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00:00O Atlântico Oceano, a cena de uma das batalhas do World War II, a batalha do Atlântico.
00:08Esse é o Forgotten Front Line.
00:12É um batalho que saiu a morte de milhares de milhares de britânicos.
00:17E aqui, o terror estava em todo lugar.
00:20Não só tem o forte Atlântico, mas também tem o barco do Atlântico.
00:35O Atlântico O Atlântico é muito mais do que uma batalha do Atlântico.
00:41É uma campanha de sangue e devastante.
00:44Neste guerra, não podemos apenas sobreviver, temos que vencer.
00:48O Forgotten-se riskou tudo o que tinha.
00:51O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico é uma guerra mundial.
00:56As marines de marina, eu vou revelar que os portos britânicos copos com o inseguramento constante de tremenham de tremendo
01:03o voo.
01:03O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico.
01:05300 ships foram suave.
01:08E, como estampos, eu quero a ter que se despedida com essas incríveis de pesadas.
01:15O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico O Atlântico.
01:21...and how they were eventually defeated.
01:26This time, Churchill plots to wipe out the U-boats.
01:33There was an idea that if they just kept dropping bombs on the U-boat pens, eventually they would break.
01:41The Royal Navy struggled with sailors' mental health.
01:46If something goes wrong, they're going to be killed.
01:48And in fact, that preys on sailors' minds.
01:51And an epic showdown for the control of the Atlantic.
01:56They're not the hunters anymore, they're the hunters.
01:59This is the campaign that decides the outcome of World War II.
02:37At the end of 1942, the Battle of the Atlantic has been raging for over three years.
02:44And essential supplies are running perilously low.
02:47Defeat for Britain is a real possibility.
02:51If the Nazis are to be beaten, Britain and her allies must work together.
03:16The meeting is so secret, it's given the codename symbol.
03:20And it's attended by two leaders fighting the Battle of the Atlantic.
03:25British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and US President Franklin Roosevelt.
03:30And they're both determined to plot a fight back against the U-boats.
03:38Nobody knew that Roosevelt or Churchill had gone to Morocco.
03:42It's an opportunity for them to digest the state of the war.
03:47After their first day of talks, the Allied press arrive in Casablanca to hear from the two leaders.
03:56This is a chance to get together face to face to discuss the next steps.
04:01One of the key decisions that they make is that they should seek unconditional surrender from Germany.
04:11Churchill and Roosevelt are already plotting the D-Day landings.
04:17They need to build up a huge military force on British shores.
04:21Ready to carry out the largest amphibious attack of all time.
04:27In order for that to happen, you're going to have to bring across the Atlantic
04:33about 1,800,000 men.
04:38You also need munitions, you need aircraft, you need food.
04:43That means the Atlantic needs to be a safe space.
04:47And in January 1943, it isn't.
04:56Lurking beneath the waves, Nazi U-boats are still a deadly threat to the Allies.
05:02During their meeting, Churchill and Roosevelt devise a plan to wipe out the U-boats.
05:09Not out at sea, but on land.
05:14After its first day, a directive is delivered to the Royal Air Force.
05:19It's frank and brutal.
05:22A decision has been made to subject the following bases to a maximum scale of attack.
05:28This is Churchill declaring all-out war, ordering British bombers to use anything they have in their arsenal
05:36to flatten the German U-boat bases at any cost.
05:40And in order to get the job done, he turns to his trusted Commander-in-Chief, Arthur Harris.
05:52Harris was an absolute zealot who believed that the answer to everything was a lot of bombers.
05:57It was a question of faith.
05:59He believed that strategic bombing was the answer, because that was the whole mantra that the Air Force had been
06:04built on.
06:06Arthur Harris' great vision was for area bombing.
06:10For bombing not just military targets, but also civilian cities, to really strike at the heart of the German war
06:17effort.
06:23The night after the directive is issued, British bombers begin preparations to destroy U-boat bases.
06:33One base has been marked for special attention.
06:38L'Orient, in France, a U-boat command centre.
