The Mediterranean Caper
Encyclopedia
The Mediterranean Caper ( also published as Mayday) is an action-adventure novel by Clive Cussler
published in the United States in 1973. This is the 1st published book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt
. It was nominated for an Edgar award
by the Mystery Writers of America
for "Best Paperback Original Novel of 1973."
, where Dirk Pitt has been sent with Al Giordino
to assist Rudi Gunn
, with an expedition being conducted by NUMA.
when they receive a mayday distress call from the control tower at the nearby Brady Air Force Base on the Greek island of Thásos
. The tower reports that they are under aerial attack by a World War I era German Albatros
D-3 biplane painted a startling bright yellow and bearing the familiar black Maltese Cross
of World War I Germany. The biplane, with its top speed of just 103 mph, is strafing the runways and destroying multimillion dollar F-105 Starfire fighters and C-133 Cargomaster
s without a shred of resistance. Dirk and Al, armed with nothing more than a couple of rifles in their World War Two flying boat face-off against the World War I fighter and its machine guns. After a spectacular dogfight they exit the field of battle victorious.
Dirk has been sent to the Aegean to meet Commander Rudi Gunn, captain of the NUMA research vessel First Attempt, to try to get to the bottom of the recent spate of mishaps on its current assignment. The First Attempt is on a research expedition attempting to find a living fossil lovingly named The Teaser, which scientists believe may be living evidence of the development of the first mammal.
Following his fight with the biplane Dirk goes for a midnight swim and meets a beautiful young woman named Teri von Till whom he quickly seduces. She invites him to dinner at her uncle's villa that evening where Pitt is introduced to the book's primary villain, Bruno von Till. Pitt learns that von Till is an old comrade in arms of Lt. Kurt Hiebert, a World War I flying ace known as the Hawk of Macedonia, whose trademark was a bright yellow Albatross biplane.
After dinner, he confronts von Till about his involvement with the attack on the airfield and while von Till admits nothing he forces Pitt to leave the villa at gunpoint through a door that that leads him into what is known as the Pit of Hades. It is later explained that the Pit of Hades is a labyrinth
once used in ancient Greek times when the villagers sentenced a convicted felon to death. The person sentenced to die was given the choice of an instant death or choosing the Pit of Hades. The labyrinth had only one entrance, a concealed exit, and roaming amongst the many passages was a hungry lion. In recorded history no one had successfully found the exit before the lion found them. While von Till does not have a lion he does have a very large white German Shepherd with which Dirk Pitt engages in a mortal struggle.
Following his successful escape Pitt is taken into custody when he returns to seek his revenge on Bruno von Till and is captured escaping the villa with Teri von Till as his prisoner. It is later revealed that Bruno von Till has been under surveillance by agents of Interpol
and Inspector Hercules Zacynthus of the United States Federal Bureau of Narcotics
. The inspector explains that von Till is suspected of being a world-class smuggler responsible for the transportation of all types of goods related to many heinous criminal acts. These acts include the great Spanish gold theft in 1954 which nearly toppled the Spanish economy; the mysterious disappearance of 83 high-ranking Nazi officers from Germany at the end of World War II and their sudden reemergence in Buenos Aires
; and the abduction of a bus full of teenage girls in Naples, Italy who were sold into white slavery
in Casablanca
. The inspector now believes that von Till is attempting to smuggle nearly half a billion dollars worth of heroin into the United States using his fleet of cargo ships called Minerva lines.
Despite the best efforts of Interpol, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Customs, and many other law enforcement agencies they have been unable to catch Bruno von Till transporting anything illegal on any of his ships. Pitt eventually discovers that von Till, using the resources of his shipping line, has raised the sunken wrecks of the German U-boat U-19 and a Japanese I-Boat class submarine
which he has been using as part of a smuggling operation. Von till has converted a German submarine into a completely automated smuggling craft that can be easily attached or detached from the holds of his cargo ships.
Using Pitt's surmises as a basis for action the inspector launches a campaign to capture as many distributors of heroin in the United States as possible. However, Pitt suspects that Bruno von Till is aware of the approach of Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and he launches his own desperate mission with Al and members of the crew of the First Attempt in a last-ditch effort to stop von Till before he can escape and set up his nefarious drug smuggling operation somewhere else.
, "No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, the ship was still as she could be.” while describing his feelings when observing a completely automated vessel.
