Against The Odds

On the morning of May 23, 1939, a state-of-the-art U.S. Navy’s submarine, the USS Squalus, was doing a routine test dive when something went terribly wrong. The sub began flooding, and plunged 240 feet down to the bottom of the ocean, trapping the dozens of sailors aboard. The ship’s captain knew he had to act fast if he had any hope of saving his crew from a horrible death. Listen early and ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening...

With the USS Squalus trapped at the bottom of the ocean, the Navy mounted an all-out rescue effort to save its crew before they ran out of breathable air. They called upon Charles “Swede” Momsen, an engineer who’d been pushing the Navy for years to develop new technology to rescue sunken submarines. While top brass considered Momsen a “rebel in uniform,” his ingenious invention — a rescue diving bell — soon became the Navy’s only hope. Listen early and ad free with Wondery+...

Swede Momsen’s diving bell finally makes contact with the sailors trapped inside the USS Squalus. But bad weather makes for a harrowing mission. And just when rescuers are about to bring the last of the crew to safety, the bell hits an unexpected snag, leaving a group of sailors and the sub’s captain trapped in even worse circumstances than before, with their chances of survival literally hanging by a thread. Listen early and ad free with Wondery+...