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This epic story opens at the hour the Greatest Generation went to war on December 7, 1941, and follows four U.S. Navy ships and their crews in the Pacific until their day of reckoning three years later with a far different enemy: a deadly typhoon. In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey neglected the Law of Storms—the unofficial bible of all seamen since the days of sail—placing the mighty U.S. Third Fleet in harm's way. One of the most powerful fighting fleets ever assembled under any flag, the Third Fleet sailed directly into the largest storm the U.S. Navy had ever encountered—a maelstrom of 90-foot seas and 160-mph winds. More men were lost and ships sunk and damaged than in most combat engagements in the Pacific. The final toll: 3 ships sunk, 28 ships damaged, 146 aircraft destroyed, and 756 men lost at sea.In all, 92 survivors from the three sunken ships (each carrying a crew of about 300) were rescued, some after spending up to 80 hours in the water. Scores more had made it off their sinking ships only to perish in the monstrous seas; some from injuries and exhaustion, others snatched away by circling sharks before their horrified shipmates. In the far-flung rescue operations Bruce Henderson finds some of the story's truest heroes, exhibiting selflessness, courage, and even defiance. One badly damaged ship, whose Naval Reserve skipper disobeyed an admiral's orders to abandon the search, single-handedly saved 55 lives.Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly every living survivor and rescuer, many families of lost sailors, transcripts and other records from two naval courts of inquiry, ships' logs and action reports, personal letters, and diaries, Bruce Henderson offers the most thorough and riveting account to date of one of the greatest naval dramas of World War II.
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Subjects
History, Military, Nonfiction, World War, 1939-1945, American Naval operations, Naval History, Destroyers (Warships), United States. Navy, United States, United states, navy, history, World war, 1939-1945, naval operations, american, Warships, World war, 1939-1945, pacific area, United states, history, navalShowing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
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Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II
November 1, 2007, Collins, Smithsonian Books/Collins
in English
0061173169 9780061173165
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Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II
November 1, 2007, Collins
Hardcover
in English
0061173169 9780061173165
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- Created April 30, 2008
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June 20, 2012 | Edited by 158.158.240.230 | Edited without comment. |
June 20, 2012 | Edited by 158.158.240.230 | Added new cover |
August 12, 2010 | Edited by IdentifierBot | added LibraryThing ID |
April 24, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs. |
April 30, 2008 | Created by an anonymous user | Imported from amazon.com record. |