The Most Impossible U-Boat Target of WW2

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2025

ความคิดเห็น • 717

  • @joncashiv1519
    @joncashiv1519 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    "The die was cast"....I can only watch Dark Docs, Skies, Tech, Footage, Seas & Dark5 now....the Narration just keeps me so intrigued like no other....Please keep up your incredible work Mr. Dark, and Thank You

  • @sudzonicful
    @sudzonicful 2 ปีที่แล้ว +103

    I'm an orkney native, the story of that tragic night is interwoven in to our history. It's still felt here today.

    • @harrymarwick2529
      @harrymarwick2529 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It sure is Scott, my great uncle went down on the Royal Oak

    • @jeffclark7888
      @jeffclark7888 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@harrymarwick2529 I regret to hear that.

    • @sonicology
      @sonicology 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Same.
      I think about that night every time I drive through Holm village and cross the first Barrier.

    • @mauricedavis2160
      @mauricedavis2160 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      🙏😢

    • @damm1957
      @damm1957 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I have a relative died on the ship that night.

  • @kengoold7157
    @kengoold7157 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    hey mate, as an ex Australian Airforce person, with a dad that served in the Australian navy in WW2, on a mine sweeper hunting japanese submarines off the Australian east coast, as a radio operator in the bombing of Darwin, I love you're work. awesome mate. History really is war, sad but true. These dark days should never be forgotten. Love your work.

  • @fembotheather3785
    @fembotheather3785 2 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    Always feel a sense of regret that such talented and dedicated people didn't have an opportunity to devote their strengths to a peaceful world.

    • @jackdundon2261
      @jackdundon2261 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      "War" IS the natural state of man. NOT peace. It's in our nature to want what we don't have.

    • @donaldpetkus1637
      @donaldpetkus1637 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I wish that the energy, time, and resources that went into nuclear weapons and war had been spent on space exploration .

    • @jackdundon2261
      @jackdundon2261 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@donaldpetkus1637 why? What does space offer, the planet doesn't? Unless your trying to find "god" out there, or some alien to Enslave us? Maybe having advanced WAR TECHNOLOGY would be handy if Alians attacked earth????

    • @PrismRisen
      @PrismRisen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Certainly, Fembot Heather; especially lamentable given the missed opportunities to learn from the experience and "lessons" of "The Great War" (WWI).

    • @cv507
      @cv507 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      i guess ´pieceFööl wörldce knöt ´always becöme ´möthörrce vFv?

  • @wayne-oo
    @wayne-oo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Loved the Colonel Klink cameo !!

    • @crisslastname9417
      @crisslastname9417 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      So, I'm not the only one! It's really funny.

  • @robertwaid3579
    @robertwaid3579 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    The attack on Scape Flow, was one Helluva, daring raid by Gunther Prein.

  • @michaelphelan423
    @michaelphelan423 2 ปีที่แล้ว +100

    I thought Klink was in the Luftwaffe ;)

    • @ithinkimarealboy2402
      @ithinkimarealboy2402 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      😂

    • @stevec7770
      @stevec7770 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      He was in the show

    • @EastBayFlipper
      @EastBayFlipper 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      I had the same reaction when I saw Werner Klemper in that sub.🤣😂

    • @richardanderson4803
      @richardanderson4803 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      😂😂

    • @michaelphelan423
      @michaelphelan423 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Werner Klemperer was a beautiful singer. Google his name and Bob Banner singing Silent Night. A moving performance by two Jewish men showing respect for their Christian brothers

  • @MartyInLa
    @MartyInLa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +125

    A great piece of history. It's too bad he didn't go into more detail about what Prien had to do to sneak the U-Boat into the harbor, and out.

    • @JB-rt4mx
      @JB-rt4mx 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      There is a german 1950s english sub title movie about it

    • @MartyInLa
      @MartyInLa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@JB-rt4mx do you know the name of the film? I'd like to watch it.

    • @governorkolp9321
      @governorkolp9321 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@MartyInLa If you have Disney Plus, there is a Series called "WW2: Hell under the sea" on there about different submarine missions in WW2. Check out Season 3, Episode 1, "Killer Strike". It is an episode about this U-47's mission. It's a really good episode and really good TV series.

    • @46thPOTUS
      @46thPOTUS 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@governorkolp9321 thanks I will watch it

    • @anonymusum
      @anonymusum 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JB-rt4mx Movies are no documentaries and there are way too may false informations in them.

  • @mattblom3990
    @mattblom3990 2 ปีที่แล้ว +168

    Drachinfel's great uncle was on board Royal Oak. It helped inspire him to become a naval historian.

    • @mikeholton9876
      @mikeholton9876 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      i did not know that, you made my day (i always look to learn at least one new thing daily) cheers!