06:46And in the early hours of the 14th of January, the bombing begins.
07:07We're talking about something like the Blitz over London.
07:11Thousands of tonnes of incendiaries and bombs dropped.
07:16It really wasn't about targets.
07:19And area bombing sums it up.
07:21You bomb the area, you don't bomb a target.
07:26On the first night, 122 aircraft are sent to raid the city of Lorient.
07:32And it's estimated that about 74 tonnes of high-explosive bombs are dropped on the city altogether.
07:39By the second night, that figure doubles, 140 tonnes.
07:45The scale of the bombing offensive on the city of Lorient is shocking.
07:49And it quickly reduces the city to rubble.
08:00There was an idea that if they just kept dropping bombs on the U-boat pens, eventually they would break.
08:07They didn't break.
08:08And they remain intact.
08:18The city of Lorient lay in ruins.
08:21But Commander Harris writes,
08:45As an engineer, I want to find out how the U-boat pens survived such a ferocious bombardment.
08:54And the answer lies in images that reveal the secrets behind these structures.
09:02I've got here some images that help illustrate the U-boat bases along the west coast of France.
09:08Now, at the beginning of the war, these bases were relatively open, relatively open to attack.
09:13And so in 1941, Hitler ordered that they were all to be bomb-proofed.
09:19And it was the bomb-proofed bases that became known as U-boat pens.
09:24Now, this U-boat pen in Lorient was completed in January 1942.
09:30And it was absolutely enormous.
09:38These blueprints reveal the scale of this project.
09:44The base is able to protect up to 24 U-boats.
09:50Each huge pen has a hydraulic system capable of lifting U-boats out of the water.
09:57And if we take a closer look at some of these photos, you start to get an idea of that
10:03scale.
10:05I mean, look at this one here.
10:08I mean, down here, these are people.
10:12And this is part of that U-boat pen.
10:17And I can see from these blueprints
10:22that what makes these pens bomb-proof is the roof.
10:27Some of those U-boats were protected by roofs consisting of concrete up to 16 feet thick,
10:34which was almost impossible to penetrate, even with a direct hit from above.
10:42Churchill's plan to destroy the U-boats has been a failure.
10:47One person who celebrates the failure of the British bombing
10:50is Admiral Dönitz, the head of the Nazi U-boat.
10:56He now knows that the submarine's pens are untouchable.
11:01And January 1943 ends with another good piece of news for Dönitz.
11:05Hitler sees fit to promote him to commander-in-chief
11:08of the entire German Navy.
11:15He's now, in essence, got to a degree what he wanted in the first place,
11:21which is full access to Hitler.
11:24And his key priority is to go and try and up U-boat production.
11:31He's managing to win a few more of those battles about resources
11:35to get a few more people, a few more tons of steel,
11:39using proper mass production technology to mass-produce U-boats.
11:46Dönitz is delighted as U-boat production increases.
11:51Now, more and more of these deadly vessels are heading into the Atlantic than ever before.
11:57He tries to make sure that the U-boat commanders and their crews
12:00to focus attention on this critical moment in the battle of the Atlantic.
12:07And really, the fate of the entire battle and the entire Allied war effort
12:13is hanging in the balance.
12:17After surviving the Allied bombing raids,
12:20the U-boats head out to strike back against the Allies.
12:30Dönitz reassures his U-boat commanders that they are his priority.
12:35He still believes that destroying the Atlantic supply line to Britain
12:39is the key to winning the war.
12:43Dönitz believes that this radical increase in U-boat numbers
12:47will be a game-changer.
12:50To fight back, Britain turns to an unlikely individual.
12:55A university lecturer.
13:06South of Iceland,
13:08British tanker Cordelia
13:10is struggling to keep up with the other ships in her convoy.
13:19Under the cover of darkness,
13:21a U-boat attacks.
13:31The Cordelia sinks,
13:33killing all but one of her crew.
13:43She is just one of 57 Allied ships
13:46sunk by U-boats in February 1943.
