The U-571 experience, or didnt your mommy tell you there was a destroyer up there?
 

Having been a sub simmer since I started playing Silent Service as a kid, all the way to SHIII (which has brought me the greatest pleasures Ive known as a gamer (thanks GWX team)) I know we've all been in a similar situation before, that's why I'm posting this in the SHIII forum and not in the general topics further down (please consider the parallels before thinking that this one is in the wrong forum, thank you).

So, Im watching U-571, which in itself is a pretty good movie, with a pretty high production value as far as special effects go and the story is solid too. Moving in the first couple of minutes we have a sub that gets discovered while sinking a merchant vessel.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...n2721/U571.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...721/u571-2.jpg
The sonar man says "Visa boomb!" or what translates to "depth charges"
"Hold on..The Tommies are crapping all over us" the Kalhoun says while hes calmly eating a lemon.
The first few explosions can be heard from a distance, like I said we've all been here before and can feel the immersive feelings of sweat and looking fearfully up towards the surface climbing deep inside us.
After the depth charges start the captain yells to "stop that leak" as the engineers simultaneously trying to stem the flow of fuel from a leak that started in the engine room with the first barrage of depth charges. The fuel is ignited from the sparks generated by the second barrage of depth charges (I counted 10 really close ones). So the engine room is on fire and leaks have been opened up all over and U-571 is dropping like a rock to 120 meters... at which time the captain orders to "Blow all tanks! Surface! Surface!".
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a4...721/u571-3.jpg
I can understand the captains orders, although from my own simulated experiences... I would have allowed a little more time for recovery while submerged (we all know that 120 meters isnt that deep, right?).

So the ballast tanks are blown and the boat takes takes its trip to the surface... when the sub breaches the water there is no destroyer, not a boat in site and the captain is informing the crew that "Everything is clear." and commands "Lookouts to the bridge!". He then hollers at the radioman to fire off a distress signal after assessing the damage reports. The distress signal is encoded, I get that but wouldn't the ship that just dropped the DCs turn around after the signal was intercepted and triangulated.

All in all I just want to know if there is an explanation for the destroyer dropping a truckload of depth charges and just not being there when the boat surfaces. I can see that its after dark when they surface but surely no destroyer captain would have given up and taken off that quickly. I like this movie, but this part in the first ten minutes has stricken a foul chord with me since the first time I saw the movie.
At the end of my rant and for those that read this long post i just want to know, what do you guys think?:ping:
Thank You
Pops

apparently you don't know what most of us subsim members think about that movie... :doh:

Yes I watched that film just after the U-Boat surfaced and no warship in sight
Is when I turned it off (ether they went into time compression underwater or the warship left the area at warp speed) :hmmm:

i watched it once & thought it was bull****,Das Boot is still the greatest Uboat movie follew by down periscope(not realistic but great for a laugh)

That film takes history and spits it out in american favour. Watch Das Boot for a true submarine experience:up:

Time compression? :rotfl:Good call.

I saw it for the first time last week, and there were many oddities. Not changing course when being depth charged (seemed to just wait for them to get closer), the destroyer surfacing incident, the looks of worry at 30 metres. Good effects though, and it was about u-boats. Though I'm sure there are plenty of real WWII stories left untold, so as to why they made one up /shrug

Thanks for the accurate translation...

Das Boot is one of the greatest movies made and what sub simmer would be without it in their video collection? Not I...lol

Being the smartass I am I have to say that the accurate translation is "Wasserbombe".:oops:

Don't think that I could classify sitting through U-571 as an experiance, more like an ordeal.

U-571 was the only way I could get my wife to look at a sub movie with me. (The 6-hour Das Boot version was too long for her though I kept explaining that she was missing the point of the boredom.)

During U-571 I kept explaining the errors/ommissions, lack of tactics, unrealistic story development, etc. until my wife just told me to be quiet and "enjoy" the movie.

Afterwards she said that the movie was "fun" to watch. :damn:

BP

Yeaa i get that a lot from my girl too..

As soon as the Americans are at sea Harvey Keitel as the COB shouts "Dive! Dive! Dive!" and rings the klaxon - three times.

At that point I realized the filmmakers had done exactly zero research into US submarine operations, and the rest of that piece of $#!+ showed me I was right. The one good thing that came out of it was some great sound effects for the Pacific Aces SH2 mod.

Goddammit! I was sure the correct one would've been 'Wasserbomben'. :damn:

I love german language, but german language hates me. :nope:

As for the movie, my favorite mistake is the one where they are already in the german uboat. They are standing on the bridge when the order comes to dive (I think it's when they blow their cover to the german destroyer), Andy is ALONE in the tower and yet as he yells orders, he looks straight towards the aft of the boat. Shouldnt he, you know, be yelling his orders down to the hatch? :haha:

The film is a disgrace. Completely disrespecting one of the most important moments in the whole war to favour an American agenda.

Sadly it happens all too often in American war films. You'd be hard-pressed to believe there was anyone else in the damn war when you watch half of them.

Again, am I the only one to point out that I never saw diesel oil that can be ignited with sparks? Or the U-571 had a new model of parafin/gasoline engines?