The USS Guadalcanal has spotted a German sub in the waters off the coast of Madeira. They immediately order a strike with the navy's new and devastating weapon: the hedgehog. From the Series: Hell Below: U-Boat Killers bit.ly/2JWWjpU
@@frezcrax1046 It was called hedgehog by the British who invented it in 1941. It was named after the hedgehog (not the porcupine) there being no Porcupines in the UK. This whole thing is rubbish. It was not a 'new' weapon in 1944. BY November 1942 the British had over a 100 ships fitted with it and the kill rate had improved from 60:1 with depth charges to better than 6:1 with Hedgehog, which is partly why the Battle of the Atlantic had turned massively in the Allies favour by May 1943.
@@markturner4219 thr Germans called the Short Sunderland flying boat "The Flying Porcupine " bearing in mind it's 10 machine guns making it very difficult to attack from any angle
I think Das Boote was over dramatised, even the advisiors former uboat crew said it was too Hollywood. I would imagine discipline and order they would have been reasonably tidy.
Their uniform of the day is definitely squared away and neat for a sub crew. Complete with the shaving discipline and new boots. Hollywood is so good at portraying EXACTLY what its like in real life. 👍🏻😉
@@arjentromp12 oh yea? It's much better than waiting a minute or so drowning. After all it's ranked as one of the most painful deaths you can experience.
* You use the Flex Tape on the leak, it's super effective * Another explosion occurs... * The Flex Tape comes off from running water... * You'll suffer a very terrible fate along with your crew... * You're going to have a terrible fate, haven't you?
John Smith they maybe thought there were the good ones and we were bad maybe they just did not even know why they were doing it they just have to do it
Many in reality knew nothing except propaganda. In fact the sub raids were effective during the first years of the war but later it was just only destroyers depht charging subs. There's a nice movie "Das Boot" that gives a good immersion into the characters
My father was on the USS Pillsbury during the attack on Easter Sunday of the U-515, and then the U-505 on June 4th, seven weeks later. After clearing U-515 of their men, the US Navy sunk the Uboat, even though it took 2 days. For the U-505, it was decided to board and attempt a capture. An all volunteer boarding party from the USS Pillsbury did just that, in an incredible show of bravery. For this action, the entire task force was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.
If you haven't read it, I recommend the book, "Clear the Decks!', by Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, who commanded task group 22.3, which your father served in. Humorous as well as detailed.
You’re father was a very lucky man to witness the capture of the U-505. The narrator gets the story’s date and the u boats mixed up a bit. I liked the fact that I’m not the only one who was thinking about it. God bless you and your father.
Been through the U-505 several times. My wife won't go through it due to claustrophobia. It would take a small man in stature to serve on a U-boat. A lot of guts and heart would be helpful too.
If you ever played Silent Hunter, you get used to dive and dodge depth charges runs. Well, with time going on, one day, in 1944 I didn't see the usual line of barrels coming down, but an immense amount of grenades. That's was for a videogame. Imagine those, knowing their life could easily end there
Ironically, the U-boat getting hit in a way that they were able to surface probably saved the lives of the crew. Almost all of the U-boats were sunk during WWII.
785 of the 1162 in service were destroyed and of that 785 only 632 were sunk at sea and of the 632 only 246 were sunk by Allied surface ships and shore based aircraft, thoes numbers are hardly the picture you paint claiming all U-boats were sunk in WWII, the remaining U-Boats at wars end either surrended or were scuttled .
@@Ugnutz I think you have your numbers wrong on how many were sunk by combined ships and aircraft. Are you saying that 400 u-boats sunk on their own! 🤣🤣 That extra 150 destroyed that were not sunk were also all or nearly all attacked by allied ships and aircraft. Anyway, approx 75% of U Boats were destroyed and the crews were nearly always were killed when this happened. 3/4 chance of a U boat sailors to be killed. Id consider being surfaced and going to a US POW camp as great luck in those odds any day
@@b.l.9764 yeah sorry i meant to write the surface ships accounted for 245 and aircraft sunk 246 for a total of 491 nearly 50 just up and dissapered 35 hits mines another 40 odd destroyed attacking ports
Once at the surface they wanted to share the remaining 4 dry cigarettes but they didn't have any dry matches. So they threw one cigarette into the ocean. That made the U-boat one cigarette lighter.
