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

[popcorn2721]

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.


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!".

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?
Thank You
Pops