    • @tazman572
      @tazman572 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@mikeholton9876
      My father had a saying, "If you learn one thing a day, your day's not wasted".

    • @mikeholton9876
      @mikeholton9876 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@tazman572 he would be correct

    • @vladdrakul7851
      @vladdrakul7851 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      My grandad survived the sinking by being in the brig on land for a drunkeness that saved his life then but later ultimately ended it young (54) from a too great love of food and drink. My German grandfathers best school boy friend was Gunther Prien which we found out at my parents wedding. Life sure is weird!

    • @onlythewise1
      @onlythewise1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@tazman572 thats a old saying long before he was born

  • @markfryer9880
    @markfryer9880 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I have read a blow by blow account of the attack on Scapa Flow by U-47 and it truly is nail biting stuff. The sneaking in via a poorly blockaded channel past the rusting hulks of the block ships and their mooring cables, fighting the current and the close confines, leaves one in a cold sweat. Once inside Scapa Flow and the heart stopping moment that a car's headlights reach out over the water towards U-47 for a brief moment, is then crushed by the realisation that the anchorage was essentially empty. The Royal Navy had decided to disperse from Scapa Flow just after the last Luftwaffe reconnaissance flight had been overhead, so there was no way of knowing that the anchorage was almost empty. Then came the attack on Royal Oak and the first salvo of torpedoes had missed or failed to work. Prien pulled away and motored into another arm of the Flow while his crew reloaded with fresh torpedoes. I can't recall if they modified the firing mechanism or not, but every Navy except for the Japanese was to have reliability issues with their torpedoes at the start of their involvement in the war.
    Prien returned to the Royal Oak and fired another salvo and this time two of the torpedoes worked when they struck the Royal Oak and tore a great big hole in her side. Explosions and fire ensued before she turned over and sank with great loss of life. The U-47 then proceeded to make it's escape via the way it had entered and again just managed to scrape past the blockships and out into open water. She quickly made her way back to Germany for a heroes reception for Prien and the entire crew. Meanwhile Britain was mourning the loss of the Royal Oak and the 800 men and boys aboard her when she sank.

    • @himartem
      @himartem 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      U47 returned a hero after sneaking up to him and stabing in his back ...

    • @generalpanzerfaust2387
      @generalpanzerfaust2387 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@himartem Yeah? That's like the whole entire point of a U Boat. You need to understand that war isn't always fair. Also this was a huge win for the Kriegsmarine

  • @tontoschwartz6916
    @tontoschwartz6916 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    These are some very excellent episodes. Thank you so much for them.

  • @jt95124
    @jt95124 2 ปีที่แล้ว +94

    The footage of the ship sinking shows the British skill at camouflage. They made a battleship look like an oil tanker!.

    • @zuluwarrior1648
      @zuluwarrior1648 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Exactly it was a oil tanker another click bait video.

    • @tropmaj
      @tropmaj 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Excellent, seems like a splendid example of dazzle camouflage!

    • @dead2selfShema
      @dead2selfShema 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Allies made land vehicles and planes out of balloon and cardboard, so axis made fake oiler silhouette for war ships?

    • @johnjephcote7636
      @johnjephcote7636 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      ...and the destroyers packed like sardines were not in Scapa but the US.

    • @stephenrose8188
      @stephenrose8188 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah, amazing that!

  • @southerneruk
    @southerneruk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +88

    Biggest lost of Naval Cadets (under 18 years olds, many were 15 and 16 years of age) It was after the sinking of the Royal Oak that Churchill raise the age for any new person joining, it was too late for those who were under 18 years of age in the Royal Navy and were at sea, My dad was 15 and in the Navy in 39 he had friends that was on the Oak few manage to get ashore and few went down with the ship, Dad was put on a Corvette in June that year and was at sea when it happens, his starting rank was Ship strapper (rigger)
    BTW the Royal Oak was at anchor, when she was targetted.

    • @dead2selfShema
      @dead2selfShema 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      WW2 many kids lied of age. My Dad was a B25 Co Pilot at 15. Most id's didn't have a picture. Captain America, and Edward (of Narnia) may have been fictional but copying the history of the time.

    • @southerneruk
      @southerneruk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@dead2selfShema I don't know what the age was for the USA, But in the UK you could joint the cadets at 15, in the Navy you went to sea, In the Army you were to use as a homeland runner, Air force all depending on which section you were going in, but at the Battle of Britain when RAF aerodrome were the targets all those cadets were in harms way, just like in the RN the cadets were in harms way, being on any ship. this is why loads of under 18 years died with the royal oak

    • @brucejensen1916
      @brucejensen1916 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Good history but terrible grammar. Go back to school and for God sake don't let anyone copy your bad example. Sorry

    • @HansDelbruck53
      @HansDelbruck53 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Your post needs a lot more editing.

