Last Man Down

Download or read book Last Man Down written by David W. Jourdan and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-10-01 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SS-168—the USS Nautilus—was the flagship of Submarine Division 12 operating out of Pearl Harbor throughout World War II. It was commissioned July 1, 1930, before international naval treaties limited future submarine size, and thus was among the largest submarines in the U.S. fleet. Over a football field in length and displacing 4,000 tons submerged, the boat was able to carry a large crew, ample cargo, two dozen torpedoes, cruiser-sized six-inch caliber guns, and cruise as far as 25,000 miles. She could dive to three hundred feet—though her crew was known to take her deeper. Throughout 1942–45 the Nautilus engaged the enemy in fourteen different patrols, from the Battle of Midway to the liberation of the Philippines, earning fourteen battle stars. Her skipper, William H. Brockman, Jr., received not one but three Navy Crosses for heroism, the first for fighting through 42 depth charges at Midway. Nautilus did everything a submarine can do and was involved in most of the major actions of the Pacific theater. In Last Man Down, historical events documented in deck logs and patrol reports are told through the voices of the men who lived them.