Early1943 turned the tide of the war in Europe. The Nazis surrendered to the Soviets at Stalingrad in the beginning of February. New radar, sonar and longer range air coverage combined to finally defeat the Nazi U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic by late May, which also marked the Nazi surrender to the Allies in North Africa. In the summer, the Nazis made one last offensive stand at Kursk, where they lost the largest tank battle ever fought. After that it was 20 months of retreat and disaster all the way to the end in May 1945.
1) No Allied carriers had twin engine aircraft in WW2, nor did any twin engine ASW aircraft have the range to reach the Mid-Atlantic, so our narrator must have been mistaken. 2) May, 1943 became known as "Black May" to the Ubootwaffe as it lost a sub a day for an entire month (including the one commanded by Donitz's son). Donitz had to admit defeat and pulled what was left of his force from the convoy routes. Sailing in a U-Boat was no longer a hunt for prey but a battle to survive. 3) The Allies now had enough escort ships to not only form strong Escort Groups for each convoy, but Support Groups which could be sent to reinforce any convoy under attack and to linger over a pinned down sub until they killed it instead of having to rejoin the convoy. 4) The Allies had introduced centimetric radar which operated on a much shorter wave length than the older metric sets, was undetectable by Metox (The "Biscay Cross" from its antenna) and gave much better detection of small targets. BdU took an extraordinarily long time to come up with a Metox replacement - largely because they did not think centimetric radar was possible.
I was under the impression that the twin engine aircraft were making their appearance later in their return from the attack. Only about 170 miles from France. I'd have to listen to large sections again to be sure though.
What a vivid description! One minute he was staring at the stars above the peaceful ocean, and the next minute bombs fell down from the sky. A struggle of life and death.
When the British cracked the Enigma code it changed the Naval battles and tipped it in the Allies advantage. When Winston Churchill said " never in the field of human combat has so much been owed by so many to so few" it also includes the code breakers at Bletchley park headed by Alan Turing without their brains and dedication along with Polish code breakers the outcome is not as certain.
This episode blew me away - difficult to discern between fact and fancy in this narrative, but whichever, I think it shows the true "glamour" of life in a submarine in WW2.
When Werner wrote Iron Coffins in 1969 it was to pay homage to his comrades and tell their story. After U230 he got his own command. He was one of the few skippers who survived.
Hardly anyone here appreciates what you have said! Aircraft watching the seas underneath were, except for nights, a permanent U-boat finder. . . Glad you have said this
The original problem was that land based aircraft couldn't get out far enough to cover the entire ocean routes. They already knew the planes were effective. The escort carriers simply brought the planes all the way out. @@davecordes6121
Submarines are deadly killers. Living below surface for days on end is difficult and requires unique individuals. Respect them or hate them. Radar, vigilance, and good air surveillance reduced their effectiveness.
The constant radio communication required by Admiral Doenitz was an absolute gift to Huff-Duff and the Hunter/Killers, and Enigma kept the Allies clearly informed and able to react.
So now he knows from personal experience how evil his country’s government is, yet he is trapped into risking his life, killing other people for them. The price of being apolitical. I wonder if he will reveal his thinking on this dilemma as the story continues.
The Germans did not know that the Allies had cracked the top secret Enigma codes and knew their every move, On 24 MAY 1943 THE Germans kept all of their subs in Norway!
@@tectoramia-sz1luI believe that this a myth that was partially propagated by the movie. The Germans could have changed their equipment at any time, such as adding more wheels to the enigma. The advantage could have been lost at any time. So I understand that the allies used as much information as possible while they could. It’s interesting that the U boat crew thought that there was some other technology that the allies were using.
The sheer relentlessness of allied anti-submarine vigilance is quite terrifying. You certainly needed nerves of steel to be a German submariner once the circle had turned...
Early1943 turned the tide of the war in Europe. The Nazis surrendered to the Soviets at Stalingrad in the beginning of February. New radar, sonar and longer range air coverage combined to finally defeat the Nazi U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic by late May, which also marked the Nazi surrender to the Allies in North Africa. In the summer, the Nazis made one last offensive stand at Kursk, where they lost the largest tank battle ever fought. After that it was 20 months of retreat and disaster all the way to the end in May 1945.
1) No Allied carriers had twin engine aircraft in WW2, nor did any twin engine ASW aircraft have the range to reach the Mid-Atlantic, so our narrator must have been mistaken.
