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The Atlantic.
Britain's lifeline.
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Treacherous enough in peacetime,
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00:00:18,978 --> 00:00:22,106
in war, black with menace.
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U-boat packs stalk through the night.
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00:00:28,362 --> 00:00:32,992
Knowing the danger,
their victims still plough on.
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00:01:07,359 --> 00:01:09,653
Ships and cargoes go down.
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Their crews - some of them - survive,
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but early in 1943
it is Britain's survival
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and the Allied hopes for victory
over Germany which are in doubt.
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00:02:20,975 --> 00:02:24,019
When war began,
Britain saw Germany's big ships
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as the main threat to her sea trade.
12
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So did the Germans.
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Germany's surface raiders
savaged the merchant fleet
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on which Britain depended
for much of her food,
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most of her raw materials,
and all of her oil.
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00:03:01,932 --> 00:03:05,269
Germany's U-boats
were to operate in coastal waters,
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sweeping up anything left
by the battleships.
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Both Britain and Germany were wrong.
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The real naval menace
was to be the U-boat.
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At least one man knew this -
Karl Doenitz, chief of the U-boat arm.
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He could've been wrong too, if Hitler
had delayed his war with Britain
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until all the battleships planned
for the German Navy had been built.
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As it was, Doenitz was certain
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that with enough submarines,
he could win the war at sea.
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He had proved it to himself
20 years before.
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In October 1918,
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I was captain of a submarine
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in the Mediterranean near Malta.
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In a dark night I met a British convoy
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with cruisers and destroyers
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and I attacked
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and I sank a ship,
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but the chance would have been
very much greater
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if there had been a lot of submarines.
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00:04:15,547 --> 00:04:22,638
That's why the idea of a wolf pack,
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to put the submarines together
that they could attack together,
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was very impressive,
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00:04:31,689 --> 00:04:37,987
and that's why in all the years
from 1918
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until the year 1935
40
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when we had the first submarines again
in the German Navy
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I never had forgotten this idea.
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Underwater,
the 1939 U-boat was slow.
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On the surface, it was faster
than any convoy of merchant ships.
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With its low silhouette it could not
be seen easily, especially at night.
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But its targets were outlined clearly
against the sky...
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and with radio, the U-boats could
quickly assemble into hunting packs.
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Doenitz knew Britain would try
to protect essential Atlantic trade
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by a system of convoys
escorted by warships.
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00:05:44,845 --> 00:05:48,307
To attack these convoys,
Doenitz wanted 300 U-boats.
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00:05:48,432 --> 00:05:50,768
When the war started he had only 26.
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00:05:50,851 --> 00:05:54,229
And these boats had long,
dangerous voyages from base
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before they could reach their targets.
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00:05:57,941 --> 00:05:59,777
When France fell,
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Doenitz gained new bases
much nearer the shipping routes.
55
00:06:08,494 --> 00:06:13,374
His Sea Wolves returned
to these French ports as heroes.
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00:06:15,125 --> 00:06:17,795
One especial hero was Otto Kretschmer.
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00:06:17,878 --> 00:06:22,216
In all, Kretschmer sank over a quarter
of a million tons of British shipping.
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00:06:22,299 --> 00:06:26,678
In October 1940,
he joined the first real wolf pack.
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I remember that there was a signal
that a convoy was coming in
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from America to England
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and that its position was not known
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and that Doenitz ordered
all the submarines there,
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to the west of Ireland,
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to form a sort of recce line,
a stationary recce line,
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to let the convoy pass through.
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And when the first submarine was sighted
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the convoy made a signal,
its contact signal,
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and this recce line
was dissolved automatically,
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00:07:06,969 --> 00:07:10,305
and every boat was free
to go in for the attack.
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00:07:11,515 --> 00:07:16,103
Convoy SC-7,
on the night of 17 October 1940,
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was passing Rockall.
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34 merchantmen, four small escort ships.
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Seven U-boats attacked on the surface.
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00:07:25,446 --> 00:07:30,325
The attack took the same form
as that we were used to,
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which was a single ship being struck.
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Very shortly after
that a second one was struck,
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and then, within a matter
of five to ten minutes,
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further ships were struck.
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I tried to get through the escorts
into the convoy,
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which was my own peculiarity
of attacking,
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and failed the first time.
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They saw me and shot star shells
so that I had to draw away again.
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00:08:08,197 --> 00:08:12,326
But the second time I succeeded
and was inside the convoy
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going up and down the lanes looking
for the most important, valuable ships
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and had the opportunity
to expend all torpedoes.
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I had 12 in all.
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00:08:26,131 --> 00:08:32,262
I could see ships
in various stages of sinking.
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A Dutch ship had stopped
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and was attempting to pick up survivors,
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00:08:38,727 --> 00:08:41,647
and whilst I actually
watched her doing this
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00:08:41,730 --> 00:08:44,233
and was considering what to do about it,
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she also herself was torpedoed.
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This, along with another torpedoing,
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set the whole place ablaze.
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That night 17 merchantmen,
exactly half the convoy, were sunk.
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The escorts had not been able
to damage a single U-boat.
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I don't think I had ever seen more
than one ship sunk at a time before,
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00:09:10,300 --> 00:09:13,720
and this was something
very different indeed.
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This really was the first time
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that these tactics could be
experienced by all of us
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and also by Doenitz himself,
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who, of course, knew it
only from our peacetime training.
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And the whole night, I think,
was a success.
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00:09:32,739 --> 00:09:35,784
It was called
the Night of the Long Knives
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because so many ships were sunk.
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00:09:42,165 --> 00:09:44,876
In the first nine months of the war,
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the Allies lost over 2 million tons
of merchant shipping.
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In the next six months,
with the U-boats operating from France,
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nearly 2.5 million tons more went down.
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There were medals galore.
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U-boat crews called this
"the happy time".
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I saw the ship going up,
the stern going underwater.
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She went right up on end,
then backwards.
114
00:10:31,882 --> 00:10:34,968
And I went down with her.
After a bit I came to the surface,
115
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and I was still sitting
on the overturned bridge boat,
116
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when I saw the submarine surfacing.
117
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He went round and started picking up
cases out of the water -
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general cargo, possibly spirits,
foodstuff and so forth.
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00:10:50,776 --> 00:10:53,195
They looked at us,
circled round for a bit,
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00:10:53,278 --> 00:10:55,947
laughed at us
and went away to the northeast.
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00:10:56,031 --> 00:11:00,118
They never asked if we had any water,
if we had any damages or anything else.
122
00:11:00,202 --> 00:11:03,830
And we were left
floating amongst wreckage in one boat.
123
00:11:03,914 --> 00:11:07,417
We were halfway
between Brazil and North Africa.
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00:11:07,501 --> 00:11:09,836
The only thing I could think about
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00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:13,382
was trying to get to the land
as near as possible,
126
00:11:13,465 --> 00:11:17,135
so I set the course
as near as I could to the northeast.
127
00:11:17,260 --> 00:11:21,390
All we had was the one lifeboat,
which was made for 48 people.
