Lights inside U-boat...

[Enigma]

Red lights. regular white light etc....

Were this just to alert the crew to the "status" of the boat, or did they serve another purpose?

I know as a pilot, that red light is what you would use if you were using a flashlight in the cockpit at night, as it doesnt screw up your night adjusted vision when you look back outside of the aircraft.....perhaps this is another reason?

[DeepSix]

Red light was (and I guess still is) used to help preserve night vision (U.S. crews in WW2 had red goggles as well). Typically, all compartments except for the engine rooms went to red light at dusk (the engine rooms stayed white).

[TteFAboB]

The Soviets also used the red light but that's because they accepted female volunteers in the sub force. :-j

[Ducimus]

Ive always wondered what that blue light was all about in 'Das Boot'. Was that historically used, or just movie mood ambiance?

[Rose]

yeah, i just remembered that blue light thing... interesting

[CCIP]

The blue lights in Das Boot indicated "silent running".

Can't speak to the realism of it, but it at least seems like a plausible idea.

[lesrae]

Red lighting's still used on RN boats, but iirc only on 1 deck when going to, or operating at, periscope depth.

[GreyOctober]

Ive seen the "making of Das Boot" and they said they stived to be realistic in every aspec. So ill take the blue lights signaling silent running were actually used. And I noticed redlights were used during daytime too just before surfacing (for the same reason explained above)

[kiwi_2005]

I wish we had the option to turn the lights on/off in SH3

[GreyOctober]

I wish we had the option to turn the lights on/off in SH3

Ahhh but you do...just wait for a DC to hit you :rotfl:

[werauchimmer]

I obviously can´t speak for WW2 sub crews, but the modern day german infantry uses blue instead of red. Preserves the night vision as well as red does and can´t be seen as far. Something about the ambient light having blueish components, i think. (I had to learn that, but, well, i forgot the exact reason.)

Actually the standard issue flashlight has four colour filters: Red, yellow and blue, so you can use it for colour coded signalling.

[TLAM Strike]

I don’t know if this is still done but on some US nuc boats (and probably the diesels too) in the 60’s and 70’s they had red lights on all the time in the crew berths since it was more night like.

I remember they mentioned it in the book “Spy Sub”.

[TLAM Strike]

I know as a pilot, that red light is what you would use if you were using a flashlight in the cockpit at night, as it doesnt screw up your night adjusted vision when you look back outside of the aircraft.....perhaps this is another reason? Down side of that is hydraulic fluid is red so its not visible in red light. Annoying when you need to find a leak at night at 10,000 feet on the plane refueling next to you. ;)

[Enigma]

If you notice during Hunt for Red October, the lights in that movie are simply so that the audience can disdinguish which boat they are looking at....Red for Red October, Blue on the Dalls, etc...

[TLAM Strike]

If you notice during Hunt for Red October, the lights in that movie are simply so that the audience can disdinguish which boat they are looking at....Red for Red October, Blue on the Dalls, etc... I seem to remember at one point Dallas "riged for red". :hmm:

[Wim Libaers]

I obviously can´t speak for WW2 sub crews, but the modern day german infantry uses blue instead of red. Preserves the night vision as well as red does and can´t be seen as far. Something about the ambient light having blueish components, i think. (I had to learn that, but, well, i forgot the exact reason.)

Actually the standard issue flashlight has four colour filters: Red, yellow and blue, so you can use it for colour coded signalling.

Four colour filters? What's the fourth one?

And yes, blue light doesn't attract the attention as much, is a bit harder to focus on, and has more propagation loss due to scattering in the atmosphere.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/rodcone.html

[TLAM Strike]

I obviously can´t speak for WW2 sub crews, but the modern day german infantry uses blue instead of red. Preserves the night vision as well as red does and can´t be seen as far. Something about the ambient light having blueish components, i think. (I had to learn that, but, well, i forgot the exact reason.)

Actually the standard issue flashlight has four colour filters: Red, yellow and blue, so you can use it for colour coded signalling.

Four colour filters? What's the fourth one?I seem to remember having one with a translucent and transparent white filters. But I got it second hand.

(Flashlight broken for many years now. :cry: )

[werauchimmer]

I obviously can´t speak for WW2 sub crews, but the modern day german infantry uses blue instead of red. Preserves the night vision as well as red does and can´t be seen as far. Something about the ambient light having blueish components, i think. (I had to learn that, but, well, i forgot the exact reason.)

Actually the standard issue flashlight has four colour filters: Red, yellow and blue, so you can use it for colour coded signalling.

Four colour filters? What's the fourth one?I seem to remember having one with a translucent and transparent white filters. But I got it second hand.

(Flashlight broken for many years now. :cry: )

On the older flashlights its not so much a colour than geometry: A dark filter with a small slit, so you can restrict the brightness. On some of the newer ones and/or some of the US models I saw with US troops it was a whitish, milky looking filter, serving much the same purpose I figure.

[Sailor Steve]

On our ship we always "Rigged for red" at night. I'm pretty sure everybody does that.

The blue lights in Das Boot indicated "silent running".

Can't speak to the realism of it, but it at least seems like a plausible idea.
That's the best explanation I've heard yet: it would be a constant visual reminder to stay quiet.

[VipertheSniper]

I've seen the movie 3 or 4 times, and I seem to recall that they say they're the emergency lights... which doesn't make much sense I think. Pretty sure it was all lights out, and then the 1WO says "Notbeleuchtung an"

Silent running is a good call tho.