The Lost Flying Boat — Alan Sillitoe

A post-WWII adventure from the bestselling author of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.
 
A top-secret mission sends a crew of Royal Air Force veterans from South Africa to the subarctic Kerguelen Islands in this suspense-packed tale of lawlessness, piracy, obsession, and greed. At the helm of the Aldebaran, a huge flying boat, sits the monomaniacal Captain Bennett, a man hell-bent on unearthing a treasure buried by the Germans in the final days of World War II. And on the seaplane's radio is the young wireless operator Adcock, a man who listens to everything and tries to make sense of it all.
 
The rest of the ex-soldiers on board seek either riches or adventure -- but all are fleeing the frustrations and disappointments of their postwar lives. As the voyage takes dangerous turns toward natural and manmade threats, it becomes clear that Captain Bennett is keeping secrets and the Aldebaran is not alone on her quest. Adcock's morals are soon put to the test, machine guns are mounted on the flying boat's turrets, and the thirst for gold may cost the crew their lives.
 
Classic kitchen sink realism meets high-flying adventure in this British thriller that goes beyond action and into the depths of human values and motivations in a war-damaged world. Drawing upon Alan Sillitoe's own wartime experiences as a wireless operator, The Lost Flying Boat is full of aerial heroics, coded messages, shattered dreams, and the will to persevere.