America's U-Boats: Terror Trophies of World War I

by Chris Dubbs

Overview

The submarine was one of the most revolutionary weapons of World War I, inciting both terror and fascination for militaries and civilians alike. During the war, after U-boats sank the Lusitania and began daring attacks on shipping vessels off the East Coast, the American press dubbed these weapons “Hun Devil Boats,” “Sea Thugs,” and “Baby Killers.” But at the conflict’s conclusion, the U.S. Navy acquired six U-boats to study and to serve as war souvenirs. Until their destruction under armistice terms in 1921, these six U-boats served as U.S. Navy ships, manned by American crews. The ships visited eighty American cities to promote the sale of victory bonds and to recruit sailors, allowing hundreds of thousands of Americans to see up close the weapon that had so captured the public’s imagination.

In America’s U-Boats Chris Dubbs examines the legacy of submarine warfare in the American imagination. Combining nautical adventure, military history, and underwater archaeology, Dubbs shares the previously untold story of German submarines and their impact on American culture and reveals their legacy and Americans’ attitudes toward this new wonder weapon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803271661
Publisher:	Nebraska
Publication date:	11/01/2014
Series:	Studies in War, Society, and the Military
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Chris Dubbs is the director of grants at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. He has published five nonfiction books, including, with Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom, Realizing Tomorrow: The Path to Private Spaceflight (Nebraska, 2011).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The First U-Boats in America

2. They Are Here at Last

3. Fighting the U-Boats

4. Delivered into Allied Hands

5. Selling Bonds

6. The First Submarine on the Great Lakes

7. The Epic Voyage of UB-88

8. The Sinkings

9. Rediscovering the U-Boats

Epilogue

Appendix

Bibliographic Essay

Editorial Reviews

"[America's U-Boats is] a great tale of daring German and American submariners, the employment of innovative technology, and a curious American public."—Colonel John J. Abbatiello, Naval History

Naval History - Colonel John J. Abbatiello

"In America's U-Boats, Dubbs brings attention to the ships by skillfully weaving the history of American attitudes towards German U-boats into a straightforward yet suspenseful account of America's "terror trophies.""—Alanna Casey, Sea History

Sea History - Alanna Casey

"America's U-boats is an important book for naval warfare professionals and submariners."—William Bundy, Naval War College Review

Naval War College Review - William Bundy

“I couldn’t put this book down. America’s U-Boats is a fast-moving narrative, expertly crafted by a gifted writer, and it tells the story of an especially compelling forgotten chapter of the Great War and its aftermath.”—Steven Trout, author of On the Battlefield of Memory: The First World War and American Remembrance, 1919–1941

Steven Trout

"All those readers who are interested in submarines will find much to enjoy in America's U-boats."—Roger D. Cunningham, Journal of America's Military Past

Journal of America's Military Past - Roger D. Cunningham

"With a lively narrative and superb illustrations, this concise account of an unusual naval operation, and its strategic consequences, deserves a wide readership."—Simon Bellamy, Naval Review

Naval Review - Simon Bellamy

“Chris Dubbs addresses an overlooked area of World War I cultural history, American fascination with German submarines during and after the war when the United States used confiscated U-boats to sell war bonds. In this captivating book, Dubbs displays a keen sense of irony and compelling ability to tell a story.”—Celia M. Kingsbury, author of For Home and Country: World War I Propaganda on the Home Front

Celia M. Kingsbury

“In this excellent work Chris Dubbs offers an evocative portrait of how the German U-boat captured the American imagination in World War I, defining the Germans as a ruthless enemy in possession of superior military technology that both repulsed and fascinated Americans throughout the twentieth century.”—Jennifer D. Keene, author of Doughboys, the Great War and The Remaking of America

Jennifer D. Keene