Overview

One of the last submarines built by the Simon Lake company and the first Navy vessel fitted with true piezoelectric SONAR, submarine S-49 served as a United States Navy ship for five years, testing innovative devices. Two politicians from Revere, Massachusetts, rescued her from the scrapyard, and she was exhibited at the Chicago World's Fair and in cities on the Eastern Seaboard until World War II. Navy Research fitted up the sub so that she could dive again and used her for SONAR fuze testing until one day she could no longer rise to the surface. The sub sits at the bottom of the Patuxent River in Maryland to this day. This work relates the history of the S-49, including tales of her deeds, her battery explosion, her commanders, her wily civilian rescuers, and her life as an exhibition subject.

Full Product Details

9781476698359

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Reading Wilk's Mystery Ship confirmed my opinion after reading his Lost Wonderland that Wilk is both an extraordinary researcher and an eminently readable author. Wilk is a master of contextualizing the history of his subject; in this case the U.S. Navy Submarine S-49 and its initial service as a naval experimental asset during the 1920s and subsequently as a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit of William M. Keevey and Francis J. Chrestensen, two would-be politicians in the City of Revere, Massachusetts. This is a story for readers interested in the history of the U.S. submarine service and in the history of the business of amusements and attractions in the first half of the 20th Century and how the two came together to create the 'long strange odyssey' of the S-49. I highly recommend it.""--Dr. Toby Pearlstein, museum operations director, Revere (MA) History Museum ""Stephen Wilks' brilliantly researched work on the history of the submarine USS S-49 is an interesting and informative work, and a window into an America between two world wars. So, pour a glass of your favorite libation, settle in that comfy chair, and read what Stephen Wilks found out about the life and times of the Mystery Ship.""--Gene Masters, former submariner, author of Silent Warriors: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific ""Wonderful. It was a pleasure to see such a rich story unfold in a way that appeals to the average reader. I am sure my father would have enjoyed seeing his research put to such good use.""--Chris Beard, son of the submarine officer-turned-law professor who wrote a book about the S-49

Author Information

Stephen R. Wilk is an optical engineer and laser physicist living near Boston, Massachusetts. He has published books on mythology, weird optics, history, and young adult genre fiction.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available