Undersea Warriors

The Untold History of the Royal Navy’s Secret Service

By: Iain Ballantyne

Narrated by: Tim Bentinck

Length: 20 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The incredible inside story of the Cold War beneath the waves, pitting British and NATO’s attack submarines against the Soviets.

Undersea Warrior: a submarine designed to pursue and attack enemy submarines and surface ships using torpedoes.

This will follow the careers of four daring British submarine captains who risked their lives to keep the rest of us safe, their exploits consigned to the shadows until now. Their experiences encompass the span of the Cold War, from voyages in WW2-era submarines under Arctic ice to nuclear-powered espionage missions in Soviet-dominated seas. 

There are dangerous encounters with Russian spy ships in British waters and finally, as the communist facade begins to crack, they hold the line against the Kremlin’s oceanic might, playing a leading role in bringing down the Berlin Wall. It is the first time they have spoken out about their covert lives in the submarine service.

This is the dramatic untold story of Britain’s most-secret service.

©2011 Iain Ballantyne (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

Amazing and Very Detailed

Iain Ballantyne has completed a master work here on the Royal Navy secret service in the lead up to the Cold War, and then the nightmare that was the Cold War. This is the elite of the elite submariners, whose missions defy imagination during this time. It's so easy to gloss over the Cold War, as a time when things almost happened but nothing really noteworthy happened. NOT TRUE. This book is so engrossing going over the missions, unbelievable peril, and shocking near misses that occurred with the elite British fleet. One note, if you aren't paying very close attention it is very easy to get a bit lost. I had to rewind and rewind again to make sure I didn't miss anything. And every time I let my mind wander I did miss something noteworthy. It's absolutely outstanding. Tim Bentinck's narration just adds to the work. He's the perfect narrator for this. Don't miss this one if if you're any kind of a history buff, passing or a serious student.

One of the better books about submarine operations during the Cold War

A fantastic look at the Royal Navy and what they were doing lurking around and PROTECTING US during the Cold War. The Royal Navy's submariners are some of the most bold and daring sub drivers on the planet. Ballantyne's ability to explain some of the more technical aspects of submarine operations & systems in incredible. I never felt overwhelmed and just wanted it to keep going. I loved the stories about underhull/underwater looks and the detail about ships trying to foul each others towed array cables. This is one of the better Cold War submarine books I've listened to and I loved hearing the amazing stories. The audiobook is fantastically narrated by a guy that can subtly & effectively do a Royal Navy sub commander, a US sub jockey, a fictional Russian submarine defector - and switch between them with ease and in a very subtle way, and this type of quoting is rare. I have already listened to this one a few times and just finished it again. This was just a amazing audiobook experience from and by a real Cold Warrior soldier. An all around A+ from me.