  • @austinhorton6350
    @austinhorton6350 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I’m currently in Orkney right now on vacation. You can still see several sunken merchant marine ships sticking out of the water that they used to block the entrance along with a massive sea barrier. Incredible sight.

    • @geoffreyblee5638
      @geoffreyblee5638 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I think the German High Seas fleet was interred there at the end of the first WW1. Most of ships were scuttled by German crews so you might also see some of those there

  • @caretakerfochr3834
    @caretakerfochr3834 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Congratulations on the development of your VO work. I think this is your first vid that has not irked the bejesus out of me. You've almost perfected the pace, got the right amount of colour and inflection in your voice and managed to inform without overdramatization. Good work - and well told.

    • @tow1709
      @tow1709 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      He still can't pronounce foreign names though

  • @lesa.4903
    @lesa.4903 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Another excellent video.
    Prien is pronounced like the English word preen. Watched several German language videos to confirm.
    Like many others I spotted Werner Klemperer ( Colonel Klink of Hogan's Heroes) in the movie clips.
    Also, at 7:05 on the right is Kurt Kreuger, who had a role in "The Enemy Below", a film about a battle between a U.S. destroyer and a U-boat. Even though it is fiction I think it is a must watch for anyone interested in WWII naval history.

    • @Errr717
      @Errr717 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      German pronunciation for "ie" is "ee" like you said while "ei" is pronounce like "eye". Just some stuff I remember from my 4 years of German in high school. 😃
      Yeah, I was wondering what movie "Colonel Klink" was in.

    • @brucesim2003
      @brucesim2003 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      When two vowels go a-walking, the second does the talking. At least that's how I've heard it, for the most part.

    • @ridethecurve55
      @ridethecurve55 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@brucesim2003 Yes, I now remember my 5th grade English teacher always saying that to us many times so we dullards would maybe remember it in life. Ha!

  • @danescottstephens
    @danescottstephens 2 ปีที่แล้ว +175

    As God is my witness, I could have sworn that Colonel Klink ran a prison camp during WWII...

    • @brentjames9388
      @brentjames9388 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      I had to go back twice, and yep it’s the colonel , it’s from a show called, “One step beyond “ S1 E17

    • @RayyMusik
      @RayyMusik 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      He didn‘t manage to get Sgt. Schultz through a U-boat hatch though.

    • @robkarnis7020
      @robkarnis7020 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yep, free on TH-cam:
      th-cam.com/video/G1yAxUK3-d8/w-d-xo.html

    • @PeterWoolworth
      @PeterWoolworth 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      That's Werner from SILENT SERVICE TV SHOW U-47 IN SCAPA FLOW.

    • @peterzavon3012
      @peterzavon3012 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      This channel often uses odd and even irrelevant video.

  • @lordgarion514
    @lordgarion514 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    People never seem to realize, that something doesn't need to be invincible, and you don't need to be scared of it, for it to kick your ass.

    • @juliane3683
      @juliane3683 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Would you like to put what you are trying to say in a different way? Because as it stands it is unintelligible.

    • @lordgarion514
      @lordgarion514 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@juliane3683
      Your inability to comprehend 8th grade level English isn't my problem.....
      You go find someone with a college degree and let them read it.
      Then they can explain it to you using even simpler words, and maybe some hand gestures as well.

    • @juliane3683
      @juliane3683 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You say: ‘Something doesn’t need to be invincible’. … and then. … ‘ you say - youdon’t need to be scared if it.’
      So what is the connotation between those two remarks ?
      And then ‘ for it ( presumably ‘this something’ or ‘it’ ) to kick your arse.’
      So what you’re saying is that something doesn’t need to be unbeatable.
      It’s the word need which is wrong.
      Perhaps what you meant to say is: ‘ be thought of as unbeatable and you shouldn’t be scared of it’.
      But then any strength in that philosophy is negated by it kicking you in arse anyway.
      I think what you’ve done is create a conceptual malapropism.
      You’re not aware of it and given your sensitivity and sarcy rudeness it’s not going to do you any good to look into it.

    • @lordgarion514
      @lordgarion514 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@juliane3683
      If you had watched the video, AND paid attention, you would already know the answer to your question....

    • @juliane3683
      @juliane3683 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      No disrespect Robert … but you are missing the point being made. Offering you the opportunity ( by means of an rhetorical question) to reassess and make sense of what you are attempting to convey and then express it cohesively, is admittedly an exercise in semantics; but the point is, as your ‘contribution’ stands, your use of colloquial vernacular in print fails to express an intelligible viewpoint. That is why you were encouraged to put it another way: in order that you could actually make an understandable observation. Now I appreciate that evidently you cannot cope equably with well intentioned critique, and so I imagine that in a fit of pique you will want to have the last word …….
      But for me my final observation is, I made a genuinely friendly attempt to help you.
      I guess it’s ended up horses and water hasn’t it.

