COLD WAR SUBMARINES: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines

Sea Power, May 2004 by Munns, David W

COLD WAR SUBMARINES: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines by Norman Polmar and K.J. Moore, Dulles, Va.: Brassey's, March 2004. 336 pp. $60.00 ISBN: 1-57488-594-4

The plausibility of submarines tmed with ballistic missiles close to shore was perhaps the greatest impetus for the development of undersea fleets for Soviet and U.S. navies. It certainly was the catalyst for a new U.S. posture during the 45-year Cold War period. Throughout this conflict, both navies developed submarines to collect intelligence and confront and destroy enemy surface ships upon command. Ballistic-missile submarines were developed to demolish opposing homeland targets. Eventually, submarines emerged as the most potent nuclear threat for the Americans and Soviets.

Norman Polmar, who has served as a consultant to Congress, three secretaries of the Navy and two chiefs of naval operations, and has authored more than 30 books, and K.J. Moore, founder of the Cortana Corp., a high-technology applications firm concerned with submarine development, trace the history, technology and development of submarines during the Cold War and link it to key elements of the conflict in a new book, Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U. S. and Soviet Submarines. The book comprises information collected through interviews and correspondence with dozens of academics, designers, engineers, and members of various institutions and agencies in Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States.

Although inspired by similar threats, American and Soviet submarine fleets diverged in technology and strategy during the Cold War. Polmar and Moore point to the variance in naval missions, priorities, industrial competence and management to account for the differing outcomes in submarine design. They trace the emergence of the "highly centralized, authoritarian organization" of the U.S. Navy, contrasting this to the overextended bureaucracy developing Soviet submarines.

Polmar and Moore cite that "the United States and the Soviet Union put to sea a combined total of 936 submarines, of which 401 were nuclear propelled," during the Cold War period of 1945-91. However, the Soviet Union was far more aggressive in its development of these vessels, and "the emphasis on undersea craft continued after the 1970s, when major efforts were undertaken to construct large surface warships, including nuclear-propelled missile cruisers and aircraft carriers."

The book is a complete history of submarines during the Cold War period and is highlighted by explanatory line drawings, tables and many previously unpublished photographs. Cold War Submarines is a compelling reference material and chronology of submarine designs as well as a look at the radically different approaches of the two competing superpowers.