Down to the sea in submarines : a Cold War odyssey /Dan Conley ; foreweord by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope GCB, OBE, DL.

"This memoir charts the career of the author in the Royal Navy Submarine Service, and in doing so details many of the Silent Service's remarkable achievements since the end of the Second World War. And it provides a dramatic first-hand account of the underwater confrontation during the Cold War between submarines of the West and those of the Soviet Union. Dan Conley narrates the successive stages from his basic submarine training to taking command of two nuclear attack submarines. He sets out in detail what life was like serving onboard submarines, and in particular the book describes the British submariner's remarkable transformation from a kind of buccaneering free spirit, serving on a worn-out WW2 boat during the sunset of the British Empire, to the highly professional individual who spends prolonged periods under the sea in a vessel which matches the complexity of a space craft. The book also sets out the long and difficult challenges encountered in developing effective weapon systems and discusses the difficulties and shortcomings in the UK?s defence procurement system, a situation which still exists today. Ultimately, however, Western technological superiority and crew proficiency enabled the submarines of the Royal and United States Navies to match those of the Soviet Union, and he describes vividly the suspense and tension of underwater confrontations which might so easily have escalated to another terrifyng dimension of warfare. Though the Cold War is in the past, the West now confronts an aggressive, recidivist Russia and a more aggressive China. Britain?s submarine force once again will be key to the security of all its citizens. This fine memoir, while capturing vividly the key events and history of the Cold War, will open the reader's eyes to the significance and importance today of the Royal Navy Submarine Service."