  • @jusdafax1
    @jusdafax1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Most of the times that they talked about the commander of the uboat, they showed pictures of someone who looks suspiciously like Werner Klemperer, who played the German POW commander in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes. Whenever they show pictures of what they claimed was the British fleet in Scapa Flow, the pictures were actually of mothballed liberty ships in the United States. The narrative was quite interesting, but I wish that they would use pictures that were more accurate.

    • @richardginger7212
      @richardginger7212 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Gulf of Biscay? Torpedoes took 10 minutes to strike the Royal Oak? How much of this was just made up?

    • @rogerrice1772
      @rogerrice1772 ปีที่แล้ว

      It is Werner Klemperer. In the late 50s early 60s there was a TV serial program called "The Silent Service" hosted by former WWII sub skipper, RADM Tommy Dykers. It dealt almost exclusively with U.S. submarine operations in the second world war. One of the last episodes however told the story of Günther Prien and his foray into Scapa Flow while commanding the U47.

  • @EEnnisjr
    @EEnnisjr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    That had to be Col. Klink in this clip. He looked 100% likes him, so obviously Klink.

  • @silarpac
    @silarpac 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Isn't that Col. Klink pretending to be Captain Prien?

  • @TheYeti308
    @TheYeti308 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Out Standing work Herr Prien & and crew of U-47 !

  • @stuart8663
    @stuart8663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    If only Colonel Klink was head of the U-Boat training school from the start.

  • @willlauzon3744
    @willlauzon3744 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Apperently Prien wasn't picked for his skill, he was picked for his attitude. Donitz had only one candidate in mind for his selection and it was this dude. And he DID it

    • @robertwesaidcarl.7845
      @robertwesaidcarl.7845 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The most skilled of U-boat captains or not, it took tremendous submarine skill and seamanship and nerve and leadership to get in, act, and get out.

  • @MrBruinman86
    @MrBruinman86 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love seeing the clips of Werner Klemperer - AKA Colonel Klink.

  • @stuartharper3968
    @stuartharper3968 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Another masterful presentation by this world class historian !!

    • @filster1934
      @filster1934 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      World class historian? I don't know about that. Try Mark Felton's War Stories if you want accuracy.

  • @oneshotme
    @oneshotme 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up for support

  • @richardthompson9836
    @richardthompson9836 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Most interesting. The early naval engagements around that part of Scotland are of great interest to me as my grandfather's ship, HMS Exmouth, was sunk in January 1940 just off Wick, Scotland with the loss of all hands. They were escorting a freighter carrying military supplies to the Orkney Islands. Exmouth was sunk by U-22.

  • @bobwitkowski6410
    @bobwitkowski6410 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    The story of the U 47 was on a series called Silent Service a half hour show produced by the USN it started Werner Klemplerer ( the same guy who played as Kamondant Klink on Hogans Heroes ). I didn't realize how powerful an actor he was until then. What also shocked me was his his starring role in the movie, "Operation Eichmann" wherein you also see John Banner not as a bungling buffoon Sgt. Schultz but as a man of total evil Kommandant of Auschwitz. In this video they used clips from that show. Believe me I didn't think either of them had that kind of roles in them.

    • @ronrobertson59
      @ronrobertson59 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think I read Werner Klemplerer and John Banner were Jewish. Strange they made a living portraying German offices.

    • @bobwitkowski6410
      @bobwitkowski6410 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ronrobertson59 yeah they both where Jewish. How they where able to pull of what they did in ( Operation Eichmann ) is beyond me. Especially the opening statement. I guess that what they did in (Hogans Heroes) was an act of hatered.

  • @crisslastname9417
    @crisslastname9417 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    OMG! I have that same cutaway model above my desk. I built it over 35 years ago. Awesome!

  • @markjones7687
    @markjones7687 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Love the shot of Colonel Klink (Werner Klemplerer) as a U-boat commander early in this video. The big question is where was Sergent Schultz and Hogan?

    • @kacodemonio
      @kacodemonio 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The u-boat was too tight for Schultz.

    • @mtnshooter2487
      @mtnshooter2487 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      they all have passed.

    • @briansearles4473
      @briansearles4473 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@mtnshooter2487 I think the actor who played Lebeau is still alive?

    • @olegprovochevitch8851
      @olegprovochevitch8851 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I know NU-ZINKK!

    • @jduff59
      @jduff59 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@briansearles4473 Brian - he's 96 and going strong (Robert Clary).

