Submarine Diary / USS Sculpin SS-191 / Admiral Corwin Mendenhal, USN Ret. / Submarine Book Store

When news came of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), fleet submarine USS Sculpin (SS-191), stationed at Manila in the Philippines, quickly put out to sea in search of enemy ships. Her junior ensign in charge of torpedoes, Corwin Mendenhall, made seven patrols aboard Sculpin in the south and western Pacific. His next duty came with the submarine USS Pintado (SS-387). And with Pintado came four more World War II patrols against the Japanese. Not long after Mendanhall left Sculpin, the boat was lost in November 1943. "Submarine Diary" is the true story of those dangerous war patrols. No other book on the undersea war against the Imperial Japanese Navy provides as vivid and detailed account of what serving aboard a fleet submarine required. Along with the perils of vulnerability to instant attack by air or sea at any time, until well into the war U.S. submariners had to contend with the frustration of using imperfect torpedoes that too often failed to operate properly. By V-J Day in 1945 some 2,117 Japanese merchant vessels, totaling more than nine million tons, had been sent to the bottom, with American submarines accounting for more than 55 percent of those enemy losses. Corwin Mendenhall served under two skippers as he rose from a junior ensign to executive officer.

New Softbound edition (6 X 9). 290 pages, 31 black and white photos with 3 maps. Includes Sculpin and Pintado crew rosters, but no index.

Just $17.95

The Silent Stalking of Japan

by Rear Admiral Corwin Mendenhall, USN (Ret.)

Introduction by Admiral I. J. Galantin, USN (Ret.)

New Softbound edition

290 pages, 31 B/W photographs, 3 maps

New $17.95

BOOK REVIEWS

"Corwin Mendenhall's book, "Submarine Diary: The Silent Stalking of Japan" gives the reader a unique look into the daily operations of a World War II Fleet submarine stalking Japanese ships in the Pacific. The insight is unique because although Mendenhall was an officer aboard the USS Sculpin and then the USS Pintado, he was "an enlisted man's officer" and he tells the story of his patrols aboard these submarines from that perspective. I enjoyed reading this book because at one moment it relates the daily grind of serving on a sub and the next moment, it explodes with action as an enemy ship is spotted and attacked. I recommend this book to anyone who is a WW II submarine junkie because it is an account of real men and real times." Joe Sabella

"The only criticism I have of this book is it too short. It left me wanting more. But it appears to be an accurate depiction of the daily routine of a submarine in combat; plenty exciting with intermittent periods of boredom. A more fleshed out version would be even better." Charley Roesch

"From the inside of a submarine, the ocean passes you by. The input you have comes from sonar and the periscope. Rather than give us another tale of submarine exploits, Mendenhall provides us with a war perspective from the men in the machine. This is an interesting World War II narrative. Rather than taking a retrospective look as an admiral (Mendenhall is a retired rear admiral), this narrative is taken from his diary from his submarine missions as a junior officer and an executive officer. He discusses the routines and the fighting, as well as gives the sailors' perspective. He also discusses the frustration felt by the crew as defective torpedoes missed easy targets. Not only does he discuss the day-to-day life in the submarine, he also gives a tally of how the submarine did on each mission. This was enlightening. He also shares his concerns about his career and command in the Navy as the war was beginning to wind down. I would recommend this book to World War II, Navy, and submarine buffs." Jeffrey Leeper