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We picked up 58.
129
00:11:24,101 --> 00:11:28,313
There wasn't really room enough
for anybody to sit down.
130
00:11:28,397 --> 00:11:34,236
The boat was leaking badly through
being on the chocks for some time.
131
00:11:34,319 --> 00:11:38,198
You had quite a bit of trouble getting
the crew to move so you could bail,
132
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and you bailed for nearly two days
133
00:11:40,992 --> 00:11:46,331
until the wood of the boat
started to swell and to tighten up.
134
00:11:46,415 --> 00:11:49,084
After that it wasn't so bad.
135
00:11:49,167 --> 00:11:51,878
The worst days, of course,
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00:11:51,962 --> 00:11:54,381
were when there was no wind.
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00:11:54,464 --> 00:11:57,426
Absolutely becalmed.
138
00:11:57,509 --> 00:11:59,386
The sun was terrific.
139
00:11:59,469 --> 00:12:03,014
So we started off
by giving 4oz of water -
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00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:07,227
2oz in the morning and 2oz at night-
and one biscuit.
141
00:12:07,310 --> 00:12:10,355
There was a lot of noise in the boat.
There were Chinese.
142
00:12:10,439 --> 00:12:12,399
I said, "What's all the bobbery?"
143
00:12:12,482 --> 00:12:15,360
Which is a lot of talky-talky,
you know.
144
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He said, "I think number one
fireman go crazy."
145
00:12:19,823 --> 00:12:24,411
So he eventually jumped over the side
with a lifejacket on.
146
00:12:24,494 --> 00:12:28,123
And after a wee while
we got him back again.
147
00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:34,713
And later that night in the darkness
he jumped again.
148
00:12:34,796 --> 00:12:39,092
We didn't get him back
because the sharks got him.
149
00:12:39,176 --> 00:12:40,886
On the morning of the 13th -
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00:12:40,969 --> 00:12:45,140
I'd sit on the water barrel
to make sure nobody helped themselves -
151
00:12:45,223 --> 00:12:49,644
and somebody shook me and said, "Hey,
Captain, we see lights, green lights."
152
00:12:49,728 --> 00:12:52,773
"Oh," I said,
"you're dreaming, you're dreaming."
153
00:12:52,856 --> 00:12:55,567
And I looked round
and I saw some green lights.
154
00:12:55,650 --> 00:12:59,237
It looked to me like New Brighton pier.
I couldn't make it out.
155
00:12:59,321 --> 00:13:01,615
So I said, "Well, burn a flare."
156
00:13:01,698 --> 00:13:05,702
They burned a flare. Jimmy said,
"Burn another flare."
157
00:13:05,786 --> 00:13:07,788
They burned another flare.
158
00:13:07,871 --> 00:13:13,168
And after a bit I saw the green lights
getting closer. More visible.
159
00:13:13,251 --> 00:13:16,421
Then after a bit
I saw a red light above the green,
160
00:13:16,505 --> 00:13:19,883
and then it dawned on me
that it was a hospital ship.
161
00:13:22,177 --> 00:13:24,763
The U-boats had eyes in the air.
162
00:13:24,846 --> 00:13:29,392
Focke-Wulf Condor aircraft
could range 1,000 miles out to sea
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to scout for convoys.
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00:13:35,857 --> 00:13:40,695
When used to bomb shipping,
the Condors sank 30 ships in two months.
165
00:13:40,779 --> 00:13:42,113
Luckily for Britain,
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this partnership with the U-boat
was never properly exploited.
167
00:13:49,788 --> 00:13:53,458
But Doenitz did exploit the fact
that German naval intelligence
168
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had broken the British codes.
169
00:13:58,338 --> 00:14:02,092
We were aware that the intelligence
for some reason was good,
170
00:14:02,175 --> 00:14:07,931
but I myself put this down
to very superior hydrophone equipment
171
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that the submarines had,
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00:14:10,058 --> 00:14:12,936
that the U-boats had in their boats,
173
00:14:13,019 --> 00:14:17,190
probably being able to pick up
the noise of a convoy's propellers
174
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up to 80 or even 100 miles.
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But in addition,
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I know that they would place
their U-boats
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in a line across, at right angles
to the expected line of the convoy.
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00:14:32,205 --> 00:14:38,712
And this line for, say, five U-boats,
could be 100 miles from end to end.
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00:14:38,795 --> 00:14:41,006
And so with good hydrophones,
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00:14:41,089 --> 00:14:46,344
very little disguise of the position
of a convoy could be effected.
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00:14:46,428 --> 00:14:50,557
It was only after the war that we knew
that they were breaking the codes
182
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:52,893
and that they knew very well
183
00:14:52,976 --> 00:14:56,104
the time of leaving port
that the convoys had
184
00:14:56,229 --> 00:14:58,440
and how many escorts there were
185
00:14:58,523 --> 00:15:01,568
and how many merchant ships
in each convoy.
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00:15:13,788 --> 00:15:17,375
The Royal Navy,
searching for U-boats underwater,
187
00:15:17,459 --> 00:15:21,713
had pinned its faith on asdic,
an echo-sounding device.
188
00:15:44,277 --> 00:15:47,489
But U-boats were attacking convoys
on the surface.
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00:15:47,572 --> 00:15:49,658
The navy was not prepared for this.
190
00:15:49,741 --> 00:15:52,035
Convoy defence
is not very glamorous
191
00:15:52,118 --> 00:15:54,746
and between the wars,
I think rather naturally,
192
00:15:54,829 --> 00:15:59,292
the navy were inclined to concentrate
on more glamorous activities
193
00:15:59,376 --> 00:16:01,962
like great mass torpedo attacks
194
00:16:02,045 --> 00:16:03,922
and that sort of thing.
195
00:16:04,005 --> 00:16:07,008
All the information about the lessons
196
00:16:07,092 --> 00:16:09,469
of World War I were available.
197
00:16:09,594 --> 00:16:13,139
For those who wanted to read them,
the lessons were there.
198
00:16:13,223 --> 00:16:15,183
But I'm afraid no one bothered.
199
00:16:15,266 --> 00:16:19,896
And as a result trade defence
as a whole, was very badly neglected.
200
00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:22,440
The neglect continued.
201
00:16:22,524 --> 00:16:26,194
In the early days,
convoys could only be escorted
202
00:16:26,277 --> 00:16:29,698
for about 300 miles
from each Atlantic coast.
203
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:37,247
There just weren't enough escort ships.
204
00:16:37,330 --> 00:16:41,835
Those available lacked endurance and
their crews were virtually untrained.
205
00:16:41,918 --> 00:16:45,422
My officers were RNVR officers.
206
00:16:45,505 --> 00:16:49,426
One was a civil engineer by profession.
207
00:16:49,509 --> 00:16:54,514
The other two were
Canadian sub-lieutenants,
208
00:16:55,598 --> 00:17:00,729
both of the age of between 20 and 21,
209
00:17:00,812 --> 00:17:04,065
who had come from Canada as passengers
210
00:17:04,149 --> 00:17:08,403
and that was their seagoing experience.