  • @mikeholton9876
    @mikeholton9876 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    politics aside looking at just the skillset, the Kriegsmarine had several sub commanders that were as skilled as any that ever pulled the plug, virtually all of them were eventually killed in action as sub hunting technology outstripped the U Boat's advancement's in evasion technology. nice video.

  • @robbabcock_
    @robbabcock_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Wow! What an amazing and gutsy mission!

  • @stuartcooper9108
    @stuartcooper9108 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love how you are using footage from The Silent Service with Werner Klemperer as Capt Prien

  • @james_t_kirk
    @james_t_kirk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    *Scenes of Kriegsmarine Captain Prien onboard U-47 were taken from the 1958 movie, "The Silent Service", and were played by none other than "Colonel Klink" (Werner Klemperer) of TV's "Hogan's Heroes" fame.*

    • @andygiles2213
      @andygiles2213 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks - didn't know this but, yes, it's a young Colonel Klink with hair!

  • @bigwoody4704
    @bigwoody4704 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    There was a story of one of the Sailors on the Royal Oak coming up to the deck for a smoke when the ship was hit.That cigarette saved his life

    • @intercommerce
      @intercommerce 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      A single cigarette at night was sometimes all it took for one's ship to be spotted and sunk with all hands in pitch black darkness in the freezing Atlantic....

    • @bigwoody4704
      @bigwoody4704 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@intercommerce Perhaps,though there were quite a few ships moored at Scapa Flow so there were more than enough targets.Though an enemy captaining that sub it was some impressive maneuvering getting thru the nets/mines/ships and then back out again

  • @stevew6138
    @stevew6138 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Churchill: "OMG....... Col. Klink sunk my battleship....................."

  • @robinwells8879
    @robinwells8879 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    A dreadful loss of life but a truly remarkable achievement by a sub crew nonetheless against fearsome natural obstructions augmented by the navy. This area is the focus of tidal energy development for a reason.

  • @Volcano-Man
    @Volcano-Man 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    My late fiancées father survived the sinking of HMS Royal Oak, his younger brother didn't. RIP my brothers in arms

  • @cameronmccreary4758
    @cameronmccreary4758 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    At 7:27 and 7:30 that's Werner Klemperer (Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes). Also, at 8:13.

  • @greggweber9967
    @greggweber9967 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    You have to admit that it was good enough work for an episode of the "Silent Service" from which I think I saw Warner Klemperer (different last names) as Captain Prien.

  • @Auggies1956
    @Auggies1956 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Note: Some clips were from a movie with Werner Klemper, AKA Col. Klink of Hogans Hero's.

  • @mozilla2576
    @mozilla2576 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    That's the first time I have heard this story. Thanks! Very brave little U boat.
    I'm glad the Brits eventually found her.

  • @jkevinf5091
    @jkevinf5091 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    That IS Werner Klemperer, from an episode of Twilight Zone, where he is a passenger on a freighter in WWII, and he is also the captain of the U-Boat that sinks it with him aboard, over and over and over, in a well deserved hell!

    • @tonyboyd1003
      @tonyboyd1003 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I think it was One Step Beyond, not Twilight Zone.

  • @thevictoryoverhimself7298
    @thevictoryoverhimself7298 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The seafloor of scapa flow hosts the worlds largest collection of battleships all in one place to this day

  • @m.g.540
    @m.g.540 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Always good to see Werner Klemperer, a German-American actor was best known for the role of Colonel Wilhelm Klink on the CBS television sitcom Hogan's Heroes at the helm of a U-Boat.

  • @wauzdancer1556
    @wauzdancer1556 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great piece of history explained. I did smile at the shots of a U-boat commander. It's Col. Klink. Actually a clip from of Actor Werner Klemperer in the character of a U-boat commander. Aside from that tidbit the history explained is this video as very interesting.

  • @CMTechnica
    @CMTechnica 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The Bull of Scapa Flow
    What a legend

  • @orange_cat
    @orange_cat 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice video editing and commentary

  • @jamesireland6606
    @jamesireland6606 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great content love this channel

  • @boilerroomed3682
    @boilerroomed3682 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Colonel Klink!!

  • @jeffreyoneill6439
    @jeffreyoneill6439 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I am British but can still admire heroes of an enemy nation.

  • @intercommerce
    @intercommerce 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Best U- Boat book: "Iron Cofffins"...best U-Boat movie: "Das Boot". Watch/read these and you will understand exactly how it was for these brave, doomed sailors and their unique form of war...

