The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power and Deception on the Eve of World War I
Douglas Brunt. New York: Atria Books, 2023. 374 pp. Photos. Biblio. Notes. Index. $35.
Review by Captain Sam J. Tangredi, U.S. Navy (Retired)
A wealthy German inventor fakes his suicide, defects to Great Britain, and spends the rest of his life in Canada building engines for Royal Navy submarines. Such is author Douglas Brunt’s premise as he details the life and mysterious death of Rudolf Diesel,
inventor of the automotive engine that bears his name.
A contemporary of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford (both of whom he visited), and other technology pioneers during the “heroic age of (individual) invention,” Diesel was indeed a man of stern, undaunted, uncompromising brilliance with a passion for work. Growing up in Paris, London, and his native Germany—in an impoverished family constantly moving to find work or escape war—gave him a cosmopolitan perspective that served him well when licensing his patents throughout the industrial world and traveling to promote and oversee engine production.
Through his efforts, the diesel engine revolutionized sea transport, as well as trains, construction equipment and long-haul trucking. Today, diesel engines power 94 percent of the world’s maritime shipping. The combination of diesel (surfaced) and electric battery power (submerged) also made possible the development of the submarine as a long-range naval weapon. Previous attempts to power subs by steam propulsion or gasoline engines created unlivable or explosive conditions, confining them to harbor protection duties. Diesel engines freed them to be offensive high-seas warships.
An opponent of the Prussian militarism that came to dominate the newly unified Germany, what Rudolf Diesel referred to as “the German problem,” he developed an affinity for Great Britain and a close friendship with Sir Charles Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine—ironically a rival means of ship propulsion. As Blunt describes, then–First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill and First Sea Lord Admiral Jackie Fisher adopted both means in recapitalizing a big-gun British fleet that included submarines. Meanwhile German Kaiser Wilhelm II (whom Diesel detested) and Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz wanted—but failed—to keep large-ship diesel-engine production confined to Germany.
In 1913, Diesel disappeared while on board a passenger ship crossing the English Channel for a visit to Britain. After a media frenzy featuring headlines such as “Inventor Thrown into the Sea to Stop Sale of Patents to the British Government” and “Murdered by Agents from Big Oil Trusts,” a body was found by a pilot steamer off the Dutch coast with small possessions of Rudolf Diesel in its coat pockets. The media conclusion rapidly changed to death by suicide—based on the statements of Diesel’s travel companions and inaccurate reports such as “DIESEL WAS BANKRUPT: He Owed $375,000—Tangible Assets Only About $10,000” (which appeared in The New York Times). But since the death appeared to have occurred in international waters, no national government made a formal investigation, and to this day the case has been largely forgotten.
Blunt, however, has assembled a series of curious facts and obscure reports that indicate Diesel’s fate was far more mysterious. His body was never actually recovered; once the Dutch sailors supposedly removed the (rather incongruous) possessions, they returned the body to the sea because it was “too decomposed.” Before he left on his trip, Diesel gave his wife a suitcase full of cash, and some years later she apparently disappeared, gone from all official records. A sailor on the channel passage claimed Diesel had gone back ashore before the vessel sailed from Europe. Diesel’s name did not appear on the purser’s meal list. And in 1914, “The New York Times ran the extraordinary headlines: REPORTS DR. DIESEL LIVING IN CANADA, Has Begun Life Anew.” Yet, there were no apparent follow-up investigations; the verdict of suicide remained convenient for all involved. Brunt is one of the few authors to examine the discrepancies.
Although lacking in hard evidence, Brunt’s favored theory is that Churchill arranged Diesel’s disappearance in exchange for his help with Royal Navy submarines. However, he examines all possibilities. His writing is as suspenseful as any fictional spy thriller and has garnered compliments from a number of successful military techno-thriller novelists.
