"Even though the beginning and the end of the film occur in the port of La Rochelle, it does not correspond historically. The
submarine base in La Rochelle was not functional before November 1941, and at the time of the film the port was dried up.
[2] Moreover, none of the British fighter-bombers of late 1941 to early 1942 had the range to bomb La Rochelle from bases in the U.K.; however, it is possible the fighters were carrier-based and not land based. While
Saint-Nazaire was the base used in the novel, the film was changed to La Rochelle because its appearance had not changed to such a large degree in the years following World War II."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot
Commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (
December 11,
1911 –
April 18,
1986) was a
German naval officer, and a
submarine commander during
World War II. He was among the top ten
Aces of the Deep during the
Second Battle of the Atlantic against the
Allies, in terms of tonnage of merchant ships sunk. He commanded four subs, most notable and successful of which was his tour commanding the
U-96, a
Type VII U-boat, which gained large recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying war
correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim. It eventually would be made into a mini-series and film called
Das Boot, where he was portrayed by
Jürgen Prochnow. He was a consultant on the movie and on the set.