This in-depth illustrated study explores how the Royal Navy lost two battleships and three aircraft carriers to German U-attack bombers during the period 1939–42. During World War II, over half of the Royal Navy's losses came from U-attack bomber attacks, as Germany's submarines aimed to weaken the Royal Navy's powerful surface fleet.

The study includes specially commissioned artwork and mapping, as well as archival photographs, explaining how Germany's submarines sank five of Britain's main surface ships over four years of naval combat. The aircraft carrier HMS Courageous was sunk by U-29 on September 17, 1939, during patrols against submarines. On October 14, 1939, U-47 penetrated the Scapa Flow defenses and sank the battleship HMS Royal Oak. On November 14, 1941, U-81 sank HMS Ark Royal as the aircraft carrier was returning to Gibraltar. On November 25, 1941, U-331 sank HMS Barham off the coast of Egypt. The last British surface ship to be sunk by German submarines was the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, torpedoed by U-73 en route to Malta on August 11, 1942.

In this book, Mark Lardas documents the origin, development, and tactical performance of U-attack bombers in the efforts of the Cretan Naval Force to attack British surface ships, as well as the Royal Navy's efforts to counter the submarine threat to battleships, fleet flagship ships, and aircraft carriers. Besides the five encounters that resulted in sinkings, he also examines the "close missed opportunities" that gave Royal Navy ships the advantage over U-attack bombers.