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Under the Red Sea Sun (New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1946) is a book by Edward "Ned" Ellsberg describing salvage operations of the many ships scuttled by the Italians to block the port of Massawa on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea during World War II. Massawa's excellent harbor was vital first to the Italian then to the British war effort.

In Massawa, Ellsberg saw his weight go down fifteen pounds to a "fighting trim" 150. He smoked eight packs of cigarettes a day, telling his wife he smoked four. His doctor measured a low blood pressure of 100 after two months out in the heat.

Ellsberg, a skilled writer, described how a small group of workers under his direction accomplished an almost Herculean task with virtually no resources. Much of the story is an entertaining account of the bureaucratic politics of working in a remote backwater far from support and assistance.

Ellsberg paints a realistic picture of confusion and incompetence in the early days of the war. He was particularly caustic about the American civilian contractor building facilities at 7,000 feet higher at Asmara, where it was much cooler than at Massawa but was too far away for the facilities to ever be used by harbor personnel. "It is true that a large and expensive rest camp has been built in the hills some 40 miles from here at an elevation of 3500 feet, with the expectation that everyone would leave here each evening to sleep there and return in the morning to work. But it takes an hour and a half each way for the journey over a terribly hot intervening plain and then up a mountain highway full of sharp switchbacks. The problem of transporting several thousand men in buses daily over that road is quite insoluble, and I think myself the men would be completely knocked out by the daily journey, not to mention that the accident rate would undoubtedly be high. (There have been plenty of accidents to our trucks already over that road)." (Kagnew Station? Ghinda)

Signs "Ned" to his publisher.

Plot

Immediately after Pearl Harbor, Ellsberg rejoined the Navy. His first assignment was to conduct salvage operations at the newly liberated port of Massawa, then in Ethiopia - now Eritrea.

Voyage to Massawa

S.S. "Pig's Knuckle"

Merchant and Miners Line coastal steamer SS Fairfax which left pier 50 on New York’s North River, February 16, 1942 bound for Lagos, Nigeria. Captain A. Brooks.

"As regards the voyage, which in that letter you mention as sounding like a nightmare, and trusted was not typical of our merchant marine, I can assure you I now know it was not typical. From the stories I have heard of other ships since and what I have seen of their officers and crews here, I can assure you I traveled on a beautifully disciplined and unusually well managed ship, with officers and crew considerably above average. Draw your own conclusions."

BOAC to Cairo

During his work in Massawa, Ellsberg reported to the Lend Lease coordinator in Cairo, US Army Major General Russell Maxwell. "Brigadier General Adler, second in the Mission, who heads its air corps activities. If I’m not mistaken, during peace time he owns and heads the New York Times>"

Cairo to Asmara

BOAC no-go; retracing steps.

Massawa at last

Death-defying ride down 8000-foot switchbacked descent to Massawa

Colonel Claterbos

Salvage operations

Working in beastly heat with virtually no staff and poor administrative support, Ellsberg salvaged a large floating dry dock and the ships that had been sunk to block the harbor. Ellsberg returned the port to operation and the ships salvaged were added to the Allies' merchant fleets. Ellsberg renamed the S.S. Liebenfels, a large German freighter, salvaged and refitted at Massawa, the General Russell Maxwell. Ellsberg complained that the American contractor that was assigned to give him administrative support was very unhelpful, but he did not name that company. The company, Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., itself claimed credit for clearing the port in the privately printed book, "Middle East War Projects of Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., for the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1942-1943" (New York: Johnson, Drake & Piper, Inc., 1943). That book contains beautiful photographs and drawings showing projects around the Middle East.

May 8th: first docking service performed, using Persian dry dock.

May 10th: salvage master and five divers arrive.

May 20th: floated large Italian dry dock "Wheeler, chief of the British Mediterranean Salvage Forces had bet another officer it couldn't be done." "Italian Naval Commander (in jail) said it couldn't be repaired." "To make the day perfect, General Maxwell, head of the North African Mission, came down from Cairo to inspect our naval base, accompanied by the British general commanding in Egypt, the British general commanding Eritrea, and an assorted lot of colonels, both British and American. So we were able to stage quite a show for them, with our drydock housing a large ship, our salvaged vessel up from the deep, fresh in a thick coating of oysters and barnacles, and our ships all running on machinery the Italians thought they had thoroughly sabotaged. Everything went off beautifully. For the first time, we had hoisted over our naval base the American flag, and I have never felt prouder of it than when this morning (after a very brief speech by me) it was hoisted over our highest building. Then the visiting brass hats were escorted over the base and taken out in a boat to inspect our exhibits afloat, all of which made quite an impression. On the way back, the British general commanding, who was certainly deeply impressed by what he had seen, told me, “Commander, I know of no one who is doing as much to help win the war as you!”"