    • @barrettcarr1413
      @barrettcarr1413 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Das Boot the TV series, best of all the movies/TVs on U-Boats

  • @donaldpetkus1637
    @donaldpetkus1637 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    What was the source of the stock footage used in this episode? There must have been a film starring Wernher Klemperer as a U-boat commander. It was probably in German, but some of us would like to track it down. Thanks for your excellent series

    • @paulvarga9696
      @paulvarga9696 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It is from a early TV series about submariners

    • @wjm5972
      @wjm5972 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      i thought col klink was a pow camp commandant?

  • @stuart8663
    @stuart8663 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Excellent effort and thoroughly enjoyed the story. Thanks for all the work you put in. Ignore the Armchair Commandos and their stupid criticisms.

    • @leebenson4874
      @leebenson4874 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      So using facts about a thing/happening is STUPID? WTF is this world coming too?????

  • @brianbrady4496
    @brianbrady4496 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Well like 80% of their comrade's they ended up on the ocean floor.... Being in the U-boat arm was almost like a death sentence....

    • @raylaymon344
      @raylaymon344 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The enigma code was broken early. Every U-boat had to state where it was every day, look up black October, 60 plus uboats sunk in one month, Japanese code was broken early also. Imagine knowing the moves of the enemy on a day to day basis.

  • @yie1918
    @yie1918 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The legend u- boat 🐃

  • @johnnelson5083
    @johnnelson5083 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Is that Col Klink at 7:26? Perhaps Sargent Schultz was on Royal Oak when the first torpedo hit the bow dismissing it saying "I know nothing!"

  • @charlesmoore456
    @charlesmoore456 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Nice to see Werner Klemperer again.

  • @brucejensen9958
    @brucejensen9958 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I didn't realize Col. Klink was a U-Boat Captian...🤔

  • @scubasteve3032
    @scubasteve3032 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    “Preen”

  • @williamhaynes4800
    @williamhaynes4800 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "What is this man doing here?!"

  • @johnpowell5433
    @johnpowell5433 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    How do you "hunt down" (8:04) a ship that is at anchor? So much going for this channel but some improved scripting, and accurate pronunciation, would make such a difference.

    • @warrenchambers4819
      @warrenchambers4819 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You really think so? I mean I wouldn't know as I don't make videos where can I see some of yours?

    • @lordgarion514
      @lordgarion514 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@warrenchambers4819
      What?
      You don't need to be chef Gordon Ramsay, to know a piece of food tastes like shit.
      And TBH, it doesn't take much common sense to understand that "hunting down" something that's literally tied up in one spot, and nor moving, is quite literally impossible to do.......

  • @Gokizzmass
    @Gokizzmass 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Colonel Klink - Mein Gott!

  • @mwbright
    @mwbright 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hey, the very first shot, showing the submarine captain, was the guy who played Col. Klink in Hogan's Heroes.

  • @jonosmith4919
    @jonosmith4919 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for all you're channel's MUCH LOVE FROM ENGLAND GOD SAVE THE QUEEN XX

  • @dougiedrever7168
    @dougiedrever7168 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    prien's log was heavily doctored after the event, and the huge loss of life is partially due to the navy not allowing locals to help, same with the hampshire, didnt want locals to help to stop the story getting out

    • @johnjephcote7636
      @johnjephcote7636 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The story of the Hampshire and Kitchener's knowledge that he would die at sea has fascinated me for decades. I have seen the spot and why his ship went that route, leaving its escorts...and why his body supposedly turned up far away...?

    • @dougiedrever7168
      @dougiedrever7168 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@johnjephcote7636 there is a photo in a book written by one of the hampshire survivors of my grandparents with a half dozen of the survivors, one of the few local families that helped or didn't listen and helped

  • @robertwalker7457
    @robertwalker7457 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Is that footage of Werner Kemperer in " The Haunted Uboat" from the "Series One Step Beyond" first season 1959 episode 17? Well put together thank you.

  • @catsupchutney
    @catsupchutney 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I enjoy seeing Colonel Klink in the videos.

  • @josiatokirina1788
    @josiatokirina1788 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A trivia note: The actor that played the submarine captain Prien in the video is Werner Klemperer, who also played the commandant in Hogan's Heroes!

  • @tommo5884
    @tommo5884 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I love that the Dark Docs don't discriminate against the axis forces. The bravery and service given by my German ancestors was no less than that given by my British and Australian. Serving under a leader who is on the wrong side of history doesn't mean that your sacrifice to your family and country should be written out of it.
    If anything, humanising the enemy rather than demonising them, is the only way we can prevent this from happening again.

  • @zillsburyy1
    @zillsburyy1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    poles put up a good fight!

