Sabotage in the Arctic

About the Book

The story of Australian-born Sir Hubert Wilkins and the Nautilus is usually a brief footnote, if mentioned at all, of Arctic exploration history. However, it is a tale of daring enterprise and of men captivated by the pursuit of noble deeds. Having leased and extensively modified a decommissioned vintage World War I U.S. Navy submarine, the Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans Arctic Submarine Expedition of 1931 was marked by controversy from its inception. Many considered it a huge publicity stunt, especially the planned rendezvous at the North Pole with the German airship Graf Zeppelin. The Nautilus did make it into the Arctic but suspected sabotage ended Sir Hubert’s quest to be the first to use a submarine to cross the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole.

An oceanographer, historian and author, Dr. Nelson is a Fellow of the Marine Technology Society, a member of the Explorers Club and the former president of the American Oceanic Organization.

About the Author

Dr. Stewart B. Nelson was coleader and scientific advisor of Project Nautilus 2005, an Explorers Club flag expedition that successfully rediscovered the world’s first Arctic submarine, the Nautilus, scuttled off Bergen, Norway, in November 1931. With major financial support provided by Holland America Line and the Thyssen Foundation, a two-man submersible was used to descend 1,138 feet (347 meters) beneath the surface of the Byfjorden and thoroughly document the historic Nautilus.