The Lost Warship

"The Lost Warship" by Robert Moore Williams is a science fiction novel written in the early 1940s. The story begins with the aftermath of a bombing raid during World War II, focusing on the survival of Craig and several companions aboard a life boat drifting in an unrelenting sea. As tensions rise over limited resources, particularly water, and the psychological burdens of their dire situation unfold, the group becomes increasingly desperate, ultimately revealing the darker aspects of human nature when faced with survival. At the start of the novel, Craig and a small group find themselves stranded at sea after a bombing raid destroys their ship. Faced with the intense heat and diminishing water supply, Craig grapples with moral dilemmas, particularly when the cunning and volatile Margy Sharp attempts to persuade him to save her over others. Conflicts arise among the survivors, hinting at their increasingly fragile sanity as they struggle to accept the reality of their plight. The opening sets the stage for themes of survival, human conflict, and the unpredictable turns of fate, culminating when they are miraculously rescued by the battleship Idaho, only to encounter a far more bewildering challenge as they seem to have slipped through time into a prehistoric world.