War at sea has no intermissions, none of the periods of recovery between advances or retreats that land warfare enjoys, no breaks safely behind the lines, between air combat operations.
There are many times in a soldier's or airman's war was as taxing and terrifying as anything known to a sailor at sea in wartime. But it is an accepted condition of a caoilor's duty that there is never a moment at sea that is free from danger. The risk of attack is amlways there, ever more so in the twentieth century when a torpedo can strike at any time in any part of any ocean, or an aircraft's bomb can all euqally without warning from the sky.
The Second World War demanded more of its sailors than any other in history, in endurance and the unremitting need to face danger with increasing need for vigilance by day and night. World War II was indeed the longest and greatest battle of all time, extending to every ocean and sea, and with more ships sunk and more lives lost than in any earlier conflict.
This book gives a fascinating and challenging look at life at sea during World War II. The author was a signalman in the crew of 'HMAS Perth' during operations in the Mediterranean in 1940-41, and then in 'HMAS Quickmatch'.
Contents:
Foreword
Introduction
The War at Sea
Diary
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
A Postscript: Two Minutes of Time
Bibliography
Index
