Title: The SS City of Flint : an American freighter at war, 1939-1943 /
Authors: Haugseng, Magne, 1951-
Year: 2021
Subjects: City of Flint (Ship); World War, 1939-1945 Atlantic Ocean; World War, 1939-1945 Transportation; Naval convoys History; Cargo ships United States History; Shipwrecks North Atlantic Ocean History; World War, 1939-1945 Naval operations; World War, 1939-1945 Naval operations Submarine; HISTORY / Military / World War II.; HISTORY / Military / Naval.; Cargo ships; Military operations, Naval; Military operations, Naval Submarine; Naval convoys; Shipwrecks; Transportation; Atlantic Ocean; North Atlantic Ocean; United States
Abstract: "In Europe, World War II was four months old by Christmas 1939. The City of Flint, an American freighter, had been instrumental in rescuing 1200 passengers from a torpedoed ocean liner, making headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. She was captured by a Nazi warship and sent towards a German port, with commandos aboard prepared to blow her up rather than let the British Navy take them alive. Norwegian marines liberated the ship--by then even Hitler knew her name. Christmas 1942 saw the City of Flint in New York with other freighters loading for North Africa. Allied codes had been cracked and the convoy was expected by a group of U-Boats. Spotted and tailed until sunset, she was torpedoed and exploded--among the cargo was poison gas. Eleven survivors in her fourth lifeboat fought mountainous seas, sharks and hunger. One went mad and walked overboard. The others survived 46 days before rescue. Eyewitness accounts, war diaries and archival sources bring this untold story to life"--
Contents: The beginning -- Preparations -- A helping hand -- The prize -- Trapped -- Politics of neutrality -- Americans in communist Soviet Union -- Back to Norway -- The chase -- Turning point -- Pawn -- Cargo -- Going home -- Convoys -- Convoy -- to Murmansk -- Basra -- Torpedoed -- The prey -- The target -- Postscript -- Still waters once again -- Postscript.