My dad was stationed at Guantanamo Bay and his crew flew Martin PBYs hunting for U-boats. During the 4 years he spent there his crew sank 3 U-boats and rescued 6 downed US pilots. They were shot at 2 twice and rescued the crew of another PBY that went down and couldn't take off again. Greatest generation!
The PBY was the Angel of the skies, could come up on a submarine with the plane engines off and hit them with the lights and bombs. Saved many a downed crew by landing near
The hedgehog was a British invention .It gave two advantages . One, it did not explode only when it hit a sub. Two , Sonar could be used when it was in action. Not like depth charges which blocked out Sonar .
@@marcmelander1815 depth charges where normally deployed from the rear of the vessels to allow them to escape the blast zone. ASDIC didnt allow contacts to be maintained reward. Therefore Asdic contacts were broken to use depth charges.
Yes British contributions are often not mentioned or even worse in the case of the film U571. I know it's a fictional film but the first Enigma machine captured from a U boat was captured by HMS Bulldog of the Royal Navy.
Depth charges don't have to make contact to sink a sub. It was best of you could get one below or beside the sub, rather than above it. The explosion pushes the water away at high pressure, but it can only do that laterally or upwards, not downwards with much impact.
Hedgehog mortars had contact detonators only (no hydrostatic pistols), so they had to directly hit something solid to explode. If they missed the target sub they wouldn't detonate until they reached the ocean floor.
This engagement was a great read. A few Americans won medals for keeping the sub afloat at great risk after the Germans opened an 8 inch pipe to scuttle her. That's why she appears so low by the stern in the video 4:00. You can see the American salvage team's whaleboat smashing apart on the heaving rear deck as they board her when the plane goes by. They secured the prized enigma machine, with code books, and the sub. One of the greatest intelligence windfalls of the war.
With the greatest respect that is Hollywood bullcrap. The first Enigma machine and code books used by the German Navy in WWII were found by a Royal Navy Sub Lieutenant in May 1941 after HMS Bulldog damaged U Boat U-110 and the crew abandoned ship. Although a tow was attempted it sank off Iceland where the crew were landed having been kept below decks the whole time. They were told the U Boat had sunk without being boarded. The equipment on this American captured U Boat was the later one with an additional reel but again the Royal Navy had already captured one. What this film does not show is that because the code breakers at Bletchley Park knew where every U Boat was by mid 1942 the RAF had already straffed this U Boat and made it impossible to dive. Its position was known and the Guadalcanal group was directed to it by the intelligence from the UK. The Hedgehog weapon was also developed by the Royal Navy and proved massively effective. Having secured the U Boat the salvage crew did a magnificent job of bringing it to be towed. However the US Navy showed huge naivety in doing this and it was a directive from UK HQ that made them take it to Bermuda where it was disguised and hidden. Any details of captured U Boats had to be hidden as the Enigma secret was so valuable to the Allies using intelligence from Bletchley Park.
@@1chish I know, thank you. I don't use movies for historical reference. On this event I refer to The History United States Navy in World War II. The 15 volume commissioned work by Samuel Eliot Morison. I appreciate British contributions as deeply as I do American. To be honest, its hard for me to differentiate them to a certain extent. I consider our particularly special relationship as harmonic as the P-51 Mustang born of it. It is irrefutable we do our best work together. Congrats on the incredibly capable new carrier and her F-35 compliment. An excellent symbol of advanced British naval might and pride. She is a comfort to freedom loving peoples of the world. May the enemies of Great Britain lay low and take note of her passing.
