“Battle Stations…”

• By Michael Smart
• May 15, 2017
• 1 Comment

J. Murray’s just released “Twenty-Four Days” (read my review here), the second novel in the Rowe-Delamagente series, moves much of the action to sea, taking us aboard nuclear submarines and surface combat warships. Murray’s in-depth research and knowledge of the U.S Navy is once again on display in this sequel to “To Hunt a Sub”, providing dramatic authenticity to the edgy science that buoys the plot. Reading the tense battle scenes evoked memory flashes from some of my favorite Navy and submarine stories, placing Murray in pretty lofty company. So I thought I’d share my favorites (in no order of preference) from popular novels, television series, and movies, of which Twenty-Four Days recalled fond memories. Perhaps you know of others you might wish to share and discuss.

Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt Series

Clive Cussler is a truly amazing story teller, and his marine and naval scenes never fails to excite and enthrall. When I open a Dirk Pitt novel I can’t put it down.

The Hunt for Red October

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels excite more tension and suspense than the films, although The Hunt for Red October film (1990) stuck close to the novel. The Red October was an imaginatively inventive submarine, utilizing contemporary experimental stealth technology in similar fashion as Murray in Twenty-Four Days. And like Twenty-Four Days, sets up thrilling hunter-hunted passages. Incidentally, Clancy was uncannily prescient in the Jack Ryan novel “Debt of Honor”, where an embittered pilot flies his Boeing 747 into the U.S. Capitol building during a joint session of Congress, the tactic mimicked by the 9/11 terrorists.

The Enemy Below

A classic naval battle between an American destroyer and German U-boat during WWII. This 1957 film skillfully captures the deadly cat-and-mouse suspense as both veteran commanders attempt to outthink each other. It inspired the Star Trek Original Series episode “Balance of Terror”.

Das Boot

If The Enemy Below alternated focus between the American Destroyer and German U-Boat, Das Boot (1982) shifts the perspective entirely to the cramped, fetid, terror filled confines of a U-Boat attempting to escape hunting destroyers. Wolfgang Peterson’s screenplay (from the 1973 novel by Lothar-Gunther Buchheim) and direction, along with a superb cast, viscerally immerses the audience in the claustrophobic world aboard a U-Boat, including the filth, numbing boredom, and sheer terror.

J.A.G

J.A.G (NBC 1995-96 and CBS 1997-2005) was a total immersion in the US Navy, from the workings of the Judge Advocate General’s office, to submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers, Navy Seals, and Naval Aviation, with wonderful characters and great stories. The series ended its run at the top of its game after 10 seasons, and after spinning off NCIS.

Crimson Tide

While the film Crimson Tide (1995) focusses on the moral dilemma of launching nuclear missiles on another nation, and the subsequent clash of wills between the Captain – a seasoned combat veteran whose approach is impulsive and intuitive – and his XO – educated in military history and tactics whose approach is more cautious and analytical – the action takes place aboard the USS Alabama, depicting the inner workings of an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.

Last Resort

This series (ABC 2012) was cancelled early in its first season, prompting a rewrite of the 13th episode to wrap up the story of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Colorado and its crew. And thankfully so, since following a nail biting pilot episode the show devolved into typical television formulaic drivel, and exhibited a visible lack of knowledge regarding Navy protocols and etiquette. But that pilot episode, and episode 5 “Skeleton Crew”, and Andre Braugher; Wow!! A shame the creative crew behind this production dove it into the ocean floor.

The Last Ship

This is US Navy surface and land warfare at its best. Based on the novel “The Last Ship” by William Brinkley (1988), this series features a solid cast, solid creative and production teams, a dramatic story, nail biting edge-of-the-seat action, an outside the cliched-television-formula approach to its storytelling, and an authenticity which makes life aboard the Arleigh Burke Class Guided Missile Destroyer USS Nathan James feel real. The production uses the real USS Halsey (DDG-97) for filming.

Now I can add the Rowe-Delamagente series to this list.

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