211
00:17:08,486 --> 00:17:12,949
The heads of department were regulars -
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00:17:13,033 --> 00:17:16,119
some of them had retired
and called back -
213
00:17:16,202 --> 00:17:21,041
and there were two or three seamen
who were of the pukka service,
214
00:17:21,124 --> 00:17:24,461
and the rest were straight in.
215
00:17:32,510 --> 00:17:36,598
Air cover was to prove all-important,
216
00:17:36,681 --> 00:17:40,351
but surprisingly the navy's carriers
did not at first supply it.
217
00:17:40,435 --> 00:17:44,355
That task went to the RAF, although
Coastal Command was ill prepared.
218
00:17:44,439 --> 00:17:48,985
With the exception of Sunderland
flying boats, a very small number,
219
00:17:49,069 --> 00:17:52,530
all the other aircraft
except the Anson were lash-ups.
220
00:17:52,614 --> 00:17:56,743
They were borrowed
from entirely dissimilar functions
221
00:17:56,826 --> 00:17:59,162
in order to do this job
in Coastal Command.
222
00:17:59,245 --> 00:18:02,499
Secondly, the navigation aids
were not there.
223
00:18:02,624 --> 00:18:05,043
It was entirely dead-reckoning
navigation.
224
00:18:05,126 --> 00:18:08,338
And whereas an experienced navigator
can look at the sea,
225
00:18:08,421 --> 00:18:11,883
estimate the wind and where
he's likely to be in an hour's time,
226
00:18:11,966 --> 00:18:14,886
this is very difficult for a new boy.
227
00:18:14,969 --> 00:18:21,017
And since the point to be navigated to,
the convoy, was often equally at error,
228
00:18:21,101 --> 00:18:23,978
it was no wonder that we failed
to meet many convoys.
229
00:18:24,062 --> 00:18:28,900
So lack of equipment,
lack of training and unsuitable aircraft
230
00:18:28,983 --> 00:18:32,362
were certainly severe handicaps
at the beginning of the war.
231
00:18:32,445 --> 00:18:36,449
What is more, cooperation between
the navy and the air force in the field,
232
00:18:36,533 --> 00:18:40,745
while they're at sea,
was very bad indeed,
233
00:18:40,829 --> 00:18:45,333
mainly due to stupid quarrels
between senior officers in Whitehall.
234
00:18:47,710 --> 00:18:52,173
It took nearly two years before we had
anything like the right cooperation
235
00:18:52,257 --> 00:18:54,551
between ships and aircraft.
236
00:18:54,634 --> 00:18:56,761
It was a disgrace and a tragedy.
237
00:18:56,845 --> 00:19:00,431
So many ships were sunk
and so many lives lost unnecessarily
238
00:19:00,515 --> 00:19:02,350
during those first few years.
239
00:19:02,892 --> 00:19:04,769
So seamen suffer
240
00:19:04,853 --> 00:19:09,941
from quarrels in Whitehall,
from the U-boats and from the sea.
241
00:19:10,024 --> 00:19:14,445
Now by popular request,
the Western Approaches signature tune.
242
00:19:15,071 --> 00:19:20,201
♪ Someone's rocking my dream boat
243
00:19:20,285 --> 00:19:24,914
♪ Someone's invading my dream
244
00:19:24,998 --> 00:19:30,336
♪ We were sailing along
so peaceful and calm
245
00:19:30,420 --> 00:19:35,341
♪ Suddenly something went wrong
246
00:19:35,425 --> 00:19:41,598
It's very hard to describe to someone
on the land after a tough convoy -
247
00:19:41,681 --> 00:19:43,892
by tough I mean bad weather,
248
00:19:43,975 --> 00:19:46,561
especially in the wintertime -
249
00:19:46,644 --> 00:19:49,105
what just over two weeks at sea is,
250
00:19:49,189 --> 00:19:51,858
living on corned beef and hard tack.
251
00:19:51,941 --> 00:19:55,153
And this is not a fallacy.
252
00:19:55,236 --> 00:19:56,988
We used to do this quite often
253
00:19:57,071 --> 00:20:00,074
when the seas came in
and put the galley fires out.
254
00:20:00,158 --> 00:20:03,119
You couldn't just cook anything hot.
255
00:20:03,203 --> 00:20:04,913
The lucky ones had hammocks
256
00:20:04,996 --> 00:20:08,082
and the unfortunate ones
had to lie on the lockers,
257
00:20:08,166 --> 00:20:10,084
and it was very discomforting.
258
00:20:10,168 --> 00:20:14,797
You used to get chaps coming down
from the middle watch, four o'clock,
259
00:20:14,881 --> 00:20:17,717
wet through,
just clambering on a locker
260
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,262
and the poor chap already
trying to sleep would get soaked.
261
00:20:21,346 --> 00:20:23,306
There was no hygiene there.
262
00:20:23,389 --> 00:20:28,645
We really started smelling after
about a week if you didn't watch it.
263
00:20:28,728 --> 00:20:31,105
We had a feeling
that it was a necessary job.
264
00:20:31,189 --> 00:20:34,442
I'm not sure we realised
that it was all that important.
265
00:20:34,525 --> 00:20:36,819
To us it was a very boring job.
266
00:20:36,903 --> 00:20:43,117
We were on lookout for anything that
might come up and it was bitterly cold.
267
00:20:43,201 --> 00:20:46,579
It was an open bridge,
open to all weathers,
268
00:20:46,663 --> 00:20:51,251
and we were more, really,
trying to keep warm,
269
00:20:51,334 --> 00:20:55,338
trying to keep the cold out,
trying to keep dry,
270
00:20:55,421 --> 00:20:59,217
rather than realise
that we were doing an important job.
271
00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:03,012
But they were
doing an important job.
272
00:21:05,848 --> 00:21:12,105
They brought the cargoes, without which
Britain could not have kept going.
273
00:21:16,734 --> 00:21:19,737
You sit down in the cabin.
That's when you think:
274
00:21:19,821 --> 00:21:22,740
"We're in the open sea,
we can catch a pack at any moment."
275
00:21:28,079 --> 00:21:30,873
Many times
we saw little lights in the water
276
00:21:30,957 --> 00:21:36,713
and we assumed these were survivors,
but we couldn't stop and pick them up.
277
00:21:38,381 --> 00:21:42,010
The normal comparison
that seamen made with their wage
278
00:21:42,093 --> 00:21:46,264
for the hours that they worked
was with the ammunition workers,
279
00:21:46,347 --> 00:21:49,142
who were making
a fabulous amount of money,
280
00:21:49,225 --> 00:21:52,937
with no more risks
than our housewives left at home.
281
00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:01,738
We lost one out of every
three men, and without them
282
00:22:01,821 --> 00:22:05,783
this nation wouldn't have survived
more than three or four months.
283
00:22:07,660 --> 00:22:10,496
But the Germans were still celebrating.
