The Terrible Hours

On the eve of World War II, the Squalus, America's newest submarine, plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic. While their loved ones waited in unbearable tension onshore, their ultimate fate would depend upon one man, US Navy officer Charles 'Swede' Momsen - an extraordinary combination of visionary, scientist and man of action.



On the eve of World War II, the Squalus, America's newest submarine, plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic. Miraculously, thirty-three crew members still survived in the stricken vessel. While their loved ones waited in unbearable tension onshore, their ultimate fate would depend upon one man, US Navy officer Charles 'Swede' Momsen - an extraordinary combination of visionary, scientist and man of action. In this thrilling true story, prize-winning author Peter Maas vividly re-creates a moment-by-moment account of the disaster and the man at its centre. Could he actually pluck those men from a watery grave? Or had all his pioneering work been in vain?'Gripping' New York Times'A white knuckle read' Publishers Weekly