Things I learned from watching U-571
 

* A 200-foot long stationary object is untouchable at 150 yards.
* A German supply submarine is a regular U-boat with an extra 20mm AA gun.
* A leaky 25-year old submarine is a prestigious command.
* A ship struck in the bow will explode deck-first in an enormous fireball.
* A torpedo can travel 400 yards in ten seconds
* A vessel that requires 45 men to operate efficiently can be operated with only six men (four of whom are on the bridge). These six men can also repair the vessel to working order in a few hours.
* American aircraft have convenient 10-foot tall "US NAVY" markings. On the TOP of the wings.
* Atlantic storms are usually accompanied by a mild rain shower.
* Being shot a dozen times at close range is a relatively clean affair.
* Black men weren't just 'token' in the '40s.
* British and German destroyers could drop about 60 depth charges at a time.
* Confusion will not take over when the captain orders a dive, but signals to surface on the diving alarm.
* Depth charges can crack your spine and knock your teeth out, but can't damage a submarine two feet away.
* Destroyers always appear out of nowhere.
* Destroyers usually take on the appearance of a large ocean-going tug.
* Diesel engines can be turned on 20 meters under water.
* Diesel fuel explodes in enormous fireballs.
* Each U-boat crewman was issued an MP-40.
* Everybody smoked in the 40s, but nobody actually inhaled.
* Fighter-sized patrol planes could operate in the mid-Atlantic.
* German destroyers regularly appeared in the North Atlantic in mid-1942.
* German U-boats had cozy lounges with leather sofas and expensive tables.
* It's okay to spray gunfire around in a cramped metal tube.
* It's possible to locate the exact location a crippled sub based on it's radio signals, which you can not decrypt.
* Mechanics hang out in one spot while being depth charged.
* Red light is all-encompassing.
* Submarine-mounted deck guns had laser-like accuracy.
* Submariners completely unadapted to a new submarine type adjust in about 45 seconds.
* Submarines in WWII routinely engaged in underwater dogfights.
* Submarines remain on the surface even after a crash dive has been ordered.
* The best way to attack an unescorted merchant at night is submerged, using the search periscope.
* The control panels on a German submarine are "all in German!"
* The electrician berserker squad was the most lethal German fighting force at the time.
* The French resistance could obtain extremely high-quality photographs, but could not obtain the subject of said photographs.
* The handle that activates the stern torpedo tube is located in the bilge.
* Torpedo tube inner doors (and the torpedoes within) can survive the water pressure at 700 feet.
* Torpedoes have 10,000-pound warheads.
* U-boat crewmen were never cross-trained to operate diesel engines.
* U-boats machine gunned survivors in lifeboats "every now and then".
* You can't hold your breath for six minutes straight.
* You should Wave your hands heroically while drowning instead of shouting "throw me a f**king rope!"

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Must include: Of course you can launch two torpedoes simultaneously....trim tanks....who needs trim tanks?

AHAHAWmygood goddess of laughter! :rotfl:
Most of these I didn't even register when I watched the film. :arrgh!:
Also... When a submarine is engaged by a German destroyer, it is perfectly feasible for the crew of said submarine to lure the destroyer into range of Allied aircraft.:smug:

That reminds of one of my favorite (read awful) quotes from that movie:

Wentz:"If we head for England, we're gonna go straight through the western approaches."
Sailor:"He's right... I mean, thats Jerry's backyard."

I wonder how many Germans who came under air attack would beg to differ? ;)

What i wondered, was where the hell were they were they thought they could lure that destroyer into allied air cover and "call in an air strike".


And they way they were talking, you'd swear they thought they could lure said destroyer submerged.. allll that way.. Suuuuurreeeeee they could.:roll:

the worst thing about U571 is its just a load of Hollywood b*ll*cks

The enigma codes were not captured that way or by the US but by the Royal Navy from 2 different submarines

U559
FateSunk 30 Oct, 1942 in the Mediterranean north-east of Port Said, in position 32.30N, 33.00E, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Pakenham, HMS Petard and HMS Hero and the British escort destroyers HMS Dulverton and HMS Hurworth, and a British Wellesley aircraft from RAF 47 Sqn. 7 dead and 38 survivors.
The boat was boarded by 3 men who had swum over to the sinking wreck. They went into the boat and captured several vital secret documents which greatly helped (some say, enabled) to break the German Enigma code machine. 2 of the 3 drowned inside the boat while still handing out files.