284
00:22:11,622 --> 00:22:17,253
In the first half of 1941 they sank
nearly three million tons of shipping.
285
00:22:17,337 --> 00:22:20,423
Ships were harder to replace than cargo.
286
00:22:20,506 --> 00:22:26,429
If they could be sunk faster than they
could be built, Britain would starve.
287
00:22:33,353 --> 00:22:36,689
But now the Canadian navy,
tiny at the outbreak of war,
288
00:22:36,773 --> 00:22:39,442
was expanding to 50 times
its original size.
289
00:22:39,525 --> 00:22:45,823
It would take on nearly half the burden
of convoy escort in the north Atlantic.
290
00:22:58,211 --> 00:23:00,755
More and more convoys
were leaving Canada,
291
00:23:00,838 --> 00:23:03,925
decks laden with tanks,
holds full of supplies
292
00:23:04,050 --> 00:23:07,387
from the neutral United States
under lease-lend.
293
00:23:15,353 --> 00:23:18,564
Alarmed at continuing losses,
the British war cabinet
294
00:23:18,648 --> 00:23:23,069
set up a new Western Approaches
Command to reorganise convoy defence.
295
00:23:23,152 --> 00:23:29,409
For the first time, the RAF and the navy
worked closely together.
296
00:23:34,705 --> 00:23:39,335
And in March 1941,
Doenitz lost three of his ablest men.
297
00:23:44,924 --> 00:23:50,179
Günther Prien, who had sunk
the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow...
298
00:23:50,805 --> 00:23:54,016
depth-charged and killed.
299
00:23:54,100 --> 00:23:57,395
Joachim Schepke, rammed and drowned.
300
00:24:01,315 --> 00:24:05,319
And Kretschmer,
depth-charged to the surface...
301
00:24:11,075 --> 00:24:13,411
and taken prisoner.
302
00:24:17,707 --> 00:24:22,253
Only one third of Doenitz's fleet
could be on patrol at any one time.
303
00:24:22,336 --> 00:24:25,339
His best captains had suddenly gone.
304
00:24:25,423 --> 00:24:28,759
Now he could only keep
some half dozen U-boats at sea.
305
00:24:28,843 --> 00:24:31,429
With this small number of U-boats,
306
00:24:31,512 --> 00:24:35,308
of course any decisive success
307
00:24:35,391 --> 00:24:38,936
in the battle of the Atlantic
was not possible.
308
00:24:39,770 --> 00:24:45,526
That's why it was necessary
for the building of submarines
309
00:24:45,610 --> 00:24:51,699
to get first place
in the German armament plan.
310
00:24:51,782 --> 00:24:54,327
But this was not done,
311
00:24:54,410 --> 00:24:58,164
in spite of all the requests
312
00:24:58,247 --> 00:25:01,083
made by Admiral Raeder,
313
00:25:01,167 --> 00:25:04,670
who then was chief of the German navy.
314
00:25:05,713 --> 00:25:08,090
Worse was to come for him.
315
00:25:08,216 --> 00:25:11,552
The United States
was still officially neutral.
316
00:25:11,636 --> 00:25:15,181
General quarters,
general quarters. On the double.
317
00:25:15,890 --> 00:25:19,810
But after Churchill's
Atlantic meeting with Roosevelt,
318
00:25:19,894 --> 00:25:24,106
September 1941, America announced she
would protect ships of any nationality
319
00:25:24,190 --> 00:25:27,360
plying between her shores and Iceland.
320
00:25:33,241 --> 00:25:34,951
There were now enough warships
321
00:25:35,034 --> 00:25:37,912
to provide continuous escort
across the Atlantic.
322
00:25:37,995 --> 00:25:39,872
It was time to counterattack.
323
00:25:39,956 --> 00:25:45,044
I got hold of
a number of escort commanders,
324
00:25:45,127 --> 00:25:48,130
who I asked the question:
325
00:25:48,214 --> 00:25:52,343
"When a U-boat is known
to be attacking a convoy,
326
00:25:52,426 --> 00:25:54,512
as they do now by night",
327
00:25:54,595 --> 00:25:57,640
I asked them what they did,
328
00:25:57,723 --> 00:26:02,520
and the answer in most cases was,
"Well, what can you do?"
329
00:26:02,603 --> 00:26:06,023
"It's a very tiny little thing
and we can't see them."
330
00:26:06,107 --> 00:26:12,488
Radar, of course, in those days was very
elementary and we had very few sets.
331
00:26:12,572 --> 00:26:17,285
But in fact there was
one escort commander
332
00:26:17,368 --> 00:26:19,996
who had the idea,
333
00:26:20,079 --> 00:26:22,456
which is still absolutely relevant,
334
00:26:22,540 --> 00:26:28,796
that when an attack, of which
there is no warning, takes place,
335
00:26:28,879 --> 00:26:33,384
that all of the escort
should do the same sort of thing
336
00:26:33,467 --> 00:26:36,053
on a planned line
337
00:26:36,137 --> 00:26:38,556
at exactly the same time
338
00:26:38,639 --> 00:26:45,187
so that it has the maximum effect
over the broad ocean around that convoy.
339
00:26:45,271 --> 00:26:49,317
And this, of course,
was the then Commander Walker.
340
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,986
Although he did not survive the war,
341
00:26:52,111 --> 00:26:55,114
Walker was to sink more U-boats
than anyone else.
342
00:26:55,239 --> 00:26:59,368
At the end of 1941
he set a new style for convoy defence.
343
00:26:59,452 --> 00:27:02,371
The convoy was HG-76.
344
00:27:02,455 --> 00:27:05,875
In it were 36 merchantmen
from all parts of the world.
345
00:27:05,958 --> 00:27:10,588
They assembled in Gibraltar
for the trudge to Britain.
346
00:27:17,845 --> 00:27:21,474
The navy knew there were at least
six U-boats on the convoy's route -
347
00:27:21,557 --> 00:27:25,102
their signals had been picked up
by the admiralty.
348
00:27:27,605 --> 00:27:32,026
When HG-76 sailed
on 14 December 1941,
349
00:27:32,109 --> 00:27:37,281
it had an exceptionally large escort -
17 ships commanded by Walker.
350
00:27:37,365 --> 00:27:42,203
Among them, for the first time,
an auxiliary aircraft carrier,
351
00:27:42,286 --> 00:27:43,329
the Audacity.
352
00:27:45,665 --> 00:27:49,960
Three days out,
Audacity's plane spotted U-131.
353
00:27:55,549 --> 00:27:57,802
The escorts quickly sank her.
354
00:28:06,811 --> 00:28:10,773
Doenitz homed five more U-boats
on the convoy.
355
00:28:13,693 --> 00:28:16,237
Walker's team soon sank one.
356
00:28:17,738 --> 00:28:20,408
But that night
the U-boats attacked again.
357
00:28:22,618 --> 00:28:27,331
An escort and a merchant ship were sunk.
Walker counterattacked.
358
00:28:40,136 --> 00:28:44,223
Walker's own ship
rammed and sank U-574.