  • @richardpatton2502
    @richardpatton2502 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Sadly the Royal Oak was filled with boys…no way the Germans could’ve known that but it’s very sad nonetheless
    All the best to everyone

    • @chriswoods7452
      @chriswoods7452 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@apis_aculei yes, of course they were endangered by their superiors at sea in a live war, not asleep in a supposedly secure harbour

  • @tonypegler9080
    @tonypegler9080 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    8:20 Is that Colonel Klink ?

  • @frodobaggins169
    @frodobaggins169 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Nice one! The caption of the U-47 was an actor on Hogan's Heroes Werner Klemperer, Colonel Kink.

  • @jimbo97
    @jimbo97 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is the first time I have seen this heroic story told in detail. I'll have to look for that "Silent Service" episode... starring Colonel Klink! 😄

  • @GasketManzrevenge
    @GasketManzrevenge 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nice use of movie footage.. it is a good one with Werner Klemperer as Prien (pronounced Preen)..

  • @cookietrouble4637
    @cookietrouble4637 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow nice video! Subs straight away! Undervalued channel! Keep it up! 🤩

  • @willlauzon3744
    @willlauzon3744 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Also when I play Silent Hunter III I always pick the type 7b. Type IX are too big and clumsy to get out of depth charge patterns despite having a much bigger payload and range

    • @willlauzon3744
      @willlauzon3744 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @Shill of [insert_personal_Boogeyman] I also attempted this as well in SH III. I got in but I didn't get back out.

  • @glenmartin2437
    @glenmartin2437 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Thank you.
    A victory for the Nazi's, but a tragedy for the Brits.
    My Uncle Clarence was in a Nazi POW Camp after his capture at Kasserine Pass. Germans ok, Nazi's no. WW2 brought such loss of life and destruction.

    • @plinnytheother6107
      @plinnytheother6107 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Most Germans though at first hating the National Socialists did eventually quietly admire them, just saying. Brainwashing will take you far especially when you start with the young in schools, you can make them believe up is down.

    • @alfredcoleman6919
      @alfredcoleman6919 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Gunther prien scappa flow

    • @citzeneh2978
      @citzeneh2978 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I wouldn't call what transpired as victory at all. Attacking a nation when not at war is sneaky and cowardly. imho

    • @dlallwine
      @dlallwine 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@citzeneh2978 Appears you did not understand the facts.
      September 3: At 9:00 a.m. the British ambassador to Berlin Nevile Henderson is instructed by the Cabinet to deliver an ultimatum to Germany which expired without answer at 11:00 a.m.[18] As a result at 11:15 a.m. British Standard Time (BST) the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announces that Britain is at war with Germany.
      Royal Oak Sunk by U-47, 14 October 1939.

  • @Hubidubi18
    @Hubidubi18 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    8:13 wrong. the 4th Torpedo simply got stuck in the tube and didnt left the sub they had so sweap it out with Pressuer later.

  • @robertwesaidcarl.7845
    @robertwesaidcarl.7845 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    We American submariners have the highest respect for those of the German navy.

    • @david_rocher
      @david_rocher 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      of course. even nowadays German submarines can kill entire US carrier groups undetected. As a matter of fact we actually already did at a sea exercise. oh boy were them US officers on board of the German submarine sweating the entire time. What an embarassement the US military has become. Its probably just as bad as the Russian One by now. :D

    • @GeorgHaeder
      @GeorgHaeder 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      There is a memorial marker at the German Naval memorial in Laboe for the lost 52 US U-Boats and their men. It's the only memorial marker for a former enemy's U-Boat men at the site.

    • @Mike-hu8yz
      @Mike-hu8yz 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Murdering scum. My grandfather survived this. Never forgave. Surgeon Capn. George Lee Ritchie.

  • @jandoerlidoe3412
    @jandoerlidoe3412 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Royal Oak looks like a oil tanker....wrong video reel ?

  • @paultyson4389
    @paultyson4389 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    When that first torpedo struck, the impact was so great that one sailor recalled being tossed from his bunk. In what I would regard as extraordinary incompetency, the captain, rear admiral nor any one else on the ship did anything to investigate, they all just went back to sleep. Prien immediately did a runner expecting all hell to break loose. When nothing happened and he saw the Royal Oak was still afloat, he turned back and fired a volley from the rear tubes with lethal effect this time. The sub did briefly get stuck on one of the sunken ships on the way in. Churchill was in charge of the navy at that time and I believe he sacked the guy in charge of the base, though he had only been in charge for a brief time and had noted that the defenses to the entrances needed to be beefed up.
    The Germans made no announcement of the disappearance of their hero U-Boat commander, though the British were well aware that they might have got him. In a propaganda coup, the British dropped leaflets on Germany enquiring "Where is Prien?" and it was only then that the Germans admitted he and all his crew had been lost.
    There is a beautiful photo of the Prien's U-Boat passing the Scharnhorst on its return and all the crew of the pocket battleship are lining the deck, saluting. Very few of them would survive.