Included, too, are subtle clues to the effect of Diesel and his engines on the U.S. Navy, which adopted them for submarines and amphibious warships. Future Admiral Chester Nimitz—one of the Navy’s first experts on the subject—lost part of a finger examining operating engines at Diesel’s original workshop in Augsburg, Germany. Later, the brewer Adolphus Busch, who financed the introduction of diesel power in the United States, unsuccessfully tried to lure Lieutenant Nimitz away from the Navy to help direct his business. On a tour of the United States, Diesel lectured at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1912. Did the secretly resurrected Diesel help early U.S. submarine design as well? It is easy for the reader to become a conspiracy theorist.
Even without a firm solution or convincing conspiracy, my own conclusion is that The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel is a fun read. This is a book with intriguing facts(?) to be enjoyed rather than studied.
CAPT Tangredi holds the Leidos Chair of Future Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College and has published seven books. He is a frequent contributor to Proceedings and Naval History.
Naval Presence and the Interwar U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: Forward Deployment, Crisis Response, and the Tyranny of History
Benjamin Armstrong. New York: Routledge, 2024. 91 pp. Notes. Index. $26.99
Review by Commander J. Scott Shaffer, U.S. Navy Reserve
In the Chief of Naval Operations’ Navigation Plan, Admiral Lisa Franchetti outlines the challenging security threats facing the U.S. Navy. From the growing size and capability of China to the danger posed by Russia and the renewed violence in the Middle East, U.S. naval forces face a dangerous world requiring elite maritime warfighting.
Despite these threats, the Navy continues to operate globally meeting maritime presence missions. Some defense leaders, including former Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work, have called for changes to the Navy’s worldwide posture. In their opinion, force-generation requirements in so many places deteriorate the force’s ability to focus on warfighting. Instead, they say the Navy should reduce or limit its maritime footprint to better prepare for future conflicts against competitor powers.
However, Navy Captain Benjamin Armstrong counters the notion that presence hurts warfighting readiness. In his book Naval Presence and the Interwar U.S. Navy and Marine Corps: Forward Deployment, Crisis Response, and the Tyranny of History, he analyzes Navy and Marine Corps deployment postures in the 1920s and 1930s. While the Navy did not explicitly recognize the presence mission until the 1970s, Armstrong’s research illustrates the value of forward-deployed forces in shaping the environment before World War II. Similar to today, these efforts resulted in the protection of U.S. maritime commerce, business interests, and citizens abroad, and provided forces to rapidly respond to international crises. While many characterizations of the interwar period stress the importance of the service’s innovation in developing tactics and wargaming, Armstrong’s emphasis on presence supplies an additional conversation about the role of the maritime services in setting conditions in the security environment prior to World War II.
Broken into two parts for each decade, the book covers deployment of the Navy and Marine Corps across strategic and tactical efforts. Armstrong’s emphasis on the distribution of forces across the globe ties unit-level tasks to broader strategic goals in advancing U.S. security interests. For example, his research links the requirements of the Nine Power Treaty to protect China with the tactical actions taken by Rear Admiral Charles B. McVay Jr. in response to civil unrest in Shanghai during the summer of 1925. Moving across the globe, Armstrong covers the maritime services’ actions and movements in other theaters including Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
By highlighting the global presence of forces during the interwar periods, Armstrong’s research amplifies the mandate given to maritime forces to protect trade and citizens abroad by strategic interests. The notion that the Navy or Marine Corps could cease its forward presence fails to adhere to the core mission of the services. Global events, crises, and contingencies occur continually and require reaction. Forward deployment enables rapid maneuver for response without disrupting the normal force-generation process.
The CNO’s Navigation Plan homes in on advancements to accelerate responses to pacing threats. However, the force’s posture to respond globally stands as a key tenet in her plan. While some defense thinkers argue for less presence, Armstrong provides a historical analysis that argues against bringing the fleet home. As Admiral Grace Hopper said, “Sailors belong on ships and ships belong at sea.” The Navy and Marine Corps’ forward presence contributed to national security in the interwar period, and it is a capability that will endure in the era of power competition.
Commander Shaffer is the commanding officer of Naval Reserve Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific. He served in the Forward Deployed Naval Forces Japan on board the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54). His follow-on tours include the USS Cape St. George (CG-71), Navy Reserve Third Fleet, Headquarters, and Navy Reserve Submarine Expeditionary Maintenance Detachment San Diego.
