- 2 days ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02In 1982, during the Falklands War, the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror launched conventional high-explosive torpedoes at the elderly
00:11Argentine cruiser General Belgrano.
00:19The orders had come from the Royal Navy's command headquarters in a nuclear shelter deep beneath a leafy London suburb,
00:268,000 miles away.
00:32Until the torpedoes tore apart the steel plates of the cruiser's hull, no one in the Belgrano knew of the
00:39submarine's existence.
00:41As the World War II cruiser listed to port, and a thousand men struggled to escape the inferno, HMS Conqueror
00:48slipped silently away.
00:50The Belgrano sank within 30 minutes. As its escorting destroyers dropped ineffective death charges, the Conqueror watched from the safety
00:59of 11 miles distance.
01:01It was an awesome and disturbing display of the capabilities and precision of a modern submarine.
01:08One submarine caused the Argentine Navy to flee from the Falklands War arena, never to return.
01:14It was a demonstration of controlled destruction, not so much from firepower, but from stealth.
01:27The
01:28The
01:41¶¶
02:08¶¶
02:11For centuries men have been fascinated by the thought of underwater vessels.
02:15Where navies of powerful nations have reigned supreme,
02:19their enemies have sought ways of improving the odds.
02:24Submersion beneath the sea would become the ultimate means
02:28by which a warship could be approached and attacked without detection.
02:39to do justice to the earliest attempt to create a fighting submersible would require the comic
02:44genius of Heath Robinson or the Monty Python team during the American war of independence
02:51the very first submarines appeared in conflict the turtle was no more than a waterproof egg
02:57held upright by 700 pounds of ballast at its base the means of propulsion was a manually driven screw
03:06the sole occupant observed progress from a porthole and steered by means of a rudder held under his arm
03:12he had air enough for 30 minutes of frantic activity once the turtle was sealed this bizarre craft had a
03:21vertical drill to bore into the hull of an enemy ship by which means an explosive charge would then
03:26be secretly attached in August 1776 during the American war of independence the British were
03:36blockading New York Harbor and the 64 gun flagship of Admiral Earl Howe HMS Eagle was riding at anchor at
03:43the mouth of the river she would go down in history as the first target of a submarine attack as
03:51the
03:52intrepid sergeant Lee of the Patriot Army under cover of darkness bobbed and drifted towards the Eagle the
03:58scene was set for the dramatic birth of submarine warfare at first all proceeded according to plan and
04:05the turtle came undetected into position beneath the Eagles home regrettably the sergeant Lee the timbers of
04:13the hull proved resistant to his efforts with the drill his exertions were now causing him to run short of
04:19air and he had no alternative but to retreat it is undeniable that by the standards of the day this
04:31first submarine attack was cowardly underhand and ungallant it was an attack which ought to have been
04:37condemned by all who had an understanding of the rules of naval engagement that it very nearly succeeded
04:44should have signaled to all naval strategists that submarine warfare would have to be accepted as
04:50part of the theater of naval war
04:59it was the American Civil War that next saw submarine action a wealthy engineer from Alabama Horace Hunley put up
05:10the
05:10money to build the first privately operated submarine the 34-foot pioneer she was powered by three men driving a
05:18crank by hand
05:23on October the 5th 1863 a 3,500 ton United States Navy ship found itself under attack from a steam
05:31-powered semi-submersible
05:33the David or cigar boat as she was known had a 134 pound explosive charge at the end of a
05:40long spar attached to her bows the explosion caused several leaks but little serious damage to the hull of the
05:47Navy ship
05:48it was not until February the 17th 1864 that the first surface ship was sunk by a submarine
05:55the victim was the USS Housatonic she was attacked by the Confederate submarine Hunley
06:01this extraordinary craft was another of Horace Hunley's creations
06:06she was powered by eight men who manually cranked the propeller shaft
06:10that the Hunley ever reached the point of mounting an attack is remarkable in itself
06:14in the course of development and testing it had been sunk and recovered no less than five times
06:20and 41 crew members had been drowned including the designer Horace Hunley himself
06:29it was clear that a weapon system must be found that would keep the submarine clear from the force of
06:34the explosion
06:35in 1870 a Lancastrian engineer Robert Whitehead working for the Austrian Navy presented the self-propelled torpedo
06:48the means of propulsion was compressed air and it had a complex but effective steering mechanism
06:54it proved to be the prototype of every torpedo to follow the submarine now had its teeth
07:08although submarines now had an effective means of attack the problem of moving efficiently and safely beneath the surface still
07:16remained
07:20a variety of propulsion systems were tried manpower clockwork compressed air and somewhat dangerously steam