13:54Sinkings have rocketed by 70% in just one month.
14:00After nearly three and a half years of fighting,
14:04the total losses in the Atlantic
14:05are truly staggering.
14:20March 1943 is an especially dark month for Britain
14:24in the Battle of the Atlantic.
14:26U-boats are hunting in packs across the ocean
14:29with great success,
14:31and with every passing week,
14:33Allied losses grow.
14:36By the end of the month,
14:38108 ships,
14:39totaling 700,000 tonnes,
14:42have been sunk.
14:44It's the fifth highest monthly total of the war so far.
14:49With fewer supplies reaching British shores,
14:52there could soon be huge shortages
14:54in food, fuel and weaponry.
15:01In the early months of 1943,
15:03things start looking bad for the Allies.
15:06Things are looking problematic.
15:08The sinkings are going up and up again.
15:23The Allies can't afford to lose control of the Atlantic.
15:28If they do,
15:29it will be almost impossible
15:30to launch their D-Day landing in Europe.
15:36Helping the British government fight back
15:38is an unexpected figure.
15:40University lecturer,
15:42Professor Patrick Blackett.
15:44Patrick Blackett is a really interesting figure.
15:46He is an academic.
15:48He's a professor of physics.
15:49So his job is to try and find advantages
15:53through technology
15:55and through examining
15:57in an almost mathematical way
15:59what's happening.
16:01His famous line was that
16:03you can't run a war
16:04on gusts of emotion.
16:09Blackett heads up a team
16:10of statisticians and scientists
16:12who become known as Blackett's Circus.
16:20They suggest simple things
16:23like repainting the underneath of planes
16:25from black to white
16:26to camouflage them in the sky.
16:30And when Blackett's team focuses
16:32on Atlantic convoys,
16:33they make a major discovery.
16:39The size of the convoy
16:40has no effect
16:42on whether it's safe or not.
16:43And what he argues for
16:45is that they should be increased.
16:51His thinking was
16:52bigger convoys,
16:54more easily protected,
16:56not necessarily acquiring
16:57any more of an escort
17:00and not even really acquiring
17:01much more air support.
17:03So all in all,
17:04your losses will be thoroughly reduced.
17:08Given that a submarine
17:09only has one chance to attack
17:12as the convoy goes past,
17:14the more ships that go past at once,
17:16the less are going to be sunk.
17:19Blackett's discovery
17:21means Atlantic convoys
17:22grow much bigger.
17:24Many in 1943
17:25contain over 60 ships.
17:28More supplies
17:30are now reaching Britain's shores
17:32in fewer crossings.
17:39But as the months pass,
17:41a growing problem emerges
17:43for the Allies.
17:45Most sailors
17:46have never experienced
17:47a long conflict
17:48like this before,
17:50and it's beginning
17:51to take its toll.
17:54In 1943,
17:56the Royal Navy
17:57is witnessing
17:57a growing number
17:58of sailors
17:59unable to carry on
18:01with their duties.
18:02Each month,
18:03more and more
18:04are proving incapable
18:06of doing their jobs,
18:07and quite frankly,
18:08they're becoming liabilities.
18:10Doctors examine them,
18:12and after listening
18:13to their complaints
18:14and analysing their symptoms,
18:16decide that they're all suffering
18:18from what's being called
18:19fatigue.
18:23As a trained Marine,
18:25I know being in the armed forces
18:26can be incredibly stressful.
18:31So to understand
18:32how years of fighting
18:34in the Atlantic
18:34took its toll
18:35on those brave sailors,
18:37I'm meeting with
18:38Professor Edgar Jones.
18:40We hear the use
18:41of the word fatigue
18:42when referring to
18:44the mental state
18:45of military personnel.
18:47It's a bit of a soft term,
18:48really,
18:48to describe
18:49what they're experiencing.
18:50In order to disguise
18:52a psychiatric diagnosis,
18:53they come up
18:54with the term fatigue.
