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WWII Hell Under The Sea S04E03
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00:00In the spring of 1944, as a battle rages, and two ships collide,
00:12a German U-boat commander orders his men onto the deck of an Allied destroyer,
00:18forcing the American captain to give an extraordinary command.
00:22It's my understanding and it's my feeling that he did give the order that had not been given in over
00:27a century.
00:28Stand by to repel orders.
00:35In World War II, a subsea weapon allows warriors to fight from beneath the waves.
00:46With cunning, force, and tenacity, their enemies strike back.
00:53Revolutionary, but still sometimes primitive, it's a desperate build.
01:00To change the course of war.
01:03Their stories are legend.
01:14August 3rd, 1943, in the Central Atlantic.
01:20The crew of German submarine U-66 surfaces during daylight to speed up a meeting with another U-boat for
01:26resupply after a long patrol.
01:31They have only a few days of provisions left, and Allied air coverage keeps them on alert, even mid-ocean.
01:41No place to hide anymore compared to the happy times in the early war years when the open sea was
01:51theirs.
01:53Lookouts scan the sky for dangers.
01:57And U-boat commander, Captain Leutnant Friedrich Markworth, welcomes a non-essential crewman to the bridge.
02:07Usually there's nobody allowed to go to the deck.
02:10In case of emergency diving, the more people you have atop of a submarine, the longer it takes to close
02:16the hatch,
02:17because everybody has to get inside the submarine.
02:21But it's the 20th birthday of torpedo mechanic Harold Nitsch.
02:26Markworth grants him a cigarette in the fresh air.
02:36The celebration is short-lived.
02:38An enemy aircraft dives out of the sun.
02:51There's sheer chaos at the bridge.
02:54They hit the second watch officer.
02:55He's intently dead.
02:57Other personnel on the bridge is hit.
03:02Even the sailor allowed to smoke his birthday cigarette got hit in his ties.
03:12Behind the fighter, an Avenger bomber closes in on the U-boat.
03:20These carrier-based aircraft are flying teams.
03:22A wildcat can attack with its guns, while the Avenger can get in position with either a torpedo or a
03:28depth charge.
03:30In early 1943, the Allies launch a new strategy against Hitler's U-boats.
03:40Aircraft carriers, they carry wildcat fighters, and Avenger torpedo bombers, patrol the Atlantic.
03:52Accompanied by destroyers for protection.
03:55These task forces are called hunter-killer groups.
04:00Hunter-killer groups are all about offense.
04:02They are actively looking for where the U-boats are at and searching to destroy them.
04:06The U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy are taking the war to the U-boats.
04:13As the Wildcat strafes the U-boats, the Avenger lines up to drop its payload.
04:21But the release mechanism fails.
04:25Nothing happens.
04:30Markworth's crew scrambles to exploit the failure.
04:32They were standing orders.
04:36He was supposed to fight it out.
04:39The anti-aircraft gun had to be manned to shoot back at the attacking aircraft.
04:46Finally, rounds of anti-aircraft fire streak from the conic tower.
04:55The fighter initiates another run to silence U-66's gun.
05:03As the bomber circles for another attempt.
05:22Bullets pepper the sky.
05:24The Avenger approaches.
05:37This time, the airman also uses the emergency release to drop his payload.
05:47Moments later, explosive force rocks the U-boats.
05:53As the Avenger banks away,
05:57the Wildcat continues its assault.
06:01Bullets strike more of the crew on the bridge.
06:07Lieutenant Xurzi Klaus Herbig is shot at the knees.
06:13A bullet rips into the abdomen of the U-boat commander.
06:22Markworth badly wounded, Herbig assumes command and orders an emergency dive.
06:31At that point, the injured and already dead are piling up.
06:37So they have to get submerged.
06:45They escape the gunfire.
06:50But in their rush, those killed have to be abandoned.
06:56It just tells us about the urgency and endangerment of that situation.
07:05It's more important to save the wounded and to save the rest of the crew.
07:11The only remaining uninjured officer, Chief Engineer Oberleutnant George Olszewski,
07:17must control their rapid descent despite the damage caused by the hunter-killer attack.
