Hell Below (2016–2018): Season 1, Episode 4 - Atlantic Showdown - full transcript
Narrator: IN THE EARLY DAYS
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
ONE OF HITLER'S MOST SUCCESSFUL
U-BOAT ACES, OTTO KRETSCHMER,
SINKS DOZENS OF ALLIED SHIPS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: FIRST ALONE,
THEN AS PART
OF THE LETHAL WOLFPACKS...
[BOOM]
UNTIL A FATEFUL MISTAKE...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
...THREATENS EVERYTHING.
[EXPLOSIONS]
IN WORLD WAR II, A SUBSEA WEAPON
ALLOWS WARRIORS TO FIGHT
FROM BENEATH THE WAVES.
WITH CUNNING, FORCE
AND TENACITY,
THEIR ENEMIES STRIKE BACK.
[EXPLOSIONS]
REVOLUTIONARY
BUT STILL SOMETIMES PRIMITIVE,
IT'S A DESPERATE BID
TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF WAR.
THEIR STORIES ARE LEGEND.
♪
JULY 8, 1940.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NAZI U-BOAT U-99
HAS SUNK AN ALLIED MERCHANT SHIP
JUST SOUTH OF IRELAND.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NOW A BRITISH ESCORT
TURNS IN PURSUIT.
Christian Jentzsch:
WHEN YOU ATTACK THE ENEMY,
YOU ARE THE HUNTER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Jentzsch: AND AS SOON AS YOU
GET ATTACKED BY THE ESCORTS,
YOU ARE THE PREY.
Narrator: THE CREW OF U-99
PERFORMS A DIVE TO ESCAPE.
[BELL RINGING]
♪
Narrator:
U-BOAT COMMANDER OTTO KRETSCHMER
HAS SERVED HITLER'S
UNDERWATER SERVICE
SINCE THE START OF WORLD WAR II.
HE'S JUST SUNK HIS 12th SHIP
IN 10 MONTHS...
[SONAR PING]
AND EARNED A REPUTATION
AS THE BEST TORPEDO SHOT
IN THE GERMAN NAVY.
[PING]
HE PROVES RUTHLESSLY EFFICIENT.
HIS MOTTO IS
"ONE TORPEDO, ONE SHIP."
[EXPLOSION]
Marc Milner:
OTTO KRETSCHMER WAS NOT ONE
OF THE ORDINARY
SUBMARINE COMMANDERS, RIGHT.
HE'S OF A...
PART OF AN ELITE GROUP
WHO REALLY DO
MOST OF THE DAMAGE.
NOT ONLY IS HE
PLEASANT AND SKILLED,
BUT HE'S COLD AS A CUCUMBER.
Narrator: IT'S ONLY KRETSCHMER'S
SECOND PATROL
ABOARD THE RECENTLY COMMISSIONED
U-99.
[PING]
HE AND HIS UNTRIED CREW
FACE AN EXPLOSIVE INITIATION.
Jentzsch: IT'S THE FIRST TIME
WHEN THE COOL AND CALM CHARACTER
OF KRETSCHMER
IS VIRTUALLY FORGED IN FLAMES,
BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME WHEN
HE'S ATTACKED BY ALLIED ESCORTS.
♪
[PING]
♪
Narrator: THE WARSHIP
THAT HUNTS KRETSCHMER
IS ONE OF BRITAIN'S NEW
FLOWER-CLASS CORVETTES.
205 FEET LONG WITH
A DISPLACEMENT OF 940 TONS...
IT'S BEEN ADAPTED
FROM COMMERCIAL WHALERS
TO HUNT SUBMARINES.
[BOOM]
[EXPLOSION]
Milner: SO WHEN THE WAR STARTS,
THE ATTACK THAT THE GERMANS
LAUNCH ON BRITISH TRADE
IS UNANTICIPATED.
AND THE BRITISH ARE SIMPLY NOT
MATERIALLY PREPARED FOR IT,
NOR ARE THEY PSYCHOLOGICALLY
PREPARED FOR IT.
AND THE BRITS HAVE TO ADAPT
THEIR, THEIR
MARITIME PREPARATIONS
TO DEAL WITH WARFARE THAT
THEY JUST ARE NOT READY FOR.
[PING]
Narrator: JUST AFTER 8 A. M...
[PING]
[PING]
THE FLOWER-CLASS CORVETTE
LAUNCHES UNDERWATER BOMBS
CALLED DEPTH CHARGES...
IN A BID TO SINK
KRETSCHMER'S SUBMARINE.
THEY WEIGH ABOUT 400 POUNDS
AND DETONATE WHEN THEY SINK
TO A PRE-SET DEPTH
BETWEEN 50 AND 500 FEET.
Jentzsch: ALL OF A SUDDEN
THERE WILL BE THE EXPLOSIONS.
[BOOM]
[BOOM]
THE SUBMARINE IS THROWN AROUND
UNDERWATER.
KRETSCHMER DESCRIBED IT
LIKE A THOUSAND HAMMERS
KNOCKING ON THE SUBMARINE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
AND WHEN THE DEPTH CHARGE
EXPLODED ONE AFTER THE OTHER,
THEY LOOK AROUND
IN THE SUBMARINE-
IS THERE SOMETHING BROKEN?
IS THE HULL STILL FULLY INTACT?
THEY DO NOT ONLY DROP ONE SALVO,
TWO SALVO, OR THREE SALVOS,
THEY START ATTACKING
FOR HOURS AND HOURS.
Narrator:
U-99 IS A TYPE VII U-BOAT.
FIRST COMMISSIONED IN 1936,
THEY ARE 218 FEET LONG
AND 20 FEET WIDE.
TYPE VIIs NORMALLY CARRY
14 TORPEDOES
AND A CREW OF 45 MEN.
[BELL RINGING]
GERMANY PRODUCES MORE OF THEM
THAN ANY OTHER SUBMARINE.
Eric Grove: THE TYPE VII U-BOAT
IS ACTUALLY A BIT
ON THE SMALL SIDE.
IT'S DEVELOPED FROM
THE SO-CALLED UB SUBMARINE,
ONE OF THE SMALLER SUBMARINES
OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
IT DID HAVE SIGNIFICANT
SEAGOING CAPACITY.
Narrator:
MORE THAN 700 WERE BUILT
BASED ON ITS RELATIVELY SIMPLE
AND INEXPENSIVE DESIGN.
THE MAN WHO DEPLOYS THE U-BOATS
IS KARL DÖNITZ-
HITLER'S MASTERMIND
OF SUBMARINES.
Milner: I THINK THE BEST WAY
TO UNDERSTAND KARL DÖNITZ
IS HE'S A CONSUMMATE
PROFESSIONAL SUBMARINER.
HE LIVED, BREATHED, AND THOUGHT
SUBMARINES ALL THE TIME.
Narrator: DÖNITZ LAUNCHES HIS
U-BOATS TO KEY SHIPPING ROUTES
IN A BID TO STRANGLE
THE BRITISH ISLES.
Jann Witt: THIS BECAME
THE CORE STRATEGY
OF THE GERMAN NAVAL COMMAND,
TO CUT THOSE LIFELINES,
THOSE MARITIME LIFELINES,
FIGHTING THE CONVOYS,
STARVING BRITAIN INTO DEFEAT.
Milner: THE WHOLE THING TURNS
INTO QUITE LITERALLY,
AS IT'S OFTEN BEEN SAID,
A CHESS MATCH,
BECAUSE YOU'RE MATCHING WITS
WITH THE OTHER GUY.
WHERE IS HE NOW
AND WHERE WILL HE BE?
YOU'VE GOT TO BE THINKING
SEVERAL MOVES AHEAD.
Narrator:
DÖNITZ USES NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
TO ASSIGN THE FEW SUBMARINES
HE HAS TO LOCATE SHIPS.
Grove: THERE ARE NOT
MANY U-BOATS AT SEA
AT THIS STAGE OF THE WAR.
THE GERMANS HAVE HAD TO MAKE
CHOICES IN THEIR WAR PRODUCTION,
AND U-BOATS WERE NOT ONE
OF THOSE CHOICES
BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY WERE
PLANNING TO FIGHT ON LAND,
FIRST IN THE WEST
AND THEN IN THE EAST.
Jentzsch: SO HE HAD TO USE
THESE SMALL NUMBERS,
AND THE ONLY THING HE COULD DO
IS TO SPREAD THEM OVER THE OCEAN
LIKE BUTTER ON A VERY BIG
SHEET OF BREAD.
THEREFORE, IN THE FIRST STAGES
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
THEY WERE STILL FIGHTING
LIKE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
ONE SUBMARINE ON ONE PATROL
ON ITS OWN.
[BOOM]
Narrator: EARLY ON JULY 8,
DÖNITZ'S U-99 ATTACKED
THE ENEMY ALONE
AND HAS BEEN UNDER SIEGE
FOR HOURS.
[PING]
[EXPLOSION]
Jentzsch:
EVERYBODY IS UNDER STRESS.
SO THE SWEAT IS COMING
ON THEIR FACE, DROPPING DOWN.
AND IF YOU ARE UNDER STRESS,
YOU BREATHE A LOT.
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator: UNCERTAIN OF HOW LONG
THE ATTACK WILL LAST,
KRETSCHMER TAKES ACTION
TO PRESERVE THE SUBMARINE'S
LIMITED SUPPLY OF AIR.
Jentzsch: THE COMMANDING OFFICER
NEEDS TO CONSERVE THE OXYGEN.
AND SO THE PEOPLE GET THE ORDER
TO LIE DOWN, TO SLEEP.
[PING]
[COUGHING]
THEY GET BISCUITS
AND THEY GET CHOCOLATE
TO GET OVER THE SITUATION.
AFTER HOURS THEY ARE
PROBABLY VERY FATIGUED.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Narrator: SOME OF THE CREW DON
MASKS THAT ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE
IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE
THE U-BOAT'S ATMOSPHERE LAST.
[BREATHING]
Witt: IT'S ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE
WHAT THESE PEOPLE FELT
IN THIS VERY MOMENT.
IT MUST BE, MUST HAVE BEEN
HORRENDOUS.
Narrator:
BUT AS ANOTHER SALVO HITS,
THE MAN WHO COMMANDS
THE U-BOAT APPEARS UNFAZED.
Jentzsch:
KRETSCHMER WAS SITTING VERY CALM
AND READING A NOVEL,
A CRIMINAL NOVEL.
AND THE GUY
ON THE HYDROACOUSTICS,
KASSEL, WAS LOOKING AT HIM,
AND HE THOUGHT,
OH, THAT'S A GREAT GUY.
WE ARE UNDER THE PRESSURE,
HE'S JUST SITTING AROUND
READING HIS NOVEL.
[EXPLOSIONS]
AFTER SOME MINUTES, KASSEL AGAIN
IS LOOKING AT HIM,
AND HE REALIZED THE BOOK IS
UPSIDE DOWN, SO HE CAN'T READ,
AND ALL THE TIME
HE DID NOT FLIP ANY PAGE.
SO KRETSCHMER IN THIS CASE
WAS A BRILLIANT MILITARY LEADER.
"I CAN TAKE THE TIME
TO JUST READ A NOVEL,
SO YOU COULD KEEP CALM, TOO."
[EXPLOSIONS]
[EXPLOSIONS]
WHEN THE ATTACKS
ARE GOING ON FOR HOURS,
KRETSCHMER HAD TO KEEP IN MIND
A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
THE FIRST THING IS
TO KEEP THE SUBMARINE
IN A DEPTH WHERE IT DOESN'T
GET DESTROYED
BY THE PRESSURE OF THE WATER.
AND THEREFORE HE NEEDS
PROPULSION.
AND TO PRODUCE PROPULSION,
HE NEEDS TO USE BATTERY ENERGY.
Narrator: SUBMERGED,
124 BATTERY CELLS
POWER U-99'S PROPELLERS
AND ALL ITS SYSTEMS.
THEY CAN ONLY BE RECHARGED
ON THE SURFACE.
♪
TWELVE HOURS AFTER
THE DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK BEGINS,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
REMAIN PINNED DOWN.
♪
[PING]
♪
Jentzsch: KRETSCHMER IS TOLD
BY HIS ENGINEER
THAT HE'S RUNNING LOW
OF BATTERY FUEL.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
KRETSCHMER MUST MAKE A MOVE,
OR U-99 WILL BE LOST TO THE SEA.
Jentzsch: TO WAIT UNTIL
THE BATTERY IS TOTALLY DOWN,
THEN THERE'S NO CHANCE
OF SURVIVING.