18:55So fatigue is the term
18:56that the Royal Navy used
18:58in the latter part
18:58of the war
18:59for all of those
19:01stressed out,
19:02traumatised sailors
19:03who are no longer
19:04able to function.
19:05Why did that have
19:06an effect on
19:07the state of mind
19:09of sailors?
19:10Well,
19:11those sailors knew
19:12that going to sea
19:13was dangerous.
19:17They know that the chances
19:19are that if they're
19:19in a big battle
19:20and something goes wrong,
19:21they're going to be killed.
19:24And that that preys
19:26on sailors' minds
19:27over time.
19:29What do they do about it?
19:30They open four specialist
19:33naval hospitals
19:34for psychiatric casualties.
19:36So they improve
19:37the monitoring
19:38and treatment process,
19:40but then they also
19:41try to manage
19:42their sailors better
19:43and try to spot
19:44those sailors
19:45who are vulnerable
19:46to psychological stress.
19:51I can't imagine
19:52fighting for over
19:53three years
19:54against a U-boat enemy
19:56hidden under the waves.
20:03And it's no surprise
20:04to me that as the
20:05battle in the Atlantic
20:06continues,
20:07thousands more sailors
20:09struggle to fight on
20:10due to psychological
20:12issues.
20:21Luckily, Britain
20:23is not alone.
20:24Brave men and women
20:25from the British Empire
20:27join the fight.
20:28But only after
20:29a prejudice rule
20:30is abolished.
20:32At the start of the war,
20:34the RAF, Navy
20:35and Army
20:36refuse to accept
20:38anyone who isn't
20:39of European descent.
20:42Now that the numbers
20:43of fit and capable
20:45adults is declining,
20:46meaning this policy
20:48is shelved
20:49and Britain
20:50steps up its search
20:51for new recruits
20:52overseas.
20:54India, Australia
20:55and Canada
20:56all provide thousands
20:57of troops
20:58ready to fight.
21:00And they joined up
21:01to defend Britain,
21:03a Britain that they
21:03felt that they
21:04were also part of.
21:05And so they rose up
21:06to defend the empire
21:07which they felt
21:08was under threat.
21:09There were others
21:10who joined up
21:11because they understood
21:12the political implications
21:14should fascism win.
21:16because they felt
21:17that if Britain fell,
21:19fascism would spread
21:20to the rest of the world.
21:23One of these new recruits
21:25is Wasudev Garaya
21:26who signed up
21:27from Mauritius.
21:31I'm meeting his daughter
21:33to understand how her father
21:35ended up fighting
21:36in the Battle of the Atlantic.
21:38Prabha, what do you think
21:40would have motivated
21:40your father to join
21:42the forces here
21:43in the UK?
21:44I mean, the war would have
21:45seemed like a million miles
21:46away from Mauritius.
21:47Personally, I probably thought
21:49that he would have seen
21:51a means of leaving
21:52the island
21:53and getting a broader
21:54perspective on life
21:55and, you know,
21:56doing something,
21:57you know,
21:58for his country.
22:05Wasudev is assigned
22:06as wireless operator
22:08on one of the most
22:09incredible vessels
22:10used in the Battle
22:11of the Atlantic.
22:14A short Sunderland.
22:21This flying boat
22:22is capable of hunting down
22:24and attacking U-boats
22:26but can also land on water
22:29to rescue Allied sailors.
22:33It takes several months
22:35of training around the UK,
22:37including Scotland
22:38and Pembrokeshire,
22:39before Wasudev
22:40is able to fly
22:41its first mission.
22:47And if he was based
22:48up in Scotland
22:49and Blackpool
22:49and places like that,
22:51flying around
22:51in Sunderland flying boats,
22:53he must have spent
22:54some time out
22:54in the Atlantic
22:55over the convoys
22:56looking after them.
22:57Yes, he would be going
22:59out over the Atlantic.
23:00They used to go out
23:01and do escorts
23:02and, um,
23:03because all the convoys
23:04were coming in
23:05from America
23:06with all of the supplies,
23:07the troops, everything,
23:09um, looking for submarines
23:10that were, um,
23:12tracking the convoys
23:13and trying to torpedo them.