, the ghost ships Mary Celeste
and Flying Dutchman, and a variety of Nazi war criminals including Martin Bormann
and Hermann Göring
. A reference is also made to the gruesome keelhauling
of a sailor on HMS Confident in 1786
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
published in the United States in 1973. This is the 1st published book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
. It was nominated for an Edgar award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
by the Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
for "Best Paperback Original Novel of 1973."
Plot introduction
Dirk Pitt is up against an international drug smuggling ring and the evil Bruno Von Till, a German pilot who survived both World Wars to become one of the most ruthless smugglers in history. The novel is set in the Aegean SeaAegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, where Dirk Pitt has been sent with Al Giordino
Al Giordino
Albert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
to assist Rudi Gunn
Rudi Gunn
Rudi Gunn is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. He is played by Rainn Wilson in the movie Sahara....
, with an expedition being conducted by NUMA.
Plot summary
Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency, and his Deputy Special Projects Director, Al Giordino, are traveling to their assignment in the Aegean Sea in Dirk's PBY CatalinaPBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
when they receive a mayday distress call from the control tower at the nearby Brady Air Force Base on the Greek island of Thásos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
. The tower reports that they are under aerial attack by a World War I era German Albatros
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
D-3 biplane painted a startling bright yellow and bearing the familiar black Maltese Cross
Maltese cross
The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta and through them came to be identified with the Mediterranean island of Malta and is one of the National symbols of Malta...
of World War I Germany. The biplane, with its top speed of just 103 mph, is strafing the runways and destroying multimillion dollar F-105 Starfire fighters and C-133 Cargomaster
C-133 Cargomaster
The Douglas C-133 Cargomaster was a large cargo aircraft built between 1956 and 1961 by the Douglas Aircraft Company for use with the United States Air Force. The C-133 was the USAF's only production turboprop-powered strategic airlifter, entering service shortly after Lockheed's better known C-130...
s without a shred of resistance. Dirk and Al, armed with nothing more than a couple of rifles in their World War Two flying boat face-off against the World War I fighter and its machine guns. After a spectacular dogfight they exit the field of battle victorious.
Dirk has been sent to the Aegean to meet Commander Rudi Gunn, captain of the NUMA research vessel First Attempt, to try to get to the bottom of the recent spate of mishaps on its current assignment. The First Attempt is on a research expedition attempting to find a living fossil lovingly named The Teaser, which scientists believe may be living evidence of the development of the first mammal.
Following his fight with the biplane Dirk goes for a midnight swim and meets a beautiful young woman named Teri von Till whom he quickly seduces. She invites him to dinner at her uncle's villa that evening where Pitt is introduced to the book's primary villain, Bruno von Till. Pitt learns that von Till is an old comrade in arms of Lt. Kurt Hiebert, a World War I flying ace known as the Hawk of Macedonia, whose trademark was a bright yellow Albatross biplane.
After dinner, he confronts von Till about his involvement with the attack on the airfield and while von Till admits nothing he forces Pitt to leave the villa at gunpoint through a door that that leads him into what is known as the Pit of Hades. It is later explained that the Pit of Hades is a labyrinth
Labyrinth
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos...
once used in ancient Greek times when the villagers sentenced a convicted felon to death. The person sentenced to die was given the choice of an instant death or choosing the Pit of Hades. The labyrinth had only one entrance, a concealed exit, and roaming amongst the many passages was a hungry lion. In recorded history no one had successfully found the exit before the lion found them. While von Till does not have a lion he does have a very large white German Shepherd with which Dirk Pitt engages in a mortal struggle.
Following his successful escape Pitt is taken into custody when he returns to seek his revenge on Bruno von Till and is captured escaping the villa with Teri von Till as his prisoner. It is later revealed that Bruno von Till has been under surveillance by agents of Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and Inspector Hercules Zacynthus of the United States Federal Bureau of Narcotics
Federal Bureau of Narcotics
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. Established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930 consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotic Division...
. The inspector explains that von Till is suspected of being a world-class smuggler responsible for the transportation of all types of goods related to many heinous criminal acts. These acts include the great Spanish gold theft in 1954 which nearly toppled the Spanish economy; the mysterious disappearance of 83 high-ranking Nazi officers from Germany at the end of World War II and their sudden reemergence in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
; and the abduction of a bus full of teenage girls in Naples, Italy who were sold into white slavery
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
in Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
. The inspector now believes that von Till is attempting to smuggle nearly half a billion dollars worth of heroin into the United States using his fleet of cargo ships called Minerva lines.
