, I was told I could never talk about the technology associated with them, but here most of it was in this book. Fascinating reading about the subs my opposing countries were using. One of the better books I now have in my personal library.

I just received my copy of the long-awaited book "Cold War Submarines: US & Soviet Design & Construction" by Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore. I found I could not put it down, and it was well worth the wait. The authors spent years interviewing key figures and reading material from both sides of the Cold War. It starts just after the Second World War, and looks at each side's diesel and exotic propulsion plants and designs. Early submarine cruise missile and ballistic missile programs on both sides are detailed. In the section on submerged speed, the US Albacore and Skipjack class are highlighted, as is the early Soviet Papa class and the Alfa class. The book examines each generation of nuclear submarines, both attack and missile firing, on the two sides (US & Soviet). The design decisions and compromises made with each class are detailed. The text is complemented with some excellent photographs. Several but not all of the very good photos are familiar to those of us who have massive sub book collections, but will probably be new to most with "casual" submarine interests. There are newly drawn, superb line drawings of both US and Soviet submarines throughout the book, complete with some (non-classified) details of internal layouts. These drawings include some "might have been" designs. Such long sought after details as the 1960's CONFORM submarine, a truly remarkable design concept are covered, and there is a picture of a model of the submarine (now I can die in peace). This is the innovative Concept Formulation submarine that Rickover had killed in favor of the 688 class. In the process of killing the program, he ordered almost all details and documents on CONFORM destroyed. The book also delves into other fascinating topics on both sides, such mini-subs, special purpose submarines, and an amazing section on aircraft carrier submarines (with some unique line drawings!). The two "gold standard" books in submarine design history are Friedman's two volume account of US Submarines ("US Submarines through 1945" and "US Submarines since 1945") and Polmar's one volume "Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990". This book easily belongs with these other volumes. The overall production is extremely good, printed on glossy paper. On a scale of 1-10, I gave it a 15! (and I'm a harsh grader!)

Excellent. One of the best sources on 'Cold War' era (post WW2) submarines developed by the USa and The USSR, and a (not-surprising) testimony to the incredibly advancements made by Germany in its final 'Elektro-boots (the Types XXI and XXIII submarines), in that both nations used the XXI and the XXIII as basic starting points for building their own advanced submarine craft (one of the great things about defeating and plundering the Germans....you get high quality loot!).

Polmar has written many fine technical histories of Cold War and Military Industrial Complex topics. This one is especially nice with the proliferation of illustrations, diagrams and photographs including many photos from his own extensive collection. Given the enormous financial investment the Western Naval Powers and the Eastern Communist Bloc naval powers put into developing, crewing, maintaining these silent underwater deadly weapons, every taxpayer from all sides should learn about this subject.

As a Cold War submariner and former sonarman, I find this exhaustive study excellent reference material for my library. While we grouped all Soviet submarines (acoustically) by their shared propulsion systems, this book does so chronologically. The level of detail is more than adequate for anyone with an interest of not just how the US and Soviet submarine forces evolved, but why. At the time, the Soviets were more interested in quantity, while the USN relied on quality, construction, sensors, quieting, and training.

One of the three best books on the subject of sub design and history. You need this book!

Cold War Submarines is without doubt one of Norman Polmar's best books on US and Soviet submarine design and operations. I have several of Mr. Polmar's previous works on Soviet submarines: Guide to the Soviet Navy,Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990 and other's. This particular work has new data, interpretations of design, and operational information both for the US Navy and the Soviet Navy. I particullary liked the layout comparing and illustrating the generational designs by both nations. Submarine operations and design information are obscure and fairley hard to data to come by; Mr. Polmar has made the information available for both the historian and technical specialist. Well done!

Many books about submarine history only cover the same few general facts, they even seem to share the same list of factual errors. This book is a true exception. This book is extremely detailed and thorough, if you enjoy things from H I Sutton or the book Blind man's Bluff I think you'll find a great deal of value in this book also.

I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dougherty's enthusiastic reader review. The authors have put together a virtual encyclopedia on modern sub design and construction with real insight into what the subs were intended to do, and how some politicians and bureaucrats sabotaged the projects. I found particularly illuminating how each side of the Soviet-US conflict used the records and existing prototypes of Nazi Germany's U-Boat experiments. Baker's line drawings and diagrams are quite helpful in visualizing the boats, as are the ample photos of the real subs and scale models. This is a book to which I will return again and again whenever there is some news item about undersea naval competition.