@@bodasactra Absolute bullshite. Enigma machines, code books, and Type IXC subs had all been captured 2-3 years earlier by the British. The sinking of U-515 - the subject in the video here - was simply the removal of 1 more sub from the German fleet. The Americans did NOT capture an Engima machine or codebook in this action. You're thinking of U-505.
That bloke at 3:38 - "U-boat! U-boat!". The guy next to him just looks at him as if to say, "Mate, you really are steely watchkeeper, with eyes that can detect an enormous submarine that just exploded out of the water about 100 feet away from you...after half the entire Ship's company have already spotted it!" Fuck me, even the chefs in the galley had eyes on before he did...
Hearing stories from some family members who survived depth charges it gives you a whole new perspective. Can't even fathom. That was a hell of a generation! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Hedgehog was developed by the Royal Navy so you could keep eyes on with ASDIC. As Mortar bombs fired ahead of the ship only exploded on contact you did not loose the sub in multiple depth charge explosions or being so close to the target you lost it due to signal and return being “instantaneous”. 5 to 1 ratio five attacks on average to one sub destroyed as opposed to 80 to 1 with depth charges. ASDIC used sound to to ping direction and range of a submarine developed as a weapon in First World War era France and UK. Wikipedia is brilliant for research!
The weapon was invented by the Royal Navy in 1941, fitted to RN and RCN escorts during 1942, and supplied to the USN at the same time. RN and RCN escorts made 268 Hedgehog attacks during WW2, and achieved 47 sinkings, a ration of 5.7 to 1, compared to 60.5 to 1 from a 'normal' depth charge attack.
Yep but actually it was first introduced in world war one and over peacetime before second world war, it was improved very much in time for the early part of that war.
@@DavBlc7 Sorry, but I think that you will find that it wasn't. Hedgehog was a development of the Thornycroft designed Fairlie Mortar, which was intended to throw charges ahead of the ship, and was first (unsuccessfully) trialled aboard HMS Whitehall in July, 1941.
He did the right thing , he knew he had no where to go , he accepted defeat like a man , he surrendered and kept he’s crew alive , one of the lucky ones that would’ve lived out the war with only little regret if any
If you want to watch a truly great movie about the terror of being a submariner in wartime watch ‘Das Boot’ (the boat in English) it was made in 1981 in Germany. The tension when they are being depth charged is immense. Thoroughly recommended 👍
On the DVD for Das Boat you have the option for English language. It wasn't dubbed, all the German actors could speak English and did the scenes in German and English.
The _Guadalcanal_ (CVE-60) was actually involved in the capture of _U-505,_ but this action is referring to _Guadalcanal's_ and its escorting forces' actions against _U-515_ which was sunk.
Around 1970, I read Gallery's book about the capture of U-505. Very interesting reading. Gallery thought the Navy would be happy he captured an Enigma machine. Navy was not pleased. Had already broken the code and kept that fact secret. Now, the Navy felt the Germans would know about the capture of U-505 and that we would have Enigma. Therefore, concerned Germany would change its codes. Capt of U-boat was kept below decks and did not know/believe his boat was captured. Gallery brought him a picture of the U-boat captain's photograph of family that was on his desk in the boat.
At first, I thought they many a mistake saying U-515 instead of U-505. But looking at the story of U-515, this is probably what triggered the idea they could actually capture a U-boat. Or they had already thought that and this was an early attempt. This is April 9th which is less than two months before June 4th capture of U-505.
Henke was an exceptional commander, especially if you consider that he won his successes in 1942 and 1943, when the tide had already turned against the u-boats. He sank 25 ships with 155 000 tons, for which he was awarded the knights cross with oak leaves. His finest hours were a battle with an allied fleet during operation torch on 12 november 1942 (where he sank a large support ship and damaged a destroyer) and the sinking of 7 merchant ships from convoy TS-37 with only 9 torpedoes during a single night (30 april-1 may 1943). He also got in trouble with the gestapo because he protected an austrian family from them during vacation in tyrol. And he managed to save 43 of his crew at a time when most german u-boats sunk were lost without survivors.
