On the Bottom: The Raising of the Submarine S-51

By: Rear Admiral Edward Ellsberg

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Synopsis: The man who led the salvage efforts to raise a sunken US Navy submarine recounts the mission in a tale &“that will surely rank among the epics of the sea&” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The sinking of the submarine S-51 was one of the greatest tragedies in American naval history. Due to a miscommunication and subsequent collision between the sub and a passing steamship on a September night, the S-51, including thirty-three of its crew of thirty-six, sank to the ocean depths. The tragedy of the S-51 captivated the nation, and was a fixture in the pages of American newspapers. The story took on a whole new dimension when the navy decided to take over the salvage of the thousand-ton behemoth from a civilian company. Heading the crew tasked with this impossible feat was Edward Ellsberg, at the time a lieutenant commander. On the Bottom is Ellsberg&’s account of the successes and failures he and his men experienced as they attempted an astonishing feat of engineering and bravery: the first salvage of a submarine from the open ocean.