Saving the Diamonds

The Nazis in 1938 are making aggressive political moves to be supreme in Europe. Nazi Germanys war machine needs guns, cannons, tanks, and aircraft. Germanys industry needs industrial-grade diamonds for this explosive rearmament. But Germany lacks industrial diamonds and raw materials for its war production. The Royal Navy must now prepare for a new struggle with Germany. New ships will take years to build. Drawing on its reserves and modernizing mothballed ships, the Royal Navys preparations must be accelerated. HM Destroyer Demeter is rebuilt and commissioned in 1939 with a mixed crew of seasoned salts and new sailors from the training schools. Joining the Demeter is midshipman James Vanier, just nineteen years old and fresh from a yearlong officer training program. He is fulfilling his dream of entering the navy. The Demeter is in action from the first day of the war against Nazi Germany. Saving the Diamonds is the Demeters story of combat on the North Sea as seen by James Vanier. Challenged by convoy duty, battling Nazi destroyers, sea mines, fighting off Nazi bombers and dive bombers, James Vanier and Demeter face their sternest test when the Germans attack Holland in May 1940! The Demeter is given a special assignment. The industrial diamonds Germany needs are in Rotterdam and Antwerp. The Demeter must survive battles with the German Navy and the fanatical Luftwaffe bombers to bring the industrial diamonds back to England!