This was a great book for understanding the the paths the Soviets and the US took in their submarine designs. Of particular interest was the contrast between Rickover's micromanagement and dictatorship limiting the paths of innovation and the multiple design bureaus of the Soviets and their desire to find solutions both nuclear and non-nuclear to the American carrier and submarine threats.

The amount of information contained in the book surprised me. Having served in the U.S. Navy on a cold war submarine, I was told I could never talk about the technology associated with them, but here most of it was in this book. Fascinating reading about the subs my opposing countries were using. One of the better books I now have in my personal library.

I just received my copy of the long-awaited book "Cold War Submarines: US & Soviet Design & Construction" by Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore. I found I could not put it down, and it was well worth the wait. The authors spent years interviewing key figures and reading material from both sides of the Cold War. It starts just after the Second World War, and looks at each side's diesel and exotic propulsion plants and designs. Early submarine cruise missile and ballistic missile programs on both sides are detailed. In the section on submerged speed, the US Albacore and Skipjack class are highlighted, as is the early Soviet Papa class and the Alfa class. The book examines each generation of nuclear submarines, both attack and missile firing, on the two sides (US & Soviet). The design decisions and compromises made with each class are detailed. The text is complemented with some excellent photographs. Several but not all of the very good photos are familiar to those of us who have massive sub book collections, but will probably be new to most with "casual" submarine interests. There are newly drawn, superb line drawings of both US and Soviet submarines throughout the book, complete with some (non-classified) details of internal layouts. These drawings include some "might have been" designs. Such long sought after details as the 1960's CONFORM submarine, a truly remarkable design concept are covered, and there is a picture of a model of the submarine (now I can die in peace). This is the innovative Concept Formulation submarine that Rickover had killed in favor of the 688 class. In the process of killing the program, he ordered almost all details and documents on CONFORM destroyed. The book also delves into other fascinating topics on both sides, such mini-subs, special purpose submarines, and an amazing section on aircraft carrier submarines (with some unique line drawings!). The two "gold standard" books in submarine design history are Friedman's two volume account of US Submarines ("US Submarines through 1945" and "US Submarines since 1945") and Polmar's one volume "Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990". This book easily belongs with these other volumes. The overall production is extremely good, printed on glossy paper. On a scale of 1-10, I gave it a 15! (and I'm a harsh grader!)

Excellent. One of the best sources on 'Cold War' era (post WW2) submarines developed by the USa and The USSR, and a (not-surprising) testimony to the incredibly advancements made by Germany in its final 'Elektro-boots (the Types XXI and XXIII submarines), in that both nations used the XXI and the XXIII as basic starting points for building their own advanced submarine craft (one of the great things about defeating and plundering the Germans....you get high quality loot!).

Polmar has written many fine technical histories of Cold War and Military Industrial Complex topics. This one is especially nice with the proliferation of illustrations, diagrams and photographs including many photos from his own extensive collection. Given the enormous financial investment the Western Naval Powers and the Eastern Communist Bloc naval powers put into developing, crewing, maintaining these silent underwater deadly weapons, every taxpayer from all sides should learn about this subject.

As a Cold War submariner and former sonarman, I find this exhaustive study excellent reference material for my library. While we grouped all Soviet submarines (acoustically) by their shared propulsion systems, this book does so chronologically. The level of detail is more than adequate for anyone with an interest of not just how the US and Soviet submarine forces evolved, but why. At the time, the Soviets were more interested in quantity, while the USN relied on quality, construction, sensors, quieting, and training.

One of the three best books on the subject of sub design and history. You need this book!

Cold War Submarines is without doubt one of Norman Polmar's best books on US and Soviet submarine design and operations. I have several of Mr. Polmar's previous works on Soviet submarines: Guide to the Soviet Navy,Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990 and other's. This particular work has new data, interpretations of design, and operational information both for the US Navy and the Soviet Navy. I particullary liked the layout comparing and illustrating the generational designs by both nations. Submarine operations and design information are obscure and fairley hard to data to come by; Mr. Polmar has made the information available for both the historian and technical specialist. Well done!

