The Deep Six is a 1953 novel by Martin Dibner (1911-1992) describing the experiences of a group of U.S. Navy sailors fighting in the Aleutian Islands Campaign in 1943 during World War II.

The novel, based on the author's experiences serving in the light cruiser USS Richmond during the same campaign, is written in a terse Hemingwayesque style and was a contemporary of Nicholas Monsarrat's novel The Cruel Sea and The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk.

The novel explores several themes, among them abuse of authority by officers; racial discrimination; the clinging of the regular navy early in the war to archaic customs and traditions which are detrimental to morale and the safety of a ship in combat; homosexual rape aboard ship; and the assignment of incompetent or marginally qualified regular officers to positions of trust and authority in an expanded wartime navy.

The film version transformed the cruiser into a destroyer and created a plot line that did not exist in the book, using Austen's Quaker background as a starting point for a theme of pacifism versus duty during war.

The ship's gunnery officer, Lieutenant Commander Dooley, is terrified by gunfire and accidentally breaks his leg trying to flee the vicinity after the explosion.

The officer in charge of the gun mount, Lieutenant (junior grade) Alec Austen, praises Shapiro in his report but avoids any hint of Dooley's cowardly behavior.

At Adak the captain sends Austen ashore to pick up a new gun barrel for the 40mm but actually wants him to obtain molding for fashioning a frame for his portrait.

The ship's surgeon, Commander Blanchard, a secret and prolific drinker, admires Austen for the humane manner in which he supervises his enlisted men.

Marcy questions the capability of the old cruiser to carry out its assignment of blockading Japanese-held islands, warning Meredith that a major surface battle is likely to ensue on this patrol.

The Negro room steward changing their linen, Homer Fowler, reveals he is trained in gunnery on the 40mm and despite the racial segregation aboard ship, Austen offers him a spot on his undermanned gun crew.

In her letter, however, Stella apologizes for not having the moral fiber to leave Clemson, and Austen resolves to forget her and make painting his future life.

Atlantis daringly conducts shore bombardment of both Japanese-occupied Attu and the Japanese base at Paramushiro in the Home Islands, restoring the crew's morale.

When they reach enemy waters, the captain tells Austen he can use Fowler as an ammunition passer, and as a gunner during actual combat, but he cannot assign him to the crew.

The gunnery department is ordered to battle stations and when the float plane is sighted, Fowler emerges from hiding and shoots it down, thinking it to be Japanese.

The injured Edge sneaks out of his quarters, steals a pistol from a sailor on security duty, and plans to rape and kill both Fowler and Gray in the brig.

Atlantis survives a desperate battle, and aided as much by luck as audacity, repels the enemy force, thanks in large part to Meredith's determination to fight.

The Atlantis is sent to Mare Island Naval Shipyard to repair damage and Austen is detached from the ship for a month's leave before reporting to an aircraft carrier under construction.