72 Hours: The First-hand Account Of A Royal Navy Misson To Save The Crew Of A Trapped Russian Submarine

In early August 2005 the Russian mini-submarine AS-28 was inspecting a top-secret military sonar installation when she ran into a web of discarded trawling cables. Trapped more than six hundred feet below the surface in water that was close to freezing, the first thing the seven men checked was the oxygen gauge. That's when they knew they were in trouble. Two years beforehand the Russian Navy had fumbled for four days when their nuclear submarine Kursk sank in less than half their depth. All 118 crew were lost, either killed by the initial explosion or, for most, suffocated in the frozen darkness. The oxygen on AS-28 would last just 72 hours.

Royal Navy Commander Ian Riches led a maverick submarine rescue team to the remote patch of ocean on the other side of the world, racing groups from America and Japan. Battling crushing pressures, Russian military pride and high technology failures, this is a gripping story of British heroism on the high seas set against a terrifying countdown.