Ordinary Seaman Harold Quimsby – Masthead lookout Ordinary Seaman Albert Whipple - Masthead lookout Ordinary Seaman Triggs – stationed in the magazine Enemies Vice-Ammiraglio Gasparo Gaetano Nocentini, Italian Navy Kapitän zur See Helmuth von Bödicke, German Navy Korvettenkapitän Klein – Bödicke's translator Luogotenente Lorenzetti – Nocentini's translator Structure The novel is divided into twenty-six short chapters, and describes a very short period of time. The narrative interweaves the stories of the men aboard, from the Paymaster Commander to the Captain to the gun crew that fires the shot that changed the course of history, with chapter headings that come from the Captain's official after-action report. Background The author dedicated the book "with the deepest respect to the officers and crew of ", and the action described is based on the Second Battle of Sirte. Forester had been invited to a mission aboard that vessel by the Admiralty earlier. Less than a year after the book was published, the Penelope was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank with more than half her crew. Notes and references External links 1943 British novels Novels set during World War II Novels by C. S. Forester Michael Joseph books