07:25It's a kind of mess inside the submarine.
07:29And he's getting deeper and deeper.
07:33So he has to decide what things to do first to recover the dive.
07:38To avoid an implosion and that everybody succumbs to the drowning.
07:46Now on its ninth war patrol, U-66 is a Type 9C U-boat.
07:51One of only 54 of its kind and prized for its long range.
07:58Over the course of eight war patrols,
08:01it's credited with sinking more than 170,000 tons of Allied shipping.
08:07One of the most important things to do is take a look at all of the tanks.
08:13Olszewski fights the leaks and damage-diving planes.
08:21While trying to start the electric motors to help stop their plunge.
08:36His actions stabilize the damaged submarine.
08:44Nine surviving crew are wounded.
08:46Three with life-threatening injuries.
08:50There's no one to provide proper care.
08:53Most boats would not have a medical doctor on board.
08:58That was a luxury, rarely enjoyed.
09:01There were simply too many boats, too few doctors to do that.
09:06A crew member with basic first aid type training does what he can to help.
09:11As Markworth and Herbig struggle,
09:1520-year-old Harold Nisch passes away.
09:19The torpedo mechanic smoked his last birthday cigarette.
09:23He succumbed to his bleeding wounds.
09:28The U-boat and its crew need immediate assistance before more lives are lost.
09:38In early August 1943,
09:42with the second watch officer killed and Capitan Leutnant Friedrich Markworth and Klaus Herbig
09:48incapacitated by the attack,
09:52Chief Engineer Oberleutnant George Olszewski assumes command of the U-boat.
10:01They remain more than 3,000 kilometers away from their home base in Lorient, France.
10:07When U-66 reports its casualties, it takes more than two days of radio transmissions
10:13to secure a meet with the Creeds Marina support vessel west of the Azores Islands.
10:18It is not the boats themselves that decide where to meet.
10:23It is up to U-boat command.
10:26On August 6, 1943, another U-boat, U-117, approaches U-66 to provide aid.
10:38In the early years of the Battle of the Atlantic,
10:42surface ships provide Hitler's submarines with provisions and fuel.
10:47So U-boat commanders stay on patrol longer
10:51and sink more Allied shipping.
10:54It prolongs the time that U-boats can operate at sea.
10:58Why go home first, refuel and go back to the very same place where you had been?
11:04But as Allied air coverage increases, they sink most of these vessels.
11:12Karl Dönitz needs another way to support U-boats in combat.
11:18In 1942, the German Navy launches its first submersible resupply vessel.
11:25They're shorter in length than attack U-boats.
11:30And have compartments to carry provisions, fuel and ammunition.
11:37German submariners call them die Milchua, or milk cows.
11:41You can extend the fighting life of a U-boat with having a little slurp every once in a while.
11:51When they close in, U-117 begins to transfer desperately needed supplies to U-66.
11:59In addition, the Milchua also carries a medical officer, who arrives to provide care to the wounded.
12:10The commander of U-66, Friedrich Markworth, has had a bullet lodged in his abdomen for three days.
12:17Without the benefit of an operating room, Dr. Schrenk begins the process to remove it.
12:23It must have been a good feeling for someone like Markworth to know that he was being treated by a
12:31professional medical doctor.
12:36Rather than being in the hands of an amateur.
12:47As Markworth, Oberleutnant Klaus Herbig and the others receive treatment.
12:54The first watch officer from the milk cow, Oberleutnant Xerzi Paul Freerks, assumes command.
13:01Freerks is transferred from the milk cow to U-66 because the leadership is nearly destroyed.
13:09Orszewski is not trained in seamanship and operational planning.
13:14Therefore, we need an executive officer like Freerks to bring the boat safe home.
13:21In broad daylight, both submarines sit exposed on the surface.
13:27In addition to general provisions to feed the crew, U-66 also needs fuel.
13:34To execute the transfer, the crews run a hose between them.
13:42For both submarines, it's risky.
13:46It prolonged their time on the surface.
13:49And by 1943, he did not want to spend a lot of time up there.
13:53In the midst of the refueling,
13:57an American bomber appears.