359
00:28:45,349 --> 00:28:49,603
In the air, Audacity's fighters
harried the German Condors.
360
00:28:50,896 --> 00:28:54,483
One was destroyed. Others were damaged.
361
00:28:57,194 --> 00:29:01,240
But some escorts were running
out of fuel. They had to leave.
362
00:29:01,323 --> 00:29:04,618
A U-boat penetrated the gap.
363
00:29:04,702 --> 00:29:07,246
Audacity was the next victim.
364
00:29:12,543 --> 00:29:16,881
Another hectic night followed.
The convoy lost one more ship.
365
00:29:16,964 --> 00:29:21,385
But Endrass, another U-boat ace
was sunk in U-567.
366
00:29:21,469 --> 00:29:24,889
Next day, for the first time,
a long-range Liberator
367
00:29:24,972 --> 00:29:26,515
appeared and attacked.
368
00:29:29,643 --> 00:29:32,563
Doenitz decided he must withdraw.
369
00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:38,402
Walker had justified his tactics.
370
00:29:38,486 --> 00:29:41,405
Aircraft had proved their worth.
371
00:29:43,532 --> 00:29:46,619
Four U-boats had been sunk.
372
00:29:46,702 --> 00:29:51,791
But Doenitz was about to be given
his greatest opportunity.
373
00:29:56,545 --> 00:30:01,050
In December 1941, the United States
came fully into the war -
374
00:30:01,133 --> 00:30:03,260
but left her peacetime lights on.
375
00:30:17,316 --> 00:30:20,653
Doenitz's U-boats never had it so good.
376
00:30:23,405 --> 00:30:26,325
This was the second "happy time".
377
00:30:30,204 --> 00:30:34,250
The Americans did not have enough
warships available for offshore escort
378
00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:36,669
so there were no convoys there.
379
00:30:36,752 --> 00:30:39,922
Many ships were convoyed
safely across the ocean
380
00:30:40,005 --> 00:30:44,176
to be torpedoed
alone and unescorted offshore.
381
00:30:49,974 --> 00:30:52,059
The slaughter went on.
382
00:30:52,142 --> 00:30:53,936
In the second half of 1941
383
00:30:54,019 --> 00:30:57,356
nearly 1.5 million tons of shipping
were lost.
384
00:30:57,439 --> 00:31:03,237
In the first half of 1942 over
4 million tons of shipping were lost-
385
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:06,115
1,000 ships.
386
00:31:07,992 --> 00:31:11,412
At this rate,
the Allies would lose the war.
387
00:31:11,495 --> 00:31:16,500
We had to sink as many ships as possible
388
00:31:16,584 --> 00:31:20,963
before our Anglo-American opponent
389
00:31:21,046 --> 00:31:27,803
could develop
an effective antisubmarine defence
390
00:31:27,887 --> 00:31:33,684
and could replace the merchant ships
which had been sunk.
391
00:31:36,562 --> 00:31:40,566
But most of Germany's
U-boats were not in the Atlantic.
392
00:31:40,649 --> 00:31:44,904
They were patrolling off Norway,
defending Germany's supply lines,
393
00:31:44,987 --> 00:31:46,989
or confined in the Mediterranean.
394
00:31:47,072 --> 00:31:50,117
These dispositions infuriated Doenitz.
395
00:31:51,619 --> 00:31:54,663
He had no doubts
where the U-boats ought to be.
396
00:31:54,747 --> 00:32:01,128
The German submarines
must not be used for any other purposes.
397
00:32:01,211 --> 00:32:07,343
Their main strategic purpose
was to sink as many ships as possible
398
00:32:07,426 --> 00:32:09,511
in the Atlantic.
399
00:32:12,014 --> 00:32:16,101
But Hitler and the high command
would not listen.
400
00:32:30,491 --> 00:32:33,327
Although preoccupied with the Pacific,
401
00:32:33,410 --> 00:32:36,872
the US naval staff were now willing
to rethink Atlantic tactics.
402
00:32:38,499 --> 00:32:42,002
They finally established
a system of offshore convoys.
403
00:32:48,133 --> 00:32:50,803
Sinkings of merchantmen dropped off.
404
00:32:50,886 --> 00:32:53,389
Sinkings of U-boats began.
405
00:33:02,189 --> 00:33:04,900
Doenitz now switched his boats
to the Caribbean,
406
00:33:04,984 --> 00:33:09,113
where many ships
were still sailing independently.
407
00:33:29,049 --> 00:33:33,595
In two months,
78 ships were sunk,
408
00:33:33,679 --> 00:33:36,807
more than half of them oil tankers.
409
00:33:36,890 --> 00:33:40,477
It was a very long time ago,
but I can see it now -
410
00:33:40,561 --> 00:33:44,481
the people that lived aft
running around on fire
411
00:33:44,606 --> 00:33:48,444
and throwing themselves
straight over the side into the oil
412
00:33:48,527 --> 00:33:50,487
which was on fire all round.
413
00:33:50,571 --> 00:33:54,450
In the meantime, I shouted
to the remaining people in the boat
414
00:33:54,533 --> 00:33:57,494
to get the oars out
and push her off from the ship's side
415
00:33:57,578 --> 00:34:01,540
because the rivets of the ship's side
had burst out and they were on fire.
416
00:34:01,623 --> 00:34:05,544
We rowed around for a wee while
and we heard some screams for help,
417
00:34:05,627 --> 00:34:12,259
and we pulled out of the water
a fireman, or greaser as we call them,
418
00:34:12,342 --> 00:34:17,056
and he was terribly burned,
so much so that when we pulled him in
419
00:34:17,181 --> 00:34:21,810
the skin of his body and arms
came off in our hands like gloves.
420
00:34:21,894 --> 00:34:28,150
We set sail and course for Trinidad.
I had a rough idea where it might be.
421
00:34:28,233 --> 00:34:31,445
And so we tidied up the boat
and set off.
422
00:34:31,528 --> 00:34:34,698
But shortly after that the greaser,
423
00:34:34,782 --> 00:34:38,577
who'd been in terrible agony all night,
he died,
424
00:34:38,660 --> 00:34:41,455
and we laid him on the thwart
for a wee while.
425
00:34:41,580 --> 00:34:47,669
And then shortly after that they told me
that the third steward had died too,
426
00:34:47,753 --> 00:34:53,258
so I went to have a look at him,
and he was wrapped up in a blanket,
427
00:34:53,342 --> 00:34:55,177
and I took the blanket away
428
00:34:55,260 --> 00:35:00,015
and the whole of his stomach was
severely damaged and hanging out.
429
00:35:00,099 --> 00:35:02,267
He'd been very patient during the night
430
00:35:02,351 --> 00:35:05,062
and the only thing
he'd complained of was cold.
431
00:35:05,145 --> 00:35:10,984
So we laid him on the thwart and covered
him with a blanket for about an hour,
432
00:35:11,110 --> 00:35:14,363
because I wanted to really make sure
that they were dead,
433
00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:17,324
because we had nothing to indicate...