@@iksigrek2033 Actually, being in a submarine when it implodes is one of the better ways to die for when a sub reaches crush depth and succumbs death is instantaneous. Your nerves don’t even have a chance to register pain before the end. By comparison, drowning is far slower and painful.
@@Ken-no5ip Actually most Hedgehogs didnt have Timers. Instead they exploded only once they hit something. So those things likely kept going until they struck ocean floor
Proud U.S. NAVY veteran here. I salute BOTH crews. I realize it was war, but if after I attack a sub, and it comes to the surface, especially in a way other than normal, it's an indication that it's been damaged. I'd have guns on it but I'd give the captain the opportunity to surrender. It's the honorable thing to do. ✌🏻🇺🇸
George B My uncle John was killed when this u boat torpedoed the RFA Darkdale at St Helena. My uncle’s younger sister asked me to research the loss of Darkdale and what happened to the U boat. I’m afraid her reaction to the details I could give her were much less nuanced than yours! The USS GUADALCANAL and her crew are heroes in my extended family.
My grandfather was in the New Zealand merchant navy. A lot of Kiwi mariners were killed by those U-boats. Those in the engineering room had it worst (as my grandfather was) as it was at the base of the ship and most likely area to be targeted by a torpedo. If you weren't killed by the blast, you could be drowned or scalded to death by the rupturing steam boiler. As saying goes: "worse things happen at sea".
Never understood why usa and british saved all these Nazi's ..they killed over 10.000 not even on an armored convoy ships ....and still no one killed a nazi......really really strange..the war lasted so long cause only germans killed the ones who surrendered..it has costs many americans and british canadians aussies their lives....
verdier229 then after the war our gov absorbed thousands of Nazis into the intelligence agencies/black project military arenas & more. If you have ever read or watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe's movies or comics you'd recognize "Hyrda" being a Secret Nazi Order which infiltrated every aspect of America's Power Structure... There is much more to this possibility and miles of evidence. For instance, Prescott Bush, George Bush Sr.'s father, had extensive documented ties to the Nazis including during the Wars. Much more but short on time. RU-vid is full of videos on the subject though.
@@verdier2294 you can also argue that every ship that reaches britain is one more supply run for the frontline and costs german soldiers their lifes, so the uboats had an important role in denying that supplies reach europe. Every side had its intentions. And being a crew member of uboats was as shitty as these merchant sailors. Getting ass blasted under water isnt funny either...
@@verdier2294 and where did u get that from that all germans killed the guys who surrendered? EVERY side did that from time to time - things got rough during the war. There even is an incident where a german uboat takes survivors of an allied ship that just sunk and a scout plane spots them and shoots at the uboat and their own survivors....just wtf .... things like that made the sailors think twice before saving someone.
verdier229 they did because it’s humane, everyone deserves a second chance and FYI the Americans and British also sunk merchant and supply ships as well. They also bombed factories and cities to try and force surrender and stop supplies from reaching the frontlines. But no that’s not the ‘MERICAN way of thinking nah when we bomb factories and destroy merchant ships it’s ok but then when the enemy like Japan or Germany dies it it’s a war crime that’s nit corrrect unless we do it.
The hedgehog was a British invention and had been used by them for more than a year before the US navy was convinced and copied the design, it was the British with their love of naming things who called it the hedgehog, had we invented it we would no doubt have given it a number.
nobody name then the sailors would have callled it the 1 U.C.E (pronounced U-sea) and then fired it off with, “One juicy UCE going down!” And that is why it would have been called the Juicy U-sea.
No, it's not "so they can go in for another attack" - it's so contact is maintained DURING the attack, and the position of the U-boat is precisely known.
