Weird Tales: "The Bat-Men of Thorium" by Bertram Russell

"The Bat-Men of Thorium," a science-fiction serial by an unnamed author in Weird Tales, follows an expedition aboard the submarine Atlantis, commanded by the narrator at Professor Perry's request. The craft is a technologically advanced vessel equipped with powerful Klieg lights, oxygen regeneration systems, and sample tanks, designed to explore the Pacific Ocean depths between Samoa and Hawaii. The crew includes Bill Griggs, a cockney A.B. seaman. Early in the voyage, the ship is mysteriously seized by a powerful vortex and dragged toward the ocean floor at terrifying speed, rendering helm and ballast controls ineffective despite the narrator's attempts to restore functionality. The narrative emphasizes the peril of crushing pressures and the crew's helplessness against this inexplicable underwater phenomenon.