Puzzling Disaster
Several members of the R-12’s crew who had been stationed above deck on the conning tower – including skipper Lieutenant Commander E. E. Shelby – were thrown out and into the water when the ship descended below the surface of the seas. The catastrophe claimed the lives of the remaining 42 members of the rescue crew. A complete explanation for what caused the disaster was never offered, and the wreckage was kept buried for more than seven decades after it occurred.
Puzzling Disaster
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