23:20They spotted a periscope
23:22and they dropped,
23:23um, if you see
23:24the bombs up there,
23:25they, they obviously
23:26dropped some of those
23:27on, on the periscope
23:28and then they went up
23:30into the clouds
23:30out of the way.
23:32Also quite hard
23:33to hide in the clouds
23:34as well, I would imagine.
23:35The Atlantic,
23:35you probably had
23:36a lot of clouds
23:36to hide in.
23:40Are you proud
23:41of your father?
23:42Yes, I am, actually.
23:44I'd like to make sure
23:46that future generations
23:48and, you know,
23:49my nephews
23:50and their children
23:52in the future
23:52and their children
23:53will be able to read
23:54about their granddad,
23:55their great-granddad
23:56and know what he did
23:57in the war.
24:01The commitment
24:02and bravery
24:03of people like
24:04Wasudev Garaya
24:05enable the Allies
24:07to keep fighting
24:07against the relentless
24:09Nazi war machine.
24:11This influx
24:12of new sailors
24:13and airmen
24:14are able to take
24:15advantage
24:15of new technology.
24:17Since the start
24:18of the war,
24:19there's been
24:19a mad rush
24:20to stay ahead
24:21of the technological curve.
24:23Britain's become
24:24a hive
24:25of creativity
24:25and evolution.
24:27And in 1943,
24:29there's a breakthrough
24:30that might just remove
24:32the U-boat's
24:33greatest strength.
24:35It's stealth.
24:37This equipment
24:39could be
24:39the final piece
24:40of the puzzle
24:41the Allies need
24:42to win
24:42the Battle of the Atlantic.
25:01Early April 1943,
25:04a convoy
25:05of over 60 ships
25:06is travelling
25:07from Canada
25:08to Britain.
25:16Out in open water,
25:18they're attacked.
25:21A large U-boat
25:23wolfpack strikes
25:24and six of the convoy
25:26are sunk.
25:32But the Allies
25:33hit back
25:36with an aircraft
25:37that's changing
25:38the Battle of the Atlantic.
25:42A Liberator arrives
25:43damaging five U-boats
25:45and destroying two.
25:47This aircraft
25:48is becoming
25:49a common sight,
25:50flying above convoys,
25:51providing essential air support
25:53over this vast ocean.
25:56I want to understand
25:57how the Liberator
25:58became so influential
26:00in the skies
26:01over the Atlantic.
26:02So I'm meeting
26:03Harry Raffel
26:04at London's
26:05RAF Museum.
26:06This aircraft
26:07was a game-changer
26:08for the Allies
26:09during the Battle of the Atlantic.
26:11Why did we need
26:12an aircraft
26:12with such vast range?
26:14This can reach
26:14much further out
26:15into the Atlantic
26:16and stay out there
26:17for a long period of time
26:18and effectively
26:19protect the convoys,
26:21observe U-boats
26:22and drive them
26:23beneath the surface
26:24and that's hugely important.
26:27The Liberator provides
26:28an essential role
26:29in the Atlantic.
26:31Since the start
26:32of the war,
26:33there has been
26:34a mid-Atlantic air gap
26:35where convoys
26:36are exposed
26:37to U-boat attack
26:38without air support.
26:41Liberators are adapted
26:42to be very long-range,
26:44enabling them
26:45to close the gap.
26:54What sort of endurance
26:55would that give this aircraft?
26:57How long could it stay airborne?
26:58So for the very long-range types,
27:01they could get 2,100 miles
27:03in terms of an operational range.
27:05And patrols,
27:06well in excess of 12 hours,
27:07are not uncommon
27:08for VLR types.
27:09These aircraft
27:10carried out
27:10an offensive role.
27:12They struck out
27:13at the U-boats.
27:13What sort of munitions
27:15did it carry?
27:16Well, the depth charge
27:17is probably the most
27:18effective weapon
27:19that it carries.