434
00:35:17,407 --> 00:35:20,536
Everything I did indicated
that they were so.
435
00:35:20,619 --> 00:35:25,290
Eventually, after about an hour,
we committed them to the deep.
436
00:35:25,916 --> 00:35:28,752
Morale in the boat at this time
was very low
437
00:35:28,836 --> 00:35:35,217
because these were all young boys -
17, 18, 19, 22.
438
00:35:35,300 --> 00:35:41,557
And by this time it was a boat-load
of miseries, pain and death.
439
00:35:42,808 --> 00:35:47,479
Only eight men survived
from the San Emiliano's crew of 40.
440
00:35:53,110 --> 00:35:58,448
To Allied seamen
the U-boat crews were heartless killers,
441
00:35:58,532 --> 00:36:01,034
but the Germans were brave men too.
442
00:36:01,118 --> 00:36:04,621
They needed courage when depth charges
exploded around them,
443
00:36:04,705 --> 00:36:07,916
sometimes for 12 hours at a stretch.
444
00:36:11,295 --> 00:36:16,383
Eight of every ten U-boat crewmen
were to die in action.
445
00:36:38,488 --> 00:36:41,700
They called their U-boats iron coffins.
446
00:36:42,117 --> 00:36:46,205
The destroyer I met had radar
447
00:36:46,288 --> 00:36:49,541
so he had me on his screen
448
00:36:49,625 --> 00:36:54,087
and with full speed ahead
449
00:36:54,171 --> 00:36:58,008
he rammed me for the first time.
450
00:36:58,091 --> 00:37:01,553
And when I saw him
it was too late to dive.
451
00:37:01,637 --> 00:37:04,306
I tried to torpedo him,
452
00:37:04,389 --> 00:37:10,854
but the distance, 150 yards round about,
453
00:37:10,938 --> 00:37:16,610
was too close,
so the torpedo wouldn't explode.
454
00:37:16,693 --> 00:37:21,740
So I tried to get a bigger distance
455
00:37:21,823 --> 00:37:24,243
between the destroyer and the boat.
456
00:37:24,326 --> 00:37:29,915
And he was shooting during one hour
or two hours with machine guns.
457
00:37:29,998 --> 00:37:34,127
An officer next to me was dead
458
00:37:34,211 --> 00:37:38,882
and another officer,
he had got a bullet through his throat
459
00:37:38,966 --> 00:37:41,677
and I had got a bullet in my chest
460
00:37:41,802 --> 00:37:47,975
and I had some 30 shell splinters
in arm and leg
461
00:37:48,058 --> 00:37:50,269
and a bullet in my head.
462
00:37:50,352 --> 00:37:53,230
After one hour of stress
463
00:37:53,313 --> 00:37:55,899
the sailors were very anxious
464
00:37:56,024 --> 00:37:59,611
and one of the petty officers,
he lost his nerves
465
00:37:59,695 --> 00:38:04,866
and said, "Oh, this madman!"
and, "Why don't we surrender?"
466
00:38:04,950 --> 00:38:06,910
But this was the only one.
467
00:38:06,994 --> 00:38:11,373
But the time was coming
when courage was no longer enough.
468
00:38:16,503 --> 00:38:19,715
Radio had remained essential
to wolf-pack operations.
469
00:38:19,798 --> 00:38:23,885
But new Allied direction-finding
equipment could pick up German signals
470
00:38:23,969 --> 00:38:26,763
and plot where they came from.
471
00:38:46,742 --> 00:38:53,081
With short-wave radar, escorts could now
locate a U-boat on the surface...
472
00:38:54,541 --> 00:38:59,296
often sighting the U-boat
before her crew could see them.
473
00:39:00,672 --> 00:39:04,134
The low silhouette
was no longer such an advantage.
474
00:39:16,229 --> 00:39:19,024
Asdic equipment too was improving.
475
00:39:19,107 --> 00:39:21,777
Escort ships
could track a submerged U-boat
476
00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:26,198
as she twisted and turned
at low underwater speed.
477
00:39:32,329 --> 00:39:36,708
There were new weapons,
like the hedgehog, for the kill.
478
00:39:55,268 --> 00:39:59,564
The Germans did not realise the extent
of British and US technical advances,
479
00:39:59,648 --> 00:40:01,441
nor did they match them.
480
00:40:01,525 --> 00:40:04,236
The Germans had some very
high-class scientists
481
00:40:04,361 --> 00:40:06,113
and some excellent engineers,
482
00:40:06,196 --> 00:40:09,658
but they didn't achieve the results
they ought to have done.
483
00:40:09,741 --> 00:40:12,494
Firstly, I think,
because they were mucked around,
484
00:40:12,577 --> 00:40:15,080
and the Germans kept
altering the priorities,
485
00:40:15,163 --> 00:40:18,667
and secondly because
I don't believe they were ever allowed
486
00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:22,504
to take any interest
in the operational side,
487
00:40:22,587 --> 00:40:25,590
as opposed to what happened with us,
488
00:40:25,715 --> 00:40:30,595
where the scientists were made to feel
full members of the operational team.
489
00:40:30,679 --> 00:40:34,724
I believe this, much more than
the question of weapons and devices,
490
00:40:34,808 --> 00:40:40,105
was the reason why the Germans fell
so far astern in technological matters.
491
00:40:40,689 --> 00:40:43,692
And the Allies
were still behind in using
492
00:40:43,775 --> 00:40:46,945
what would be the most effective
counter to the U-boat -
493
00:40:47,028 --> 00:40:48,989
aircraft with radar.
494
00:40:58,290 --> 00:41:03,879
Convoys could seldom be given
continuous long-range air cover.
495
00:41:05,213 --> 00:41:09,718
When they were, losses were reduced
and U-boat kills increased.
496
00:41:21,229 --> 00:41:26,359
The problem was range. Planes now flew
to the convoys from North America,
497
00:41:26,443 --> 00:41:30,071
from Iceland, from the United Kingdom.
498
00:41:30,155 --> 00:41:33,200
But there was a vast gap
in mid-Atlantic
499
00:41:33,283 --> 00:41:36,661
which these escort planes
could not reach.
500
00:41:36,745 --> 00:41:39,247
The U-boats could and did.
501
00:41:42,375 --> 00:41:46,880
In the second half of 1942
over 3.5 million tons went down,
502
00:41:46,963 --> 00:41:50,967
nearly 700 ships,
many of them in the Atlantic gap.
503
00:41:52,677 --> 00:41:56,681
To close this gap,
escort carriers were needed
504
00:41:56,765 --> 00:41:58,934
to sail with the convoys.
505
00:42:01,728 --> 00:42:04,231
But few were yet available.
506
00:42:05,774 --> 00:42:09,027
Or very long-range planes
like the Liberator.
507
00:42:09,110 --> 00:42:13,907
But in 1942 the Americans needed
most of these in the Pacific.
