Under the Red Sea Sun

A Navy admiral's firsthand account of the Allied salvage operation that played a key role in recovering North Africa from the Nazis during World War II.

By 1942, Mussolini's forces were on the run in East Africa. In order to slow the Allied advance, the Italians used audacious tactics—including making ports inoperable, leaving the Allies without the infrastructure necessary to continue the war effort.

At Massawa, Eritrea, the fleeing Italians left the largest mass wreck in the world, t...