On the Bottom

The Raising of the Submarine S-51

De: Edward Ellsberg

Narrado por: Stephen Hoye

On September 25, 1925, the S-51 tragically sank to the ocean floor, and Edward Ellsberg was the man whose courage and determination brought it back

The sinking of the submarine S-51 was one of the greatest tragedies in American naval history. Due to a miscommunication and subsequent collision between the sub and a passing steamship on a September night, the S-51, including 33 of its crew of 36, sank to the ocean depths. The tragedy of the S-51 captivated the nation, and was a fixture in the pages of American newspapers. The story took on a whole new dimension when the navy decided to take over the salvage of the 1,000-ton behemoth from a civilian company.

Heading the crew tasked with this impossible feat was Edward Ellsberg, at the time a lieutenant commander. On the Bottom is Ellsberg's account of the successes and failures he and his men experienced as they attempted an astonishing feat of engineering and bravery: the first salvage of a submarine from the open ocean.

©1946 Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

FASCINATING!

An brilliantly written and narrated tale of men improvising and overcoming seemingly impossible conditions and odds.

Doesn't Get Much Better

Adventure, true heroism, lots of stuff about undersea work - what more could you want?

Great book

Amazing hidden gem of a book. I almost didn’t finish it though because the first 15 chapters the reader sounded like a game show host and it made it very hard to tell the tone and pace of the book. But then like a light switch he changed and sounded a lot better for the remainder of the book.

an on the edge of your seat struggle at sea

I really enjoyed this story, being ex Navy and an ex Diver, I found the story riveting and exciting. A very tense story about a sub that is accidentally sunk and the men of iron will that struggled against all odds to raise her. I wish Audible had a greater selection of nautical stories like this.