Down to the Sea

From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author, an epic story following four U.S. Navy ships in the Pacific that faced a deadly typhoon during World War II.

In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur’s invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey neglected the Law of Storms—the unofficial bible of all seamen since the days of sail—placing the mighty U.S. Third Fleet in harm’s way. One of the most powerful fighting fleets ever assembled under any flag, the Third Fleet sailed directly into the largest storm the U.S. Navy had ever encountered—a maelstrom of ninety-foot seas and 160-mph winds. More men were lost and ships sunk and damaged than in most combat engagements in the Pacific. The final toll: three ships sunk, twenty-eight ships damaged, 146 aircraft destroyed, and 756 men lost at sea.

In all, ninety-two survivors from the three sunken ships (each carrying a crew of about 300) were rescued, some after spending up to eighty hours in the water. Scores more had made it off their sinking ships only to perish in the monstrous seas. In the far-flung rescue operations Bruce Henderson finds some of the story’s truest heroes, exhibiting selflessness, courage, and even defiance. One badly damaged ship, whose Naval Reserve skipper disobeyed an admiral’s orders to abandon the search, singlehandedly saved fifty-five lives.

Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly every living survivor and rescuer, many families of lost sailors, transcripts and other records from two naval courts of inquiry, ships’ logs and action reports, personal letters, and diaries, Bruce Henderson offers the most thorough and riveting account to date of one of the greatest naval dramas of World War II.