♪
[BOOM]
Narrator: DURING 12 HOURS
OF DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK...
[EXPLOSIONS]
U- 99 HAS BEEN CRUISING
JUST FAST ENOUGH
TO MAINTAIN A CONSTANT DEPTH,
TO CONSERVE POWER.
Jentzsch:
TO KEEP HIS SUBMARINE MOVING,
HE NEEDS THE PROPULSION,
AND THEREFORE HE HAD TO USE
THE BATTERY FUEL
IN AN EFFICIENT WAY
AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
TO KEEP THE BOAT ON MOVING FOR
PROPULSION OR FOR OPERATIONS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AS HIS BATTERIES DIE,
KRETSCHMER RISKS THE LAST
OF HIS POWER ON A COURSE CHANGE,
IN A FINAL BID TO ESCAPE.
Witt: KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
TRY TO EVADE
BY ZIGZAGGING, CHANGING DEPTH,
AND THE LIKES.
Narrator: MORE THAN 14 HOURS
AFTER THE ATTACK BEGAN...
THE SOUND OF
ENEMY PROPELLERS FADES.
Jentzsch: AND THEN THEY HAD
THE INFORMATION
THAT THE ESCORTS
WERE MOVING AWAY.
♪
Narrator: U-99 SURVIVES
127 DEPTH CHARGES.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Jentzsch: BATTERY FUEL
WAS EXTREMELY LOW
AND OXYGEN WAS NEARLY DISPOSED,
AND THEREFORE HE HAD TO GET UP.
♪
Narrator: WHEN THEY SURFACE,
THE ESCORTS HAVE MOVED
OUT OF SIGHT.
♪
Jentzsch: IT IS SAID THAT
THE AIR IS YELLOW GREENISH.
AND THE AUTHOR OF ONE FAMOUS
NOVEL ABOUT KRETSCHMER,
HE EXPLAINS, LOOKING LIKE
THE DEATH LEAVING THE SUBMARINE.
[CREW LAUGHING]
HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GERMAN
COMMANDING SUBMARINE OFFICERS
TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE
OF A LONG-LASTING DEPTH CHARGE.
HE WAS LUCKY, SO THE ESCORTS
REALLY DISAPPEARED.
[TALKING AND LAUGHING]
♪
Narrator: TO THE EAST, THE MAN
IN CHARGE OF GERMANY'S U-BOATS
GAINS A CRITICAL WIN.
HITLER'S TROOPS
HAVE INVADED FRANCE.
DÖNITZ CAN USE ITS ATLANTIC
PORTS TO LAUNCH HIS SUBMARINES.
Witt: AFTER THE FALL OF FRANCE
IN 1940,
THE GERMANS SUDDENLY
POSSESSED NEW BASES
IDEALLY SUITED FOR ATTACKS
ON THE BRITISH CONVOYS
IN THE ATLANTIC.
BEFORE THAT, THEY HAD TO,
TO SEND OUT THEIR BOATS
FROM, FROM THEIR BASES
IN GERMANY,
WHICH MEANT THEY WOULD SPEND
A LOT OF FUEL FOR TRAVELING
TO AND FRO
THOSE OPERATIONAL AREAS.
AND SO NOW IN FRANCE THE BOATS
HAD CONSIDERABLY MORE TIME
FOR ACTUALLY HUNTING AND
FIGHTING THE ALLIED CONVOYS.
♪
Narrator: ON OCTOBER 13, 1940,
DÖNITZ DEPLOYS U-99
FROM LORIENT, FRANCE.
INTELLIGENCE HAS LEARNED
34 ENEMY SHIPS
TRANSPORT TIMBER, STEEL
AND OTHER WAR MATERIALS
IN A CONVOY FROM CANADA
TO BRITAIN.
Grove: A CONVOY
IS A GROUPING OF SHIPS,
A NUMBER OF SHIPS TOGETHER
ESCORTED BY A NUMBER
OF WARSHIPS.
YOU MIGHT THINK THAT PUTTING
A LOT OF SHIPS TOGETHER
IS A LOT OF EGGS IN ONE BASKET,
BUT ACTUALLY, BECAUSE THE SEA
IS SUCH A BIG PLACE,
IF YOU CONCENTRATE SHIPPING,
THEN IT'S VERY DIFFICULT
FOR THE ENEMY TO EVEN FIND THEM.
AND WHEN THEY FIND THEM,
THEY FIND THEM ESCORTED
WITH WARSHIPS,
AND IT'S A HARD JOB
TO ATTACK THEM.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER
AND HIS CREW RACE NORTHWEST
IN SEARCH OF CONVOY SC 7.
Grove: ALL CONVOY ROUTES
HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGNATION.
HX, HALIFAX;
SC, SLOW CONVOY FOR SLOW SHIPS,
WHEN THEY START CONVOYS
FOR SLOW SHIPS.
SO IT NORMALLY MEANS SOMETHING,
AND IT HELPS DIVIDE CONVOYS UP.
♪
Narrator:
DÖNITZ ASSIGNS MORE U-BOATS
TO JOIN KRETSCHMER
IN LOCATING THE CONVOY.
IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST
MOBILIZATIONS OF A WOLFPACK-
A TACTIC THAT HITLER'S
SUBMARINES WOULD MAKE FAMOUS.
Grove: THE ESSENCE
OF THE RUDELTAKTIK,
THE WOLF TACTIC,
WAS TO BRING SEVERAL SUBMARINES
TO BEAR AGAINST THE CONVOY.
Milner: THE CONTROL
OF THE WOLFPACK IS DONE ASHORE,
AT DÖNITZ'S HEADQUARTERS.
IT'S ON THE BIG BOARD,
YOU KNOW, BIG PLOT, LITTLE PINS
AND MOVE SUBMARINES AROUND.
THINK OF IT AS A KIND
OF VAST DRIFTNET OF SUBMARINES
AT ABOUT TWICE THE VISIBILITY
DISTANCE APART,
ONE FROM THE OTHER,
DEPLOYED PERPENDICULAR
TO THE LINE OF ADVANCE
THAT YOU'D EXPECT CONVOYS
TO FOLLOW.
AND THE IDEA IS SIMPLY TO USE IT
AS A KIND OF TRIPWIRE SYSTEM
SO YOU CAN SNARE THEM.
♪
Narrator: ANOTHER SUBMARINE
TO JOIN THE HUNT IS U-100.
THE U-BOAT IS COMMANDED
BY JOACHIM SCHEPKE:
FRIEND AND RIVAL
TO KRETSCHMER AND U-99.
SCHEPKE AND KRETSCHMER
WERE AMONG THE FIRST
TO COMPLETE DÖNITZ'S
ELITE SUBMARINE TRAINING.
THIRTEEN MONTHS INTO THE WAR,
THEY RANK AMONG HITLER'S
U-BOAT ACES...
CUNNING MEN DRIVEN
TO SINK BRITAIN'S SHIPS.
Milner: THE NUMBER OF ACES
IN THE U-BOAT FLEET
IS NEVER VERY BIG,
AND THEY DO MOST
OF THE HEAVY LIFTING.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE SUCCESS RATE
FOR GERMAN SUBMARINERS,
ABOUT THREE QUARTERS
OF THE TONNAGE IS SUNK
BY LIKE 20 PERCENT
OF THE, OF THE CAPTAINS,
BECAUSE THEY'RE PREPARED TO
TAKE THINGS RIGHT TO THE EDGE.
Narrator: BUT CAN THESE
LONE WOLVES HUNT AS A PACK?
♪
BY FALL OF 1940, A NEW ERA
OF SUBMARINE WARFARE HAS BEGUN.
ADMIRAL KARL DÖNITZ COUNTS
ON ACES KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE
TO DELIVER ON HIS NEW
WOLFPACK TACTIC.
GERMANY HAS ONLY 27
OPERATIONAL SUBMARINES-
NEARLY A THIRD OF DÖNITZ'S
ACTIVE FLEET IS AT STAKE.
Milner: HIS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE
IS TONNAGE SUNK
PER U-BOAT DAY AT SEA.
IT'S ALSO A LOGICAL STRATEGY.
IT'S JUST ABOUT THE ONLY ONE
THEY'VE GOT.
BUT IT MEANS YOU DO HAVE TO
SINK SHIPS.
YOU HAVE TO DESTROY
THEIR CARRYING CAPACITY.
♪
Narrator:
ATTACKING A CONVOY PRESENTS
THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY.
THE 34 MERCHANT SHIPS
OF SLOW CONVOY 7
ARE PROTECTED
BY ONLY FOUR ESCORTS.
THEIR MAIN WEAPON FOR DETECTING
U-BOATS IS SONAR...
[PING]
AN ACTIVE PINGING SYSTEM
ALSO KNOWN AS ASDIC.
Operator: ECHO BEARING
GREEN TWO ZERO, DRAWING RIGHT.
Narrator: ASDIC WAS INVENTED
TOWARDS THE END OF WORLD WAR I.
IT USES SOUND PULSES
CALLED PINGS
TO SEARCH THE OCEAN
FOR SUBMARINES.
[PING]
Milner: THE BIG INNOVATION
IN THE FALL OF 1918
WAS THE INTRODUCTION OF AN
ACTIVE ACOUSTIC LOCATION SYSTEM,
DEVELOPED PRIMARILY
BY THE FRENCH
AND THEN SHARED
WITH THE BRITISH.
SO WHAT YOU HAVE IS THAT STUFF
YOU SEE IN, IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES
WHERE A SOUND GOES OUT,
IT HITS SOMETHING,
AND IT COMES BACK.
AND YOU MEASURE THE DISTANCE,
AND THAT GIVES YOU SOME IDEA
OF HOW FAR AWAY THE OBJECT IS.
[PING]
Grove: IT WAS THE KEY
TO THE EXISTING ANTI-SUBMARINE
TACTICS OF THE ROYAL NAVY.
A SUBMERGED SUBMARINE IN FACT
WAS VULNERABLE.
BUT THE BIGGEST DRAWBACK
IS THAT IT DOESN'T WORK
AGAINST SURFACE VESSELS.
AND WHEN A SUBMARINE BECOMES
A LOW, HARD-TO-DETECT
SURFACE VESSEL AT NIGHT,
IT SOON PROVES TO BE
A VERY DANGEROUS ENEMY INDEED.
Narrator: AFTER CONVOY SC 7
IS INTERCEPTED,
KRETSCHMER AND THE REST
OF THE WOLFPACK CLOSE IN.
Milner: AND THEN THE ORDER
WOULD BE GIVEN
THAT AT THE RIGHT MOMENT
IN THE DARK OF NIGHT,
YOU'RE FREE TO ATTACK.
AND THEN THE PACK WOULD COME IN.
THERE'S A LOT AT STAKE,
NOT SIMPLY IN SINKING THE SHIPS
BUT IN CREATING
THAT SHOCK EFFECT
AND DEMONSTRATING TO THE BRITISH
THAT THEY CAN SINK
THEIR SHIPPING AT WILL.
Narrator:
SCHEPKE AND THE OTHER COMMANDERS
PREPARE TO FIRE
FROM OUTSIDE THE CONVOY.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: BUT KRETSCHMER
HAS HIS OWN PLAN.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AT 10 P.M.,
U-99 SLINKS PAST THE ESCORTS
TO AMBUSH THE ENEMY FROM
WHERE THEY LEAST EXPECT IT.
Witt: KRETSCHMER HAS THIS,
THIS KILLER INSTINCT.
HE IS A PERFECTIONIST.
SO HE FINDS A WAY OF SNEAKING IN
ON THE SURFACE INTO THE CONVOY.
HE MANAGED COLD-BLOODED
TO SAIL INSIDE THE CONVOY
AND THEN STARTS TO TORPEDO
THE MERCHANT VESSELS.
♪
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[EXPLOSIONS]
♪
Milner:
THE FIRST KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE
THAT THERE'S AN ATTACK
TAKING PLACE
IS WHEN AN EXPLOSION
STRIKES A SHIP
AND THE FLARES START TO GO UP.
THEN THE ESCORT HAS TO REACT.
Narrator: THE ALLIES TARGET
THE CONVOY'S PERIMETER
WHERE THE U-BOATS USUALLY PROWL.
[GUNFIRE]
OTHERS IN THE WOLFPACK
ARE FORCED TO DIVE.
♪
[PING]
♪
[PING]
♪
BUT INSIDE THE CONVOY...
