The Boy Volunteers with the Submarine Fleet by Kenneth Ward is a First World War adventure for young readers, part of a popular series following plucky American boys into the various services of the Allied war effort. In this installment, the heroes find themselves aboard submarines, plunging into the dangers of undersea warfare.
The story combines the thrill of the new and mysterious submarine with the patriotic adventure typical of wartime juvenile fiction. Readers encounter torpedo attacks, narrow escapes, and the camaraderie of crews operating beneath the waves. While written to entertain and inspire boys of the period, the book reflects the public’s fascination with the technological face of modern war. It stands as a period piece capturing how the submarine captured the imagination of a wartime generation.