"Finalist, 2023 Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards, Historical Fiction
'Parotti's expertly detailed accounts make for constant tension.' —The Historical Novels Review
Phillip Parotti's novel chronicles the fast-paced action of a collection of American submarine chasers as they battle to reduce the German U-Boat menace in the English Channel during the last year of World War I. Lieutenant (junior grade) Ben Snow takes a commission in the United States Naval Reserve, and whips a dissolute crew into fighting shape. They then take their little submarine chaser, SC 65X, out into the English Channel to hunt for German U-boats in the midst of the worst winter in more than fifty years. Their achievements climax with the sinking of a German submarine and taking sixteen of her crew prisoner.
When the war ends on November 11, 1918, the chaser crews expect to return home, but their exposure to danger is by no means concluded. Instead, the chasers are tasked with exploding the 70,000 dangerous mines planted in the North Sea Mine Barrage. Having survived the war, will Ben and his crew survive the peace?"
"Winner, 2023 Arizona-New Mexico Book Awards, Historical Fiction
Twice torpedoed during the Battle of the Atlantic, LT. Tony Colombo USNR, a former merchant marine officer, is appointed to command a new Navy ship, PC-450. After a period of escorting convoys up and down the Atlantic coast, Tony finds himself escorting ships loaded with Marine Corps equipment to New Zealand and Australia.
Once arrived, he is ordered to begin escorting convoys up and down the Australian coast. Some weeks later, Tony and PC-450 engage in battle with a Japanese submarine attempting to penetrate Brisbane Harbor.
In the summer of 1942, as PC-450 begins to escort numerous convoys from Australia to Noumea in New Caledonia, the United States invades Guadalcanal with the result that Tony begins guiding convoys north in support of the invasion while fending off the air raids that the Japanese throw down. PC-450 participates in the invasion of the Russell Islands and then, during the fight for New Georgia, PC-450 not only helps to fend off Japanese air attacks but engages in surface actions. Wounded in a sudden air attack, Tony and Baldy are returned to Brisbane for convalescence and new assignments."
"'In war novels authors typically feature ships such as destroyers, battleships, or aircraft carriers, but not support vessels. By focusing on the support vessels, Parotti provides listeners with a different view of the two wars and leaves them with an appreciation for the crafts' significance along with the men who took care of these damaged ships.' —National Maritime Historical Society
Assigned to US Navy Rescue Tug, the ATR-3X, not long after the German surrender in North Africa, Ensign Hal Goff and four other officers must support the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy, shepherding navy ships to and from the bitter fighting. With the Allied advance finally stopped cold along the Winter Line beneath Monte Cassino, Hal and his ship become part of the grueling invasion of Anzio and the seemingly endless stalemate across Anzio's bloody beaches.
Phillip Parotti's thrilling novel treats his listeners to gripping World War II naval action in the Mediterranean Sea."
"Lieutenant Devlin Collins, an Irish-American flier in the Royal Flying Corps, expecting to fly on the Western Front, instead finds himself flying antiquated two-seater bomber and photo reconnaissance missions over the Egyptian desert against the forces of the Central Powers which are trying to capture the Suez Canal. Pitted against German machines which are up-to-date and well equipped, the men of the RFC fight at a considerable disadvantage as they go forth to meet their enemy, but committed to their cause and with aggressive spirit, they proceed and prevail, continually forcing the Turks and Germans back as the army moves slowly toward Palestine.
Constantly endangered by superior German machines, facing incessant ground fire during their bombing and strafing attacks, Dev and his fellow pilot Crisp drive home their attacks with unremitting determination. In the off hours from combat, Dev discovers that he has a particular talent for planning his flight's air raids. This talent manifests itself completely in the campaign's culminating attack on the German redoubts at the battle of Magdhaba, an attack so successful that when the pilots are finally pulled back for a rest after a year of fighting, Dev is promoted and invited onto the staff at GHQ is order to apply his expertise to air planning."
"Having survived the sinking of his first ship, Ensign Ash Miller USNR is promoted and assigned to command one of the sleek new additions to 'the splinter fleet,' a 110-foot wooden submarine chaser armed with only understrength guns and depth charges. His task is to bring the ship swiftly into commission, weld his untried crew into an efficient fighting unit, and take his vessel to sea in order to protect the defenseless Allied merchant vessels which are being maliciously and increasingly sunk by German U-Boats, often within sight of the coast.
Ash rises to the deadly challenge he faces, brings his crew of three officers and twenty-seven men to peak performance, and meets the threats he faces with understated courage and determination, rescuing stricken seamen, destroying Nazi mines, fighting U-Boats, and developing both the tactical sense and command authority that will be the foundation upon which America's citizen sailors eventually win the war. During rare breaks in operations, Ash cherishes a developing relationship with the spirited Claire Morris who embodies the peaceful ideal for which he has been fighting."
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