KRETSCHMER STAYS ON THE ATTACK.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[BOOM]
Milner: IT TURNED
INTO A PYROTECHNIC NIGHTMARE.
THEY'RE JUST SINKING SHIPS.
TERRIFYING FOR THE MEN
IN THE CONVOY, JUST TERRIFYING.
NO ONE THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD
ACTUALLY GET INSIDE THE CONVOY
IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
AND SPIT DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
OUT BOTH ENDS AT A HIGH SPEED.
[EXPLOSIONS]
Narrator: IN THE EARLY HOURS
OF OCTOBER 19th,
U- 99 FIRES THE LAST
OF ITS 14 TORPEDOES.
♪
[EXPLOSION]
THE CONVOY LOSES 20 SHIPS
WHILE IN TRANSIT.
80,000 TONS OF SHIPPING
IS LOST TO THE WAR EFFORT.
SCHEPKE CLAIMS THREE SHIPS,
KRETSCHMER SEVEN...
MANY MORE THAN ANY OTHER ACE,
IN ONE OF GERMANY'S FIRST
WOLFPACK OFFENSIVES.
Milner: IT'S A RADICALLY NEW
KIND OF USE OF SUBMARINES
THAT THE BRITS SIMPLY DID NOT
HAVE DEFENSES FOR.
ONCE THE WOLFPACK
SNARES A CONVOY,
IT'S CHAOS FOR THE ALLIES.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: A FEW DAYS LATER
U-99 DOCKS TO A CHEERING CROWD.
KRETSCHMER
AND HIS FELLOW COMMANDERS
ARE CELEBRATED AS IDOLS.
Witt: THE GERMAN U-BOAT ACES
WERE USED
BY THE, BY THE GERMAN
WAR PROPAGANDA, OF COURSE,
AS PROPAGANDA HEROES.
YOU CAN ALMOST LIKE THEM
TO THE POP STARS OF THEIR DAYS.
IN ANY WAR IT'S VERY MUCH
THE SAME-YOU NEED HEROES.
YOU NEED SUCCESSES TO RAISE
THE SPIRIT OF YOUR OWN FOLK.
♪
Narrator: IN BRITAIN,
WAR STRATEGISTS RACE
TO THWART GERMANY'S
NEW U-BOAT TACTICS.
Grove: THE BRITISH EMPIRE'S
A MARITIME EMPIRE,
AND IT RELIES ON SHIPPING.
NOW, THAT'S A STRENGTH
BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT
THE BRITISH CAN ACCESS THE WORLD
AS FAR AS SUPPLIES
ARE CONCERNED.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT MEANS
BRITAIN MUST CONTROL THE SEA.
Narrator: THE ROYAL NAVY
REASSIGNS WARSHIPS
GUARDING THE BRITISH COAST
TO THE ATLANTIC
TO PROTECT CONVOYS.
Grove: IT MUST NOT
ALLOW THE ENEMY
TO DENY IT THE USE OF THE SEA.
Narrator: EFFORTS ARE
ALSO UNDER WAY
TO APPLY A NEW TECHNOLOGY
CALLED RADAR,
RADIO WAVES USED TO DETECT
ENEMY AIRPLANES, TO THE SEAS.
Milner: IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING
TO MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENT,
BRITAIN IS BEING BOMBED.
ITS PORTS ARE BEING DESTROYED
FROM THE AIR.
THE BLITZ IS BEING LAUNCHED.
[AIR RAID SIREN]
IT'S A VERY TRYING PERIOD
FOR BRITAIN.
♪
Narrator: MARCH 1941.
NAZI WOLFPACKS HAVE DOMINATED
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
FOR FIVE MONTHS.
NOW CONVOY HX 112 STEAMS
IN TRANSIT FROM HALIFAX
TO BRITAIN.
Grove: HX, HALIFAX;
HX 112 WAS THE 112th
FAST INWARD-BOUND CONVOY.
IT WAS COMPOSED OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF SHIPS, TANKERS,
CARGO SHIPS, ET CETERA.
AND ONE OF THE FEATURES
WHICH MAKES THIS CONVOY
INTERESTING AND SIGNIFICANT
IS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE U-BOATS ARE FACING
A WELL-TRAINED ESCORT GROUP.
Narrator:
OVERSEEING THE SEVEN ESCORTS
THAT GUARD THE 41-SHIP CONVOY
IS COMMANDER DONALD MACINTYRE.
MACINTYRE HAS PROVED
A SHREWD HUNTER
SINCE HE CAPTAINED HIS FIRST
BRITISH PATROL VESSEL IN 1935.
Milner: MACINTYRE WAS FOCUSED
ON U-BOAT KILLING.
THAT'S WHAT HE WANTED TO DO.
HE WANTED TO SINK SUBMARINES.
Narrator: MACINTYRE TOOK COMMAND
OF HMS WALKER
A FEW WEEKS BEFORE-
THE LEAD DESTROYER IN ONE
OF BRITAIN'S FIRST DEDICATED
CONVOY PROTECTION FLEETS,
ESCORT GROUP 5.
Sailor: HEAVE!
Witt:
IT WAS A VERY RISKY BUSINESS
NOT ONLY TO SERVE ON A WARSHIP
OR A MERCHANT VESSEL
BUT ALSO TO TRAVEL THE ATLANTIC.
THERE WAS ALSO
THIS CONSTANT THREAT
OF BEING ATTACKED BY A U-BOAT
AND FACING,
FACING A GRUESOME DEATH.
[DIAL CLICKING]
♪
Narrator: 150 MILES SOUTH
OF ICELAND...
[EXPLOSION]
MACINTYRE FACES THE FIRST
ASSAULT AGAINST CONVOY HX 112.
A U-BOAT CRIPPLES ONE OF
THE CONVOY'S PRIZED OIL TANKERS.
CRITICAL FUEL FOR BRITAIN'S
WAR EFFORT BURNS.
Grove: TANKERS ARE ALWAYS
SPECTACULAR TARGETS.
THEY GO UP
IN HUGE BOUTS OF FLAME,
AND THIS TANKER
WAS NO EXCEPTION.
IT MADE A GREAT IMPACT
ON MACINTYRE,
WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, IT WAS,
IT WAS RATHER A DEPRESSING SIGHT
TO SEE THIS HUGE EXPLOSION
TAKING PLACE,
AND IT SHOWED THAT THE U-BOATS
WERE MOUNTING EFFECTIVE ATTACKS.
♪
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator: IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC
A U-BOAT HAS DOWNED A TANKER
CARRYING FUEL
GUARDED BY BRITAIN'S
ESCORT GROUP 5,
COMMANDED BY DONALD MACINTYRE.
THE SUBMARINE THAT HAS AMBUSHED
THE CONVOY IS U-110.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AND IT TAKES
IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: THE DIVE IS ORDERED...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
...BY FRITZ-JULIUS LEMP.
LIKE KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE,
LEMP IS ONE OF HITLER'S
ELITE U-BOAT ACES.
HE'S BEST KNOWN FOR SINKING
THE PASSENGER LINER ATHENIA
ON THE FIRST DAY
OF WORLD WAR II.
THE ATTACK
ON THE CIVILIAN VESSEL
SENDS THE STARK MESSAGE THAT
EVERY BRITISH SHIP IS AT RISK.
Grove: AT THE START OF THE WAR,
THE ADMIRALTY ISN'T SURE
THAT THE GERMANS
ARE GOING TO START UNRESTRICTED
SUBMARINE WARFARE.
BUT WHEN THE ATHENIA IS SUNK,
THEN THE ADMIRALTY DECIDES YES,
IT IS UNRESTRICTED
SUBMARINE WARFARE,
AND SO A CONVOY SYSTEM
IS INTRODUCED.
Narrator: BEFORE DIVING,
LEMP TRANSMITS THE COORDINATES
OF CONVOY HX 112
TO U-BOAT HEADQUARTERS.
DÖNITZ DEPLOYS
KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE
IN A WOLFPACK TO INTERCEPT.
Milner: ALL THE,
THE FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS,
ALL THE KEY CHARACTERS
ARE IN THIS CONVOY BATTLE.
♪
Narrator:
BUT ONE OF THE CONVOY'S ESCORTS
ALSO CARRIES A NEW WEAPON
RIGGED TO FOIL U-BOAT TACTICS.
MACINTYRE'S WARSHIP FLEET
INCLUDES THE HMS VANOC,
RECENTLY FITTED WITH RADAR,
A TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS SHIPS
TO LOCATE SUBMARINES
ON THE SURFACE.
Witt: VANOC WAS ONE
OF THE FIRST DESTROYERS
TO BE EQUIPPED
WITH A RADAR SYSTEM,
AND THIS WAS ENTIRELY NEW
AND A NEW THREAT TO THE U-BOATS.
NOW THEY COULD BE DETECTED
AT NIGHT, AT THE SURFACE.
Narrator: UNAWARE OF THIS
CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT,
GERMANY'S TOP SUBMARINE
COMMANDERS PREPARE TO ATTACK.
Grove: THEY HAVE HAD
GREAT SUCCESSES
AGAINST POORLY ESCORTED CONVOYS.
NOW THE TIDE
IS BEGINNING TO TURN,
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW THAT YET.
♪
Narrator: MARCH 16, 1941.
HAVING LOCATED THE CONVOY,
KRETSCHMER PLOTS HIS CREEP
INTO HX 112.
U- 99'S COMMANDER SCANS THE FOG
WITH PRIZED BINOCULARS
MADE FOR AN ACE.
Grove:
AS AN ACE SUBMARINE COMMANDER,
KRETSCHMER HAS BEEN PRESENTED
WITH A RATHER HIGHER STANDARD
OF BINOCULARS
THAN OTHER CAPTAINS.
AND THEY'RE PART OF HIS ABILITY,
ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT,
TO SEE TARGETS ON THE SURFACE.
AND IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART
OF KRETSCHMER'S SELF-IMAGE
THAT HE HAS THEM.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER MUST USE
HIS SHARP EYES
TO AVOID AN ACCIDENTAL CRASH
WITH AN ENEMY SHIP.
Grove: THE NORTH ATLANTIC
IN MARCH
IS NOT A VERY HOSPITABLE PLACE,
AND YOU GET MIST AND FOG
AND SO ON,
AND THEREFORE IT'S GOING TO BE
QUITE DIFFICULT TO ATTACK.
BUT KRETSCHMER WAS A PERSON
WHO LIKED TAKING RISK.
HE WANTED TO GET
INSIDE THE CONVOY.
THAT WAS HIS TACTIC,
GET INSIDE THE CONVOY,
TARGET-RICH ENVIRONMENT,
SINK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.
AND HE TRIES TO DO THIS
DESPITE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Narrator: BY 10 P.M.
U-99 NAVIGATES THE FOG
TO LAND INSIDE ENEMY LINES,
WHERE NONE OF THE CONVOY ESCORTS
WOULD EXPECT TO FIND
A NAZI SUBMARINE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
AVOIDING UNDERWATER DETECTION
AND CLOAKED IN DARKNESS,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
ARE READY TO STRIKE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Grove: THEY ATTACK AT NIGHT
ON THE SURFACE
WHEN THE ASDIC DOESN'T WORK,
THE SONAR DOESN'T WORK...
[EXPLOSION]
AND THEREFORE THEY CREATE CHAOS,
THEY CREATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF SHOCK EFFECT,
AND LARGE NUMBERS OF SHIPS
THEN BLOW UP IN,
IN QUICK SUCCESSION.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator:
ABOARD THE LEAD BRITISH ESCORT
MACINTYRE SCANS THE PERIMETER
FOR THE U-BOAT
THAT'S RAVAGING HIS SHIPS.
Milner:
IF THE ESCORT GETS A SNIFF,
IT CAN STRIKE AGAINST THE PACK.
IT CAN PUSH IT OFF
AND MAYBE GET THROUGH THE NIGHT
WITH VERY FEW LOSSES.
♪
Narrator: BUT AT 1 A. M.
ANOTHER SUBMARINE IS DETECTED.
MACINTYRE SPOTS SCHEPKE
IN THE CUSTOMARY POSITION
OUTSIDE THE CONVOY.
THE BRITISH DESTROYER STEAMS
TOWARD ITS TARGET AT 34 KNOTS...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NEARLY TWICE AS FAST
AS U-100 CAN SPEED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[SHOUTING]
Narrator: NEARLY OVERTAKEN
ON THE SURFACE,
SHEPKE'S ONLY OPTION IS TO TRY
AND HIDE BENEATH THE WAVES.