14:03The U-boats are trapped on the surface.
14:09To get both boats separated, they have to take out the hose and they have to close the valve and
14:16the opening for the fuel.
14:18While they make preparations to dive, gun crews scramble to battle stations.
14:29The critical resupply becomes another fight to survive.
14:36The TBF Avenger approaches U-66 and U-117.
14:42The aircraft flies without an escort and carries two devil bombs.
14:47The American airman specifically targets U-117.
14:52If you can take out those milk cows, you're basically taking out the logistical backbone of the German Navy.
14:57It keeps many other U-boats in combat, instead of in transit.
15:13The explosion severs the fuel transfer hose.
15:19And U-117 appears to sustain severe damage.
15:25Paul Frerks, who has just left the milk cow, must decide whether he can help.
15:31Frerks probably has a divided heart.
15:33His feelings are with his old crew, but he has to protect his new crew.
15:38He has responsibility for submarine 66 at the time.
15:43Frerks calls for an emergency dive.
15:48And takes U-66 to safety.
15:54The milk cow is never heard from again.
15:58Dr. Schrenk and Paul Frerks will be the only survivors.
16:09Schrenk is able to keep Captain Lieutenant Friedrich Markworth and the others alive
16:13until they can finally receive proper medical care.
16:18But Markworth will no longer serve on combat submarines.
16:22From his wounds, he's not in a condition for more front service.
16:26Then he is sent to Gdansk for a training flotilla where he spends the rest of the war.
16:33Following U-66's ninth war patrol,
16:36Allied aircraft increase their range and concentration.
16:40German submarines sink only 14 vessels in the North Atlantic.
16:45And 49 more U-boats are lost.
16:54In response, Gross Admiral Karl Dönitz directs his U-boats to the South Atlantic,
16:59where air coverage is lighter and ships still sometimes travel without convoys.
17:04He hopes to draw Allied resources away from the European theater.
17:10We are binding the enemy by sending our boats out there into peripheral waters,
17:16basically to stir up some trouble.
17:20In early 1944, U-66 departs France for its 10th war patrol.
17:26The submarine journeys thousands of kilometers from France to prowl off the coast of Africa.
17:36Oberleutnant Gerhard Zehausen joins the crew for his first war patrol in command of a submarine.
17:44Oberleutnant Klaus Herbig returns as first watch officer,
17:48cleared for duty after recovering from gunshot wounds.
17:53Chief Engineer George Olszewski also stays on.
18:03Free from the threat of Allied air coverage, the rookie commander has time to hunt.
18:15In less than a month, U-66 sends four ships totaling nearly 20,000 tons to the ocean floor.
18:25They even capture two prisoners from one of the vessels to gather intelligence.
18:32At that point of the war, what Zehausen performed was extraordinary.
18:38He may be get lured by the success to stay longer for more sinkings.
18:47By mid-April, their supplies and provisions start to run low.
18:53They develop a very unusual problem, not often seen in World War II navies.
19:00Scurvy.
19:02The personnel was in a position as seafaring in the 16th or 17th century.
19:08They were suffering from scurvy, unimaginable to us today.
19:12It's a vitamin C deficiency and that was recognized by the early modern period in most navies,
19:19especially if you had long journeys.
19:23Normally caused by a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables,
19:27scurvy is easily prevented with vitamin C tablets.
19:31But the crew member responsible for health care on board,
19:35Sani Totsmaat Wolflok, was new to his job.
19:39Usually you are supposed to count everything which is on the invoice,
19:42and that's what he didn't do.
19:44He doesn't have the experience and he was pretty badly surprised.
19:53Physical symptoms can include sores and loose teeth,
19:57as well as lethargy and mental confusion.
20:00Severe scurvy can lead to death.
20:05And after nearly 100 days at sea, other provisions also run low.
20:11The Type 9 CU boat has a range up to 21,000 kilometers,
20:16but U66 now lacks enough diesel to travel back to France.
20:22Sehausen faces an increasingly dire situation.
20:27There's basically no way to get him home without any resupplies.
20:34He contacts U-boat command and requests assistance.
