Geer, Andrew Clare The Sea Chase

The German freighter ERGENSTRASSE escapes from Australia at the outbreak of World War 2, making a run across the Pacific and then into the Atlantic in an attempt to reach Germany while being pursued by the Royal Navy. Based loosely upon the real-life story of the German freighter ERLANGEN which made a similar escape attempt during the early days of the war. Geer’s Germans are, for the most part, unsympathetic, and indeed the tale reads as if it had been written during the War and not after it. Later (1955) made into a Warner Brothers CinemaScope feature film starring John Wayne (!) as the vessel’s anti-Nazi skipper, Karl Ehrlich. Also onboard for the film ride were John Farrow, James Arness, Tab Hunter and Lana Turner!