Run Silent, Run Deep (1955) [+]
Mar 03 2025
Run Silent, Run Deep is a novel set in WW2 with a US submarine vs the Japanese foes. The author is Commander Edward L Beach, USN (retired) who served in submarines from 1942 to the end of the war, the latter part as an executive officer (2nd in command of a submarine).
The story is told from the first person by Commander Edward Richardson as recollections for a report done after the war. Richardson was commander of S-16, an out-of-date submarine at the start of the war. He went to command USS Walrus and then USS Eel.
With the S-16 the narrative is his XO, Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe, as he tries to qualify for command and ends up failing. Bledsoe blames Richardson but Richardson convinces his superiors to give Bledsoe another chance once he's had more seasoning (normally a prospective submarine commander only gets one chance to qualify).
But then war breaks out. Richardson Is assigned a new submarine, USS Walrus, and keeps most of his crew including Bledsoe. The second part of the book is getting the Walrus ready, traveling to Pearl Harbor (from the East Coast), then combat patrols in the Bungo Suido, an area between the southernmost main Japanese island the other two big islands where there is lots of shipping traffic.
Walrus encounters Bungo Pete, a Japanese destroyer with an experienced captain who has been making a habit of destroying US subs operating in the area. Their first encounter almost destroys the Walrus whilst in the second encounter the Walrus ambushes a convoy and escapes before Bungo Pete can get at them.
Richardson is wounded which takes months to recover. During his convalescence he's put in charge of finding out why American torpedoes keep failing to explode. Meanwhile Bledsoe is finally given command and takes the Walrus on three wildly successful patrols.
Once the torpedoes are fixed Richardson gets command of USS Eel, a new ship straight out of the yards. But Walrus has gone missing and fears are that Bungo Pete got them. Richardson convinces his superiors to let him and Eel go after Bungo Pete with their new torpedoes and so they go for their final battle…
This books is a great read. The submarine descriptions are detailed and evocative and there is a variety of missions and situations that occur. Setting up a torpedo attack or diving and evading a depth charge attack is well written and very tense reading. Unlike Hunt for Red October or Red Storm Rising — two of my favorite books — the action here is very personal and almost a battle of captain vs captain rather than ship vs ship.
I've seen the movie version and it's quite different. The movie is excellent and whether you experience the movie or book first I don't think it spoils experiencing the second afterwards.
Overall a great read.
The story is told from the first person by Commander Edward Richardson as recollections for a report done after the war. Richardson was commander of S-16, an out-of-date submarine at the start of the war. He went to command USS Walrus and then USS Eel.
With the S-16 the narrative is his XO, Lieutenant Jim Bledsoe, as he tries to qualify for command and ends up failing. Bledsoe blames Richardson but Richardson convinces his superiors to give Bledsoe another chance once he's had more seasoning (normally a prospective submarine commander only gets one chance to qualify).
But then war breaks out. Richardson Is assigned a new submarine, USS Walrus, and keeps most of his crew including Bledsoe. The second part of the book is getting the Walrus ready, traveling to Pearl Harbor (from the East Coast), then combat patrols in the Bungo Suido, an area between the southernmost main Japanese island the other two big islands where there is lots of shipping traffic.
Walrus encounters Bungo Pete, a Japanese destroyer with an experienced captain who has been making a habit of destroying US subs operating in the area. Their first encounter almost destroys the Walrus whilst in the second encounter the Walrus ambushes a convoy and escapes before Bungo Pete can get at them.
Richardson is wounded which takes months to recover. During his convalescence he's put in charge of finding out why American torpedoes keep failing to explode. Meanwhile Bledsoe is finally given command and takes the Walrus on three wildly successful patrols.
Once the torpedoes are fixed Richardson gets command of USS Eel, a new ship straight out of the yards. But Walrus has gone missing and fears are that Bungo Pete got them. Richardson convinces his superiors to let him and Eel go after Bungo Pete with their new torpedoes and so they go for their final battle…
This books is a great read. The submarine descriptions are detailed and evocative and there is a variety of missions and situations that occur. Setting up a torpedo attack or diving and evading a depth charge attack is well written and very tense reading. Unlike Hunt for Red October or Red Storm Rising — two of my favorite books — the action here is very personal and almost a battle of captain vs captain rather than ship vs ship.
I've seen the movie version and it's quite different. The movie is excellent and whether you experience the movie or book first I don't think it spoils experiencing the second afterwards.
Overall a great read.