On The Bottom
New York: Literary Guild, 1929. Hardcover. Hardcover in black cloth lettered in gilt and with light green "bubbles" (presumably for a submarine). Endpapers illustrated with diagram of Submarine S-51 (front ep) and diagram of the S-51 salvage operation (rear ep). Frontispiece photographic portrait of Cmdr. Ellsberg. x+ 324 pp. with glossary. Illustrated with photographic plates. Considered a classic work of maritime history. Fine in very good dust jacket, unpriced and with small statement "Literary Guild Selection for May" so presumed BCE. U.S. Navy Commander Edward Ellsberg describes in full detail the efforts in 1925 to raise the sunken submarine S-51. On September 25 of that year, the S-5! collided with a merchant steamer, the City of Rome, off the coast of Rhode Island, sank, and settled on the floor of the Atlantic 132 feet down. The vessel had returned to New York from a 4-month voyage to the Caribbean, then sailed back to New England waters and Block Island to resume training. On 25 September, the S-51 was operating on the surface with running lights on when a single one of her lights was spotted by the City of Rome. The merchant ship could not alter course in time and rammed the submarine. Of the 36 crewmen aboard the S-51, only three survived. Cmdr. Ellsberg (actually Lt. Cmdr. at the time) headed the team tasked with salvaging the submarine, raising it from the ocean floor. The S-51 was finally raised on 5 July, 1926 and towed to the Brooklyn Navy Yard; even this final journey of S-51 was not without incident. The vessel ran aground in the East River before being freed and towed to the Navy Yard where she was decommissioned and sold for scrap. Fine / very good. Item #E36907
Price: $28.50