20:38Fortunately, a meeting is set with a milk cow northwest of the Cape Verde Islands,
20:43hundreds of kilometers off the African coast.
20:50On the morning of April 26, 1944, U66 approaches the meeting point.
21:03The crew on watch are surprised to find enemy ships,
21:14which begin a blistering attack against the milk cow.
21:37Sehausen and his already wasted crew were supposed to defend the milk cow.
21:48Maybe his nerves were already strained.
21:53He decides not to defend U-488.
21:59U66 turns away from the warships.
22:05Sehausen abandons the milk cow to its own fate.
22:09He doesn't obey orders to save his life and the life of his crew.
22:16The sounds of distant explosions penetrate U66's hull.
22:22The men listen in horror
22:28until the sea finally grows quiet as U-488 is lost.
22:38It would be the last of Hitler's milk cows assigned to the Atlantic Theater.
22:45And its sinking means that U66 is the next target.
22:54The failed resupply leaves Oberleutnant Gerhard Sehausen,
22:57even more dangerously low on provisions and fuel, to return to port.
23:03This is a very serious situation to him because as soon as all fuel is spent,
23:10he's just drifting in the Atlantic.
23:17The shortages are compounded by two prisoners on board.
23:22The British prisoners came from a ship which was torpedoed by Sehausen.
23:27One of them was the captain of the ship.
23:31Sehausen had to share the provisions with the enemy.
23:40At U-boat headquarters, Gross Admiral Karl Dönitz receives word that the attempt to resupply
23:45U66 failed and U-488 is gone. With no other milk cows left within range,
23:53they devise a plan to share from combat U-boats instead.
23:58He decides to take other submarines operating in the vicinity to share their fuel and resources
24:06so that Sehausen can make it home.
24:10And the other one is the ship's ship.
24:10But all their radio communications have attracted attention.
24:15A hunter-killer group that patrols the area is on the lookout.
24:19CIC, we have confirmed U-boat contact.
24:22At the center of these anti-submarine task forces is a warship called an Escort Carrier.
24:29First deployed by the U.S. Navy in 1943,
24:34they're smaller versions of famous ships like USS Hornet and Enterprise.
24:40The Escort Carriers are called baby flat tops.
24:43Standard carriers take a long time to build.
24:46Escort Carrier is a quick fix of the aircraft carrier problem.
24:51This short construction timeline means American shipyards roll out one per week.
24:56So this is the largest classification of any aircraft carrier ever made.
25:01Over half the length of a conventional carrier, Escort Carriers transport just shy of 30 aircraft.
25:07And of a top speed of 18 knots.
25:12In early May 1944, the Escort Carrier USS Block Island launches its planes in search of U-66.
25:25The presence of aircraft in the area can force a submarine to remain submerged
25:31and drain the batteries that power its electric motors.
25:34The hold-down tactics are pretty bad for Seehausen because there's constantly an aircraft operating above the submarine.
25:46As they stay down, the air onboard turns foul.
25:51Seehausen and his men, worn down by dwindling supplies and scurvy, struggle to function.
25:57His breathable air is getting wasted and wasted more and more.
26:02So it makes it harder for the crew to make perfect decisions.
26:11In the early hours of May 6, 1944, Seehausen makes a choice.
26:20At a certain point, they have to make a decision to surface and to stay surfaced to recharge the batteries.
26:29In a remarkable twist of fate, the U-boat emerges just 5,000 meters from USS Block Island.
26:37The Escort Carrier's radar detects the German submarine.
26:41In this moment, the U-boat has the edge.
26:45The Escort Carrier had a very thin hull.
26:48The job of Block Island and the other Escort Carriers is to get aircraft and destroyer escorts
26:53on the point of contact, not to be near the point of contact.
26:56With no time to lose, the Escort Carrier orders an emergency turn to evade an attack by U-66.
27:06Then, Block Island orders a destroyer escort to intercept the U-boat.
27:13Despite the opportunity, Seehausen does not pursue the carrier.
27:18He travels in the other direction and tops up the U-boat's batteries.
27:24The longer time the submarine has to charge its batteries, the longer time it will have in case
27:30of an emergency dive later on to get away from the hunter-killer group.
