Sale, Richard "Short Voyage Home"

An unusual World War 2 survival at sea story. Two fighter pilots in an aerial dogfight – one an Englishman named Ross and the other a German – are shot down over the English Channel. Through a bit of fortuitous “luck” the RAF pilot spots an abandoned dory drifting in the Channel beneath him as he parachutes into the sea. Ross successfully makes it to the damaged small boat, which lacks a full complement of oars and had been strafed at some point in the recent past. When he sees his foe ditching in the water nearby, chivalrous Ross rescues the man from certain drowning. A battle of wits – and maritime “salvage” rights! – ensues when the German attempts to force Ross to take the boat eastward to Occupied France. Ross wins the fray, and the two men slowly head back to England. It is interesting to note that Sale portrayal of the two enemies very much corresponds to American public opinion in 1941 regarding the English and German national characters. The downed Englishman is seen as a man of bravery and intellectual resources. The author’s portrait of the German, one other hand is entirely negative: the Nazi is arrogant, sneaky, thoroughly lacking in morals and a true barbarian.