Many books about submarine history only cover the same few general facts, they even seem to share the same list of factual errors. This book is a true exception. This book is extremely detailed and thorough, if you enjoy things from H I Sutton or the book Blind man's Bluff I think you'll find a great deal of value in this book also.

I thoroughly agree with Mr. Dougherty's enthusiastic reader review. The authors have put together a virtual encyclopedia on modern sub design and construction with real insight into what the subs were intended to do, and how some politicians and bureaucrats sabotaged the projects. I found particularly illuminating how each side of the Soviet-US conflict used the records and existing prototypes of Nazi Germany's U-Boat experiments. Baker's line drawings and diagrams are quite helpful in visualizing the boats, as are the ample photos of the real subs and scale models. This is a book to which I will return again and again whenever there is some news item about undersea naval competition.

Love to read submarine titles and chose this one to get background on the time I served in US submarine force. Well written, lots of background info and well worth your time.

Touches on nearly every submarine project, concept or series produced, providing detailed cross sectional drawings and photographs. The cross sections are very informative, allowing you to glimpse the major philosophic differences in design between US and Soviet subs. And the accompanying text is exceedingly well researched. This is an absolute must-have for anyone interested in nuclear attack and ballistic missile submarines.

Ordered this as a gift for a Navy Submarine Veteran from the olden days. He loved it !! Fantastic, large size book with great pictures and all kinds of Tech Data on, "Enemy Subs" from the Evil Axis side. If you are a submarine enthusiast----get this book for your reference library at home. You will not be disappointed.

I knew about a Polmar from reading references in some papers, so I finally decided to give a try. I wasn't disappointed. There were lots of technical details giving an overview. Better yet, it is a balanced account - by no means are Americans portrayed as all powerful. If there were two things it can be improved on - well, one would be the placement of the endnotes. It is a matter of taste, but considering how many there were and how interesting they were, it might have been more convenient to have put them at the bottom of the main text as footnotes for each page. The second is that I would have killed for a chapter or two on "other than the equipment". Subs are not just their designers, their admirals and the technicals - it is also the men, their organization and their training. Polmar briefly goes over the differences, but it could have been given a full chapter or at least an Appendix if extra efficiency measures were applied to the pre-Cold War history stuff. Now, I'm going to buy another Polmar book that would hopefully fill up the gap. Wish me luck.

Excellent book. I read it through twice (including footnotes) and was very impressed with its completeness and accuracy. I worked on the design and testing of the main (propulsion) engines and turbo-generators of some of the later classes of nuclear submarines. Would recommend this volume to anyone interested in Cold War history even if they are not necessarily technically minded; it's written in plain easily to understand English.

Very good technical discussion of the designe philosophy of US and Soviet submarines and the capabilities of each variant.

EXCELLENT

Enjoyed this book very much, extra detail found in (for example) the "US Submarines" book was not especially missed. Flowed well, just a tiny bit of repetition. Only criticism is lack of at least a few cross sections, end elevations or plan views for modeling purposes. For the excellent Kindle price, though, I can wing it from the side elevations.

One of the best reference books that I've purchased yet .

Nice book,lots of stuff i did not even know about,and I thought I was a submarine expert.

My college student loves this book.

Loved the forward and 1st chapter, then my nephew picked it up while I was mowing the yard. Now he taunts me with his reviews of the book via email.

Excellent quality and service.

A good summary of the purpose and part performance of US and Soviet cold war submarines since WW II. Worth buying and/ or at least reading. Terry Jennrich

Comprehensive, medium-depth overview of the boats of both sides during the Cold War. Outstanding resource for becoming acquainted with the subject and as a jumping-off point for deep research. Highly recommended.

I used it when working a the USN sub tracking facility. Finally remembered to order it. As I am now retired and can spend time reflecting on my past work. It is an excellent source.

Mr. Polmar always writes good books

Fantastic

I've always been a fan of the history of military technology, especially ships and airplanes. It's a great read, I also learned a lot from it.

It was what I was looking for.

Great book for former and present submariners...

A great book to dip into to get the history on boat evolution. Easy to read and we'll illustrated.

Very informative

This book is a good buy for anyone looking for details about nuclear powered sumarine. It gives a good idea of the dimesions and weight.