27:20Importantly,
27:21they need to land
27:22and detonate
27:23in close proximity
27:24to the U-boats.
27:25It's important
27:26to remember
27:27that as much
27:29as this is a war
27:30about trying
27:31to sink submarines,
27:32more important
27:33than that
27:34is the war
27:34to protect the convoys.
27:35So even those patrols
27:37which go out
27:37and don't make
27:39an offensive attack
27:39against a U-boat,
27:40they're doing
27:41a hugely important job
27:42because what they're doing
27:43is stopping that U-boat
27:44attacking a merchant ship.
27:46Liberator really is
27:47a bit of an unsung hero,
27:48isn't it?
27:49Absolutely.
27:49More than any other aircraft,
27:51this helps win
27:52the Battle of the Atlantic.
27:52and in many ways
27:54win the war.
27:57The Liberators
27:58are one of the last pieces
28:00of the puzzle
28:01for the Allies.
28:02Convoys travelling
28:03through the treacherous
28:04mid-Atlantic gap
28:06now have the peace of mind
28:07in knowing that
28:08should they be attacked,
28:09they've got essential
28:10air cover right behind them.
28:15There are key developments
28:16for the Allies
28:17on the waves
28:18of the Atlantic too.
28:20Since the start of the war,
28:22destroyers have been
28:23crying out
28:24for an accurate radar
28:26to hunt down U-boats.
28:31In 1943,
28:33improved equipment
28:34is installed
28:35in more and more
28:36Allied warships.
28:39To find out
28:41how this impacts
28:42the Battle of the Atlantic,
28:43I'm meeting with
28:44naval historian
28:45Richard Holdsworth.
28:47Can you tell me
28:47a little bit about
28:48how radar
28:49and radar technology
28:50developed
28:50during the Battle
28:51of the Atlantic?
28:52Radar at the beginning
28:53of the war
28:54is in its infancy.
28:55The big challenge
28:56that the Navy faced
28:58was actually getting
28:59things small enough
29:00to be able
29:01to be mounted
29:01on ships.
29:02What was the capability
29:03of radar systems
29:05on ships
29:05towards the beginning
29:06of the war?
29:07The bigger ships
29:07and sort of
29:08surface warning radars
29:09would be able
29:10to pick out
29:10surface ships
29:11at a distance.
29:13They were able
29:13to detect large things
29:14close up,
29:15I think,
29:15because it's
29:16crudest level.
29:17Large things
29:17close up.
29:18So, yeah.
29:19But then towards
29:20the end of the war.
29:20Towards the end
29:21of the war,
29:21they have got
29:22much more accurate.
29:23They're at a position
29:24where actually
29:25you can pinpoint
29:26a periscope
29:27a few miles away
29:29through radar
29:30as it pops up.
29:31And that is
29:32a game changer
29:33for attacking
29:35submarines
29:36that are submerged.
29:37And I guess
29:37one of the massive
29:38advantages
29:38in the Battle of the Atlantic
29:39being able to detect
29:40German U-boats
29:41at night time.
29:42Yes.
29:43Yeah.
29:44And actually picking up
29:45threats to you
29:46earlier than you
29:47could do before.
29:49And what a huge
29:49advantage that was.
29:50Yes.
29:51Very much so.
29:56With this evolution
29:57in radar,
29:58U-boats are no longer
30:00the hidden enemy.
30:01Now,
30:02Allied ships
30:03in the Atlantic
30:03can see a U-boat
30:05conning tower
30:06surfacing
30:06from over
30:0712 miles away.
30:10Constant innovation
30:11of the radar systems
30:12throughout the Battle
30:13of the Atlantic
30:14has helped
30:15transform the fortunes
30:17of those brave sailors
30:18battling U-boats.
30:20And this mass rollout
30:22of the radar
30:23has arrived
30:24at just the right time.
30:35There are now
30:37more and more U-boats
30:38patrolling the Atlantic
30:40than ever before.
30:43By 1943,
30:46the Allies'
30:47anti-submarine
30:48warfare
30:49is really coming together.