"My force consists of a few American supervisors backed up by Italian prisoners of war, Hindoos, Persians, Somalis, Sudanese, Maltese, Arabs, Ethiopians, Egyptians, and some Englishmen."

Docked and serviced 12 vessels in 20 days. Docked and serviced 13 vessels in 24 days.

June 1942: temperature on the dry dock is 149 F at head height, 163 F at the steel plates underfoot.

~June 3: fired houseboy for pulling 2x pay under two names. He had complained he didn't get paid.

June 19: Claterbos sails for home. Ellsberg appointed by FDR to the rank of Captain.

June 25: salvage ship Intent is working on Liebenfels.

July 3: Liebenfels floated by Capt. Edison Brown and Ellsberg.

July 4: towed Liebenfels back to Naval Harbor? with large American flag flying over Nazi ensign.

Planning for daughter Mary's senior year in college, starting Sept. 1942. Mary's 21st birthday Aug. 29, 1942. Mary to be married soon to certain 'Mike' that Ellsberg doesn't approve of.

August 5: Air raid alarm in Helipolis Cairo, where Ellsberg is staying. No bombs.

August 6: In Cairo. Men working on Frauenfels in Massawa.

meeting with Commodore Sir Henry Harwood

Port Said. BBC mentions Ellsberg in radio broadcast but he misses it.

Aug. 11: flying back to Massawa. JD&P (Flanagan) writes to say Captain Whiteside isn't coming out from Virginia.

Aug 12?13: largest salvage ship arrives. Ellsberg finds JD&P have tried to depose him during his ten days' absence.

He describes JD&P executives going to Massawa: "I doubt whether any of them have ever spent a night here since arrival, and their very infrequent visits here usually follow this schedule: 1. Leave inland by car about 9 AM. 2. Arrive here about noon, which is just in time for lunch. 3. Have lunch, over by about 1 PM. 4. Start to look at their watches, as it is desirable to start back before the afternoon heat becomes intense. 5. Business (if any) hurriedly discussed while the visitors are getting back into their cars, which at the latest should be underway by 2 PM for the hills. This schedule (on a visit every month or so) keeps these executives closely in first hand touch with the work and the needs of this port, so that they are in an excellent position between visits by telephone from 8000 feet up to direct everything here much better than those who are handicapped by day after day contact with the problems to be solved, which close contact naturally warps the judgment of those who must live on the spot. The resulting efficiency is astounding."

A certain Mr. "E" of JD&P is really trying to help.

Sept. 15: raised the second Italian dry dock. Armstrong dead.

Sept. 20: flying to Cairo. Asked that the new men under him NOT be assigned to JD&P. Answer: yes.

Sept. 24: flying to Massawa.

Gera floated, towed to Naval Harbor.

Oct. 10: G. M. Gaussa, Foreign Manager, JD&P writes a note to make Captain Eddison (sic) Brown be "appointed General Superintendent of Salvage Work under Directive #2." cc: Captain Ellsberg, Lt. Gallagher, C.A. Nelson, P. Murphy, Captain Brown, William Reed, Captain Hanson, Captain Byglin, Higgins, Mahoney.

Ellsberg quells what could have been a back-stabbing power grab.

Oct. 31: work starts on floating sunken derrick

Nov. 5: 77 ships have been docked

Nov. 6: Italian passenger ship Tripolitania floated

Nov. 20: Derrick floated

Nov. 24: Ordered to Oran for salvage work there

Quotation

Ellsberg, who had vast technical knowledge and experience, described experts as "...people who know so much about how things have been done in the past that they are usually blind to how they can be done in the future."

(Ellsberg developed, but did not patent, the submerged-coil type low-pressure evaporator system on the U.S.S. Raleigh and the U.S.S. Denver in 1923, and published an article about his method).

Reviews

• Atlantic 178:172. December 1946.
• Booklist 43:84. November 15, 1946.
• Christian Science Monitor, November 15, 1946. P. 16.
• New York Times November 3, 1946. P. 5.
• New Yorker 22:65. December 28, 1946.
• San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 1946. P16.
• Saturday Review 29:14. November 16, 1946.