CLASSIC DIVE BOOKS

    Commercial Salvage
    Please note: The books are listed for interest only, and not offered for sale. 
     
    See also:
    WORLD SHIPWRECKS
    AUSTRALIAN SHIPWRECKS
    COMMERCIAL DIVING    		 Authors: 
    PETER KEEBLE
    FRANK MEIER
    DAVID MASTERS
    DESMOND YOUNG

     

    		 TO HOMEPAGE

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    FATHOMS BELOW
    Under-sea Salvage from Sailing Ships to the Normandie.
    Frank Meier. 
    Published in 1943 by Dutton, New York. 
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 319 p, photographs.

    See Author page, Meier.
    MARINE SALVAGE
    Joseph N. Gores
    Preface by Willard Bascom.
    First published in Great Britain by David and Charles (Publishers) Ltd, London, 1972.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 524 pages, 29 mono photographs.
    A most authorative and interesting book, covering a wide range of subjects and virtually every important salvage operation up to the date of publsihing. A must for the library of anyone interesting in shipwrecks and salvage, with a great deal on the history of diving. A very important work, and will become a valuable collectors item as it is now well out of print. A superb book.
    Image far left is British edition; [ps]
    Left US edition.
    MARINE SALVAGE OPERATIONS
    Edward Brady.
    1960
    MUD, MUSCLES AND MIRACLES
    Marine Salvage in the United States Navy.
    Captain C.A.Bartholomew.
    NO CURE - NO PAY
    The Story of Salvage at Sea.
    Mark Williams.
    Hutchinson Benham, London. 1978. ISBN 0 09 129650 1. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 230 pages, index. 
    From the fly:
    This is the story of salvage at sea, that controversial aspect of shipping history which centres round Smit International, the world's leading towing and salvage company. Salvage has always evoked strong emotions. In earlier, more piratical days- when abandoned vessels were boarded and the hearty cry 'I claim thee salvage' resulted in the seizure of ship and cargo- sea lore grew up with the erroneous idea that a wreck was fair game for all comers. In the seventeenth, eighteenth and nine- teenth centuries a series of bloody and financially crippling episodes made the 'scavenging trade' the bane of the mari- time nations. It was not until 1908 that salvage practise was regularized, and the interests of both shipowner and salvor were protected, with the drafting of the famous Lloyds Open Form-'No Cure- No Pay.' Although their history spans three centuries of nautical development, Smit's first began towing in the age of steam, when they developed a 140 hp wooden paddle tug to ply the inland waterways of the Dutch coast. Today, in response to the technological challenge, their giant tugs handle supertankers and North Sea oil equipment. For Smit's no two jobs are alike. Few are without risks. In No Cure-No Pay Mark' Williams intersperses the historical narrative with riveting accounts of actual operations of salvage and rescue at sea, .illustrating the procedural niceties of salvage contracts, or the technical compli- cations of getting close to a wreck where, for instance, the detached bow section is dangerously adrift. Equally compelling are descriptions of Smits role in clearing the Suez Canal, and of the problems involved in North Sea installation. A real-life tale as fascinating as any old; salts yarn, No Cure-No pay will appeal to all who respond to the call of the sea.
    OCEAN SALVAGE
    D.A.Koster
    First published 1971.
    Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd. London.
    Hardcover, dust jacket, 191 pages, maps and 33 photographs.
    Starts off with a fifteen page hsitry of diving, 12 pages of searching techniques, and then covers eleven major world salvage operations including the Laurentic, Egypt, Scapa Flow, Nuestra Senora, Niagara, Thresher, Scorpion. Of lottle historic value but an interesting summary of the major salvage operations.
    [ps]
    SALVAGE DIVER
     