30:50and it's the culmination
30:52of lots of different
30:53strands that are
30:54knitted together.
30:56and it's the culmination
31:15through the
31:16destroyers
31:16to search, locate,
31:18and destroy
31:18U-boat activity
31:19meant that the U-boats
31:21Agora, muitas vezes isoladas.
31:26O que os Estados gostaram de major avanços tecnológicos,
31:30o mesmo não pode ser falado para os nazis.
31:35O standard German weapons de 1939
31:38eram tão bom ou melhor do que todos os outros.
31:41Mas agora, eles foram atrás de uma área de clareza.
31:44A Alemanha está caindo em uma caixa tecnológica,
31:47e não pode ser capaz de apoiar.
31:54Um dos seus falamentos não foi para ver se fora do box.
31:58Isso é parte porque era um regime autoritário,
32:02então as pessoas mais medo de se pensar fora do box.
32:05Você vai ter um rato de 90 minutos de rato de Hitler e provavelmente ser morto.
32:11Você não vai realmente tentar ir para muito muito pensamento, muito obrigado.
32:16Os nazis colocam sua confiança em números,
32:18e os Estados colocam sua confiança em inovamento.
32:22Isso leva a uma grande confronto na meia do Atlântico.
32:41Em late April 1943,
32:45a convoy enters o Atlântico enroute para o norte da América.
32:51O Atlântico
32:53O Atlântico
32:53O Atlântico
33:18O Atlântico
33:24O Atlântico
33:43O Atlântico
33:46O Atlântico
33:49O Atlântico
34:11O Atlântico
34:13O Atlântico
34:25O Atlântico
34:27O Atlântico
34:27O Atlântico
34:31O Atlântico
34:42O Atlântico
34:44O Atlântico
34:46O Atlântico
35:05O Atlântico
35:08O Atlântico
35:15O Atlântico
35:16O Atlântico
35:17O Atlântico
35:17O Atlântico
35:19O Atlântico
35:21O Atlântico
35:48O Atlântico
36:03O Atlântico
36:16O Atlântico
36:18O Atlântico
36:32O Atlântico
36:34O Atlântico
36:37O Atlântico
36:46O Atlântico
36:47As the convoy continues, it's battered by a forcedели gale 30-foot high waves.
36:55As the slow ship's scatter because of the weather, it makes the defending escort's job of protecting
37:02them very, very difficult.
37:05Gretanne's son explains how the storm isn't the only problem his father faces.
37:11At that stage, my father had his worst fear.
37:14He was running out of fuel.
37:17The convoy still has over 1,000 miles
37:20until they reach their destination.
37:25With the worsening weather and low fuel,
37:28Gretan is left with only one choice.
37:31He has to leave the convoy.
37:40I simply can't imagine how I would have felt
37:43in those circumstances responsible for this very important convoy.
37:48It must have been appalling.
37:52If this weakened convoy is destroyed
37:55and the Nazis take control of the Atlantic,
37:58the Allies' D-Day plans will lie in tatters.
38:07When night falls, the U-boats strike.
38:13Oh!
38:27Oh!
38:29Oh!
38:30.
38:33Admiral Dönitz
38:34has given very specific orders.
38:36He wants his U-boat commanders
38:38to create an allied bloodbath.
38:41He's sending out signals like,
38:43do not underestimate your enemies,
38:45strike them dead.
38:5441 U-boats
38:56surround the convoy.
38:58In 24 hours,
39:0012 allied ships are sunk.
39:04As the U-boats circle their prey,
39:06preparing for another assault,
39:09they're stopped in their tracks.
39:15There was then a dramatic change in the weather.
39:20It went from hurricane
39:22to flat calm and fog.
39:24The allies use their radar
39:27to navigate safely
39:28through the fog.
39:32The U-boats can't do anything.
39:35They're unsighted.
39:35They're blind.
39:37Technological innovations
39:38give the allies an advantage
39:39in this crucial battle.
39:41For the Germans,
39:42this is not a disaster.
39:45because the escorts now have got radar.