07:28but the father of the modern submarine is john holland
07:33at the birth of the 20th century the british navy cautiously accepted delivery of a small submarine
07:40holland one was built under license by vicars and was the product of 25 years of painstaking research by the
07:47irish american john holland
07:49holland had finally found a means of propulsion underwater without creating conditions impossible for the crew
07:58when on the surface the holland submarines were powered by a small petrol engine
08:03when submerged the submarine was powered by an electric motor
08:07the batteries were recharged by the petrol engine when the submarine was on the surface
08:12in time the petrol engine gave way to diesel but until the age of nuclear power all submarines would follow
08:19this pattern
08:21but still the stigma of unfairness stuck to the submarine within naval circles the glories of grand battle fleets
08:29were paramount submarine warfare was regarded as repugnant and by the british admiral sir arthur wilson
08:36as underhand unfair and un-english the lone voice of admiral sir john jackie fisher
08:43the architect of the royal navy in the dreadnought age observed it is truly astounding to me how the very
08:50best amongst us fail absolutely to realize the vast impending revolution in naval warfare that the submarine will
09:09will accomplish
09:09in 1914 the nations of europe descended into the chaos of outright warfare
09:15the submarine was rapidly assimilated into each nation's strategy for war
09:20for german submarines the war plan was simple
09:23fallout attack on the vulnerable but vital allied merchant fleets to starve britain of the means to wage war
09:33throughout the first world war a succession of submarines was produced from the german naval dockyards
09:39each one was an improvement on the last with greater speed longer range greater submerged endurance bigger
09:46and more accurate torpedoes and stronger deck armament
09:57the germans had another vital asset a great tradition in optics german periscopes were optically far superior
10:10one of the new submarines the u151 twice ran the blockade to the then neutral united states
10:22it surfaced in chesapeake bay and anchored off baltimore with 700 tons of cargo
10:28america was being introduced to the capabilities of a formidable new weapon in sea warfare
10:33the u-boat
10:38britain was ill prepared for the u-boat onslaught the only effective tactic was to ram the submarines
10:44which could take up to five minutes to dive they were vulnerable on the surface
10:49the germans adopted ruthless tactics to tighten the grip on britain
10:54all british ships whether warships merchant ships or passenger ships were to be sunk
11:00with no german merchant fleet to tackle the allied strategy was different the british submarine provided
11:07integrated support of the main forces and harassment of the german high sea fleet
11:21at the core of their submarine force was the exceptional royal naval force e-type
11:29which with her smaller predecessor the c-class gave sterling service in the atlantic and north sea
11:35and the treacherous turkish sea of mamara
11:39without the submarine assault on the turkish supply lines the tragic events at gallipoli would have been
11:45far worse conditions on board the submarines were spartan and the harsh regime created a new breed of
11:52seamen able to endure the long periods of hardship and the nerve-wracking tensions of submarine warfare
12:00this was the world of the sextant and the compass of simple instruments dominated by the all-important
12:06depth gauge of living eating and sleeping alongside the machinery of war it was a world of improvisation
12:13innovation and making do
12:26the usa's late entry to the war at sea brought two immediate benefits american submarines reinforced the
12:34hard-pressed allied squadrons and her vast wealth ensured that allied naval strength would finally break
12:40the u-boat menace most u-boat attacks were actually made on the surface and the american armed convoys
12:47ended the easy plundering of crowded sea lanes
12:56when the submarines were submerged the tools of anti-submarine warfare were still crude primitive
13:02hydrophones which were designed to pick up the sounds of a submarine as it traveled beneath the waves
13:06and the early depth charge the pattern had been set for a future war armed convoy versus submarine
13:20the british attempt to build a fleet submarine resulted in the disastrous k series of 1917
13:26seventeen of these steam-powered boats were built in 1917 and no less than eight of them were damaged in
13:33accidents the 2500 ton k series was 338 feet long but only 27 feet in the beam which made it
13:42dangerously unstable when submerged
13:45the lengthy procedure for shutting down the boilers and retracting the funnels meant that the diving time left
13:50the craft hopelessly exposed but an even greater white elephant was the 2000 ton m class of 1918
13:59each was mounted with a single monster 12 inch gun only three were built and they saw no action
14:08with the ending of hostilities in 1918 the cost would have to be counted the german navy alone lost 178
14:17submarines with 51 officers and 4500 ratings yet the toll on the submarine forces when weighed against the
14:25carnage of the trench warfare in the land war put beyond doubt the strategic value of the submarine
14:32ton for ton it was the most destructive weapon of the war
