WWII Naval Book: Atlantic Escorts and HTML5 Browser Bismarck Game

I have a very soft, weak compulsive spot for WWII naval stuff, so when David Manly recommends a "good" book I am a sucker, albeit a happy one (see below, the checklist was easy to complete - naval, WWII, Battle of the Atlantic, RN, escorts .. what is not to like):  

And in addition I already had three of David K Brown's books on warship design through the World War eras (to complement my Conway and Janes). In short, as you would expect, when a naval maritime designer recommends a naval constructor's book and says "it is good" then, it is good. One thing to shout out is that it does concentrate on the technical bits. WATU (Western Approaches Tactical Unit) is not mentioned (well not in the index - as I have just started reading it I might come across it yet). The Raspberry, Pineapple, Beta Search, Step Aside tactics are not mentioned.

For more details on these see: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Approaches_Tactical_Unit

Or see the BBC interactive game: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_gms_battle_atlantic.shtml

It "was" a great game but you need Flash 7 (a now deprecated multi-media scripting language) that most modern browsers have moved away from (aka uninstalled and blocked). 

Update I: Some Flash games can still be accessed (there are clever people in the world): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyw5qT3XbhM

Note: I have not (as yet tried this myself)

Update II: HTML5 WWII Games - Addictive ...

https://itch.io/games/html5/tag-world-war-ii

https://speculativesimulations.itch.io/defenders-of-the-atlantic

"Defenders of the Atlantic" is VERY ADDICTIVE

WATU - Western Approaches Museum at Liverpool

Hats of to the volunteers from DSTL, the RN, the RCN, the Defence Academy and the ubiquitous PaxSims gurus for helping create this event. Something I would have loved to have seen in the flesh but the write-up is almost as good as being there (see link below):

https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2018/09/08/watu-wargame-report/
Visiting this museum is on my "bucket list".

Like the organisers I truly believe WATU was an astounding "one of a kind" establishment. It being a very important cog in the machinery that helped win The Battle of the Atlantic by bringing together the men and material (or true operational characteristics of the machinery) together with sound operational tactics in a unique gladiatorial training arena. It even broke down the prejudicial barriers of the sexes - woman (WRENS) doing "more than a mans work". The softer feminine assistance (see the Cruel Sea) during the game helped the learning experience. Although undoubtedly a high pressure environment for the officers, WATU was still "a safe place to train" in the Constructivist Psychology sense of the word, before meeting the real adversarial enemy who asked for and took no quarter.

If you wish to see the other side of the tale, take a trip on the Mersey Ferries to see U-534 recovered from the seabed lodged at the Woodside Ferry Terminal, something I was able to do last Father's Day (see below, OK sad dad that I am I got a "tank ruler" and "Tommy tea mug" as well, a triple win):

Now I will have to check out my naval wargames collection now for a U-Boat convoy battle game, I think I have copy of AH Submarine somewhere. It would be interesting to contrast the "after the battle" thoughts on simulation with the "in-period" artefact to see how close or far apart they are.

WATU: Western Approaches Tactical Unit - Wargaming (September Liverpool Event)

WATU Staff (See below, believe it or not - WRENS who were literally "war winners"):

Lindybeige Video: Watch It
https://twitter.com/Lindybeige
https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2018/07/22/lindybeige-on-watu/

PaxSims link: Read About It
https://paxsims.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/2017-12-10-watu-mors.pdf

Western Approaches Museum: PaxSims - Paul Strong - Think About Playing It
https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2017/12/20/wargaming-the-atlantic-war-captain-gilbert-roberts-and-the-wrens-of-the-western-approaches-tactical-unit/

Sounds brilliant!
Any CoW/WD and "others" thinking of going?

Essential WW2 Naval Wargaming: Reading and Listening (WATU) - Connections 2017

The slides are good:

http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/17-WATU.pdf

But the audio is bloody fantastic:

http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/Strong.mp3

But don't take my word for it, listen to it yourself!