39:55They can fight the battle on screen.
39:58They can see when the U-boats can't.
40:01The escorts and the aircraft
40:03had an absolute field day.
40:05Suddenly,
40:06over the air,
40:07they'd be attacked
40:07or by sufficient they'd be attacked.
40:11Over the next 24 hours,
40:13six U-boats are sent
40:15to the bottom of the Atlantic.
40:22Dernitz had had enough.
40:24He orders the U-boats
40:25to break off their attack.
40:28And even though
40:29the odds were stacked heavily
40:31in the Germans' favour,
40:33the Allies had managed to fight back
40:35and forced them to retreat.
40:39It's the ultimate vindication
40:42of that process
40:43that was set in place
40:44early in the war
40:45and all of the efforts
40:46of all of those people
40:47who came together
40:48to fight that war
40:50on land,
40:51in the air
40:52and on the sea itself.
40:54This battle isn't just a one-off.
40:56New technology has helped
40:58turn the tide for the Allies
40:59and the month of May
41:01becomes a time to celebrate.
41:03The U-boat losses
41:04that month alone
41:05are over 40.
41:08And by the end of the month,
41:10Dernitz realises
41:11that the game is up.
41:13In the end,
41:14Germany is outgoned,
41:16outmanned,
41:17outresourced.
41:20They're not the hunters anymore,
41:21they're the hunters.
41:31After nearly four years
41:32of fighting,
41:33the Battle of the Atlantic
41:34is all but over.
41:37Although this is by no means
41:38the last attack
41:40in the Atlantic,
41:41crossings are now
41:42significantly safer
41:44for the convoys.
41:45The number of ships sunk
41:47falls dramatically.
41:49From 39 sunk in May
41:51to just seven in June.
41:53And losses stay low
41:55throughout the rest of 1943.
41:58Tactical improvements
41:59and technological advancements
42:01mean that the Royal Navy
42:03and Air Force
42:04now have the edge
42:06over the Nazi U-boats.
42:08The Allies
42:09now have command
42:10of the Atlantic Ocean.
42:16If the Navy
42:17and the Merchant Navy
42:19had not driven
42:20the U-boats
42:20out of the sea,
42:23Britain and the Allies
42:24would not have been able
42:25to launch their campaign
42:26in Western Europe.
42:27That would have been impossible.
42:32D-Day would not have happened
42:34without the control
42:36of the Atlantic.
42:44This epic battle
42:46that started
42:46on the very first day
42:48of the war
42:48has come
42:49at an enormous sacrifice.
42:53During the course
42:54of the war
42:55it's estimated
42:56that over 100,000 people
42:58die at sea
42:58fighting to control
43:00the Atlantic.
43:05The Battle of the Atlantic
43:07has been won
43:08and it's been great
43:09to look back
43:09and really understand
43:11how that battle
43:12was played out
43:13and that it wasn't easy.
43:19It's hard for us
43:20to quantify
43:20or understand
43:21what life would have been like
43:22had those convoys
43:23not been successful.
43:25There were thousands
43:26of sailors lost
43:27and you can't imagine
43:28how awful
43:29it must have been
43:30for them out there.
43:36But this is so important
43:38for the Allies.
43:39I mean, Rob,
43:39let's have a look
43:39at the D-Day landings.
43:42Look at all the materials
43:44that landed
43:44on the beaches
43:45in Normandy.
43:45I bet you 95% of them
43:47came from those convoys
43:49in America.
43:51The Battle of the Atlantic
43:53was the turning point
43:54that allowed D-Day
43:55to happen
43:55and it's really important
43:57I think
43:57to acknowledge that.
44:00It's quite sobering thought
44:01actually
44:02when you look
44:02into the detail
44:03and understand
44:04how important
44:04the Battle of the Atlantic
44:05was
44:06to the eventual outcome
44:07of the Second World War.
44:08it was a hard-fought battle.
44:11It certainly was.
44:42the Battle of the Atlantic
44:46Legenda Adriana Zanotto
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