27:35Just before 2.30 a.m., an Avenger bomber from USS Block Island locates U-66 on the surface.
27:55While most Avengers can carry up to a 2,000-pound bomb, unfortunately for this pilot, his aircraft
28:03has been customized for reconnaissance.
28:06Night Owls were Avengers that were stripped of all weapons.
28:08That weight that was saved, you could cover the most area per gallon of fuel.
28:14It would be frustrating for Lieutenant Jimmy Sellers.
28:17He has a U-boat on the surface and he's teethless.
28:25So legend has it that he shot his .45 pistol at the conning tower.
28:28Unaware that the aircraft carries no payload, U-66 fires its guns to keep the plane at bay
28:35so the batteries can continue to charge.
28:41While the pilot distracts the U-boat crew, the destroyer escort, called USS Buckley, closes in.
28:53First commissioned by the Allies in early 1943, destroyer escorts are another class of warship,
28:59motivated by the need for fast and cheap construction.
29:04Armed with cutting-edge anti-submarine weapons, destroyer escorts take half the time of a conventional
29:11fleet destroyer to go to sea.
29:17From a distance of 13 kilometers, Lieutenant Commander Brent Abel coordinates their approach.
29:24Brent Abel's from Washington D.C.
29:26In his late 20s, he takes command to go after the U-boats and win the Battle of the Atlantic.
29:33He hopes that by approaching from the dark side, U-66 will mistake the destroyer for another German submarine.
29:48Intelligence is telling him that the U-boat is looking to be resupplied.
29:52So his plan is to look at the stars, look at the moon, and then come in at an angle
29:56where the Germans may confuse his approaching vessel with the milk cow.
30:04At a range of three and a half kilometers, Abel's crew has orders to hold fire to maintain the deception.
30:14Through the darkness, the U-boat's silhouette becomes visible.
30:33Despite the diversion of the circling night owl Avenger,
30:39one of Zehausen's lookouts spots the danger.
30:43He realizes that Barclay has spotted him.
30:47Usually, he was supposed to dive away because a destroyer is built to destroy a submarine.
30:53But Zehausen makes a different choice.
30:58Ultimately, he decides to fight a superior enemy.
31:10In the early morning hours of May 6, 1944,
31:16an American destroyer escort, USS Buckley, steams toward the German U-boat U-66.
31:23On the submarine, 1st launch officer Oberloid Nezzerzi Klaus Herbig faces a daunting task.
31:31He must execute a torpedo attack against the narrow target.
31:36The problem is, he only sees the frontal silhouette of the destroyer, which is less than 10% of the
31:43length.
31:50So he has to rely on a shot down the throat.
32:00The torpedo has to be in a perfect position to detonate.
32:09Early detection by Buckley's crew means the escort avoids being struck.
32:19With its mission to distract the U-boat complete, the Night Owl Avenger continues to circle above,
32:25reporting on the action back to USS Block Island.
32:31A little before 3.30 a.m., the U-boat commander, Oberloid Neid Gerhard Zehausen,
32:37opens his guns on USS Buckley.
32:46The destroyer escort replies.
32:50The destroyer has many guns aboard and has a much higher rate of fire.
33:04With the Americans breaking in the deck of his submarine from a range of about 1800 meters.
33:20The best weapon a submarine has against a surface ship is the torpedo.
33:27If he hit the destroyer, he might have a chance to evade.
33:31But Lieutenant Commander Brent Abel's men detect the incoming attack.
33:38USS Buckley dodges.
33:46The destroyer is running at full speed.
33:49He just needs a little alignment to get out of the way of the torpedo.
33:56Now even closer and running parallel to the U-boat, the American crew's superior gun power comes to bear.
34:06U-66's conning tower is riddled with gunfire.
34:14And high caliber bullets puncture the submarine's pressure hull.
34:20Zehausen can no longer dive his U-boat.
34:29Unaware of the extent of the damage,
34:33Abel believes the Germans might still slip away.
34:38He issues an order to trap the U-boat on the surface.
34:43Abel realized that he could use the bulk of the destroyer escort,
34:47which was bigger than the submarine, to his advantage.
