Hellcats

"Sasgen vividly recounts the pulsating drama of the Hellcats." - Naval History

In 1945, American sub force commanders believed that if the Japanese merchant fleet was sunk, the enemy would be forced to surrender. The problem: the ships were protected in the Sea of Japan by a barrier of deadly minefields.

Here, Peter Sasgen tells the gripping story of Operation Barney, a daunting mission in which nine submarines, nicknamed Hellcats, were tasked with getting through the mines and decimating the enemy fleet. Drawing on original documents and the personal letters of one doomed Hellcat commander, Sasgen crafts a classic naval tale of the heroic submariners and one of World War II's most ambitious and dangerous underwater raids.