♪
Witt: IN SUCH A BATTLE SITUATION
YOU CAN'T THINK
FOR HOURS AND HOURS
OVER, OVER WHAT TO DO NEXT,
AND SO MADE THIS
SPLIT-SECOND DECISION
TO EVADE AN ATTACK
BY THE DESTROYER BY DIVING.
Sailor:
LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO.
Narrator:
MACINTYRE SUMMONS HMS VANOC
TO JOIN HIM
IN A DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK.
Sailor #1: COME ON, BOYS,
LET'S GO.
Sailor #2: SAILORS CLEAR!
Grove: DEPTH CHARGES
ARE VERY LARGE EXPLOSIONS.
[BOOM]
AND IF THEY OCCUR
CLOSE TO THE SUBMARINE,
THEN THEY DO A LOT OF DAMAGE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
Witt: WALLS BECOME UNTIED.
WATER LEAKS IN.
CONTROLS BURST, BULBS BURST.
ALL KINDS OF DAMAGES
ARE INFLICTED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[EXPLOSIONS]
Narrator: THE DAMAGE
IS OVERWHELMING.
Grove: IT LEAKS SO BADLY
THAT IF IT DOESN'T COME UP,
IT'S PROBABLY GONNA SINK.
Narrator: ON MACINTYRE'S SHIP,
HMS WALKER,
THE SONAR OPERATOR STRUGGLES
TO PING U-100
WITH THE ASDIC SYSTEM
IN AN OCEAN DISTORTED
BY EXPLOSIONS.
Grove: THE SEA IS
A VERY COMPLICATED ENVIRONMENT.
AND OF COURSE IF YOU'RE DROPPING
DEPTH CHARGES, IT'S-
IT'S QUITE HARD TO ACTUALLY
SEPARATE THE DEPTH CHARGES
FROM THE SUBMARINE.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WAS
AN ASDIC FACED FORWARDS,
AND YOUR WEAPONS WERE DROPPED
OVER THE STERN,
THE REAR OF THE SHIP.
SO THIS MEANS THAT WHEN YOU'RE
ATTACKING A SUBMARINE,
THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN
YOUR LOSING CONTACT
AND THE DEPTH CHARGES
ACTUALLY BEING DROPPED,
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO
REACQUIRE THE TARGET.
Narrator: NEARBY, HMS VANOC USES
ITS FIRST-GENERATION RADAR
TO SCAN FOR U-100
IN CASE IT SURFACES.
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
COULD DELIVER A TARGET,
BUT ITS APPLICATION IS LIMITED.
Milner: THE FIRST RADAR
THEY PUT IN SERVICE
IS THE TYPE 286,
WHICH IS A 1.5-METER RADAR,
FIXED TO THE MASTHEAD.
THE ESSENTIAL PROBLEM
WITH TYPE 286 RADAR
IS THE TARGET HAD TO BE
STRAIGHT AHEAD.
YOU COULDN'T TURN THE ANTENNA,
SO YOU HAD TO POINT THE SHIP.
Narrator: JUST AFTER 3:00 A. M.,
SCHEPKE POPS UP A THOUSAND YARDS
AWAY FROM THE ESCORTS,
BETTING HE CAN REPAIR
THE FLOODING
AND LIMP AWAY TO SAFETY.
IN AN INCREDIBLE TWIST...
Controller: CONTACT DEAD AHEAD.
Narrator:
...HE LANDS DIRECTLY IN FRONT
OF THE FIRST RADAR SYSTEM,
ABLE TO DETECT HIM.
Milner: IF THEY'D BEEN
A LITTLE BIT LEFT OR RIGHT
OR SOME OTHER PLACE,
THE 286 ON THE MASTHEAD PROBABLY
WOULDN'T HAVE PICKED IT UP.
Narrator: VANOC RACES HEAD ON.
Witt: THE COMMANDER DECIDES
TO RAM THE U-BOAT.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: HAVING PICKED UP
A SURFACED U-BOAT
ON ITS NEWLY INSTALLED
RADAR SYSTEM,
THE BRITISH SHIP VANOC
RESORTS TO A STANDARD
FIRST WORLD WAR TACTIC
AND CHARGES TO RAM
THE DAMAGED SUBMARINE.
♪
[CRASH]
Witt: THE DESTROYER HITS
THE U-BOAT U-100 AMIDSHIPS
AND SMASHES THE CONNING TOWER,
AND SCHEPKE IS CRUSHED
WITH HIS LEGS BETWEEN THE HULL
AND THE PERISCOPE,
IS THROWN INTO THE WATER
AND IS KILLED,
AND THE U-BOAT IS LOST.
♪
Narrator: ABOARD U-99,
KRETSCHMER IS OBLIVIOUS
TO THE FATE OF HIS FELLOW ACE.
OUT OF TORPEDOES,
U- 99'S CREW CLEARS THE CONVOY
TO HEAD FOR HOME.
Grove: THIS IS A CLASSIC
KRETSCHMER ATTACK,
FIVE SHIPS SUNK,
SO HE SEEMS TO BE DOING WELL.
BUT NOW THE TRAINING
OF THE ESCORT FORCE COMES IN.
THEY CARRY OUT WHAT THEY CAN
OF A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH.
Narrator: AS U-99 SLINKS AWAY,
KRETSCHMER'S LOOKOUT
SPOTS MACINTYRE'S DESTROYER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: IN A PANIC
THE CREWMAN IS CONVINCED
THEY'VE BEEN DISCOVERED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[BELL RINGS]
Narrator: ON THE CREWMAN'S
WARNING, THE SUBMARINE DIVES.
Witt: WHEN HE SAW THIS DESTROYER
EXTREMELY NEAR,
HE SIMPLY EXPECTED THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN DETECTED
BY THE DESTROYER,
AND SO MADE THIS
SPLIT-SECOND DECISION
TO EVADE AN ATTACK
BY THE DESTROYER BY DIVING.
Narrator: MACINTYRE'S LOOKOUTS
WERE UNAWARE OF U-99.
BUT AS THE SUBMARINE DESCENDS,
THE DESTROYER'S SONAR
COMES INTO PLAY.
Milner: THEY'RE LISTENING
ALL THE TIME,
AND THEY'RE PLAYING THIS KIND
OF DEADLY GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE.
THE SUB'S DOWN HERE,
AND HE'S LISTENING TO YOU
PING OFF HIM.
AND AT SOME POINT,
BECAUSE THE SONAR BEAM IS FIXED,
IT'S GONNA SWEEP OVER THE SUB.
Operator: NEW CONTACT.
RANGE, 400 YARDS.
Grove: ONCE IT CAN BE
PICKED UP ON ASDIC,
IT CAN BE ATTACKED
WITH DEPTH CHARGES.
Narrator: MACINTYRE'S CREW
LAUNCHES ITS UNDERWATER BOMBS...
Sailor: LET'S GO, LET'S GO!
Narrator: ...IN A BID TO SINK
THE SUBMARINE.
♪
[BOOM]
[EXPLOSIONS]
Witt:
THEY THREW THE DEPTH CHARGES
AND THEY DETONATED
NEAR THE U-BOAT,
CAUSING EXTREME DAMAGE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: WITH CONTROLS FAILING,
THEIR EQUIPMENT AND GAUGES
SHATTERED,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
PLUNGE TOWARDS THE SEAFLOOR
IN A SEVERELY WOUNDED SUBMARINE.
Milner: THEY HAD TWO OPTIONS
AT THAT POINT.
YOU CAN BLOW BALLAST AND GET OUT
OR YOU BECOME A BOTTOM FEATURE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: KRETSCHMER'S CREW
ATTEMPTS TO BLOW OUT WATER
TO RAISE THEIR
PLUMMETING U-BOAT.
Witt: THE ONLY WAY OF ESCAPING
WAS RETURNING TO THE SURFACE,
SO THIS WAS THE DECISION
KRETSCHMER MADE
SIMPLY TO SAVE
THE LIFE OF HIS CREW.
Narrator: BUT THE AIR VALVE
IS JAMMED.
Grove: HE'S FORCED DOWN.
IN FACT, HE GOES DOWN
VERY DEEP INDEED.
IT LOOKS AS IF THE SUBMARINE
IS GONNA BE CRUSHED.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: THE CREW MONITORS
THEIR DESCENT.
Narrator: TO THEIR HORROR,
THEY DROP DEEPER AND DEEPER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: TWENTY FEET
BELOW CRUSH DEPTH...
Narrator:
...THE VALVE FINALLY GIVES.
Narrator:
THE U-BOAT BEGINS TO CLIMB.
Narrator: ON THE SURFACE,
A DETERMINED MACINTYRE
WAITS FOR THE SUBMARINE.
♪
Grove: AS SOON AS SHE SURFACES,
SHE'S ENGAGED WITH GUNFIRE.
[GUNFIRE]
A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DAMAGE
IS INFLICTED,
AND IT SEEMS AS IF
THE TIME HAS COME
FOR U-99 TO BE ABANDONED.
Narrator:
BUT FROM THE SINKING SUBMARINE,
HITLER'S TOP U-BOAT ACE
ORDERS A FINAL TRANSMISSION.
Witt: AFTER HIS LUCK
HAS RUN OUT,
KRETSCHMER STILL
IS THIS PROFESSIONAL.
HE SENDS A LAST MESSAGE
TO DÖNITZ, VERY SHORT,
SIMPLY SAYS DEPTH CHARGE,
TWO DESTROYERS,
53,000 TONS, KRETSCHMER.
Milner: THAT LAST MESSAGE
HE SENDS FROM THE SUBMARINE,
I'VE SUNK A NUMBER OF SHIPS,
SOME ODD THOUSAND TONS,
LEAVING THE SUB, KRETSCHMER.
UM, THAT, THAT'S JUST
AN INDICATION
OF WHAT A COOL CUSTOMER
HE ACTUALLY WAS.
Narrator: MORE THAN FIVE HOURS
AFTER U-99 LAUNCHED ITS ATTACK,
KRETSCHMER ORDERS
HIS CREW ON DECK
TO PREPARE FOR SURRENDER.
Grove: KRETSCHMER,
I THINK TO CALM HIS CREW,
LIGHTS A CIGAR, JUST TO SHOW
THAT HE'S STILL IN, IN CHARGE.
HE SIGNALS TO THE BRITISH
TO TAKE OFF HIS CREW.
AND THE BRITISH WILL DO THAT
BECAUSE THERE ISN'T
MUCH HATRED MAN, MAN TO MAN.
ONCE THE SUBMARINE'S SUNK,
THAT'S THE JOB DONE.
Narrator:
KRETSCHMER IS THE LAST ONE
PULLED ABOARD
THE BRITISH DESTROYER.
MACINTYRE CLAIMS THE ACE'S
BINOCULARS AS HIS PRIZE.
Grove: KRETSCHMER IS TREATED
VERY WELL ON BOARD HMS WALKER.
HE PLAYS BRIDGE,
HE'S PLIED WITH WHISKEY.
THEY'RE VERY, UH, UH, PLEASED
THAT THEY'VE CAPTURED SOMEBODY
SO DISTINGUISHED.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER SPENDS
THE REST OF THE WAR
AS AN ALLIED PRISONER.
THE BATTLE AGAINST CONVOY HX 112
COST DÖNITZ TWO
OF HIS TOP SUBMARINES.
Milner: WHEN KRETSCHMER AND
SCHEPKE GO DOWN IN MARCH OF '41,
THAT'S A CATASTROPHIC
DEVELOPMENT
FOR GERMAN PUBLIC RELATIONS.
YOU'VE TRUMPETED THE SUCCESS
OF THESE HEROES,
AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN
THEY'RE GONE.
AND THE FLIPSIDE OF THAT
IS THAT THE BRITS ACTUALLY
APPEAR TO BE GIANT KILLERS
'CAUSE THEY'VE TAKEN THEM OUT.
IT'S TRAGIC THAT THEY LOSE THEM
ALL IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD.
BUT YOU'VE STILL GOT
LOTS OF YOUNG,
VERY CAPABLE SUBMARINERS
COMING ALONG.
THE GERMAN SUBMARINE FLEET
IS BY NO MEANS DONE.
IT'S REALLY
JUST GETTING STARTED.
♪
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
ONE OF HITLER'S MOST SUCCESSFUL
U-BOAT ACES, OTTO KRETSCHMER,
SINKS DOZENS OF ALLIED SHIPS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: FIRST ALONE,
THEN AS PART
OF THE LETHAL WOLFPACKS...
