[davidktr]

Based on your recommendation, I just read the first chapter, a harrowing account of how the first sub-based spy mission against Murmansk went catastrophically wrong.

During a rescue operation in the Arctic ocean, several submariners were tossed into the sea. Some of them were killed by their experimental life preservers, until then untested under real world conditions.

The life preservers were floating devices sewn into foul weather gear and boots. The boots were attached to the rest of the suit and could only be removed using a special tool. When hitting the frigid water, a number of the floating devices sewn into jackets burst, leaving the boots as the only buoyant part of the suit.

While the men's boots pulled their feet upwards, the weight of the rest of the suit pulled them under water. Quickly tiring in the churning sear, several drowned, feet pointing upwards.

Lesson still not learned: Equipment untested in the intended domain of application has not been tested.