     Zachary Ball, published by Holiday House, Second Printing, 1961.
    On right: title page.
    From eBay. No further details. 
    SALVAGE FROM THE SEA
    Commander Gerald Forsberg.
    First British edition, 1977. Published by Routlege and Kegan, London.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 179 pages, 12 pages of b/w photos.
    A very extensive bibliography of salvage, recovery and associated literature on marine salvage and salvage history. After introducing the reader to the wide and varied field of marine salvage, the author covers many aspects of the salvage scene in greater detail.salvage personnel, vessels, craft
    and equipment, grounded and sunken vessels, ocean towage, wreck dispersal and harbour clearence,submarine recovery, aircraft salvage, medium and deep-water recoveries, and underwater techinques of divers and submersibles. The book also is enlivened by many humerous  anecdotes and fascinating accounts of salvage and out of the ordinary recoveries. [ps]
    SALVAGE OPERATIONS
    Captain C.N.T.Baptist. 
    Stanford Maritime Limited, London. 1979. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 155 pages, mono prints.
    From the fly:
    Sea disasters have received a great deal of coverage in recent years and much public interest has been generated. Books and articles have been written on collisions and strand- ings, the circumstances leading up to them, the ecological after effects and the legal proceedings that follow. Against this background of high invest ment. Salvage Operations offers accounts of recent salvage jobs - including Torrey Canyon and the rig Orion - based upon Lloyds Open form 'No Cure, No Pay'. With both the professional and the 'informed layman' in mind, the author has made his selection carefully to highlight the many unique facets of the subject, at the same time striking a useful balance between descriptive text and technical data.
    [ps]
    SHIP ASHORE
    Desmond Young
    The first book by Young. As usual very well written. This book is more about shipwrecks
    and salvage than about commercial diving. Totally enjoyable to read.
    Availability: rare, when it appears on the market without dust jacket 400.00 USD.
    Info acknowledge: MB

