Fresh Water Submarines: The Manitowoc Story

by William T. Nelson

How they built submarines in Wisconsin, floated them down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and sent them off to illustrious careers in WWII. The shipyard in Manitowoc garnered a reputation for building the finest of subs. Photos.

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Teri Reck · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing piece of WWII history of which I had never heard, despite it involving the areas of Illinois along the Illinois River where I grew up. Turns out the back in the day, a man from Brian's hometown of Mendota was instrumental in the start up of a shipyard in Manitowoc, WI, on Lake Michigan. It was commissioned to build submarines in WWII that were then taken to Chicago and to the Illinois River and to the Mississippi River and on down to New Orleans before going into the Gulf and ending up in either theater of WWII. We were made aware of a talk being given in my home town at the La Salle Public Library that Brian and I watched through Zoom. Fascinating talk--neither of us had ever heard of such a thing. The speaker cited this book, and I ordered it immediately. I've read parts of it aloud to Brian. It's been rather refreshing to read about Americans working together!

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super excellent book on WWII submarines that were constructed in Wisconsin and brought down the Mississippi River by a company that had never seen a submarine. Quality was excellent. Great read. I toured the Museum and learned all about it.

[Pastor G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time well spent in learning this history of integrity, American ingenuity, and Mid-west nice. Today's U.S. companies will benefit by emulating the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. Quite often, "old school " is the best school.

[Mark Geisthardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the straight and concise story of how the Manitowoc Shipyard which had never even thought about building submarines not only got the contract for 28 boats but also excelled at it beyond all expectations. It is a great story of management and workers doing the very best they could and working together all the way through the process. It could also be read as how business should be done.

[NK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting local history.