The Battle of the Atlantic, fought from 1939 to 1945, pitted German U-boat wolf packs against the convoys that kept Britain supplied from North America. Thousands of merchant ships were sunk, many in the mid-ocean air gap beyond the reach of land-based aircraft. Long-range Liberators, escort carriers, radar and broken Enigma traffic closed that gap in spring 1943, when 41 U-boats were lost in 'Black May' alone.
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At sea
Convoy sailors and U-boat men recall the long battle for the sea lanes that kept Britain alive.
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At sea
Weeks of storms and empty sea end when the boat finds a convoy, attacks and must endure hours of depth charges from the escorts.
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At sea
The tanker Northern Star is torpedoed, and her survivors spend eleven days adrift on a raft after the U-boat rams their lifeboat.
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At sea
Crossing after crossing, Compass Rose watches the ships she guards burn and sink, and Ericson must make choices no training prepared him for.
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Battle
Crippled by a torpedo hit, Bismarck steams in circles as the Home Fleet closes in for the final battle.
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At sea
In a storm, the disguised S-33 reaches the damaged U-571, and after the boarding the survivors must sail a German submarine they barely understand.
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At sea
Far out at sea, a convoy of dozens of ships from America steams toward a wolfpack that nobody can locate.
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At sea
On his first patrol, Captain Hoffmann receives secret orders that turn his officers against him.
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At sea
For days without air cover, Greyhound hunts U-boats by sonar, rescues survivors and rations its last depth charges while the wolfpack strikes at night.
