Audiobook8 hours
A Strange Whim of the Sea: The Wreck of the USS Macaw
Written by Tim Loughman
Narrated by Tom Perkins
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this audiobook
On January 16, 1944, the submarine rescue vessel USS Macaw (ASR-11) ran aground at Midway Atoll while attempting to get a towing line to the stranded submarine USS Flier (SS-250). The Flier was pulled free six days later, but another three weeks of salvage efforts failed to dislodge the Macaw. Then on February 12, the sea accomplished that task, nudging the ship into deeper water.
As night fell and the ship slowly sank, the twenty-two men on board sought refuge in the pilot house. By about 0230 Sunday, that compartment having flooded almost entirely, Burton gave the order to open the portside door and make for the foremast. Five of the men, including Burton himself, died, as did three sailors from the base at Midway in a pair of unauthorized and effectively suicidal rescue attempts that morning.
This book traces the lives of the Macaw and her enigmatic captain, from birth on San Francisco Bay to death at Midway. Ultimately, for Paul Burton and the Macaw the real enemy was the sea, and in a deadly denouement told here in riveting detail, the sea won. Highlighting the underreported role auxiliary vessels played in the war, A Strange Whim of the Sea should engage the military historian and layperson alike with the previously untold story it tells of struggle, sacrifice, death, and survival in the Pacific in World War II.
As night fell and the ship slowly sank, the twenty-two men on board sought refuge in the pilot house. By about 0230 Sunday, that compartment having flooded almost entirely, Burton gave the order to open the portside door and make for the foremast. Five of the men, including Burton himself, died, as did three sailors from the base at Midway in a pair of unauthorized and effectively suicidal rescue attempts that morning.
This book traces the lives of the Macaw and her enigmatic captain, from birth on San Francisco Bay to death at Midway. Ultimately, for Paul Burton and the Macaw the real enemy was the sea, and in a deadly denouement told here in riveting detail, the sea won. Highlighting the underreported role auxiliary vessels played in the war, A Strange Whim of the Sea should engage the military historian and layperson alike with the previously untold story it tells of struggle, sacrifice, death, and survival in the Pacific in World War II.
Related to A Strange Whim of the Sea
Related audiobooks
The Sunken Gold: A Story of World War I Espionage and the Greatest Treasure Salvage in History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sink the Haguro!: The Last Destroyer Action of the Second World War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Abolitionist and the Spy: A Father, a Son, and Their Battle for the Union Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHiding in Plain Sight: how a Jewish girl survived Europe's heart of darkness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFor the Boys: The True Account of a Combat Nurse in Patton's Third Army Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSearching for Franklin: New Answers to the Great Arctic Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMidway Submerged: American and Japanese Submarine Operations at the Battle of Midway, May–June 1942 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBattle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Undersea Warrior: The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Through The Wheat Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Final Mission: Zion: The Pale Horse Saga Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Station Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlackbirds: A London Blitz Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flower in the River: A family tale, finally told Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Worse Place than Hell: How the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg Changed a Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArctic Convoys: Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Dunkirk: The Epic Story of History's Most Extraordinary Evacuation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat I Saw of Shiloh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Greatest Raid of All: Operation Chariot and the Mission to Destroy the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5War at Sea: A Shipwrecked History from Antiquity to the Twentieth Century Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The First Atomic Bomb: The Trinity Site in New Mexico Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPirates: The Truth Behind the Robbers of the High Seas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBomb Group: The Eighth Air Force's 381st and The Allied Air Offensive Over Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSky Girls: The True Story of the First Women's Cross-Country Air Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Down to the Sea: An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spies, Saboteurs and Secret Missions of World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strategy Masters: The Prince, The Art of War, and The Gallic Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Founding Mothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A Strange Whim of the Sea
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews