DEADLY SEAS - THE STORY OF THE ST. CROIX, THE U305 AND THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC by Bercuson, David J. And Herwig, Holger H

Random House Canada, Toronto, 1997. Canadian first edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6 x 9, FINE/FINE CONDITION, v, 346 pages, illus, bibliog., index.--------------------------------------------------Deadly Seas tells the dramatic story of the birth, life and death of the HMCS St Croix and the U305 and, through them, the larger story of the epic Battle of the Atlantic itself. A war story that reads like the best kind of thriller, Deadly Seas is a unique collaboration by a Canadian and a German that sets the record straight for both sides.Only massive numbers can adequately describe and explain the magnitude, the very sweep, of the Battle of the Atlantic. It was fought over tens of thousands of square kilometres of ocean, from the warm gulf waters of the Caribbean to the frozen Arctic shores of Greenland. Thousands of warships—submarines, destroyers, frigates, minesweepers, corvettes, aircraft carriers—were involved; tens of thousands of sailors died. Millions of tons of shipping and billions of dollars' worth of cargoes were lost. The Canadian contribution to the eventual Allied victory was momentous for a nation that possessed but seven capital ships at the outbreak of war. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Royal Canadian Navy eventually grew to more than 900 vessels, crewed by over 100,000 sailors. It sunk 33 U-boats but lost 28 ships of its own and more than 2200 men were killed in action.And yet, as massive as the Battle of the Atlantic was, it was at bottom fought by individual men and the ships they sailed in. Two of those vessels were the Canadian destroyer HMCS St Croix and the German submarine U305. The first was born in the United States at the end of the First World War, and was likely destined for the scrap heap until a second war gave it new life. The second emerged from the shipyards of Nazi Germany not long after the beginning of the Second World War. These two vessels entered the Battle of the Atlantic at about the same time. They both fought tenaciously for their respective nations. They both scored victories over their respective foes. They both became grizzled veterans of the Battle. And in the twilight of September 20, 1943, they confronted each other in the cold waters of the eastern Atlantic. Only one survived the encounter; neither survived the war.