Plot hole: After the first attack on the U96 the captain decides to resurface after sunset. However when they do resurface it's broad daylight.
Das Boot (1981)
1 plot hole - chronological order
Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen
Starring: Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Hubertus Bengsch, Klaus Wennemann
Other mistake: When attacking the convoy, the crew rushes forward during the crash dive. Just after a crew member jumps through the hatch after the bow crew compartment, you see someone standing still a second before getting pushed in the view of the camera. (01:31:15)
Captain: I'm sorry.
Lt. Werner: Is it hopeless?
Captain: It's been 15 hours. He's not going to pull it off. I'm sorry.
Lt. Werner: I asked for it. 'To be heading into the inexorable... where no mother will care for us... no woman crosses our path... where only reality reigns... with cruelty and grandeur.' I was drunk with those words. Well, this is reality.
Trivia: The movie is based on actual events and some of the characters have existed in real life. One of them, Pilgrim, took his own life after the book on which the movie is based was released.
Question: I know practically nothing about submarines, so this seemed a bit strange to me. When there's that huge storm, why do they keep staying at the surface, only going down for an hour at a time?
Answer: Because that's what the U-boat was designed to do. Unlike modern nuclear boats, they didn't have the capacity to stay submerged for long periods - basically just as long as the air lasted; there wasn't atmosphere control equipment. They would 'snorkel' near the surface, recharge the batteries with the diesel engines, and then dive for a few hours at most before having to come back up and repeat the process.
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Answer: U-boats also travelled much faster on the surface...about 18 knots, vs only 8 knots or so beneath the surface.