E-Boat Alert: Defending the Normandy Invasion Fleet

E-Boat Alert: Defending the Normandy Invasion Fleet
by: James F. Tent (Author)
Publisher: Naval Inst Pr
Publication Date: 1996/1/1
Language: English
Print Length: 286 pages
ISBN-10: 1557508054
ISBN-13: 9781557508058
Book Description
Combining newly released top-secret Admiralty reports, rare photographic materials, and extensive interviews with eyewitnesses from three nations, James Tent has produced a comprehensive study of a little-known episode of World War II - the campaign to defend the Normandy invasion fleet from Germany's high-performance motor torpedo boats or Schnellboote, known to the Allies as "E-boats." Besides presenting a detailed account of naval operations at a crucial stage of the war in Europe, this history integrates many facets of modern warfare: the development of fast coastal craft; the creation of precision bombing units; the interaction of naval, air, and ground forces among both the Allies and the Germans; the harnessing of science and technology to meet changing military needs; and the use of various forms of intelligence - cryptanalysis, prisoner interrogation, photoreconnaissance, and photo-interpretation. While tracing these important technical considerations, the study also examines the human dimension of the forces arrayed against each other. In addition, it offers historical precedents for weapons and warships in which there is now renewed interest, namely, deep-penetration bombs and high-speed coastal combatants.
About the Author
Combining newly released top-secret Admiralty reports, rare photographic materials, and extensive interviews with eyewitnesses from three nations, James Tent has produced a comprehensive study of a little-known episode of World War II - the campaign to defend the Normandy invasion fleet from Germany's high-performance motor torpedo boats or Schnellboote, known to the Allies as "E-boats." Besides presenting a detailed account of naval operations at a crucial stage of the war in Europe, this history integrates many facets of modern warfare: the development of fast coastal craft; the creation of precision bombing units; the interaction of naval, air, and ground forces among both the Allies and the Germans; the harnessing of science and technology to meet changing military needs; and the use of various forms of intelligence - cryptanalysis, prisoner interrogation, photoreconnaissance, and photo-interpretation. While tracing these important technical considerations, the study also examines the human dimension of the forces arrayed against each other. In addition, it offers historical precedents for weapons and warships in which there is now renewed interest, namely, deep-penetration bombs and high-speed coastal combatants. Read more