The full story of the design and development of the German attack U-boats written by a renowned expert in the field.
Jak P. Mallmann Showell Book order






- 2022
- 2022
Unique combined account of the Battle of the Atlantic from both the German and British viewpoints
- 2020
The full story of the design and development of the German attack U-boats written by a renowned expert in the field. The book explains each key crew position and their respective roles.
- 2018
Hitler's "wonder" U-boats
- 312 pages
- 11 hours of reading
Launched during the last days of the Third Reich in an attempt to restart the Battle of the Atlantic, the majority of the revolutionary Electro-U-boats never saw action. Instead, they became the forebears of the Cold War's much dreaded hunter-killer submarines. Slotted in among the highly technical information in the German U-boat Museum were some fascinating personal logbook annotations from men who served in these boats. These non-technical, human anecdotes form the core of this book. Rather than compiling a technical treatise, Hitler's 'Wonder' U-Boats makes maximum use of the personal accounts to tell the human story of how this new generation of submarines went to war under the incredibly harsh conditions that prevailed at the time. Accompanied by more than 100 images, this unique operational information is mirrored with similar reports from conventional snorkel-fitted U-boats, which were at sea at about the same time, to provide a good comparison with earlier types. The result is a work that makes it easy to appreciate the improvements that were made in such an incredibly short period of time to place the Electro-U-boat among the great technical achievements of the 20th century.
- 2015
This collection of first-hand accounts of Hitler's meetings with his Navy commanders-in-chief is essential for anyone interested in World War II naval history. The papers collected in this volume cover six years of meetings about topics like the invasion of Norway, the planned invasion of Britain, the sinking of the Bismarck, and the landings at Normandy. These reports provide an intimate understanding of Axis command, and they give insight into the thinking behind German naval strategies during some of the greatest battles of World War II.
- 2014
During the WWII the Arctic saw an unusually high intensity of action, adventure, excitement and tragedy. This book describes the German military activities in that frozen hell. Based mainly on original logs the bare facts have been fleshed out with help from veterans and researchers from the USA, Iceland, Britain, Norway, Germany and Russia.
- 2013
This is the definitive book on German naval bases during the Second World War written by a world expert. The author interviewed thousands of veterans over a forty-year period while researching this book, and the book is lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs from the period.
- 2009
Synonymous with such infamous battleships as the 'Bismarck', 'Scharnhorst' and 'Tirpitz', the German Navy (or Reichsmarine) was renamed the Kriegsmarine in 1935, shortly after the emergence of the Nazi State, and went through a major re-organization in 1939. During the Second World War, it became a much-feared adversary both on and beneath the high seas, with its marauding U-boat 'wolf packs' coming close to defeating Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic. Jak Showell examines the different roles of the Fleet, and its organization and training activities during the war years. Incidents and operations are described, together with technical data for ships, U-boats and their weaponry. A guide to German Navy uniforms and insignia is included, together with full details of rank structure and specialist trades.
- 2009
Hitler's navy
- 223 pages
- 8 hours of reading
Despite being heavily outnumbered by the navies of Great Britain and the United States, the German navy proved to be a serious adversary. Its major warships posed a constant threat to the Allied shipping lanes, and its U-boats in the North Atlantic threatened the very liberation of Europe. This important work explains why Hitler's navy was such a potent force. An indispensable guide to the ships, organization, command and rank structure, and leaders of the Kriegsmarine, the book's detailed text studies the navy from World War I to the collapse of the U-boat offensive and the demise of the Third Reich. More than 350 photos, many never before published, along with maps and diagrams, story updates and expands the author's 1979 title, The German Navy in World War Two, for a new generation of readers.
- 2006
The U-boat century
- 256 pages
- 9 hours of reading
The U-boat was one of the most potent weapons of the 20th century. This book explains how it was developed and designed and then deployed to wreak havoc in European waters and further afield in the Atlantic and the Far East. It looks behind the scenes at the men who built and fought in them. It is for the modern naval historians and enthusiasts.