Despite the best efforts of Interpol, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Customs, and many other law enforcement agencies they have been unable to catch Bruno von Till transporting anything illegal on any of his ships. Pitt eventually discovers that von Till, using the resources of his shipping line, has raised the sunken wrecks of the German U-boat U-19 and a Japanese I-Boat class submarine
B1 type submarine
The Type B1 submarine were the most numerous submarine class of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II...
which he has been using as part of a smuggling operation. Von till has converted a German submarine into a completely automated smuggling craft that can be easily attached or detached from the holds of his cargo ships.
Using Pitt's surmises as a basis for action the inspector launches a campaign to capture as many distributors of heroin in the United States as possible. However, Pitt suspects that Bruno von Till is aware of the approach of Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and he launches his own desperate mission with Al and members of the crew of the First Attempt in a last-ditch effort to stop von Till before he can escape and set up his nefarious drug smuggling operation somewhere else.
Characters in "The Mediterranean Caper"
- Captain Darius - Assistant to Colonel Zeno of the Greek gendarmerieGendarmerieA gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
as well as a traitor in the employ of Bruno von Till. - Lieutenant Kurt Heibert - World War I fighter ace known as the Hawk of Macedonia. He served in Jagedestaffel 91, obtained 32 victories over the allies on the Macedonian front and was one of the outstanding aces of the Great War. He was presumed shot down and lost in the Aegean Sea on July 15, 1918.
- Captain Al GiordinoAl GiordinoAlbert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
Deputy Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency. - Commander Rudi GunnRudi GunnRudi Gunn is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. He is played by Rainn Wilson in the movie Sahara....
Captain of the NUMA research vessel First Attempt and commander of the expedition. - Dr. Ken Knight - A brilliant Marine geophysicist assigned to the research ship First Attempt.
- Colonel Lewis - Commander of Brady Air Force Base.
- Major Dirk PittDirk PittDirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
of the United States Air Force now seconded to The National Underwater and Marine Agency as Special Projects Director - Admiral James Sandecker - Chief Director of the National Underwater and Marine Agency.
- Bruno von Till - Owner and operator of the Minerva steamship line which he uses as part of a nefarious smuggling operation. Introduced as a World War I fighter pilot it is later revealed that von Till is in actuality Admiral Erich Hiebert; Commander of Nazi Germany's transportation fleet; fanatical follower of Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; and brother of Kurt Hiebert, the World War I ace. Hiebert was convicted in absentia by the International Military Tribunal at NurembergNuremberg TrialsThe Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
and sentenced to death for loading decrepit merchant ships with British and American prisoners of war and setting them adrift to be bombed by British and American pilots. - Teri von Till - Niece of Bruno von Till. She is later revealed to be an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics working for inspector Zacynthus. Her real name is revealed as Amy.
- Inspector Hercules Zacynthus - Federal Bureau of Narcotics inspector who is the head of a multi-nation, multi-jurisdictional task force under the auspices of Interpol. Zacynthus is in Greece attempting to foil the smuggling operation of von Till and stop a massive shipment of heroin from reaching the United States.
- Colonel Polyclitus Anaxamander Zeno - second in command of the task force and Commander of the Greek gendarmerie, a branch of the national army.
Allusions/references to other works
Dirk Pitt quotes a brief line of the Inchcape Rock by Robert SoutheyRobert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
, "No stir in the air, no stir in the sea, the ship was still as she could be.” while describing his feelings when observing a completely automated vessel.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The Mediterranean Caper is different from most novels in the pantheon of the Pitt thrillers in that it does not start with a prologue set in the past. However, a number of true life people and events are mentioned during the course of the novel. These would include the spy Mata HariMata Hari
Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...
, the ghost ships Mary Celeste
Mary Celeste
The Mary Celeste was an American brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4 December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned , despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able...
and Flying Dutchman, and a variety of Nazi war criminals including Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
and Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
. A reference is also made to the gruesome keelhauling
Keelhauling
Keelhauling is a form of punishment meted out to sailors at sea...
of a sailor on HMS Confident in 1786