U110
FateCaptured on 9 May, 1941 in the North Atlantic south of Iceland by the destroyers HMS Bulldog, HMS Broadway and the British corvette HMS Aubretia. The boat was allowed to sink the day after to preserve the secret capture. 15 dead and 32 survivors.
"The Secret Capture"
U-110 met its end on May 9, 1941 when it was captured . This is what most people view as the most important capture of the entire war and it was so secret that even the crew of U-110 did not know of it! U-110, under the command of Kptlt. Fritz Julius Lemp, had been attacking a convoy along with U-201 (Oblt. Adalbert Schnee) when Lemp left his periscope up too long (probably to confirm a kill, he sank two ships on that day amounting to 7500 GRT) and the escort HMS Aubretia spotted it and rushed to the scene dropping depth charges.
U-110 survived the first attacks but then HMS Bulldog and HMS Broadway came and joined in the hunt. U-110 was forced to surface and HMS Bulldog immediately went onto ramming course (its commander realized at the very last moment that a capture might come off and tried to avoid hitting U-110 which he almost did) which Lemp noticed and ordered "Abandon Ship". Lemp figured that since the boat was going to be rammed (and presumably sunk) its secrets were safe within it. Only when he was in the water did he realize that the boat was not sinking and attempted to swim back and prevent capture and that was the last seen of him. Many say he was shot in the water by a British sailor but that may not be at all true.
The British made several journeys between U-110 and HMS Bulldog to collect whatever they could get their hands on inside the boat. This must have been a real treat as U-110 was abandoned in a hurry and being a IXB class she did not sink as rapidly as VIIC would likely have done. It is very likely that numerous U-boats were sunk using the material found inside U-110. The day after the boat was captured someone realized that the allies already had the most important part of U-110, namely the secret documents and Enigma machine and that the Germans might find out that the British had the boat soon and, assuming the worst, change all codes and cipher system. The boat thus "accidentally" sank when being towed to Britain. 15 men were killed in the action and 32 captured. Lemp himself did not survive as noted above.

No mention of the USN in there then lol

It's on Bravo right now.

Things I learnt from reading this thread:

• that BLACK and BLUE are not good font colours to use when one has the Admin Blue scheme.

"Diesel engines can be turned on 20 meters under water."

Well, that's true. They can be turned on 200 meters under water if you really want to. After they've sucked all the air out of everyone's lungs they'll sputter out. I'm sure it was a bad couple of seconds when heavy seas washed over the top of the schnorchel. ;)

Actually, the two worst things about U-571 are:

1) I saw it, therefore the knowledge of it is burned into my brain and
2) I'll never have those two hours back . . . ever

Now for a real discussion: which movie is worse, U-571 or Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, no question.


The thing about U-571 is it's oddly enough a suspense movie. I mean, it's meant as a action film, but all of it's action is built as dramatic suspense. Not really what I look for in film.

The tension in say Das Boot is very realistic, and not just Hollywood fun time.

:D

If you can shout your head is above the water
if your head is above the water you are not drowning

:D

U-571 is not that bad of a movie. Sure its not historically accurate, but its entertaining to watch. Who would want to watch a bunch of guys sail around all movie in a glorified pop can doing nothing. You can't use TC in the movies, so action is always happpening.

Since they were in a sub they needed something to attack for the plot, so they threw in a german destroyer.

I agree. It is a fun action movie !!

Well, none of the above. The worse is yet to come:

U-571 in Pearl Harbor (helping the Japanese):rotfl:

Personally i would rather have seen the real version of U571 with U110 inc the convoy attack and depthcharging/ramming now that would have been far more entertaining than some completely made up plot so far removed from the truth its unbelievable
And if it had been made by Peterson all the better still one can only hope
The trouble is there is a new generation of people ( in the US especially) that watch films such as U571 and dont know any different as far as the truth goes because of Hollywoods attitude to the war