2) May, 1943 became known as "Black May" to the Ubootwaffe as it lost a sub a day for an entire month (including the one commanded by Donitz's son). Donitz had to admit defeat and pulled what was left of his force from the convoy routes. Sailing in a U-Boat was no longer a hunt for prey but a battle to survive.
3) The Allies now had enough escort ships to not only form strong Escort Groups for each convoy, but Support Groups which could be sent to reinforce any convoy under attack and to linger over a pinned down sub until they killed it instead of having to rejoin the convoy.
4) The Allies had introduced centimetric radar which operated on a much shorter wave length than the older metric sets, was undetectable by Metox (The "Biscay Cross" from its antenna) and gave much better detection of small targets. BdU took an extraordinarily long time to come up with a Metox replacement - largely because they did not think centimetric radar was possible.
I was under the impression that the twin engine aircraft were making their appearance later in their return from the attack. Only about 170 miles from France. I'd have to listen to large sections again to be sure though.
What a vivid description! One minute he was staring at the stars above the peaceful ocean, and the next minute bombs fell down from the sky. A struggle of life and death.
When the British cracked the Enigma code it changed the Naval battles and tipped it in the Allies advantage. When Winston Churchill said " never in the field of human combat has so much been owed by so many to so few" it also includes the code breakers at Bletchley park headed by Alan Turing without their brains and dedication along with Polish code breakers the outcome is not as certain.
Turing was NOT the team leader
the Royal Canadian Navy als played a huge roll in the Battle of the Atlantic.
This episode blew me away - difficult to discern between fact and fancy in this narrative, but whichever, I think it shows the true "glamour" of life in a submarine in WW2.
Is there a follow up to this video? It was getting interesting and then stopped and I wonder what was next. It’s great stuff
When Werner wrote Iron Coffins in 1969 it was to pay homage to his comrades and tell their story. After U230 he got his own command. He was one of the few skippers who survived.
Those escort carriers made a big difference when they entered the Atlantic War.
Hardly anyone here appreciates what you have said! Aircraft watching the seas underneath were, except for nights, a permanent U-boat finder. . . Glad you have said this
The original problem was that land based aircraft couldn't get out far enough to cover the entire ocean routes. They already knew the planes were effective. The escort carriers simply brought the planes all the way out. @@davecordes6121
Submarines are deadly killers. Living below surface for days on end is difficult and requires unique individuals. Respect them or hate them. Radar, vigilance, and good air surveillance reduced their effectiveness.
The constant radio communication required by Admiral Doenitz was an absolute gift to Huff-Duff and the Hunter/Killers, and Enigma kept the Allies clearly informed and able to react.
So now he knows from personal experience how evil his country’s government is, yet he is trapped into risking his life, killing other people for them. The price of being apolitical. I wonder if he will reveal his thinking on this dilemma as the story continues.
The Germans did not know that the Allies had cracked the top secret Enigma codes and knew their every move, On 24 MAY 1943 THE Germans kept all of their subs in Norway!
The problem being, the allies couldn't make it obvious they had cracked the codes. So some convoys had
to be sacrificed.
@@tectoramia-sz1luI believe that this a myth that was partially propagated by the movie. The Germans could have changed their equipment at any time, such as adding more wheels to the enigma. The advantage could have been lost at any time. So I understand that the allies used as much information as possible while they could.
It’s interesting that the U boat crew thought that there was some other technology that the allies were using.
@@davidwebster5235 There was - centimetric radar (which the Germans did not think was possible)
@@ROBERTN-ut2ilThe Germans finally began to deploy centimetric radar, but, it was too late to make a difference.
Not a myth@@davidwebster5235
The sheer relentlessness of allied anti-submarine vigilance is quite terrifying. You certainly needed nerves of steel to be a German submariner once the circle had turned...
24:09 "down to 200 meters" Two hundred meters is about 650 feet. Didn't think a U boat could dive that deep.
Too many adverts.
I agree. And.I'm ineligible for ALL of them!
UA-cam Premium is worth the cost.
Can’t think of any twin engine asw patrol aircraft used mid Atlantic. Any ideas?
Didn’t they start using Catalinas?
The author may have a faulty memory, or may be indulging in some "artistic verisimilitude".
"One thousand nine hundred and forty-three"?
16:19