Hunters and Killers, Volume 2

The second volume of Hunters and Killers begins with the early 1943 turning point of World War IIs Battle of the Atlantic, when Allied efforts forced the U-boats to be withdrawn from the North Atlantic. With growing numbers of escort (jeep) aircraft carriers and very-long-range patrol aircraft, coupled with cryptologic breakthroughs and new weapons, the Allied anti-submarine advantage mounted even more quickly. The Germans attempted to counter these setbacks by introducing the snorkel, increasing new submarine construction, and developing revolutionary submarine designs, especially the highly-effective Type XXI. Nonetheless, the highly-organized Allied ASW defense of the Normandy invasion against U-boats in June 1944 completely thwarted the German submarine attempt to disrupt the Allied assault on Nazi-held Europe, and from then until the end of the war the Germans suffered what could only be called a U-boat Armageddon.