[BOOM]
UNTIL A FATEFUL MISTAKE...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
...THREATENS EVERYTHING.
[EXPLOSIONS]
IN WORLD WAR II, A SUBSEA WEAPON
ALLOWS WARRIORS TO FIGHT
FROM BENEATH THE WAVES.
WITH CUNNING, FORCE
AND TENACITY,
THEIR ENEMIES STRIKE BACK.
[EXPLOSIONS]
REVOLUTIONARY
BUT STILL SOMETIMES PRIMITIVE,
IT'S A DESPERATE BID
TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF WAR.
THEIR STORIES ARE LEGEND.
♪
JULY 8, 1940.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NAZI U-BOAT U-99
HAS SUNK AN ALLIED MERCHANT SHIP
JUST SOUTH OF IRELAND.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NOW A BRITISH ESCORT
TURNS IN PURSUIT.
Christian Jentzsch:
WHEN YOU ATTACK THE ENEMY,
YOU ARE THE HUNTER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Jentzsch: AND AS SOON AS YOU
GET ATTACKED BY THE ESCORTS,
YOU ARE THE PREY.
Narrator: THE CREW OF U-99
PERFORMS A DIVE TO ESCAPE.
[BELL RINGING]
♪
Narrator:
U-BOAT COMMANDER OTTO KRETSCHMER
HAS SERVED HITLER'S
UNDERWATER SERVICE
SINCE THE START OF WORLD WAR II.
HE'S JUST SUNK HIS 12th SHIP
IN 10 MONTHS...
[SONAR PING]
AND EARNED A REPUTATION
AS THE BEST TORPEDO SHOT
IN THE GERMAN NAVY.
[PING]
HE PROVES RUTHLESSLY EFFICIENT.
HIS MOTTO IS
"ONE TORPEDO, ONE SHIP."
[EXPLOSION]
Marc Milner:
OTTO KRETSCHMER WAS NOT ONE
OF THE ORDINARY
SUBMARINE COMMANDERS, RIGHT.
HE'S OF A...
PART OF AN ELITE GROUP
WHO REALLY DO
MOST OF THE DAMAGE.
NOT ONLY IS HE
PLEASANT AND SKILLED,
BUT HE'S COLD AS A CUCUMBER.
Narrator: IT'S ONLY KRETSCHMER'S
SECOND PATROL
ABOARD THE RECENTLY COMMISSIONED
U-99.
[PING]
HE AND HIS UNTRIED CREW
FACE AN EXPLOSIVE INITIATION.
Jentzsch: IT'S THE FIRST TIME
WHEN THE COOL AND CALM CHARACTER
OF KRETSCHMER
IS VIRTUALLY FORGED IN FLAMES,
BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST TIME WHEN
HE'S ATTACKED BY ALLIED ESCORTS.
♪
[PING]
♪
Narrator: THE WARSHIP
THAT HUNTS KRETSCHMER
IS ONE OF BRITAIN'S NEW
FLOWER-CLASS CORVETTES.
205 FEET LONG WITH
A DISPLACEMENT OF 940 TONS...
IT'S BEEN ADAPTED
FROM COMMERCIAL WHALERS
TO HUNT SUBMARINES.
[BOOM]
[EXPLOSION]
Milner: SO WHEN THE WAR STARTS,
THE ATTACK THAT THE GERMANS
LAUNCH ON BRITISH TRADE
IS UNANTICIPATED.
AND THE BRITISH ARE SIMPLY NOT
MATERIALLY PREPARED FOR IT,
NOR ARE THEY PSYCHOLOGICALLY
PREPARED FOR IT.
AND THE BRITS HAVE TO ADAPT
THEIR, THEIR
MARITIME PREPARATIONS
TO DEAL WITH WARFARE THAT
THEY JUST ARE NOT READY FOR.
[PING]
Narrator: JUST AFTER 8 A. M...
[PING]
[PING]
THE FLOWER-CLASS CORVETTE
LAUNCHES UNDERWATER BOMBS
CALLED DEPTH CHARGES...
IN A BID TO SINK
KRETSCHMER'S SUBMARINE.
THEY WEIGH ABOUT 400 POUNDS
AND DETONATE WHEN THEY SINK
TO A PRE-SET DEPTH
BETWEEN 50 AND 500 FEET.
Jentzsch: ALL OF A SUDDEN
THERE WILL BE THE EXPLOSIONS.
[BOOM]
[BOOM]
THE SUBMARINE IS THROWN AROUND
UNDERWATER.
KRETSCHMER DESCRIBED IT
LIKE A THOUSAND HAMMERS
KNOCKING ON THE SUBMARINE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
AND WHEN THE DEPTH CHARGE
EXPLODED ONE AFTER THE OTHER,
THEY LOOK AROUND
IN THE SUBMARINE-
IS THERE SOMETHING BROKEN?
IS THE HULL STILL FULLY INTACT?
THEY DO NOT ONLY DROP ONE SALVO,
TWO SALVO, OR THREE SALVOS,
THEY START ATTACKING
FOR HOURS AND HOURS.
Narrator:
U-99 IS A TYPE VII U-BOAT.
FIRST COMMISSIONED IN 1936,
THEY ARE 218 FEET LONG
AND 20 FEET WIDE.
TYPE VIIs NORMALLY CARRY
14 TORPEDOES
AND A CREW OF 45 MEN.
[BELL RINGING]
GERMANY PRODUCES MORE OF THEM
THAN ANY OTHER SUBMARINE.
Eric Grove: THE TYPE VII U-BOAT
IS ACTUALLY A BIT
ON THE SMALL SIDE.
IT'S DEVELOPED FROM
THE SO-CALLED UB SUBMARINE,
ONE OF THE SMALLER SUBMARINES
OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
IT DID HAVE SIGNIFICANT
SEAGOING CAPACITY.
Narrator:
MORE THAN 700 WERE BUILT
BASED ON ITS RELATIVELY SIMPLE
AND INEXPENSIVE DESIGN.
THE MAN WHO DEPLOYS THE U-BOATS
IS KARL DÖNITZ-
HITLER'S MASTERMIND
OF SUBMARINES.
Milner: I THINK THE BEST WAY
TO UNDERSTAND KARL DÖNITZ
IS HE'S A CONSUMMATE
PROFESSIONAL SUBMARINER.
HE LIVED, BREATHED, AND THOUGHT
SUBMARINES ALL THE TIME.
Narrator: DÖNITZ LAUNCHES HIS
U-BOATS TO KEY SHIPPING ROUTES
IN A BID TO STRANGLE
THE BRITISH ISLES.
Jann Witt: THIS BECAME
THE CORE STRATEGY
OF THE GERMAN NAVAL COMMAND,
TO CUT THOSE LIFELINES,
THOSE MARITIME LIFELINES,
FIGHTING THE CONVOYS,
STARVING BRITAIN INTO DEFEAT.
Milner: THE WHOLE THING TURNS
INTO QUITE LITERALLY,
AS IT'S OFTEN BEEN SAID,
A CHESS MATCH,
BECAUSE YOU'RE MATCHING WITS
WITH THE OTHER GUY.
WHERE IS HE NOW
AND WHERE WILL HE BE?
YOU'VE GOT TO BE THINKING
SEVERAL MOVES AHEAD.
Narrator:
DÖNITZ USES NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
TO ASSIGN THE FEW SUBMARINES
HE HAS TO LOCATE SHIPS.
Grove: THERE ARE NOT
MANY U-BOATS AT SEA
AT THIS STAGE OF THE WAR.
THE GERMANS HAVE HAD TO MAKE
CHOICES IN THEIR WAR PRODUCTION,
AND U-BOATS WERE NOT ONE
OF THOSE CHOICES
BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY WERE
PLANNING TO FIGHT ON LAND,
FIRST IN THE WEST
AND THEN IN THE EAST.
Jentzsch: SO HE HAD TO USE
THESE SMALL NUMBERS,
AND THE ONLY THING HE COULD DO
IS TO SPREAD THEM OVER THE OCEAN
LIKE BUTTER ON A VERY BIG
SHEET OF BREAD.
THEREFORE, IN THE FIRST STAGES
OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR,
THEY WERE STILL FIGHTING
LIKE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
ONE SUBMARINE ON ONE PATROL
ON ITS OWN.
[BOOM]
Narrator: EARLY ON JULY 8,
DÖNITZ'S U-99 ATTACKED
THE ENEMY ALONE
AND HAS BEEN UNDER SIEGE
FOR HOURS.
[PING]
[EXPLOSION]
Jentzsch:
EVERYBODY IS UNDER STRESS.
SO THE SWEAT IS COMING
ON THEIR FACE, DROPPING DOWN.
AND IF YOU ARE UNDER STRESS,
YOU BREATHE A LOT.
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator: UNCERTAIN OF HOW LONG
THE ATTACK WILL LAST,
KRETSCHMER TAKES ACTION
TO PRESERVE THE SUBMARINE'S
LIMITED SUPPLY OF AIR.
Jentzsch: THE COMMANDING OFFICER
NEEDS TO CONSERVE THE OXYGEN.
AND SO THE PEOPLE GET THE ORDER
TO LIE DOWN, TO SLEEP.
[PING]
[COUGHING]
THEY GET BISCUITS
AND THEY GET CHOCOLATE
TO GET OVER THE SITUATION.
AFTER HOURS THEY ARE
PROBABLY VERY FATIGUED.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Narrator: SOME OF THE CREW DON
MASKS THAT ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE
IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE
THE U-BOAT'S ATMOSPHERE LAST.
[BREATHING]
Witt: IT'S ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE
WHAT THESE PEOPLE FELT
IN THIS VERY MOMENT.
IT MUST BE, MUST HAVE BEEN
HORRENDOUS.
Narrator:
BUT AS ANOTHER SALVO HITS,
THE MAN WHO COMMANDS
THE U-BOAT APPEARS UNFAZED.
Jentzsch:
KRETSCHMER WAS SITTING VERY CALM
AND READING A NOVEL,
A CRIMINAL NOVEL.
AND THE GUY
ON THE HYDROACOUSTICS,
KASSEL, WAS LOOKING AT HIM,
AND HE THOUGHT,
OH, THAT'S A GREAT GUY.
WE ARE UNDER THE PRESSURE,
HE'S JUST SITTING AROUND
READING HIS NOVEL.
[EXPLOSIONS]
AFTER SOME MINUTES, KASSEL AGAIN
IS LOOKING AT HIM,
AND HE REALIZED THE BOOK IS
UPSIDE DOWN, SO HE CAN'T READ,
AND ALL THE TIME
HE DID NOT FLIP ANY PAGE.
SO KRETSCHMER IN THIS CASE
WAS A BRILLIANT MILITARY LEADER.
"I CAN TAKE THE TIME
TO JUST READ A NOVEL,
SO YOU COULD KEEP CALM, TOO."
[EXPLOSIONS]
[EXPLOSIONS]
WHEN THE ATTACKS
ARE GOING ON FOR HOURS,
KRETSCHMER HAD TO KEEP IN MIND
A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
THE FIRST THING IS
TO KEEP THE SUBMARINE
IN A DEPTH WHERE IT DOESN'T
GET DESTROYED
BY THE PRESSURE OF THE WATER.
AND THEREFORE HE NEEDS
PROPULSION.
AND TO PRODUCE PROPULSION,
HE NEEDS TO USE BATTERY ENERGY.
Narrator: SUBMERGED,
124 BATTERY CELLS
POWER U-99'S PROPELLERS
AND ALL ITS SYSTEMS.
THEY CAN ONLY BE RECHARGED
ON THE SURFACE.
♪
TWELVE HOURS AFTER
THE DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK BEGINS,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
REMAIN PINNED DOWN.
♪
[PING]
♪
Jentzsch: KRETSCHMER IS TOLD
BY HIS ENGINEER
THAT HE'S RUNNING LOW
OF BATTERY FUEL.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
KRETSCHMER MUST MAKE A MOVE,
OR U-99 WILL BE LOST TO THE SEA.
Jentzsch: TO WAIT UNTIL
THE BATTERY IS TOTALLY DOWN,
THEN THERE'S NO CHANCE
OF SURVIVING.
♪
[BOOM]
Narrator: DURING 12 HOURS
OF DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK...
[EXPLOSIONS]
U- 99 HAS BEEN CRUISING
JUST FAST ENOUGH
TO MAINTAIN A CONSTANT DEPTH,
TO CONSERVE POWER.