34:54USS Buckley turns to ram U-66.
35:01The metal hulls screech and grind, with the submarine pinned by the ship.
35:08Zehausen realizes the U-boat itself is now at risk with all its secrets.
35:15Chief Engineer George Olszewski receives orders to scuttle the submarine to keep it out of Allied hands.
35:25Chief Engineer George Olszewski
35:26At all costs prevent any invaders that might want to go at your
35:30cipher machine, or any important documents on board.
35:37Zehausen needs to buy some precious minutes.
35:41He has to prepare the self-destruction of the submarine, and this takes time.
35:48Chief Engineer George Olszewski
35:48Where does he get the time from?
35:55Having a boarding party like in Napoleonic times.
36:00Weapons are brought topside.
36:05Led by First Watch officer Klaus Herbig, a small group moves towards USS Buckley, still perched on the deck of
36:13the U-boat.
36:19He uses something extremely special in the Second World War.
36:25To create a distraction, buying Zehausen the time.
36:33Lieutenant Commander Brent Abel watches Germans with guns, now board his ship.
36:38He's believed to have issued an order unprecedented in World War II.
36:43It's my understanding and it's my feeling that he did give the order that had not been given in over
36:47a century.
36:49Stand by to repel boarders.
36:52Buckley's crew is caught unprepared.
36:58A lot of the sailors do not have access to firearms.
37:01So they are punching people, they are throwing shell casings, even throwing a coffee cup.
37:07In an unexpected hand-to-hand fight for their ship.
37:20Sailors aboard USS Buckley continue to fight off the Germans.
37:24Who have turned the table on the destroyer escort that rammed their U-boat.
37:38Lieutenant Commander Brent Abel must act to prevent more enemy submariners from boarding his ship.
37:49As the Germans are pouring out and continue to try and get on the Buckley,
37:54A-boat reverses power and pulls away from U-66.
38:04On board the war-torn U-boat, Oberloenten Gerhard Zehausen and Chief Engineer George Olszewski
38:11continue the preparations to sink their own submarine.
38:22It is the chief engineer's last duty to open the seacocks so seawater can come in and eventually the boat
38:33would disappear.
38:45As German submariners abandon their stations.
38:49The prisoners captured from the merchant ship earlier in the patrol are caught in the crossfire.
38:56They want to survive, but they probably have no understanding what will happen to them.
39:03Will they take care of us or will they leave us inside the submarine?
39:17A sudden impact rattles those who remain on U-66.
39:21The German submarine collides with USS Buckley again, likely by accident.
39:29The chaos of the crash creates an opportunity as an American sailor lobs a grenade down the open hatch.
39:38It landed in the conning tower which exploded and essentially decapitated the U-66.
39:53Bullet riddled and in flames, U-66 succumbs to the sea.
40:00Overloenten Gerhard Zehausen, 23 of his crew, along with the British captives, are lost.
40:11On USS Buckley, First Watch Officer Klaus Herbig and the other invaders are joined by those rescued from the sea.
40:2136 German submariners suffering from scurvy survive.
40:29The condition of the beleaguered prisoners shocked their American captors.
40:34Men who had been out of the sunlight and with a vitamin deficient diet, these men were not in very
40:40good shape.
40:41It's probably the best thing what could happen to them becoming a prisoner of war in the United States.
40:48They probably had a good meal, coffee, chocolate, chewing gum. They are well treated.
40:57They will join thousands of others who share the fate of the surviving crew of U-66.
41:05They're transported to America and spend the rest of the war in POW camps.
41:12Different to being a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union.
41:17These pictures look very different.
41:24Lieutenant Commander Brent Abel earns the Navy Cross for inspiring leadership
41:29and courageous, aggressive spirit in the battle against U-66.
41:36USS Buckley makes it back to safe port after makeshift repairs at sea.
41:42The bow is severely damaged, so to contain flooding, rubberized mattresses are rammed into those
41:48portions of the forward bow.
41:52By the end of World War II, hunter-killer groups would sink 53 German U-boats and seize one.
42:02Sending nearly 5% of Hitler's submarine force to the seafloor.
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