14:45after the first world war it was common for diplomats in public to profess abhorrence of the devil's device
14:51in private every great naval power was busily engaged in building their submarine strength
14:58every power that is except germany
15:01her deadly u-boats lay either scuttled or surrendered for close examination by the victors
15:12submarine development in the interwar years was steady and unspectacular evolution
15:18the eccentricity of designers led to some freakish vessels an attempt was made to convert the
15:23unsuccessful m-class into a submersible aircraft carrier and as a fleet consort
15:29these were the last experiments with steam
15:44in 1936 the coronation of george vi was marked with a grand review by the royal navy still the greatest
15:52maritime power in the world shadowing the ranks of the fleet warships was another force a force integral
15:59to britain's future naval strength the silent service the submarines were on show by a nation that not
16:06long before tried to outlaw them with them and the o-class mine layers ran their smaller more reliable
16:14sisters the s-class submarine built with an eye to restless europe the submarine's presence in the fleet
16:22strength was clear proof that the submarine was now universally accepted amongst the naval powers
16:28in total 26 countries of the world possessed a submarine force of various sizes with a myriad of designs for
16:36a multitude of strategies storm clouds darkened over europe germany had rearmed it was not the imperial
16:44eagle which flew above the fatherland but the nazi swastika adolf hitler now led the german people
16:51steadily towards his war of vengeance and conquest in hitler's grand design a resurrected u-boat force
16:59was to play a deadly and vital role a new generation of german submarines rolled from the slipways
17:05in recognition that the old enemy britain must be faced
17:13the british navy was too strong to be confronted britain would have to be starved into submission
17:19the weapon for the task as in the last war was to be the submarine
17:30the newly appointed commander of the force was captain carl donuts a veteran submariner from the first war
17:37donuts was a brilliant organizer who was to revolutionize submarine warfare
17:49donuts had 57 u-boats only a fraction of those hitler had promised when in september 1939 war erupted
18:03the u-boats already at sea struck the first blows in the sea war that would rage for five years
18:17a resigned naval chief admiral eric reader surveyed the odds and said prophetically to his commanders
18:24gentlemen we have no choice total engagement die with dignity
18:32with the advantage of surprise donuts's u-boats were able to launch a punishing offensive
18:37as the british merchant fleet hurried for shelter quality made up for quantity
18:43many veterans of the submarine force of the imperial navy provided the skills and discipline of
18:48durnitz's new force the brunt of the hostilities would be borne by germany's legendary type 7 class
18:57the type 7s were an iguit design and had evolved from ub3 of 1918 they proved ideal for the task
19:05with a low
19:06conning tower only 5.2 meters above the water line they were hard to see from over a mile even
19:12in daylight
19:17at night and head on they were practically invisible they could dive in under half a minute
19:23they could reach a depth of 100 meters without strain and 200 meters if pressed depth and endurance
19:29at high speed were twice as good as any of their contemporaries the type 7 had a range of 4
19:36300 miles
19:37at 12 knots on the surface and could travel 90 miles submerged at 4 knots
19:54progress was slow when submerged and the u-boat surfaced to attack slow quarry in the early part of the
20:00war
20:01the submarines could operate with little harassment from escort ships the erratic torpedo remained the
20:08submarine's main armament but deck guns were fitted to every german submarine the submarine was in truth
20:15no more than a submersible torpedo boat with limited submerged endurance
20:21it had to come up at regular intervals for air and to charge its batteries this was to prove its
20:28achilles heel
20:32the onset of the war for british submariners was neither glamorous nor dramatic the royal navy had as
20:40many submarines as the germans but few were in home waters the german u-boats were able to operate more
20:47freely and insolently laid mines in the thames estuary itself
21:02the royal navy's cautious policy was practical in the face of costly and hurried re-arming
21:09it produced the excellent t-class patrol submarine it was cheap but stable efficient and powerfully armed
21:17it would prove its worth in the years that followed
21:30the alliance is typical of the british submarines of the era
21:35she is preserved at the submarine museum at gosport
21:38the basic design would have been familiar to holland
21:42but the diesel engines gave reliability and range which he could only have dreamed of
21:55the dimensions of the alliance made the interior just as cramped as an e-class of the first world war
22:07the simplicity of the e-class control room had given way to a multiplicity of controls and instruments
22:27the accommodation was spartan with the crew sleeping on suspended bunks
22:46there was a crowded galley and eating area
22:58the alliance carried torpedoes with four forward mounted torpedo tubes two at the rear