508
00:42:14,741 --> 00:42:18,119
Or Lancaster bombers,
but despite admiralty appeals
509
00:42:18,203 --> 00:42:21,540
the RAF kept them all bombing Germany -
510
00:42:21,623 --> 00:42:25,710
although they did release
other aircraft.
511
00:42:25,794 --> 00:42:29,881
Bomber Command diverted
six squadrons to Coastal Command,
512
00:42:29,965 --> 00:42:33,843
and if you'd said it would've been
better if they'd made that ten, yes,
513
00:42:33,927 --> 00:42:36,555
but the line had to be drawn somewhere.
514
00:42:36,638 --> 00:42:41,726
As a Coastal type I would've liked to
see a few more squadrons in Coastal,
515
00:42:41,810 --> 00:42:45,230
but Bomber Command were pitifully short
of aeroplanes, too,
516
00:42:45,355 --> 00:42:46,773
for the job they had to do.
517
00:42:46,856 --> 00:42:51,528
Surely, if there had been
more Liberators allocated from America
518
00:42:51,611 --> 00:42:54,531
we could have improved
the situation much earlier
519
00:42:54,614 --> 00:42:57,742
and have saved the lives
of a lot of seamen.
520
00:43:02,205 --> 00:43:07,836
More and more, the war
effort depended on the United States.
521
00:43:16,136 --> 00:43:18,722
Merchant ships and escorts
were mass-produced
522
00:43:18,847 --> 00:43:22,767
to carry the material and men
for the invasion of Europe.
523
00:43:22,851 --> 00:43:27,147
Unless the Atlantic was secured,
all else could fall apart.
524
00:43:27,230 --> 00:43:30,942
In January 1943,
Roosevelt and Churchill decreed
525
00:43:31,067 --> 00:43:34,529
that the defeat of the U-boat
be given top priority.
526
00:43:38,366 --> 00:43:41,077
Improved escort vessels were built.
527
00:43:45,999 --> 00:43:50,045
There were now enough of these
to go over to the attack.
528
00:43:51,546 --> 00:43:56,551
But also in January 1943, Doenitz
took over as chief of the German navy.
529
00:43:56,635 --> 00:43:58,845
He paid off most of the big ships
530
00:43:58,928 --> 00:44:02,891
and released their crews
for the submarine service.
531
00:44:09,314 --> 00:44:12,525
At last he could have U-boats
mass-produced.
532
00:44:12,609 --> 00:44:16,571
17 new U-boats
were commissioned each month.
533
00:44:25,330 --> 00:44:31,378
By early spring 1943,
Doenitz had over 400 U-boats in service.
534
00:44:34,631 --> 00:44:37,384
Once again,
the convoys might be overwhelmed.
535
00:44:43,223 --> 00:44:46,976
In May came what was to prove
the decisive battle,
536
00:44:47,060 --> 00:44:48,728
around convoy ONS-5.
537
00:44:48,812 --> 00:44:54,109
ONS-5 was a rather small, very slow
538
00:44:54,192 --> 00:44:57,987
and, of course, unladen, empty convoy.
539
00:44:58,071 --> 00:45:00,281
And we had a lot of trouble.
540
00:45:00,365 --> 00:45:04,953
The weather was very bad,
the ships got disorganised,
541
00:45:05,036 --> 00:45:08,665
and south of Iceland
after three or four days
542
00:45:08,748 --> 00:45:12,001
we had several attacks by submarines,
543
00:45:12,085 --> 00:45:17,716
most of which we drove off successfully,
and only had one ship sunk.
544
00:45:17,799 --> 00:45:23,972
Then after a spell we had a long series
of very bad gales indeed,
545
00:45:24,097 --> 00:45:29,644
combined with a little nip
into the ice pack off Greenland,
546
00:45:29,728 --> 00:45:34,733
and at this stage
my ship was running short of fuel,
547
00:45:34,816 --> 00:45:38,945
I couldn't fuel from the tanker because
of the weather, and I had to leave.
548
00:45:39,070 --> 00:45:41,030
I got the signal from Gretton
549
00:45:41,114 --> 00:45:46,661
that he had to push off
to Newfoundland to get fuel
550
00:45:46,745 --> 00:45:50,206
and would I come back
and take over the escort?
551
00:45:50,290 --> 00:45:53,460
Well, he didn't say "would I?",
he said, "You're in charge."
552
00:45:54,461 --> 00:45:58,131
May 3.
Four escort ships have left to refuel.
553
00:45:58,214 --> 00:46:01,301
In bad weather
ten merchant ships have lost contact.
554
00:46:01,384 --> 00:46:03,970
A line of U-boats is waiting.
555
00:46:04,053 --> 00:46:05,638
As they move in on 4 May,
556
00:46:05,722 --> 00:46:09,225
aircraft from Canada
sink one and damage another.
557
00:46:09,309 --> 00:46:13,855
At about half past four to five o'clock
in the afternoon
558
00:46:13,980 --> 00:46:16,941
the torpedoing started.
559
00:46:17,066 --> 00:46:19,652
Well, I torpedoed two ships,
560
00:46:19,736 --> 00:46:22,071
each with two torpedoes,
561
00:46:22,155 --> 00:46:25,033
and one of these ships...
562
00:46:26,993 --> 00:46:28,953
Well, it didn't explode,
563
00:46:29,037 --> 00:46:34,751
but after the explosion of the torpedoes
another big explosion happened.
564
00:46:34,834 --> 00:46:36,836
I looked back and I saw the captain.
565
00:46:37,253 --> 00:46:40,340
I would suggest the bridge
was probably...
566
00:46:40,465 --> 00:46:43,843
oh, 10 or 15 feet,
might be a little more, off the water
567
00:46:43,927 --> 00:46:46,763
when he jumped off
the wing of the bridge into the sea.
568
00:46:46,846 --> 00:46:49,265
There was a life raft nearby,
I know that.
569
00:46:49,349 --> 00:46:52,060
Well, I couldn't stop and pick him up.
570
00:46:52,143 --> 00:46:55,063
And, well, it was in...
571
00:46:56,523 --> 00:46:59,818
I suppose a matter of half a minute
that I got one myself.
572
00:46:59,901 --> 00:47:04,113
Once more I was lucky
by slipping through into a gap
573
00:47:04,197 --> 00:47:07,075
between two of the escort vessels
574
00:47:07,158 --> 00:47:12,205
and closing into the port column
of the convoy,
575
00:47:12,288 --> 00:47:15,458
and I fired the two torpedoes
576
00:47:15,542 --> 00:47:19,504
and both torpedoes hit the target ship.
577
00:47:20,922 --> 00:47:26,511
May 5. The U-boats
make 25 attacks in eight hours.
578
00:47:26,594 --> 00:47:28,513
More ships are sunk.
579
00:47:28,596 --> 00:47:34,727
The outlook for the convoy is grim
as Doenitz orders in still more U-boats.
580
00:47:34,811 --> 00:47:39,148
We picked up quite a lot of signals
from other submarines
581
00:47:39,232 --> 00:47:42,902
also getting contact with this convoy.
