The German Type VII U-boat needs no introduction. The one warship that could win or lose the war for Germany, 709 were poured out, and plans were put in place to build twice that number. It has since come to represent the stereotypical image of the World War II-era submarine, appearing in Das Boot and That Other U-boat Movie. Type VII U-boats is a compact hardcover book, divided into five chapters, a glossary, and three appendices. Though primarily a technical history of the type, it also describes in some detail a number of the procedural and "domestic" issues of everyday U-boat operations. Stern argues that the VII was an early example of an integrated "weapon systems," 40 years before the term came into widespread use. Special attention is given to the new weapons, sensors, and experimental defenses developed by the Germans after "Black May." The illustrations consist of about 160 black and white photographs, many I’d never seen before, and a number of original plans that have been re-annotated into English. Robert Stern’s research for this work was quite extensive, and the BdU Kriegstagebuch and U-boat war diaries are quoted throughout.