Grub Street Publishing Ltd

Ship Busters! A Classic Account of RAF Torpedo-bombers in WWII

by  Ralph Barker

Reviewed By  John Ratzenberger, IPMS# 40196

MSRP: $39.95 ISBN: 9781906502294 Publisher's website: www.grubstreet.co.uk US Distributor's website: www.casematepublishing.com Hardback, 6"x9", 256 pages, 8 pages b/w photos. Grub Street publishes original works and reprints of previously published works. This book is one of the latter, having been originally published under the same title in 1957 by Chatto & Windus Ltd, London -- so you might want to check if you already have this or have already read it. This version has a new, 5-page Preamble that talks about one Beaufort crew. The author, Ralph Barker, served as a wireless operator / air gunner (WOP/AG) on Beauforts in the Middle East so he's familiar with the subject matter. Post-war, one of his RAF (Air Ministry) duties was to work on war narratives. He has published over a half-dozen books on the RAF. This book is not a personal memoir of Mr. Barker; I think he only mentions himself once. This is not history, per se, more a collection of accounts of various actions with a more-or-less central theme. The book gives detail accounts of several famous actions -- the attack on Lutzow, the torpedoing of Gneisnau, the attempt to stop the Channel Dash, and then shifts to the Mediterranean with sorties from Malta to hinder Italian and German convoys to Africa. It closes, with a single chapter, with a shift back to NW Europe and the replacement of Beauforts by Beaufighters. My own impression was that too many operations were poorly planned, too many leaders were trying to prove themselves or their theories, and that there was a tremendous amount of wastage for little return. That said, the book clearly shows why torpedo attacks were so difficult, starting with the amount of training required, and why bombs, rockets, and cannon proved to be more cost-effective. The style is a little hard to take at times -- written "shortly" after WW2, it's a bit like a rah-rah wartime morale film -- there are simply too many resolute, square-jawed aircrew out to win their "gong" regardless of cost. Given the reality of their losses and relative lack of success, I suspect the characterization is a bit off, but I certainly don't intend to demean any aircrew. This is not a book for modelers -- there are not many useful pictures, no profiles, no cutaways, not even technical descriptions of the aircraft that might help you flesh out a Beaufort. As I noted above, it's a stretch to call this history. Criticism aside, it is interesting and an easy read -- the combat accounts will get your pulse rate up -- the author does a very good job of laying out complex aircraft and ship maneuvers, although a couple diagrams would have helped. Recommended if you have a deep interest in the subject -- probably not many are familiar with this aspect of British anti-shipping operations, particularly in the North Sea. My sincere thanks to Grub Street for reprinting this book, to Casemate Publishing for the review sample, and to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.