Jentzsch:
TO KEEP HIS SUBMARINE MOVING,
HE NEEDS THE PROPULSION,
AND THEREFORE HE HAD TO USE
THE BATTERY FUEL
IN AN EFFICIENT WAY
AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
TO KEEP THE BOAT ON MOVING FOR
PROPULSION OR FOR OPERATIONS.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AS HIS BATTERIES DIE,
KRETSCHMER RISKS THE LAST
OF HIS POWER ON A COURSE CHANGE,
IN A FINAL BID TO ESCAPE.
Witt: KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
TRY TO EVADE
BY ZIGZAGGING, CHANGING DEPTH,
AND THE LIKES.
Narrator: MORE THAN 14 HOURS
AFTER THE ATTACK BEGAN...
THE SOUND OF
ENEMY PROPELLERS FADES.
Jentzsch: AND THEN THEY HAD
THE INFORMATION
THAT THE ESCORTS
WERE MOVING AWAY.
♪
Narrator: U-99 SURVIVES
127 DEPTH CHARGES.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Jentzsch: BATTERY FUEL
WAS EXTREMELY LOW
AND OXYGEN WAS NEARLY DISPOSED,
AND THEREFORE HE HAD TO GET UP.
♪
Narrator: WHEN THEY SURFACE,
THE ESCORTS HAVE MOVED
OUT OF SIGHT.
♪
Jentzsch: IT IS SAID THAT
THE AIR IS YELLOW GREENISH.
AND THE AUTHOR OF ONE FAMOUS
NOVEL ABOUT KRETSCHMER,
HE EXPLAINS, LOOKING LIKE
THE DEATH LEAVING THE SUBMARINE.
[CREW LAUGHING]
HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GERMAN
COMMANDING SUBMARINE OFFICERS
TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCE
OF A LONG-LASTING DEPTH CHARGE.
HE WAS LUCKY, SO THE ESCORTS
REALLY DISAPPEARED.
[TALKING AND LAUGHING]
♪
Narrator: TO THE EAST, THE MAN
IN CHARGE OF GERMANY'S U-BOATS
GAINS A CRITICAL WIN.
HITLER'S TROOPS
HAVE INVADED FRANCE.
DÖNITZ CAN USE ITS ATLANTIC
PORTS TO LAUNCH HIS SUBMARINES.
Witt: AFTER THE FALL OF FRANCE
IN 1940,
THE GERMANS SUDDENLY
POSSESSED NEW BASES
IDEALLY SUITED FOR ATTACKS
ON THE BRITISH CONVOYS
IN THE ATLANTIC.
BEFORE THAT, THEY HAD TO,
TO SEND OUT THEIR BOATS
FROM, FROM THEIR BASES
IN GERMANY,
WHICH MEANT THEY WOULD SPEND
A LOT OF FUEL FOR TRAVELING
TO AND FRO
THOSE OPERATIONAL AREAS.
AND SO NOW IN FRANCE THE BOATS
HAD CONSIDERABLY MORE TIME
FOR ACTUALLY HUNTING AND
FIGHTING THE ALLIED CONVOYS.
♪
Narrator: ON OCTOBER 13, 1940,
DÖNITZ DEPLOYS U-99
FROM LORIENT, FRANCE.
INTELLIGENCE HAS LEARNED
34 ENEMY SHIPS
TRANSPORT TIMBER, STEEL
AND OTHER WAR MATERIALS
IN A CONVOY FROM CANADA
TO BRITAIN.
Grove: A CONVOY
IS A GROUPING OF SHIPS,
A NUMBER OF SHIPS TOGETHER
ESCORTED BY A NUMBER
OF WARSHIPS.
YOU MIGHT THINK THAT PUTTING
A LOT OF SHIPS TOGETHER
IS A LOT OF EGGS IN ONE BASKET,
BUT ACTUALLY, BECAUSE THE SEA
IS SUCH A BIG PLACE,
IF YOU CONCENTRATE SHIPPING,
THEN IT'S VERY DIFFICULT
FOR THE ENEMY TO EVEN FIND THEM.
AND WHEN THEY FIND THEM,
THEY FIND THEM ESCORTED
WITH WARSHIPS,
AND IT'S A HARD JOB
TO ATTACK THEM.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER
AND HIS CREW RACE NORTHWEST
IN SEARCH OF CONVOY SC 7.
Grove: ALL CONVOY ROUTES
HAVE THEIR OWN DESIGNATION.
HX, HALIFAX;
SC, SLOW CONVOY FOR SLOW SHIPS,
WHEN THEY START CONVOYS
FOR SLOW SHIPS.
SO IT NORMALLY MEANS SOMETHING,
AND IT HELPS DIVIDE CONVOYS UP.
♪
Narrator:
DÖNITZ ASSIGNS MORE U-BOATS
TO JOIN KRETSCHMER
IN LOCATING THE CONVOY.
IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST
MOBILIZATIONS OF A WOLFPACK-
A TACTIC THAT HITLER'S
SUBMARINES WOULD MAKE FAMOUS.
Grove: THE ESSENCE
OF THE RUDELTAKTIK,
THE WOLF TACTIC,
WAS TO BRING SEVERAL SUBMARINES
TO BEAR AGAINST THE CONVOY.
Milner: THE CONTROL
OF THE WOLFPACK IS DONE ASHORE,
AT DÖNITZ'S HEADQUARTERS.
IT'S ON THE BIG BOARD,
YOU KNOW, BIG PLOT, LITTLE PINS
AND MOVE SUBMARINES AROUND.
THINK OF IT AS A KIND
OF VAST DRIFTNET OF SUBMARINES
AT ABOUT TWICE THE VISIBILITY
DISTANCE APART,
ONE FROM THE OTHER,
DEPLOYED PERPENDICULAR
TO THE LINE OF ADVANCE
THAT YOU'D EXPECT CONVOYS
TO FOLLOW.
AND THE IDEA IS SIMPLY TO USE IT
AS A KIND OF TRIPWIRE SYSTEM
SO YOU CAN SNARE THEM.
♪
Narrator: ANOTHER SUBMARINE
TO JOIN THE HUNT IS U-100.
THE U-BOAT IS COMMANDED
BY JOACHIM SCHEPKE:
FRIEND AND RIVAL
TO KRETSCHMER AND U-99.
SCHEPKE AND KRETSCHMER
WERE AMONG THE FIRST
TO COMPLETE DÖNITZ'S
ELITE SUBMARINE TRAINING.
THIRTEEN MONTHS INTO THE WAR,
THEY RANK AMONG HITLER'S
U-BOAT ACES...
CUNNING MEN DRIVEN
TO SINK BRITAIN'S SHIPS.
Milner: THE NUMBER OF ACES
IN THE U-BOAT FLEET
IS NEVER VERY BIG,
AND THEY DO MOST
OF THE HEAVY LIFTING.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE SUCCESS RATE
FOR GERMAN SUBMARINERS,
ABOUT THREE QUARTERS
OF THE TONNAGE IS SUNK
BY LIKE 20 PERCENT
OF THE, OF THE CAPTAINS,
BECAUSE THEY'RE PREPARED TO
TAKE THINGS RIGHT TO THE EDGE.
Narrator: BUT CAN THESE
LONE WOLVES HUNT AS A PACK?
♪
BY FALL OF 1940, A NEW ERA
OF SUBMARINE WARFARE HAS BEGUN.
ADMIRAL KARL DÖNITZ COUNTS
ON ACES KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE
TO DELIVER ON HIS NEW
WOLFPACK TACTIC.
GERMANY HAS ONLY 27
OPERATIONAL SUBMARINES-
NEARLY A THIRD OF DÖNITZ'S
ACTIVE FLEET IS AT STAKE.
Milner: HIS STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE
IS TONNAGE SUNK
PER U-BOAT DAY AT SEA.
IT'S ALSO A LOGICAL STRATEGY.
IT'S JUST ABOUT THE ONLY ONE
THEY'VE GOT.
BUT IT MEANS YOU DO HAVE TO
SINK SHIPS.
YOU HAVE TO DESTROY
THEIR CARRYING CAPACITY.
♪
Narrator:
ATTACKING A CONVOY PRESENTS
THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY.
THE 34 MERCHANT SHIPS
OF SLOW CONVOY 7
ARE PROTECTED
BY ONLY FOUR ESCORTS.
THEIR MAIN WEAPON FOR DETECTING
U-BOATS IS SONAR...
[PING]
AN ACTIVE PINGING SYSTEM
ALSO KNOWN AS ASDIC.
Operator: ECHO BEARING
GREEN TWO ZERO, DRAWING RIGHT.
Narrator: ASDIC WAS INVENTED
TOWARDS THE END OF WORLD WAR I.
IT USES SOUND PULSES
CALLED PINGS
TO SEARCH THE OCEAN
FOR SUBMARINES.
[PING]
Milner: THE BIG INNOVATION
IN THE FALL OF 1918
WAS THE INTRODUCTION OF AN
ACTIVE ACOUSTIC LOCATION SYSTEM,
DEVELOPED PRIMARILY
BY THE FRENCH
AND THEN SHARED
WITH THE BRITISH.
SO WHAT YOU HAVE IS THAT STUFF
YOU SEE IN, IN HOLLYWOOD MOVIES
WHERE A SOUND GOES OUT,
IT HITS SOMETHING,
AND IT COMES BACK.
AND YOU MEASURE THE DISTANCE,
AND THAT GIVES YOU SOME IDEA
OF HOW FAR AWAY THE OBJECT IS.
[PING]
Grove: IT WAS THE KEY
TO THE EXISTING ANTI-SUBMARINE
TACTICS OF THE ROYAL NAVY.
A SUBMERGED SUBMARINE IN FACT
WAS VULNERABLE.
BUT THE BIGGEST DRAWBACK
IS THAT IT DOESN'T WORK
AGAINST SURFACE VESSELS.
AND WHEN A SUBMARINE BECOMES
A LOW, HARD-TO-DETECT
SURFACE VESSEL AT NIGHT,
IT SOON PROVES TO BE
A VERY DANGEROUS ENEMY INDEED.
Narrator: AFTER CONVOY SC 7
IS INTERCEPTED,
KRETSCHMER AND THE REST
OF THE WOLFPACK CLOSE IN.
Milner: AND THEN THE ORDER
WOULD BE GIVEN
THAT AT THE RIGHT MOMENT
IN THE DARK OF NIGHT,
YOU'RE FREE TO ATTACK.
AND THEN THE PACK WOULD COME IN.
THERE'S A LOT AT STAKE,
NOT SIMPLY IN SINKING THE SHIPS
BUT IN CREATING
THAT SHOCK EFFECT
AND DEMONSTRATING TO THE BRITISH
THAT THEY CAN SINK
THEIR SHIPPING AT WILL.
Narrator:
SCHEPKE AND THE OTHER COMMANDERS
PREPARE TO FIRE
FROM OUTSIDE THE CONVOY.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: BUT KRETSCHMER
HAS HIS OWN PLAN.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AT 10 P.M.,
U-99 SLINKS PAST THE ESCORTS
TO AMBUSH THE ENEMY FROM
WHERE THEY LEAST EXPECT IT.
Witt: KRETSCHMER HAS THIS,
THIS KILLER INSTINCT.
HE IS A PERFECTIONIST.
SO HE FINDS A WAY OF SNEAKING IN
ON THE SURFACE INTO THE CONVOY.
HE MANAGED COLD-BLOODED
TO SAIL INSIDE THE CONVOY
AND THEN STARTS TO TORPEDO
THE MERCHANT VESSELS.
♪
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[EXPLOSIONS]
♪
Milner:
THE FIRST KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE
THAT THERE'S AN ATTACK
TAKING PLACE
IS WHEN AN EXPLOSION
STRIKES A SHIP
AND THE FLARES START TO GO UP.
THEN THE ESCORT HAS TO REACT.
Narrator: THE ALLIES TARGET
THE CONVOY'S PERIMETER
WHERE THE U-BOATS USUALLY PROWL.
[GUNFIRE]
OTHERS IN THE WOLFPACK
ARE FORCED TO DIVE.
♪
[PING]
♪
[PING]
♪
BUT INSIDE THE CONVOY...
KRETSCHMER STAYS ON THE ATTACK.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
[BOOM]
Milner: IT TURNED
INTO A PYROTECHNIC NIGHTMARE.
THEY'RE JUST SINKING SHIPS.
TERRIFYING FOR THE MEN
IN THE CONVOY, JUST TERRIFYING.
