New destination for WWII U-boat.

[NukeET]

Well, the royal Navy submarines like to set the Jolly Roger when returning to their home base. Maybe it is a small insider joke and/or different in the US, but for example German submarine crews also have some kind of underdog eliteness around them.

The Jolly Roger is the emblem of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. That goes back to 1901 where some pompous windbag (err, I mean an admiral) likened all submariners as pirates and "should be hanged as such." Within the community, it is seen as a sign of a successful mission - not lawlessness. Fighter squadron VFA-103 uses the same emblem - they don't think themselves as pirates.

It is an inside joke. And I understand the underdog eliteness - and it isn't limited to German sub crews (they probably invented the attitude).

For example: In the US Navy, there are 2 types of ships. Submarines and targets.

 

[NukeET]

During WWII, US submarine forces suffered 22% casualties, the highest of any part of the US forces, as NukeET pointed out. Losses to German U-boat crews were far higher. Theres a quote at the beginning of the movie "Das Boot" that 45,000 German sailors went to sea in U-boats. 30,000 never returned. (In my opinion, "Das Boot" is the greatest submarine movie ever made, coming from a former submariner I consider that high praise.) I have a tremendous amout of respect for the WWII U-boatmen. The US submarine force has a proud tradition, but those guys invented submarine warfare.

None of the other movies comes close to "Das Boot". Most of the others just suck.

Chuck, check your PMs. From one submariner to another.

Go Silent Service!

 

[NukeET]

Boomer crews generally don't. I know a few people in the submarine services (mostly in Europe, but one or two in the USA) and all their attack boat crews liek to see themselves as vague pirate type people, Urwumpe is quite corrcet about the jolly roger on british navy vessels, danish ones (assuming they ever do anything) and swedish ones also have similar traditions.

Are you assuming I served on a ballistic missile sub?

 

[simonpro]

Are you assuming I served on a ballistic missile sub?

Assuming is bad. It makes an ass out of u and me.

 

[NukeET]

Assuming is bad. It makes an ass out of u and me.

:lol:

I thought that saying was just a quaint American one.

But the question still stands unanswered. I can infer all I want, but I don't know what you are implying.

 

[Notebook]

None of the other movies comes close to "Das Boot". Most of the others just suck.

Chuck, check your PMs. From one submariner to another.

Go Silent Service!

Just to wander off the topic!
Das Boot, I think the best ever submarine film made. The dramatic tension, and the realism were unique.
I can't see how it would be improved, a "2001" of its day.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Just to wander off the topic!
Das Boot, I think the best ever submarine film made. The dramatic tension, and the realism were unique.
I can't see how it would be improved, a "2001" of its day.

Well, I doubt you will today find a production, where one actor breaks his rips in a scene, the director applauds and says that it was a great take and a good idea, they should do another one. And finally the director realizing that this was a real accident... and changes the script to keep the scene and lets the injured actor play an injured seaman.

You have really to be a bit crazy to be so consequent.

 

[Notebook]

That probably explains it!
I think that was one of the first production to use a Steadicam. I rember an amazing shot where the crew ran forward as the submarine crash dived, to get some ballast forward; and the camera followed as they did that, with the rest of the crew encouraging them.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

That probably explains it!
I think that was one of the first production to use a Steadicam. I rember an amazing shot where the crew ran forward as the submarine crash dived, to get some ballast forward; and the camera followed as they did that, with the rest of the crew encouraging them.

N.

Yeah, the today legendary Arriflex of Jost Vacano. Is similar to the steadicam, but is much smaller. And also louder, that's why many scenes inside the submarine had to be overdubbed.

But those scenes are still very impressive to see, you are really feeling like you are taken inside the boat. Also nice is the scene on the Northern Atlantic, when two submarines meet... the size of the tiny submarines relative to the realistically sized waves...

EDIT: Also you could well play "six degrees of Das Boot" - many things and persons involved in making this movie also appeared in other successful movies...

 

[Notebook]

Its a remarkable production, it was released in the UK as a weekly, one hour presentation. The music alone, and the title sequence were atmoshperic. I remember getting quite emotional when the last episode was transmitted, you got quite attached to the crew, excellent stuff.

N.

 

[Urwumpe]

Yes, the 6 x 1 hour production is also the most shown version in German TV. It gets repeated often. But I have heard, the Directors Cut (3 hours long) also took the improved character development of the mini series. But I have not yet watched the Directors Cut.

 

[pattersoncr]

EDIT: Also you could well play "six degrees of Das Boot" - many things and persons involved in making this movie also appeared in other successful movies...

Like Spielberg using the boat that was used in the film in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?

 

[pattersoncr]

...Also nice is the scene on the Northern Atlantic, when two submarines meet... the size of the tiny submarines relative to the realistically sized waves...

One of my fondest memories of my time as a submariner is standing watch on the bridge as we ran on the surface during a cold, wet, rainy, day channeling that scene, yelling "Woo-Hoo!" as the waves crashed against the sail. A 7000 ton Los Angeles class boat deosn't get tossed around the way a 800 ton U-boat does but I still got pretty wet (and had great fun doing it!)

 

[Andy44]

Like Spielberg using the boat that was used in the film in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?

No kidding! Learn something new every day.

So what boat was that, anyway? It sure looked like the real thing.

Does anyone here remember the DOS game Aces of the Deep by Dynamix back in the mid 90s? Very much inspired by Das Boot, which I agree is the best sub movie.

As for myself, I'll pass on submarine service. And tanks, too, for that matter. Thay are both examples of fine machinery capable of deadly work, which also neatly package the crew for group destruction with no hope of survival from battle damage.

When they invent a submarine with a practicle ejection seat, then we can talk!:dry:

 

[Urwumpe]

So what boat was that, anyway? It sure looked like the real thing.

It was just a simple hull, which looked like a submarine over the waterline and had a tiny motor for propulsion. They used another model for the interior shots.

 

[pattersoncr]

It was just a simple hull, which looked like a submarine over the waterline and had a tiny motor for propulsion. They used another model for the interior shots.

The scene originally had a German patrol boat or somthing. When he found out the U-boat madel was available, Spielberg had the scene rewritten to include it. Don't ask me where Indy was hiding because I have no idea!

 

[Andy44]

Don't ask me where Indy was hiding because I have no idea!

Yeah, I always wondered about that.

 

[Urwumpe]

Yeah, I always wondered about that.

It looked like he slipped inside the boat as the last guy on the conning tower and hid somewhere inside the boat. But don't ask me where. A German submarine is a pretty bad place to be a stranger.

 

[adamb193]

It looked like he slipped inside the boat as the last guy on the conning tower and hid somewhere inside the boat. But don't ask me where. A German submarine is a pretty bad place to be a stranger.

Yea I don't think my German is good enough to blend into the crew. Plus it would be a bad place to spy.