Of all German military arms during WWII the Kreigsmarine suffered the highest porportinual number of casaulities. With Germany relining on U-Boots as the backbone of their Navy it is easy to see why. On a surface ship one can evacuate and get on life rafts. Not so easy for subs.
My uncle was the exec officer on the Guadalcanal. I read Gallery's book when I was a kid and I had a German dagger and scabbard that he must have gotten from 505, with "blood and iron" written on the blade, in German, of course.
In many ways, the battle of the Atlantic was the important battle of the western Allies, the only place where even Churchill was worried. The dramatic turnaround in 1943, when air cover, new radar and depth charges made U-boats undersea coffins.
The pattern fired from a hedgehog was elliptical, not circular, as this boosted the chances of a hit by a least one round. The subsequent capture and towing of U-505 to Bermuda threatened to compromise Allied code breaking secrets and court martial proceeding were considered against the commanding officer.
I'm just glad those germans lived, I spent ten years working with these guys and what a great bunch of people, I would have loved my wife and children to have an experience like that, love the people and the culture, I just wish I was there, thank you so so much for welcoming us British thank you
I met a guy once who was wearing a USS Jenks hat. I had recently read Gallery book and asked him if he had been part of the operation. He had been in the third or fourth boat to arrive. the crazy thing was that Gallery almost got courtmartialed because they were afraid the Germans would learn that one of their subs had been captued intact, which would include an enigma machine, and they would almost certainly have changed their codes within days, the codes which the Brits were reading about as fast as the Germans.
My Dad served on the USCG Arundel in the Battle of the Atlantic WWII, headed to the South Pacific at the end of the war. Enlisted at age 17 in 1942 right out of high school, exited for a non military career with New England Telephone in 1946. Well done, Dad. (1924-2018).
I was born in 1948. Every elementary schoolchild went to the Museum Of Science And Industry in Chicago at least once. Two of the highlights were the coal mine and U505. U505 was captured by Admiral Gallery. Her Enigma Machine and code books helped win the war..
Her Enigma machine & code books did not help to win the war. Gallery was almost sent to courts martial for not sinking the sub - it was just before D-Day & the Allies were very worried the Nazis would discover the capture & change the already broken coding procedures.
Love the clean shaven U-Boat commander in a notoriously short of water U-Boat, and the US captain unshaven while his officers and men are all pretty obviously freshly shaven.
Being attacked by a hedgehog mortar could even be more terrifying than depth charges. You might not seen hear to mortars coming on sonar amongst the noise of enemy ships etc. Suddenly, your sub is rocked by a silent killer sea mortar round, with the enemy destroyer still behind you but still able to attack and keep track of you. The first encounter with a hedgehog mortar for the German U-boats must have been absolutely terrifying.
Hedgehog was developed by the British and "Shared" with their Allies including the USA. Hedgehog used actively (In a developed form) amongst NATO Allies till the mid-1960's. After the War Britain developed the hedgehog into the "Limbo" 3 barrelled rapid fire ASW Mortar which was used into the late 1980's by Nato. Limbo fired multiple salvoes from a position Fore or Aft of the ship in a pre-programmed pattern. Limbo had many firing patterns and gave its captain the ability to select a pattern based on a specific situation.
Absolutely correct .... not sure I get your point we were Allies you do that with Allies............ except the USA never paid for British war technology but Britain (And ALL US Allies) paid in full for the equipment they received through "Lend-Lease" with heavy interest (So heavy Britain only paid off its WAR DEBT in mid 1970,s) No problem with paying for stuff like that all the Allies were glad to do it but just call it what it is the SALE of equipment to an Ally that shares its technology with you for FREE. Love the USA for its role in WW2 big fan .... also a fan of the truth :0)
@Cj Johnsin, that's wrong, the first version of the Geneva Convention was from 1864. The Red Cross in one of the symbols that got introduced back then. so there was a Geneva Convention in WW2 and Germany actually signed it.
