Originally published in 1955, Hellcats of the Sea chronicles the activities of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific submarine fleet in World War II. At the heart of the book lies Operation Barney, the secret mission to bring the war closer to the islands of Japan; until June 9, 1945, the war extended to the Sea of Japan, but on this day, torpedoes from nine American submarines were launched at dozens of Japanese freighters, paralyzing maritime operations between Japan and Korea, and damaging Japan’s will to fight.

A gripping read.