NO ONE THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD
ACTUALLY GET INSIDE THE CONVOY
IN THE DARK OF NIGHT
AND SPIT DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
OUT BOTH ENDS AT A HIGH SPEED.
[EXPLOSIONS]
Narrator: IN THE EARLY HOURS
OF OCTOBER 19th,
U- 99 FIRES THE LAST
OF ITS 14 TORPEDOES.
♪
[EXPLOSION]
THE CONVOY LOSES 20 SHIPS
WHILE IN TRANSIT.
80,000 TONS OF SHIPPING
IS LOST TO THE WAR EFFORT.
SCHEPKE CLAIMS THREE SHIPS,
KRETSCHMER SEVEN...
MANY MORE THAN ANY OTHER ACE,
IN ONE OF GERMANY'S FIRST
WOLFPACK OFFENSIVES.
Milner: IT'S A RADICALLY NEW
KIND OF USE OF SUBMARINES
THAT THE BRITS SIMPLY DID NOT
HAVE DEFENSES FOR.
ONCE THE WOLFPACK
SNARES A CONVOY,
IT'S CHAOS FOR THE ALLIES.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: A FEW DAYS LATER
U-99 DOCKS TO A CHEERING CROWD.
KRETSCHMER
AND HIS FELLOW COMMANDERS
ARE CELEBRATED AS IDOLS.
Witt: THE GERMAN U-BOAT ACES
WERE USED
BY THE, BY THE GERMAN
WAR PROPAGANDA, OF COURSE,
AS PROPAGANDA HEROES.
YOU CAN ALMOST LIKE THEM
TO THE POP STARS OF THEIR DAYS.
IN ANY WAR IT'S VERY MUCH
THE SAME-YOU NEED HEROES.
YOU NEED SUCCESSES TO RAISE
THE SPIRIT OF YOUR OWN FOLK.
♪
Narrator: IN BRITAIN,
WAR STRATEGISTS RACE
TO THWART GERMANY'S
NEW U-BOAT TACTICS.
Grove: THE BRITISH EMPIRE'S
A MARITIME EMPIRE,
AND IT RELIES ON SHIPPING.
NOW, THAT'S A STRENGTH
BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT
THE BRITISH CAN ACCESS THE WORLD
AS FAR AS SUPPLIES
ARE CONCERNED.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IT MEANS
BRITAIN MUST CONTROL THE SEA.
Narrator: THE ROYAL NAVY
REASSIGNS WARSHIPS
GUARDING THE BRITISH COAST
TO THE ATLANTIC
TO PROTECT CONVOYS.
Grove: IT MUST NOT
ALLOW THE ENEMY
TO DENY IT THE USE OF THE SEA.
Narrator: EFFORTS ARE
ALSO UNDER WAY
TO APPLY A NEW TECHNOLOGY
CALLED RADAR,
RADIO WAVES USED TO DETECT
ENEMY AIRPLANES, TO THE SEAS.
Milner: IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING
TO MAKE THIS ADJUSTMENT,
BRITAIN IS BEING BOMBED.
ITS PORTS ARE BEING DESTROYED
FROM THE AIR.
THE BLITZ IS BEING LAUNCHED.
[AIR RAID SIREN]
IT'S A VERY TRYING PERIOD
FOR BRITAIN.
♪
Narrator: MARCH 1941.
NAZI WOLFPACKS HAVE DOMINATED
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
FOR FIVE MONTHS.
NOW CONVOY HX 112 STEAMS
IN TRANSIT FROM HALIFAX
TO BRITAIN.
Grove: HX, HALIFAX;
HX 112 WAS THE 112th
FAST INWARD-BOUND CONVOY.
IT WAS COMPOSED OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF SHIPS, TANKERS,
CARGO SHIPS, ET CETERA.
AND ONE OF THE FEATURES
WHICH MAKES THIS CONVOY
INTERESTING AND SIGNIFICANT
IS THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME
THE U-BOATS ARE FACING
A WELL-TRAINED ESCORT GROUP.
Narrator:
OVERSEEING THE SEVEN ESCORTS
THAT GUARD THE 41-SHIP CONVOY
IS COMMANDER DONALD MACINTYRE.
MACINTYRE HAS PROVED
A SHREWD HUNTER
SINCE HE CAPTAINED HIS FIRST
BRITISH PATROL VESSEL IN 1935.
Milner: MACINTYRE WAS FOCUSED
ON U-BOAT KILLING.
THAT'S WHAT HE WANTED TO DO.
HE WANTED TO SINK SUBMARINES.
Narrator: MACINTYRE TOOK COMMAND
OF HMS WALKER
A FEW WEEKS BEFORE-
THE LEAD DESTROYER IN ONE
OF BRITAIN'S FIRST DEDICATED
CONVOY PROTECTION FLEETS,
ESCORT GROUP 5.
Sailor: HEAVE!
Witt:
IT WAS A VERY RISKY BUSINESS
NOT ONLY TO SERVE ON A WARSHIP
OR A MERCHANT VESSEL
BUT ALSO TO TRAVEL THE ATLANTIC.
THERE WAS ALSO
THIS CONSTANT THREAT
OF BEING ATTACKED BY A U-BOAT
AND FACING,
FACING A GRUESOME DEATH.
[DIAL CLICKING]
♪
Narrator: 150 MILES SOUTH
OF ICELAND...
[EXPLOSION]
MACINTYRE FACES THE FIRST
ASSAULT AGAINST CONVOY HX 112.
A U-BOAT CRIPPLES ONE OF
THE CONVOY'S PRIZED OIL TANKERS.
CRITICAL FUEL FOR BRITAIN'S
WAR EFFORT BURNS.
Grove: TANKERS ARE ALWAYS
SPECTACULAR TARGETS.
THEY GO UP
IN HUGE BOUTS OF FLAME,
AND THIS TANKER
WAS NO EXCEPTION.
IT MADE A GREAT IMPACT
ON MACINTYRE,
WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, IT WAS,
IT WAS RATHER A DEPRESSING SIGHT
TO SEE THIS HUGE EXPLOSION
TAKING PLACE,
AND IT SHOWED THAT THE U-BOATS
WERE MOUNTING EFFECTIVE ATTACKS.
♪
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator: IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC
A U-BOAT HAS DOWNED A TANKER
CARRYING FUEL
GUARDED BY BRITAIN'S
ESCORT GROUP 5,
COMMANDED BY DONALD MACINTYRE.
THE SUBMARINE THAT HAS AMBUSHED
THE CONVOY IS U-110.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: AND IT TAKES
IMMEDIATE EVASIVE ACTION.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: THE DIVE IS ORDERED...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
...BY FRITZ-JULIUS LEMP.
LIKE KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE,
LEMP IS ONE OF HITLER'S
ELITE U-BOAT ACES.
HE'S BEST KNOWN FOR SINKING
THE PASSENGER LINER ATHENIA
ON THE FIRST DAY
OF WORLD WAR II.
THE ATTACK
ON THE CIVILIAN VESSEL
SENDS THE STARK MESSAGE THAT
EVERY BRITISH SHIP IS AT RISK.
Grove: AT THE START OF THE WAR,
THE ADMIRALTY ISN'T SURE
THAT THE GERMANS
ARE GOING TO START UNRESTRICTED
SUBMARINE WARFARE.
BUT WHEN THE ATHENIA IS SUNK,
THEN THE ADMIRALTY DECIDES YES,
IT IS UNRESTRICTED
SUBMARINE WARFARE,
AND SO A CONVOY SYSTEM
IS INTRODUCED.
Narrator: BEFORE DIVING,
LEMP TRANSMITS THE COORDINATES
OF CONVOY HX 112
TO U-BOAT HEADQUARTERS.
DÖNITZ DEPLOYS
KRETSCHMER AND SCHEPKE
IN A WOLFPACK TO INTERCEPT.
Milner: ALL THE,
THE FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS,
ALL THE KEY CHARACTERS
ARE IN THIS CONVOY BATTLE.
♪
Narrator:
BUT ONE OF THE CONVOY'S ESCORTS
ALSO CARRIES A NEW WEAPON
RIGGED TO FOIL U-BOAT TACTICS.
MACINTYRE'S WARSHIP FLEET
INCLUDES THE HMS VANOC,
RECENTLY FITTED WITH RADAR,
A TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS SHIPS
TO LOCATE SUBMARINES
ON THE SURFACE.
Witt: VANOC WAS ONE
OF THE FIRST DESTROYERS
TO BE EQUIPPED
WITH A RADAR SYSTEM,
AND THIS WAS ENTIRELY NEW
AND A NEW THREAT TO THE U-BOATS.
NOW THEY COULD BE DETECTED
AT NIGHT, AT THE SURFACE.
Narrator: UNAWARE OF THIS
CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT,
GERMANY'S TOP SUBMARINE
COMMANDERS PREPARE TO ATTACK.
Grove: THEY HAVE HAD
GREAT SUCCESSES
AGAINST POORLY ESCORTED CONVOYS.
NOW THE TIDE
IS BEGINNING TO TURN,
BUT THEY DON'T KNOW THAT YET.
♪
Narrator: MARCH 16, 1941.
HAVING LOCATED THE CONVOY,
KRETSCHMER PLOTS HIS CREEP
INTO HX 112.
U- 99'S COMMANDER SCANS THE FOG
WITH PRIZED BINOCULARS
MADE FOR AN ACE.
Grove:
AS AN ACE SUBMARINE COMMANDER,
KRETSCHMER HAS BEEN PRESENTED
WITH A RATHER HIGHER STANDARD
OF BINOCULARS
THAN OTHER CAPTAINS.
AND THEY'RE PART OF HIS ABILITY,
ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT,
TO SEE TARGETS ON THE SURFACE.
AND IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PART
OF KRETSCHMER'S SELF-IMAGE
THAT HE HAS THEM.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER MUST USE
HIS SHARP EYES
TO AVOID AN ACCIDENTAL CRASH
WITH AN ENEMY SHIP.
Grove: THE NORTH ATLANTIC
IN MARCH
IS NOT A VERY HOSPITABLE PLACE,
AND YOU GET MIST AND FOG
AND SO ON,
AND THEREFORE IT'S GOING TO BE
QUITE DIFFICULT TO ATTACK.
BUT KRETSCHMER WAS A PERSON
WHO LIKED TAKING RISK.
HE WANTED TO GET
INSIDE THE CONVOY.
THAT WAS HIS TACTIC,
GET INSIDE THE CONVOY,
TARGET-RICH ENVIRONMENT,
SINK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.
AND HE TRIES TO DO THIS
DESPITE THE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Narrator: BY 10 P.M.
U-99 NAVIGATES THE FOG
TO LAND INSIDE ENEMY LINES,
WHERE NONE OF THE CONVOY ESCORTS
WOULD EXPECT TO FIND
A NAZI SUBMARINE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator:
AVOIDING UNDERWATER DETECTION
AND CLOAKED IN DARKNESS,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
ARE READY TO STRIKE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Grove: THEY ATTACK AT NIGHT
ON THE SURFACE
WHEN THE ASDIC DOESN'T WORK,
THE SONAR DOESN'T WORK...
[EXPLOSION]
AND THEREFORE THEY CREATE CHAOS,
THEY CREATE A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF SHOCK EFFECT,
AND LARGE NUMBERS OF SHIPS
THEN BLOW UP IN,
IN QUICK SUCCESSION.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[EXPLOSION]
Narrator:
ABOARD THE LEAD BRITISH ESCORT
MACINTYRE SCANS THE PERIMETER
FOR THE U-BOAT
THAT'S RAVAGING HIS SHIPS.
Milner:
IF THE ESCORT GETS A SNIFF,
IT CAN STRIKE AGAINST THE PACK.
IT CAN PUSH IT OFF
AND MAYBE GET THROUGH THE NIGHT
WITH VERY FEW LOSSES.
♪
Narrator: BUT AT 1 A. M.
ANOTHER SUBMARINE IS DETECTED.
MACINTYRE SPOTS SCHEPKE
IN THE CUSTOMARY POSITION
OUTSIDE THE CONVOY.
THE BRITISH DESTROYER STEAMS
TOWARD ITS TARGET AT 34 KNOTS...
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: NEARLY TWICE AS FAST
AS U-100 CAN SPEED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
[SHOUTING]
Narrator: NEARLY OVERTAKEN
ON THE SURFACE,
SHEPKE'S ONLY OPTION IS TO TRY
AND HIDE BENEATH THE WAVES.
