This book has long been considered the definitive study of the fleet submarine, one of the most successful types of warships ever built. It presents a comprehensive analysis of the submarine's design, construction, and development. The author traces its metamorphosis from the T and V classes through wartime boats and postwar Guppy and other conversions up to the 1980s. Dozens of rare photos, profile line drawings, a detailed type plan, and statistical appendixes complement the text in this large format book. The book's wealth of technical data is offered in a frame of historical reference that will appeal to the general reader and World War II history buffs as well as serious students of the submarine.