Pigboats

It’s 1914 and war has gripped the world…

Lieutenant Thomas Knowlton awakes after a night of heavy drinking with Hans Erhardt, a German P.O.W who has been interned at the neutral port of Manila.

Much to Knowlton’s dismay, he soon realises he’s missed his Submarine. It had left without him!

Baker an inexperienced sailor and friend of Knowlton’s, covers for his absence. However, without Knowlton to do his duty, the submarine sinks to the ocean floor, with all those on board perishing inside.

What is Knowlton to do? He’s has been presumed dead, as well as being the presumed cause of the tragedy for not doing his duty. If he’s found to still be alive he would certainly be court martialled and executed.

To make things worse, he sees Erhardt has stolen his uniform and is boarding a Dutch liner to make his way back to the war.

This was all Erhardt’s fault!

He now goes by the name of Tom Knowles and has been making a living as a hard-working, hard-drinking riveter in shipyards around the world.

He has been doing well for himself.

Soon, however, he hears about a German U-boat, U-38 that has been targeting and wreaking havoc among neutral American merchant vessels. This particular U-boat appears to be captained by none other than Hans Erhardt…

It can only be a matter of time before the U.S.A enters the theatre of war and Tom Knowles can enact his vengeance…

After a series of brave feats of ingenuity and horrific experiences at sea, he once again finds himself captaining a submarine and going head to head with the figurehead of his anger.

The detail and depth of emotion present in this chilling and claustrophobic tale in enthralling. A story of heroism and revenge in the harshest of conditions. A must-read for anyone with an interest in the history of the First World War, or any fan of Naval history. Commander Ellsberg’s attention to detail and bleakly realistic storytelling are simply brilliant.

‘done in high adventure style’ – Kirkus Reviews 

'Authentic material in a good yarn' - Kirkus Reviews 

Rear Admiral Edward Ellsberg returned to active service with the navy the morning after Pearl Harbour, after a life of hazardous adventure in salvage operations, during which he won the United States Navy’s Distinguished Service Medal. He thereby became the first man to gain the award in peacetime. At Massawa he raised the two Italian Floating Docks, in spite of expert opinion that it was impossible. Later he served as Principal Salvage Officer under General Eisenhower in North Africa and afterwards in the Normandy Invasion. Rear Admiral Ellsberg was awarded the C.B.E. by His Majesty King George VI, and two Legions of Merit by the United States Government.