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Tailships

...Europe @ War 38, from Helion & Co

Title: Tailships
Author: John Rodgaard
Publisher: Helion & Co
ISBN: 978-1-914377-09-9

The Hunt for Submarines in the Mediterranean, 1970-1973, number 38 in the Europe at War series by Helion & Co. An 80-page soft-cover book in the usual style for this series.
At the heart of this story are 3 old US Navy Destroyers, the USS Courtney (DE-1021), USS Hammerberg (DE-1015) and USS Lester (DE-1022). These three ships comprised Escort Squadron 8, and while essentially obsolete, they were fitted with a new anti-submarine sensor. This new passive, towed array was officially known as ITASS, or Interim Towed Array Sensor System, known to their crews as 'tails'. The story is spread over 11 sections, and there are a few pages of colour artwork in the middle, with profiles of 2 of the ships and the various types of Soviet submarines that they were hunting for. Add to this plenty of maps, including some with the many tracks they made of Soviet submarines. As well as the detailed story of the three ships themselves, their crews, and their base in Naples, pretty much central in the Mediterranean. There are the wider strategic factors of the Cold War, between NATO and the Warsaw Pact and the developments that followed the success of these 3 small ships. With the growth in terrorism in the region while they were on station, plus the long running tensions on the Middle East, it all adds to the context of this valuable deployment. It also adds that when they were finally sent home, in 1973, they were decommissioned and scrapped in 1975. The various types of Soviet submarine featured include Charlie I, Victor I, Juliett and numerous Foxtrots. The sheer number of them employed in the Med may come as a surprise to many.
This is not a story I knew anything about before, but the battle against the large Soviet submarine fleet of the Cold War is a fascination to many, me included. While so many old films bring to mind the noise of the active pinging of sonar in detecting enemy submarines, this passive system added so much to the intelligence picture for commanders. Add plenty of archive images to the text and the artwork this is a really interesting read.
Thanks to Helion & Co for our review copy.

Robin

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