23:16from the outset british and german tactics were diametrically opposed
23:21while the u-boats pursued the enemy the royal navy submarines stood on station
23:26in thin gray lines on blockade they waited for lone german warships ships which had the power to strike back
23:35it was never clear who was the hunter and who was the hunted
23:41it was the german invasion of norway which gave the royal navy submarines
23:45targets in the number they craved now they have the chance to take the war to the enemy
23:59between april the 9th and may the 1st 1940 the s and t submarines then under the overall command of
24:07ex
24:07submarine ace max horton destroyed 22 german ships both the battleships scharnhorst and nice now were
24:15torpedoed the british submarines had proved the equal of durnitz's raiders
24:24as the months passed the task for the u-boats became progressively more difficult
24:30there were more escorts and the submarine detection devices became more sophisticated
24:36the u-boat's main weapon was also its betrayer the torpedoes wake with the torpedoes loosed there was no
24:44time to celebrate victory or to dwell on failure in one moment the hunter became the
24:50hunted and the real trial for a submarine crew began it was a battle of survival to outwit the
24:57enemy above in a tense and deadly game of hide and seek the submarine would dive and stop engines
25:04but its position would often be pinpointed by sonar
25:12a pattern of depth charges laid in the spread could either destroy the u-boat
25:17or cause damage enough to force it to the surface to the waiting guns of the hunters
25:27often a damaged u-boat would sink slowly into the ocean
25:31for the helpless crew there was the agony of waiting for the point where the massive pressure
25:35would cause the hull to implode
25:45for all submariners the war was a silent nightmare world which tested their stoic resolve
25:52the psychological strain was immense as they waited for the shock waves of an exploding charge
25:57not knowing if it would be a fatal blow
26:11as the boat shook the hull would spring leaks and equipment would be strewn the length of the submarine
26:26but submariners learned that it was possible to survive an attack
26:31that the depth charge was lethal only if it exploded within 30 feet
26:35that by going deep they could avoid the dangers of an explosion under the hull
26:39that the destroyer carried a limited number of charges and that the attack would eventually peter out
26:47a less obvious but equally dangerous hazard was chlorine gas
26:52it came from the deadly combination of seawater and leaked battery acid
26:58it is difficult now to imagine conditions on a u-boat under attack
27:01it was an atmosphere thick with the stench of rotting food refuse unwashed bodies bilge and bile
27:09above all there was a tangible odor of fear
27:13to maintain the offensive against the mounting toll caused by allied countermeasures the submariners needed
27:20to be in peak fighting trim as the u-boat sweeps grew wider and the journeys to safe havens on
27:25the shores of occupied france grew longer
27:31so that they could remain constantly at sea a system for maintenance and supply at sea was devised
27:37it was not easy
27:42type 9 u-boats were converted into supply vessels called milk cows they could refuel rearm and even
27:49repair a submarine at sea this bought valuable operating time but in the mid-atlantic even in calm
27:56weather and safe from the probing eyes of the enemy it was a perilous operation
28:12the u-boats soon faced a new menace which would become the greatest killer of all the anti-submarine
28:19aircraft now armed with airborne radar it appeared as if from nowhere fast and lethal
28:26the distant sound of aircraft engines whether hostile or not made surface running exhausting
28:32and dispiriting it constantly disrupted vital surface chores there was no time to seek to identify the
28:40aircraft wise submariners dived immediately upon the sound of an approaching aircraft
28:58the italians took the lead in midget submarine design with the two-man mayal the italian for pig
29:11it was more correctly called a manned torpedo and proved highly successful in attacking allied shipping
29:16in malta alexandria and gibraltar in 1941 by the time that the british had perfected their own manned torpedo in
29:241943
29:26the war against the italian fleet was all but over
29:37for its size the x-craft midget submarine developed by the british was arguably the most effective
29:44submarine of all time it weighed all of 30 tons was a mere 51 feet long and six feet in
29:51the beam
29:52its mission to sink the 52 000 ton german battleship turpets which threatened the north sea convoys to
29:59russia from her base in norway on september the 11th 1943 six of the tiny craft were dispatched to attack
30:08the turpets in alterfjord and for good measure the battle cruiser scharnhorst and the heavy cruiser lutzao as
30:15well the x-craft had a surface speed of 6.5 knots from its 30 horsepower electric motor and carried
30:23a
30:23four-man crew this surviving x-craft is at the submarine museum at gosport she carried two delayed
30:31action limpet mines attached to her sides these were clamped to the hull of the enemy boat by a diver
30:38who left
30:38and returned to the x-craft by means of a wet and dry compartment the x-6 was commanded by
30:47lieutenant d
