Corrected entry: In the film U-751 the torpedoes were shown leaving a trail of bubbles behind them. The type of torpedo which did that was the G7a 'T1' torpedo - which was pre-war issue. At the time of the film the standard torpedo of the Ubootwaffe was the improved G7e 'T2' torpedo which did not leave a trail of bubbles due to a different motor design.
Badbird
7th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: German torpedoes had two types of detonators. The primary was a magnetic pistol which was triggered by the presence of a large metallic object like a ship or submarine. The second was through mechanical 'feelers' in the event that the pistol failed and the torpedo contacted the target ship. Thus, the grazing 'miss' where the German torpedo scrapes along the hull of the U-571 could not have happened. The torpedo would have detonated.
Correction: Torpedo detonators at the time could be quite unreliable, and duds, where torpedo failed to explode were common. In addition, magnetic detonators worked well only on ships weighing 2000 tonnes or more - almost three times more than a type VII submarine.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The scene where the German commander orders the survivors in the lifeboat to be shot is based on an allied myth. It is well documented that U-boat crews treated survivors gallantly - even giving them medical help, provisions, cigarettes and bearings to land. LATE (after the time this film supposedly takes place) in the war, Grossadmiral Karl Donitz even placed his own life on the line when he refused an order directly from Hitler that U-boat crews should execute survivors. He won on that issue and the order was rescinded, with only the comment that he should at least order his crews to STOP rendering assistance to the survivors.
Correction: This 'mistake' is debatable at best. UBoat commander Heinz Wilhelm Eck and two of the crew of the U852 were executed in 1947 for killing survivors of a ship they had sunk, in precisely the manner represented in this film. Reports of much the same thing happening were pretty common and there is good evidence that the US and Britain were similarly cavalier about survivors - look up the service records of the USS Wahoo and HMS Torbay for confirmation. In this case, the film deserves the benefit of dramatic licence.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: In the scene where the torpedo is running in the tube of the U-571 and could not be launched, reference was made to getting the fish launched before it detonated. That could not have happened. While it is true that the torpedoes did have a 'counter' of sorts to ensure a certain number or prop revolutions (distance) before the warhead would arm, that system was subordinate to another safety in the form of a 'tube feeler' which would not allow the counter to begin until the torpedo had actually cleared the tube. There was never any danger that the torpedo would detonate in the tube. The worst thing that could have happened was the fish would exhaust its fuel and be rendered useless.
Correction: These are Americans on a German boat. Do the Americans KNOW that the Germans use the same safety systems on their torpedoes as the Americans do? This may not be a mistake.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: If a real 'S' boat had been hit by a torpedo it would have sunk immediately.
Correction: It did sink immediately.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The old U.S. 'S'-type submarine could never have been converted to resemble a German type VII or IX (Atlantic fleet boats) without drydocking and major work - which certainly could not have caught the crew by surprise.
Correction: It wouldn't have been difficult to make the S boat look like the U boat from the waterline up. The above-water profiles are very similar and would only require a few modifications. Throw enough metal workers at the task and it could be done in a night, easily. The S boat captain makes a point of running the disguised S boat low in the water to hide more of it's profile.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The depth the U-571 is depicted as achieving was beyond 'crush depth' even considering the 2.5 safety factor all u-boats were designed to. There is no way the boat would have survived that depth.
Correction: The max depth depicted on the gauge is just beyond 200 meters. The maximum depth of the VIIC U-boat (which U-571 was) is 220 meters.
7th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: An additional torpedo-related mistake: U-boat torpedoes were launched with a ram, which pushed the fish out of the tube. The motor of an armed torpedo did not start until after the fish had left the tube. They were not propelled out of the tube by their own motors as shown in the film.
Correction: Where does the film show the torpedo leaving the tube under its own power? I can't find a single example of this.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The German commander is depicted eating a piece of fruit just prior to the depth charge attack against the U-571. No German commander would have done this. Food was strictly rationed and accounted for on the boat for various reasons - not the least of which was making sure there was enough to last for the duration of the patrol. If men were allowed to grab food and eat it as it suited them there would be no way to control its consumption. No commander would have set such a dangerous precedent by such wanton consumption.
Correction: He could have saved it from his last meal. I know when I was in boot camp, I would often save an apple or orange to eat a little later.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: A grenade exploding in the control room of a U-boat would have destroyed and damaged many important controls and indicators - yet no damage appears to any of the controls in later shots.
Correction: It was a tear gas grenade. They are designed more like a can of hair spray, they have no explosive, just compressed propellants to discharge the gas.
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Correction: The T1 torpedo was used alongside the T2 for a long time, because it was more reliable, had better range and speed than the T2. In fact, several U-Boot captains preferred the T1 for those reasons. In 1942 the improved T3 debuted, but availability kept the T1 in use for some time.