HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbour, and Other Short Stories — Nicholas Monsarrat

In "HMS Marlborough Will Enter Harbor," an old sloop, homeward bound, is torpedoed, leaving her guns out of action, more than three quarters of her crew dead, and radio contact impossible. But her valiant captain steadfastly refuses to surrender his ship. In "Leave Canceled," an army officer and his young wife concentrate their passionate love into twenty-four hours, knowing that it might be their last chance. And in "Heavy Rescue," an old soldier, having lived on the scrap heap for more than twenty years, finds that gallantry is once again in demand when he becomes leader of a heavy rescue squad.