Customer Reviews:
 Includes considerable detail. September 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It seems a great pity that this book has been let down on two important fronts. Firstly, there is no mention of the author whatsoever. Having gleaned what little information there was, it would appear she was a very good friend of Sid Woollcott DSM - one of the men who took part in, and was decorated for, his service in that branch of the Royal Navy responsible for clandestine underwater operations on chariots which resembled torpedoes.
Secondly, it would also appear that all the information required by both historians and those with an interest in the subject is all here - somewhere, but the manner in which it is published and the quality of the reproduced photographs and other images really is poor to say the least. Apart from most of the photographs being of very poor quality, there really is no point in reproducing historic documents in a format so small they are barely legible.
That said, this is an informative account of a select number of men who took their chariots to sea and attacked enemy shipping. The author takes the reader through various accounts leading up to WW2 by describing those "early days" and how this particular branch of the Royal Navy came into being. She then carefully, and quite skilfully, takes the reader on a journey through the events of WW2 commencing with the development and building of the equipment to training, the very first chariot attempt at sinking the Tirpitz and operations in the Mediterranean, Norway and the Far East.
With some fascinating insights provided in appendices covering such subjects as Italian equipment, Malta, the loss of P311 and more, this is a useful addition to the library of anyone with an overall interest in the subject.
It would seem that all the relevant information is included. With a far better job of publishing, respect for the photographs and other images and, most important of all, an appreciation of the author, this might easily have been a 5 star product.
NM
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