My husband was aboard and served on two of these boats during his Naval career. We were very pleased with the book.

Seems to have used previous books he had written to supply the text and photos, not much new if you have the previous books.

I play the PC submarine warfare game, "Cold Waters" which is set in the Cold War and post-Cold War time frame. The game has all the USN nuclear submarine classes and Soviet/Russian counterparts. That got me interested in the history, policy decisions, and design philosophies that resulted in the types of submarines built by both navies. The book really provides the insight into what and why of the various submarines classes. One nugget I took away from the book was the SSN 688-Los Angeles class of attack submarines were built because that was the only design Admiral Hyman Rickover would support. There were alternatives, but they were shut out. The Soviets/Russians also had/have excellent designers, but the industrial capability to build complex submarines to high quality tolerances frequently wasn't there and the boats and crews suffered accordingly. Also the fact that many of the Soviet/Russian crew members were enlisted draftees with minimal training, contributed to a much higher accident rate on their subs compared to US boats. Highly recommend this book if you have any interest in the subject. It ends with the USN Seawolf and Virginia classes and the Russian Project 885 Yasen/Severodvinsk and Project 955 Borei.

In my opinion, this is the best book available on the subject. The information on Soviet submarines is based on direct interviews Norman Polmar had with Russian / Soviet submarine designers and on articles and books published in the Russian Federation in the 1990s Another book that contains much information on Soviet ballistic and cruise missile submarines is "Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces" by Podvig and Hippel (2004). Chapter 5 "Naval Strategic Nuclear Forces" (pages 235 -337) describes the development of Soviet submarines and their associated missile armaments.

Every now and then a new naval reference book comes along and genuinely fascinates and impresses me. "Cold War Submarines" is one of those rare books. I've read it three times and learned something new each time. Relying heavily on material unearthed and declassified after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this book details the parallel development of both superpowers' submarine fleets, and the political realities, engineering breakthroughs, and naval strategies that shaped their creation. During the Cold War, the US and USSR built 936 submarines, 401 of them nuclear powered, and this book manages to tell the story of their design and development in a surprisingly readable and compelling manner. I'd put off buying this book for some time, intimidated by the price tag and fearing it would be a dry technical history. My fears were unfounded; you don't actually have to be a naval architect to enjoy this book! As much as I enjoy Norman Friedman's design histories on American submarines, they are very dense, technical works. "Cold War Submarines" smooths out some of the "rough edges," although it's still definitely a book for serious submarine buffs. The book begins with the end of World War II, with chapters on postwar diesel and closed cycle propulsion submarines. It then proceeds to cover the entire history of Cold War submarine design in roughly chronological order, with each chapter focusing on a particular topic (i.e., "High Speed Submarines," "Advanced Diesel Submarines"), with most chapters describing both American and Russian developments in that field. A.D. Baker III, provides more than 70 cross-section drawings, and the rest of the book is illustrated with cleanly reproduced black and white photographs. Despite it's length, this is a very tightly edited, logically arranged book, without any serious fat or fluff to be found. The main draw of this book is the large number of submarine designs described within that never got off the drawing board. On the US side, these include the Boeing AN-1, a submersible aircraft carrier which would have carried ramjet-powered fighters in converted Regulus missile hangars, the CONFORM submarine axed by Hyman Rickover, and a real-life flying submarine which made it to the model stage before being cancelled. For the Russians, these include an early variant of the November-class armed with a single massive nuclear torpedo, a submarine LST which could carry 470 troops or up to 20 AFVs, and a small-scale version of the Victor-class with a revolutionary sail-less hull. "Cold War Submarines" is a goldmine for anyone seriously interested in submarine design or the naval history of the Cold War. There's a lot of fascinating material on Soviet submarine design here, and much to my relief, it's not a stuffy, stodgy affair in the slightest. My only regret is not buying the hardcover edition - I'm not sure if my paperback will hold up to a fourth, fifth, and sixth reading!

Well written and entertaining, a complete catalog of the Cold War tensions, technology, people and design decisions (good and bad).

