HELL AT 50 FATHOMS

From the tragic loss of the tiny F-4 off Honolulu in 1914, to the loss by fire of the fleet submarine Cochine off Norway in 1949, these two experienced officer-authors tell the story of the U.S. Navy's struggle to make submarine duty safer. Their story is told briskly, is rich in anecdote, and is made doubly valuable to the reader by their fund of accurate information. The story of the sinking and 5 month salvaging of the little F-4 is in itself a classic of sea literature. Then come the more famous stories---the sinking of the S-51 off Long Island in 1925 in which 33 men died; the loss of S-4 with all hands aboard and divers tapping messages inside the hull to the dying men; or the now-famous story of the loss of Squallus off New London in 1939 and how the use of the McCann rescue chamber saved 33 men. Through all these tragedies of the sea, the book makes clear, the Navy has worked diligently to prevent further disasters. The Momsen lung, the rescue chamber, escape hatches, and even newer developments now in the making have been the result. An appendix of world submarine disasters from 1864 to 1960 will prove of special interest to the maritime minded. A very valuable book.