The Making of "Das Boot"

[Kongo Otto]

Originally Posted by John Pancoast

Another tidbit; if I recall correctly, the scene where the watch crew member almost got washed overboard was not scripted.
It really was an accident and he really was injured.

Yes, he had one or two ribs broken, iirc.

Also worth mentioning that such events happened in reality quite often too, in October 1941 the whole bridge watch was washed overboard on U-106 during a severe storm.
It was only noticed when the peplacement watch entered the bridge.