    SEE WEBPAGE FOR AUTHOR
    SO ENDS THIS DAY - An Autobiography.
    Captain Sir John Williams.
    Globe Press, Victoria. 1981.
    From the fly: In this autobiography Sir John I Williams recounts the story of his long and eventful life. Born in Wales in 1896 he went to I ,ea on sailing ships when he was fourteen, and his years before the mast tell of a past era of romance, danger, harshness and hard work. After meeting his future wife on a voyage to Australia he migrated and worked in the port of Townsville. Moving to Melbourne as Wharf Manager he developed a stevedoring business which later diversified into freight, salvage and engineering. The energetic, young John Williams also maintained interests in gold-mining, cool stores, paint manufacture and farming. But from the gold ship Niagara through service with the war time Salvage Board to the present day, marine salvage has been the main interest of this multi-faceted man. Appointed as Chairman of the Australian Coastal Shipping . Commission in 1956 he presided over its first years of development until his retirement in 1971. This book is not simply the outline of an outstanding career. With amazing recall and endearing frankness it shares the the life of a remarkable man. Hardcover, dustjacket, 230 pages, index, mono prints. [ps]
    THE MAN WHO BOUGHT A NAVY
    The Story of the World's Greatest Salvage Achievement at Scapa Flow.
    Gerald Bowman. 
    Published in 1964 by George G. Harrap & Co, London.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 237 pages, mono photographs.
    There are quite a few books on the scuttling of the German Flleeet at Scapa Flow during the final stages of World War 1, but few as intersting as this one which centres on the work of a most remarkable man,  Ernest Frank Cox, who did indeed own a navy - even if it was at the bottom of the sea. Provides excelent descriptions of the raising of several vessels, some under the most difficult of situations. A most valuable book in all respects.
    THE OCEAN ON A PLANK
    Captain W.A.Doust CBE.
    Se;ey, Service & Co.Ltd, London. 1976. ISBN 0 85422 0887.
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 161 pages, mono prints. 
    From the fly:
    Very few men of eighty can look back over their lives and honestly say that they have spent their time doing just what they wanted to do and have achieved all that they set out to do. Yet all who read Captain Doust's remarkable autobiography will agree that here is just such a man. In his youth he realized that it was futile to resist the call of the sea and nearly all the rest of his working life has been spent in, on or under it. In the field of marine salvage Doust's talents found their ideal outlet - his love of the sea, his engineering skill atid his amazing ability to imprpvise with whatever equipment was available under the most difficult circumstances soon made him a master of his profession. His account of his work for the Marine Salvage Department of the Admiralty during the war throws much new light on a sadly neglected but vital aspect of our struggle to maintain naval supremacy in the hour of our direst peril. His subseqijent career in the Far East is as persuasive an argument for the virtues of free enterprise and . individual initiative as one is likely to read. In this highly readable and entertaining book Captain Doust looks back with humour and gratitude upon a life in which high risks and hard work won their just rewards. [xps]
    THE RAISING OF THE VASA
    The Rebirth of a Swedish galleon.
    Roy Saunders.  Oldbourne Book Co. Ltd, London. 1962. 
    Hardcover, dustjacket, 88 pages, mono prints. 
    From the fly:
    On August 10th, 1628, the giant battle galleon Vasa set sail from Stockholm and, within a few minutes, sank. The Vasa was the biggest battleship of the day and the pride of Imperial Sweden. In the centuries that followed many attempts were made to salvage her. But not until 1956, when her exact location was discovered by Anders Franzen of Stockholm, was it possible to bring the skill of modern engineers to the task. Today, the great ship, raised from its resting place on the seabed, is a Swedish national monument. Scientists and craftsmen are engaged in the task of ensuring its preservation. Because of the nature of the water in that part of the sea, the Vasa was brought to the surface intact. The hulk contained perfectly preserved arms and utensils of a vanished age; around it were strewn great quantities of woodcarving - of gods, kings, knights, mermaids, dragons, lions, demons, cherubs; symbolic works of art from a fantastic Baroque period. It contained the centuries - old skeletons of Swedish fighting mariners. The story of the sinking of the Vasa and its reclamation is graphically told by Roy Saunders in this enthralling book.  [ps]
    THE SALVAGER
    The Life of Captain Tom Reid of the Great Lakes.
    Mary Francis Doner.
    THE SALVING OF THE FUSI YAMA.
    Percy F. Westerman.
    No further details.
    UP SHE RISES
    The Story of Naval Salvage.
    Commander Frank W. Lipscomb, OBE RN., in collaboration with John Davies, ex-Lieutenant RNVR.
    Forward by Admiral of the Fleet, Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
    Hutchinson & Co Ltd, London. 1966.
    From the fly: "Up She Rises tells the story of the Admiralty Salvage Service from its beginnings to its work in the two world wars and gives examples of salvage of all kinds, including a remarkable pre- 'D' Day story (the rising of the Mulberry Harbour Phoenix units told here for the first time), the Suez Campaign, a Floating Dock in Singa- pore and two truly remarkable operations of special importance to this country. The first is the salvage of the crashed Comet airliner ‘Yoke Peter' off Elba, which led to the discovery of the fault in construction, and put British aircraft once again in the forefront of the jet age of commercial flying; and secondly, the salvage of parts of the crashed Victor bomber, again leading to the establishment of a vital fault in construction, from which it was possible to keep our V-Bomber force in the air. "
    I clear;y remember the Comet airliner crashes in 1950s, as one of my father's dearest friends was a Comet pilot. I can recall seeing on television in 1954 (in England), the pressure tessting of a fuselarge in a huge water tank which led to conformation that the fuselarge was cracking at the corner of the rounded-oblong windows. The book starts off with a bit of history that extended into the modern day - the the loss of the Mary Rose in 1545. The excellent drawings in the book give a good impression of how various salvage operations are achieved. And if you like jig-saw puzzles, as I do, have a look at the photograph of no less than 500,000 pieces of a Comet jet that were recovered from the seabed - and reassembled on land. A great book, a true classic of marine salvage.  [ps]

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