^Lot 389 Maas: The Terrible Hours

Maas, Peter. THE TERRIBLE HOURS. HarperTorch, New York. 2000. 16mo. (8), 309, (3) pages. original pictorial card covers. First HarperTorch Paperback Printing. English text. Fine. This book is a gripping, true-life historical account of the harrowing 1939 rescue of the crew of the USS Squalus, an American submarine that suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and sank 243 feet to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. While 26 crew members tragically died instantly, 33 men were left trapped alive inside the frozen, dark hull with a rapidly dwindling oxygen supply. The narrative centers on Charles "Swede" Momsen, an unyielding and brilliant Navy officer who defied military bureaucracy to pioneer groundbreaking deep-sea rescue technologies, including an experimental diving bell that he successfully used in a desperate, 39-hour race against time to pluck the survivors from certain death. Lot weight: 0 lbs 6oz. Subject(s): Military History, Shipwrecks.