30:47cameron who was to receive the vc although it was soon detected the x-6 was able to pass within
30:5520 feet
30:56of the turpets and released the mines so that they would settle under her hull as they now came under
31:03fire and escape was impossible the x-6 crew scuttled their craft and surrendered to the turpets crew
31:10as the minutes ticked by they were in the unique position of standing on a battleship beneath which
31:17they had just placed four tons of high explosive when the explosion came the turpets was severely
31:23damaged none of the x-craft returned but they had made their mark the turpets was out of action for
31:31six
31:34months in december 1941 a vanguard of the royal navy's u-class training submarines of 1938 armed only as an
31:43afterthought entered the mediterranean sea and proved the most effective sea raiders in the conflict
31:50these were the nucleus of the tough aggressive flotilla sailing from shell-tall malta which would
31:57bear the brunt of the submarine war the price of their success was high in the course of the savage
32:04struggle 21 u-class submarines failed to return to port the royal navy also committed its largest
32:12submarines with highly trained crews
32:21the attacks on the vital axis convoys and the italian navy mounted with continuing ferocity
32:29during the critical years from january 1941 to february 1943 more than 600 torpedoes were fired
32:38and 100 axis vessels sunk by 1943 the assault on italian shipping had become a slaughter but many
32:48destroyers and minesweepers were lost in the process
32:59the luckier crews like that of this s-class safari returned to britain to acclaim flying the jolly roger
33:06to proclaim their kills some boats like the tally ho would go on to triumph in the pacific
33:13some would never leave the mediterranean the t-class thunderbolt was one she had been sunk during sea
33:21trials in june 1939 and been recovered one of the commanders said of the thunderbolt a submarine can only
33:28sink once he was wrong thunderbolt was lost with all hands the distinguished
33:36career of this one submarine endures as a memorial to the sacrifice made by all allied crews who did
33:42not return for the first time the submarine had been the crucial component of a major strategic victory
33:50the laurels were shared but without the submarines there would have been no laurels at all
34:08in december 1941 the japanese undeclared assault on the united states naval fleet in pearl harbor
34:14had opened the other great arena of submarine warfare in world war ii in the pacific ocean
34:23the hard-pressed german u-boat force gained a japanese ally but in the u.s a new and powerful
34:31enemy
34:32the reception by the germans of i-130 an ocean-going japanese submarine of world war ii marked a
34:39flourishing entente cordiale between the submarine forces of japan and the third reich goebbels was
34:46determined to obtain maximum propaganda value from the occasion the japanese visitors were recorded a
34:53full state welcome and amidst the feasting and festivities hitler promised his new ally u-boats to
34:59swell the indian ocean force sadly for japan few of the larger ocean-going type 9 boats survived the
35:07perilous 6 000 mile journey through the south atlantic it was a token gesture germany and japan were
35:15destined to fight separate wars the japanese submarines were able to operate freely and to
35:21good effect in the indian ocean they employed the classic guerrilla tactics of the surprise attack and
35:28fainting away in the first months of operations alone the japanese squadron sank 20 allied merchantmen
35:35yet the squadron remained a cinderella force as more serious events unfolded in the pacific
35:48the efficient japanese industrial machine poured out class after class of large attack submarines
35:54they were the tools to police the ever-expanding japanese maritime empire but the inflexibility of
36:02admiral yamamoto and his naval high command did not prove equal to the courage of the crews rigid adherence
36:10to inflexible strategies was imposed the submarines in the pacific were tethered to the surface fleet
36:16too late the great sea battle of midway from the 12th to the 15th of november 1942 showed the folly
36:24of
36:24these tactics the submarines were left wallowing in the wake of the charging surface warships and could
36:31offer no support at all from this moment the role of the japanese submarine force declined slowly towards
36:38its ultimate defeat in stark contrast america the sleeping giant was fully aroused as the u.s navy
36:46exploited the opportunity of the pacific war it was in essence the atlantic war reversed japan like
36:54britain was an island nation dependent upon the sea for supply america like german occupied europe could
37:02seek to starve the island enemy into submission the whole pacific was a war zone and every craft upon
37:09it a potential target by late 1942 the united states had a massive submarine building program underway
37:17with obsolete first world war and interwar boats giving way to fast new submarines built to withstand
37:23long tests of endurance in the vast pacific
37:53long tests of endurance in the past
37:55long tests of endurance in the past
37:55long tests of endurance in the past
37:55long tests of endurance in the past
37:55long tests of endurance in the past
37:56long tests of endurance in the past
38:08Submariners were a breed apart.