582
00:47:42,986 --> 00:47:48,032
And so we thought that this convoy
would be absolutely dead
583
00:47:48,116 --> 00:47:50,118
during the next night.
584
00:47:50,201 --> 00:47:56,082
Somewhere in the region of 10 o'clock
the attack started
585
00:47:56,165 --> 00:48:00,295
and they became fast and furious.
586
00:48:00,378 --> 00:48:03,715
Suddenly dense fog came up
587
00:48:03,798 --> 00:48:09,137
and so it was nearly impossible
to find the convoy again.
588
00:48:09,220 --> 00:48:13,933
I tried to do it,
but we couldn't find the ships again.
589
00:48:14,017 --> 00:48:19,355
Escorts were reporting
submarines coming in,
590
00:48:19,439 --> 00:48:23,234
not ships being torpedoed,
591
00:48:23,359 --> 00:48:27,906
and this, of course, was absolutely...
592
00:48:27,989 --> 00:48:30,783
It was the first time it happened,
certainly to me.
593
00:48:30,867 --> 00:48:37,123
Staying on the surface during
the dark time, now in the dense fog,
594
00:48:37,206 --> 00:48:39,918
of course it was very dangerous.
595
00:48:40,001 --> 00:48:42,128
They were coming up
all the time saying
596
00:48:42,211 --> 00:48:44,881
that a submarine
was bearing so-and-so on radar
597
00:48:44,964 --> 00:48:49,093
and then the next thing you'd get:
"Submarine close alongside."
598
00:48:49,177 --> 00:48:54,307
Another one: "Submarine
just ahead of me. I'm ramming."
599
00:48:54,390 --> 00:48:56,267
And this went on all night.
600
00:48:56,351 --> 00:49:00,021
I got a very firm asdic contact
601
00:49:00,104 --> 00:49:01,397
about 800 yards
602
00:49:01,481 --> 00:49:04,484
from the nearest ship in the convoy.
603
00:49:04,567 --> 00:49:05,902
My immediate reaction,
604
00:49:05,985 --> 00:49:07,862
which I think was the correct one -
605
00:49:07,946 --> 00:49:09,906
in fact I know was the correct one -
606
00:49:09,989 --> 00:49:15,411
was to increase speed and give it
a five-charge pattern straight away
607
00:49:15,495 --> 00:49:17,455
to keep the chap's head down
608
00:49:17,538 --> 00:49:21,751
so that it would put him off his stroke
if he was going to fire torpedoes.
609
00:49:21,834 --> 00:49:24,963
But I was short of depth charges
at that stage
610
00:49:25,046 --> 00:49:28,591
and I thought the conditions
were perfect-
611
00:49:28,675 --> 00:49:32,345
the night was relatively calm,
a bit of fog -
612
00:49:32,428 --> 00:49:34,889
perfect for a deliberate attack.
613
00:49:34,973 --> 00:49:40,520
And so I decided on a deliberate attack
with our forward-throwing weapon,
614
00:49:40,603 --> 00:49:41,938
the hedgehog.
615
00:49:42,021 --> 00:49:44,941
We saw two distinct flashes
616
00:49:45,024 --> 00:49:48,820
a few seconds
after the hedgehog bombs hit the water,
617
00:49:48,903 --> 00:49:52,073
and as we passed over the position
618
00:49:52,156 --> 00:49:55,493
where our hedgehog bombs
had hit the water,
619
00:49:55,576 --> 00:50:01,374
we were virtually... our bow
was virtually lifted from the water
620
00:50:01,457 --> 00:50:07,380
as a result of the U-boat breaking apart
and escaping air.
621
00:50:07,463 --> 00:50:10,466
And there was great exhilaration
on the bridge
622
00:50:10,550 --> 00:50:13,594
because this was our first kill.
623
00:50:13,678 --> 00:50:19,058
We had no feelings at the time,
I'm afraid, of destroying 70-odd people.
624
00:50:19,142 --> 00:50:26,649
One had control of one's emotions
by then, after three years of war
625
00:50:26,733 --> 00:50:29,569
and it was just the thought
that it's us or them,
626
00:50:29,694 --> 00:50:31,738
and on that occasion it was them.
627
00:50:32,613 --> 00:50:36,075
May 6.
Although 11 merchantmen have been lost,
628
00:50:36,159 --> 00:50:41,247
the escorts have beaten off the largest
wolf pack Doenitz can send against them.
629
00:50:41,330 --> 00:50:44,167
Seven U-boats have been sunk,
others damaged.
630
00:50:44,250 --> 00:50:47,420
Demoralised by their failure
to destroy the convoy
631
00:50:47,503 --> 00:50:51,299
with the odds so much on their side,
the U-boats withdraw.
632
00:50:51,382 --> 00:50:57,138
I think we really felt that at last
our training and technology
633
00:50:57,221 --> 00:50:59,891
had got on top of the U-boats.
634
00:50:59,974 --> 00:51:06,355
We sailed for the next convoy, SC-130,
on the top of the wave,
635
00:51:06,439 --> 00:51:10,818
and despite the fact that we had
a very heavy battle
636
00:51:10,902 --> 00:51:16,908
with about 20 U-boats, we sank three of
them and didn't lose one single ship.
637
00:51:25,249 --> 00:51:30,046
That month, May 1943,
41 U-boats were sunk.
638
00:51:34,217 --> 00:51:38,054
In one of them,
Doenitz lost his younger son.
639
00:51:38,137 --> 00:51:40,306
In May 1943,
640
00:51:40,389 --> 00:51:43,935
the German submarines had lost
641
00:51:44,018 --> 00:51:47,647
the operational and tactical quality
642
00:51:47,730 --> 00:51:51,859
of surface manoeuvrability.
643
00:51:51,943 --> 00:51:54,070
They never regained it.
644
00:51:54,153 --> 00:51:59,951
Unable to range freely on the surface,
the wolf packs were beaten.
645
00:52:00,034 --> 00:52:05,540
It was time to celebrate a victory
in North Africa and in the Atlantic.
646
00:52:05,623 --> 00:52:11,337
More than 30 U-boats were certainly
destroyed in the month of May,
647
00:52:11,462 --> 00:52:17,301
foundering in many cases with their
crews into the dark depths of the sea.
648
00:52:17,385 --> 00:52:22,640
Staggered by these deadly losses,
the U-boats have recoiled
649
00:52:22,723 --> 00:52:26,435
to lick their wounds
and mourn their dead.
650
00:52:26,519 --> 00:52:30,481
Our Atlantic convoys
came safely through.
651
00:52:30,565 --> 00:52:33,526
And now,
as the result of the May victory
652
00:52:33,609 --> 00:52:36,529
and the massacre of U-boats,
653
00:52:36,612 --> 00:52:41,200
we have had in June the best month
from every point of view
654
00:52:41,284 --> 00:52:45,872
we have ever known
in the whole 46 months of the war.
655
00:52:48,708 --> 00:52:53,087
The Atlantic lifeline
was, at last, secure.
75728
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