I sought a book with a serious overview of the topic of Cold War submarines, and not a book about one or another aspect of the topic. I ended up with a book that contains both an excellent overview as well as serious discussion of specific submarines, strategies, technologies and the men behind the scenes. The story is well placed within the historical context of the political, military and economical events and processes of the Cold War. The text is well written and well structured. Especially fascinating is the look behind the scenes of Soviet submarine design, construction and operations - those were among the best-kept secrets of the Soviet Union. Besides dealing with "main stream" submarines, there are several interesting chapters about different experimental projects; rescue submarines and several fantasy projects, like freight vessels and aircraft carrying submarines. Although the story is focused on the Cold War period, there is a detailed discussion of WWII technology that highly influenced Cold War designs, as well as descriptions of post Cold War vessels and fleets. The book is well illustrated with photographs and line drawings.

A real keeper by the best Navy author

EXCELLENT.

I JUSTE rECEIVED THIS BOOK !! AND IT'S THE BEST BOOK I EVER READ ON SUBMARINE, IT SHOW EVERY SUBMARINE PROTOTYPE AND PROJECT OF US NAVY AND SOVIET !!! BUY IT !!

just great for a retired navy submariner.

submarine design is, by nature of the beast, unique. Mr. Palmer does some masterful work with this book, some of the intricate details are a little vague but worth the read.

Good arrived well taken care.

This one of the best cold war reference books I'm read in quite a while. Learn not only the details, but the how and why of Soviet and US submarines. I highly recommend this book for your military collection.

Great book on Russian Submarines.

It unveils both russian and US design. Good and bad solutions are well depicted. Why they took different paths toward the nuclear sub development.

If you like technical explanations on how these ships (boats) are designed and built this is a great book. All of Polmars's books of this type are must haves.

Excellent book, with a lot of interesting information, and easy to read too (even for a non-native English speaking person). There is so much information in there that sometimes you feel a little bit overwhelmed by it. But then you always have the option of re-reading the book to get what you missed first time out... Recommended reading for anyone interested in the subject.

In light of the previously posted shining reviews on this text, I suppose there is not much more to be said, but I felt compelled to bolster what has already been written. This book is, along with Norman Friedman's US Submarines since 1945, without question, among the definetive works on submarines of this period. Outstandingly researched and presented. Do not hesitate to buy this book. Top notch.

Not as many actual pix of subs as most books but it is very well written and also dabbles into the politics and design that went on with each new design of submarine. Nice charts and missile specs and things like that. Goes into greater detail of the US boats more than Soviet.

This material is really good... An impressive source of information about de development process of US and Soviet submarine. This work left behind the traditional american military propaganda and let us know the very good machines the soviet had. I highly recommend it...

Livre très complet, retracant chronologiquement le développement des sous-marins dès les années 50. Destiné aux amateurs (avertis). Noumbreuses photos et plans. Un gros + : les plans de certainsprojets aussi extravagants qu'intéressants . Recommandé vivement.

This is a fantastic book if you are interested in design and production of modern submarines. The US Nuclear Submarines Programme chapter is terribly interesting. The peculiarity of this chapter is that it delves into the details of the technical choices and technical issues faced by the designers when developing different projects (different reactors design and coolants and associated technical challenges: noise reduction, vibrations, running costs and reliability). In the same book you can find very rare and detailed photos. Highly recommended book if you are interested in naval history, submarine design and evolution and nuclear propulsion.

For anyone interested in the design and development of post war submarines by the two largest navies in the world this book is a must. It is always difficult to obtain hard facts on this most secretive of weapons and particularly how successful or otherwise they were something that almost all navies will not comment on. For instance it was fascinating to read for the first time that America's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilas, was almost unusable due to the tremendous internal noise that it generated and the subsequent stress that it placed on the crew. An excellent book.

For anyone interested in the subject of submarines in the Cold War this has to be required reading and an essential reference. Concise, detailed and authoritative my only criticism is that I would have liked it to have included British Submarines that although have always been a small force, worked closely with the Americans and had an influence far more than their small numbers would suggest.

A superb volume by this prolific author who knows his subject. Plenty of excellent images and line drawings of the submarines and answers many of the questions about the Cold War beneath the waves. A must for the bookshelf of anyone interested in the Cold War.

Awesome book with a lots of technical details. Unfortunately it arrived damaged, it was a christmas gift.

Good book if you want lots of technical details.