38:10They needed mental and physical toughness
38:12to endure month after month in the twilight world of a submarine.
38:17They also had to have the skill, the reflexes,
38:20and the cool nerve for the moment of attack
38:22and the ability to endure the mental torture of being hunted.
38:34Training was a byword in the submarine force.
38:37Submariners were taught every aspect of theory.
38:40They were taught the practice.
38:42They were taught to believe that they could survive and escape.
38:45Only 50% of all volunteers were successful in the grueling training course.
38:54It grew more intense with drill after drill,
38:57exercise upon exercise.
39:00They practiced dive after dive to reduce the precious seconds
39:04that could mean the difference between life and death.
39:07As one submarine commander put it,
39:10there is no margin of error in a submarine.
39:12You are either alive or dead.
39:17Like most things American, their submarines were larger
39:21and more space meant more supplies and more torpedoes.
39:25Air conditioning meant better living conditions
39:27as well as less trouble from damp electrics.
39:30Water purification and daily vitamins
39:33meant a healthier, more effective crew
39:35to withstand the long hauls at sea.
39:38Complex electronics, night radar,
39:40and a fine naval intelligence system
39:42gave the crews added tools to get the job done.
39:51For all this, the submarine was only as good as its weapons.
39:56For an incredible 21 months,
39:58the U.S. Navy struggled to perfect unreliable torpedoes.
40:02On one occasion, a submarine had three carriers in periscope view.
40:08Out of ten torpedoes loosed, only one found the target.
40:12A series of torpedo failures sapped the morale of the crews
40:16who risked life for weeks to press an attack,
40:19only to find themselves falsely blamed for poor results.
40:29By adopting the salvo technique,
40:32the chances of a hit were increased.
40:34The U.S. submarine force became steadily more effective.
40:38The Americans developed and reinforced the techniques
40:41learned by the British forces in the European war.
40:57By 1944, Japanese naval forces were overwhelmed
41:01as the United States assault in the Pacific reached its peak.
41:05Japan's merchant fleet was all but destroyed.
41:08With few natural resources,
41:10her economy was in terminal decline.
41:12In 1944, the Japanese Imperial Navy
41:17lost one battleship, seven aircraft carriers,
41:20two heavy cruisers, seven light cruisers,
41:2330 destroyers, and seven submarines.
41:26Due to the hungry American submarines,
41:29the losses could not be sustained.
41:43By April 1945, only four Japanese attack submarines were operational.
41:49The ailing submarine fleet was forced into desperate last-ditch measures
41:54employing kamikaze tactics.
41:56The one-man suicide torpedoes were evidence
42:00of the fanatical Japanese courage and sacrifice.
42:03With these last, futile gestures,
42:06four years of war came to a close.
42:09For the Japanese, it had been four years of tragic misuse
42:13of a skilled and committed force.
42:15Admiral Charles Lockwood's Asiatic force,
42:19along with the other submarine forces
42:21which served in the war,
42:22lost 52 of their 336-strong fleet of submarines.
42:26They had nevertheless played a vital role
42:29in the defeat of the Japanese Empire.
42:39By mid-1943, Hitler, Dönitz,
42:42and munitions minister Albert Speer
42:44all realized the war was being lost.
42:47What Germany desperately needed
42:50was a new breed of submarine
42:52capable of outpacing the hunter-killers.
42:54They came tantalizingly close.
43:09But the new streamlined 21 and 23 U-boat submarines
43:13would never reach the fleet.
43:15The Kriegsmarine would fight to the end
43:18with virtually the same types of submarine
43:20with which it had confidently began the war.
43:22It finally succumbed to an enemy superior in numbers
43:26and superior in technology.
43:42Of a total of 39,000 submariners,
43:46Germany had lost all but 10,000.
43:48and
43:49the
43:51and
Comments