♪
Witt: IN SUCH A BATTLE SITUATION
YOU CAN'T THINK
FOR HOURS AND HOURS
OVER, OVER WHAT TO DO NEXT,
AND SO MADE THIS
SPLIT-SECOND DECISION
TO EVADE AN ATTACK
BY THE DESTROYER BY DIVING.
Sailor:
LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO.
Narrator:
MACINTYRE SUMMONS HMS VANOC
TO JOIN HIM
IN A DEPTH CHARGE ATTACK.
Sailor #1: COME ON, BOYS,
LET'S GO.
Sailor #2: SAILORS CLEAR!
Grove: DEPTH CHARGES
ARE VERY LARGE EXPLOSIONS.
[BOOM]
AND IF THEY OCCUR
CLOSE TO THE SUBMARINE,
THEN THEY DO A LOT OF DAMAGE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
Witt: WALLS BECOME UNTIED.
WATER LEAKS IN.
CONTROLS BURST, BULBS BURST.
ALL KINDS OF DAMAGES
ARE INFLICTED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[EXPLOSIONS]
Narrator: THE DAMAGE
IS OVERWHELMING.
Grove: IT LEAKS SO BADLY
THAT IF IT DOESN'T COME UP,
IT'S PROBABLY GONNA SINK.
Narrator: ON MACINTYRE'S SHIP,
HMS WALKER,
THE SONAR OPERATOR STRUGGLES
TO PING U-100
WITH THE ASDIC SYSTEM
IN AN OCEAN DISTORTED
BY EXPLOSIONS.
Grove: THE SEA IS
A VERY COMPLICATED ENVIRONMENT.
AND OF COURSE IF YOU'RE DROPPING
DEPTH CHARGES, IT'S-
IT'S QUITE HARD TO ACTUALLY
SEPARATE THE DEPTH CHARGES
FROM THE SUBMARINE.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WAS
AN ASDIC FACED FORWARDS,
AND YOUR WEAPONS WERE DROPPED
OVER THE STERN,
THE REAR OF THE SHIP.
SO THIS MEANS THAT WHEN YOU'RE
ATTACKING A SUBMARINE,
THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN
YOUR LOSING CONTACT
AND THE DEPTH CHARGES
ACTUALLY BEING DROPPED,
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO
REACQUIRE THE TARGET.
Narrator: NEARBY, HMS VANOC USES
ITS FIRST-GENERATION RADAR
TO SCAN FOR U-100
IN CASE IT SURFACES.
THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
COULD DELIVER A TARGET,
BUT ITS APPLICATION IS LIMITED.
Milner: THE FIRST RADAR
THEY PUT IN SERVICE
IS THE TYPE 286,
WHICH IS A 1.5-METER RADAR,
FIXED TO THE MASTHEAD.
THE ESSENTIAL PROBLEM
WITH TYPE 286 RADAR
IS THE TARGET HAD TO BE
STRAIGHT AHEAD.
YOU COULDN'T TURN THE ANTENNA,
SO YOU HAD TO POINT THE SHIP.
Narrator: JUST AFTER 3:00 A. M.,
SCHEPKE POPS UP A THOUSAND YARDS
AWAY FROM THE ESCORTS,
BETTING HE CAN REPAIR
THE FLOODING
AND LIMP AWAY TO SAFETY.
IN AN INCREDIBLE TWIST...
Controller: CONTACT DEAD AHEAD.
Narrator:
...HE LANDS DIRECTLY IN FRONT
OF THE FIRST RADAR SYSTEM,
ABLE TO DETECT HIM.
Milner: IF THEY'D BEEN
A LITTLE BIT LEFT OR RIGHT
OR SOME OTHER PLACE,
THE 286 ON THE MASTHEAD PROBABLY
WOULDN'T HAVE PICKED IT UP.
Narrator: VANOC RACES HEAD ON.
Witt: THE COMMANDER DECIDES
TO RAM THE U-BOAT.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
♪
Narrator: HAVING PICKED UP
A SURFACED U-BOAT
ON ITS NEWLY INSTALLED
RADAR SYSTEM,
THE BRITISH SHIP VANOC
RESORTS TO A STANDARD
FIRST WORLD WAR TACTIC
AND CHARGES TO RAM
THE DAMAGED SUBMARINE.
♪
[CRASH]
Witt: THE DESTROYER HITS
THE U-BOAT U-100 AMIDSHIPS
AND SMASHES THE CONNING TOWER,
AND SCHEPKE IS CRUSHED
WITH HIS LEGS BETWEEN THE HULL
AND THE PERISCOPE,
IS THROWN INTO THE WATER
AND IS KILLED,
AND THE U-BOAT IS LOST.
♪
Narrator: ABOARD U-99,
KRETSCHMER IS OBLIVIOUS
TO THE FATE OF HIS FELLOW ACE.
OUT OF TORPEDOES,
U- 99'S CREW CLEARS THE CONVOY
TO HEAD FOR HOME.
Grove: THIS IS A CLASSIC
KRETSCHMER ATTACK,
FIVE SHIPS SUNK,
SO HE SEEMS TO BE DOING WELL.
BUT NOW THE TRAINING
OF THE ESCORT FORCE COMES IN.
THEY CARRY OUT WHAT THEY CAN
OF A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH.
Narrator: AS U-99 SLINKS AWAY,
KRETSCHMER'S LOOKOUT
SPOTS MACINTYRE'S DESTROYER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: IN A PANIC
THE CREWMAN IS CONVINCED
THEY'VE BEEN DISCOVERED.
[SHOUTING IN GERMAN]
[BELL RINGS]
Narrator: ON THE CREWMAN'S
WARNING, THE SUBMARINE DIVES.
Witt: WHEN HE SAW THIS DESTROYER
EXTREMELY NEAR,
HE SIMPLY EXPECTED THAT THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN DETECTED
BY THE DESTROYER,
AND SO MADE THIS
SPLIT-SECOND DECISION
TO EVADE AN ATTACK
BY THE DESTROYER BY DIVING.
Narrator: MACINTYRE'S LOOKOUTS
WERE UNAWARE OF U-99.
BUT AS THE SUBMARINE DESCENDS,
THE DESTROYER'S SONAR
COMES INTO PLAY.
Milner: THEY'RE LISTENING
ALL THE TIME,
AND THEY'RE PLAYING THIS KIND
OF DEADLY GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE.
THE SUB'S DOWN HERE,
AND HE'S LISTENING TO YOU
PING OFF HIM.
AND AT SOME POINT,
BECAUSE THE SONAR BEAM IS FIXED,
IT'S GONNA SWEEP OVER THE SUB.
Operator: NEW CONTACT.
RANGE, 400 YARDS.
Grove: ONCE IT CAN BE
PICKED UP ON ASDIC,
IT CAN BE ATTACKED
WITH DEPTH CHARGES.
Narrator: MACINTYRE'S CREW
LAUNCHES ITS UNDERWATER BOMBS...
Sailor: LET'S GO, LET'S GO!
Narrator: ...IN A BID TO SINK
THE SUBMARINE.
♪
[BOOM]
[EXPLOSIONS]
Witt:
THEY THREW THE DEPTH CHARGES
AND THEY DETONATED
NEAR THE U-BOAT,
CAUSING EXTREME DAMAGE.
[EXPLOSIONS]
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: WITH CONTROLS FAILING,
THEIR EQUIPMENT AND GAUGES
SHATTERED,
KRETSCHMER AND HIS CREW
PLUNGE TOWARDS THE SEAFLOOR
IN A SEVERELY WOUNDED SUBMARINE.
Milner: THEY HAD TWO OPTIONS
AT THAT POINT.
YOU CAN BLOW BALLAST AND GET OUT
OR YOU BECOME A BOTTOM FEATURE.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: KRETSCHMER'S CREW
ATTEMPTS TO BLOW OUT WATER
TO RAISE THEIR
PLUMMETING U-BOAT.
Witt: THE ONLY WAY OF ESCAPING
WAS RETURNING TO THE SURFACE,
SO THIS WAS THE DECISION
KRETSCHMER MADE
SIMPLY TO SAVE
THE LIFE OF HIS CREW.
Narrator: BUT THE AIR VALVE
IS JAMMED.
Grove: HE'S FORCED DOWN.
IN FACT, HE GOES DOWN
VERY DEEP INDEED.
IT LOOKS AS IF THE SUBMARINE
IS GONNA BE CRUSHED.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: THE CREW MONITORS
THEIR DESCENT.
Narrator: TO THEIR HORROR,
THEY DROP DEEPER AND DEEPER.
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
Narrator: TWENTY FEET
BELOW CRUSH DEPTH...
Narrator:
...THE VALVE FINALLY GIVES.
Narrator:
THE U-BOAT BEGINS TO CLIMB.
Narrator: ON THE SURFACE,
A DETERMINED MACINTYRE
WAITS FOR THE SUBMARINE.
♪
Grove: AS SOON AS SHE SURFACES,
SHE'S ENGAGED WITH GUNFIRE.
[GUNFIRE]
A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DAMAGE
IS INFLICTED,
AND IT SEEMS AS IF
THE TIME HAS COME
FOR U-99 TO BE ABANDONED.
Narrator:
BUT FROM THE SINKING SUBMARINE,
HITLER'S TOP U-BOAT ACE
ORDERS A FINAL TRANSMISSION.
Witt: AFTER HIS LUCK
HAS RUN OUT,
KRETSCHMER STILL
IS THIS PROFESSIONAL.
HE SENDS A LAST MESSAGE
TO DÖNITZ, VERY SHORT,
SIMPLY SAYS DEPTH CHARGE,
TWO DESTROYERS,
53,000 TONS, KRETSCHMER.
Milner: THAT LAST MESSAGE
HE SENDS FROM THE SUBMARINE,
I'VE SUNK A NUMBER OF SHIPS,
SOME ODD THOUSAND TONS,
LEAVING THE SUB, KRETSCHMER.
UM, THAT, THAT'S JUST
AN INDICATION
OF WHAT A COOL CUSTOMER
HE ACTUALLY WAS.
Narrator: MORE THAN FIVE HOURS
AFTER U-99 LAUNCHED ITS ATTACK,
KRETSCHMER ORDERS
HIS CREW ON DECK
TO PREPARE FOR SURRENDER.
Grove: KRETSCHMER,
I THINK TO CALM HIS CREW,
LIGHTS A CIGAR, JUST TO SHOW
THAT HE'S STILL IN, IN CHARGE.
HE SIGNALS TO THE BRITISH
TO TAKE OFF HIS CREW.
AND THE BRITISH WILL DO THAT
BECAUSE THERE ISN'T
MUCH HATRED MAN, MAN TO MAN.
ONCE THE SUBMARINE'S SUNK,
THAT'S THE JOB DONE.
Narrator:
KRETSCHMER IS THE LAST ONE
PULLED ABOARD
THE BRITISH DESTROYER.
MACINTYRE CLAIMS THE ACE'S
BINOCULARS AS HIS PRIZE.
Grove: KRETSCHMER IS TREATED
VERY WELL ON BOARD HMS WALKER.
HE PLAYS BRIDGE,
HE'S PLIED WITH WHISKEY.
THEY'RE VERY, UH, UH, PLEASED
THAT THEY'VE CAPTURED SOMEBODY
SO DISTINGUISHED.
Narrator: KRETSCHMER SPENDS
THE REST OF THE WAR
AS AN ALLIED PRISONER.
THE BATTLE AGAINST CONVOY HX 112
COST DÖNITZ TWO
OF HIS TOP SUBMARINES.
Milner: WHEN KRETSCHMER AND
SCHEPKE GO DOWN IN MARCH OF '41,
THAT'S A CATASTROPHIC
DEVELOPMENT
FOR GERMAN PUBLIC RELATIONS.
YOU'VE TRUMPETED THE SUCCESS
OF THESE HEROES,
AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN
THEY'RE GONE.
AND THE FLIPSIDE OF THAT
IS THAT THE BRITS ACTUALLY
APPEAR TO BE GIANT KILLERS
'CAUSE THEY'VE TAKEN THEM OUT.
IT'S TRAGIC THAT THEY LOSE THEM
ALL IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD.
BUT YOU'VE STILL GOT
LOTS OF YOUNG,
VERY CAPABLE SUBMARINERS
COMING ALONG.
THE GERMAN SUBMARINE FLEET
IS BY NO MEANS DONE.
IT'S REALLY
JUST GETTING STARTED.
♪