It was the sinking of U-515 the the task force commander Capt. Daniel V. Gallery came up with a plans for capturing a U-boat if the conditions were right. When they encountered the U-505 they were able to implement the plans and captured the boat. The bravery of the men that sized the boat can not be over played. The went on the boat not knowing if there was anyone yet on board or if the scuttling charges were set. Read the Captain's account of this in his book U-505, if you can find it.
This is honestly one of the best shows I have watched in a long time. It's accurate, it's to the point, the acting is good, the music is good, the narrator isn't screaming in my face like in so many documentaries. I think there are only 2 seasons, but they should make a lot more.
They used the Hedgehogs as inspiration for it. With how the pegs work in the IRL game, those look a lot like the Hedgehogs and they paired those designs for Alien Tech since pretty much nobody knows about the Hedgehogs. Kinda like how in Star Wars, they just took a ton of surplus WW2 weapons and added a black finish with some extra metal. If they can take something you might know, and tweak it into an alien object, it is cheaper than making it all up yourself.
Daniel V. Gallery was in command when they captured U505, boarding it & capturing an Enigma machine, if I'm not mistaken. Good writer as well. Check out some of his bibliography.
At least the U-Boat crew survived the war, they should be happy they survived the war and can tell there tale unlike the other 30k U-Boat crewman that never returned.
One mistake the U boat involved was not the 515 it was the 505 captured by Admiral Daniel Gallery ( a Chicago native whose brother happened to be the commissioner of the Chicago Park District) he quickly gave the order the first time it was given Since the war of 1812 of Away All Boarders a boarding party got to the sub in time to close the seacocks and disable the scuttling charges, it was the first time that an operational Uboat was captured during the war, the boat was towed to Bermuda where it was hidden, and it's crew was placed under quarantine to conceal the fact that it had been captured intact, along with its code books, and it's enigma machine, after the war it was towed to Chicago, where it was placed alongside the Museum of Science And Industry, where it remained for many years before an addition to house it and other large exhibits was built, tours of it led to my nephews becoming a submariner in the U.S Navy.
really need to get the facts right. The British Navy did all that in 1941, months Before pearl Harbour, but as usual, can't let the truth spoil a your story.
I used to have a strange creature but nobody knew what it was so we called it a rary. It grew larger by the day and it came too expensive to feed. I took it to the edge of a 600 foot cliff and pushed it off. That;s a long way to tip a rary.
Clean shaven U-Boat crew? They've been at sea for weeks in a vessel that carried only enough water for drinking and food preparation. And this is the Smithsonian!
What's more interesting is that this task force sailed with the specific intention of driving a U-boat to the surface so that it could be captured. They succeeded with the U-505, which now on display at the Museum of Industry in Chicago. As a boy I walked through it.
Squid didnt explode on contact. It was set to detonate 25 feet above and below the target submarine. The depth could be changed up to the moment of launch. The resulting pressure wave would crush the submarine like a tin can
Admiral Daniel Gallery (aka Dan Dan the Lavatory Man) was one of the more interesting American naval officers, Very wicked sense of humor. He went on to become a prolific author. One of this books goes into detail about this action and another about his general military career but most of his books were built around Naval humor.
The reason Hedgehog allowed contact to be maintained during the pass is because while depth charges always detonate, whether or not they strike a target (roiling the water, rendering SoNAR and Hydrophones unusable for minutes at a time), Hedgehog projectiles only detonated if they struck a target.
0001010a Good God man, I’m not disagreeing with you but could he not put one torpedo into a boat that would disable it? They are not giving it a chance.
Torpedoes have to have a number of settings determined, entered into the equipment and the fish itself, and that takes measurements to target among other things, and time. Nearby vessels are moving at much higher speeds relative to the submarine, making the entire enterprise of shooting at nearby vessels hopeless.