    • @TheBlackob
      @TheBlackob 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      "Scharnhorst" and "Pocket Battleship" in one sentence? Please explain

    • @paultyson4389
      @paultyson4389 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheBlackob It did not have the guns of a battleship.

    • @TheBlackob
      @TheBlackob 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@paultyson4389 They had small guns for their time yes, but they had battleship guns. The Deutschland-Class was called "pocket battleships" because they had the same caliber - 11 inch, a battleship caliber - on the hull of a fairly small ship.
      The only "cruiser" to ever surpass this caliber was the Alaska class with 12 inches. A large cruiser whose specs where designed to put her above all other cruiser out there. Any other cruiser had smaller guns, usually 8 inches. In what way are these supposed to not be battleship guns?

    • @paultyson4389
      @paultyson4389 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheBlackob I see it is listed as a battleship.

    • @MrOiram46
      @MrOiram46 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheBlackob Those are Battlecruisers and Battlecruiser guns; battleships of that time had 14 inch guns at the smallest, much larger than 11 and 12 inch guns

  • @gnome53
    @gnome53 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    @7:25 "and at 2:27 am, Prien told the crew, quote, 'We are in Scapa Flow'"
    The narrator probably meant 12:27 am. Compare with @8:07 "and at 12:58 am, she fired a salvo of three torpedoes"

  • @shemp308
    @shemp308 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I like history! But did you have to use Colonel Klink?

  • @YTMegiddo
    @YTMegiddo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hooo-gaaann! Werner actually served in the US Army from 1942-45.

  • @aquariuswithfire
    @aquariuswithfire 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    The sinking Oak sure looks a lot like a freighter in these clips....LOL

  • @Dave5843-d9m
    @Dave5843-d9m 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    U-47 found gaps in British defences because the British had not taken the time to properly prepare their perimeter. Pride and fall come to mind.

    • @dougiedrever7168
      @dougiedrever7168 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      come visit scapa and ask yourself if you would have taken a submarine through kirk sound all things considered, the tides alone are a nightmare

  • @krisfrederick5001
    @krisfrederick5001 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I live in Royal Oak and am reminded of this constantly

  • @paspax
    @paspax 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I see Walter Klemperer. AKA, Colonel Klink.

    • @GermanShepherd1983
      @GermanShepherd1983 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      His name was Werner not Walter.

    • @scottmccloud9029
      @scottmccloud9029 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@GermanShepherd1983 You are correct sir.

    • @Vet-7174
      @Vet-7174 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Werner ^^

  • @gwc656g
    @gwc656g 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    what movie are the clips from??

  • @JAQUESDIBLET
    @JAQUESDIBLET 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I really love your videos and I hate to correct you but prien is pronounce like preen .

  • @peterkerr803
    @peterkerr803 ปีที่แล้ว

    Does anyone know the movie whose outtakes were used in this documentary. Like many others, Werner Klemperer (aka Col. Klink) is a favorite and I always like to see him in various roles. Thanks.

  • @alessiodecarolis
    @alessiodecarolis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I read about this attack, a lot of losses happened because there were electric emergency doors and there was a blackout, logically shutting them down. I don't know if it 's real, but equipping a ship with these devices is a little suicidal

  • @systeminoperative8790
    @systeminoperative8790 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    u make great content

  • @johnfoster535
    @johnfoster535 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Now we know that Klink auditioned for " Das Boot", and was replaced by Jurgen Prochnow who suggested that Klink was a better role for him....playing off General Burkhalter's jokes like : " ...soon you'll be dancing with polar bears on the Eastern Front, Klink ! " Or, " Shut up, Klink !!...I'll do the talking while YOU do the PACKING......for the Eastern Front !! "

  • @bobgreene2892
    @bobgreene2892 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Was the 8.8 cm deck gun on the Type 7 boat, version D, the same gun used as tank and AA artillery? Although I doubt it, there might be a basic similarity.

  • @jonathonhass4178
    @jonathonhass4178 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    No comments about Werner Klemperer aka Colonel Clink of Stalag 13 fame (Hogan’s Heroes) as a Sub Skipper in this vid….amazing

    • @mortimersnerd8044
      @mortimersnerd8044 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Werner Klemperer also played Günther Prien in a lesser known TV series called *Silent Service* in an episode about the Scappa raid. Col. Klink was his best known role, but he played many others.

    • @jonathonhass4178
      @jonathonhass4178 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@mortimersnerd8044 Very true. In fact, I think the footage here is from that series. As good an actor as he was, he was also a very accomplished violinist.

  • @merafirewing6591
    @merafirewing6591 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Royal Navy: The Germans can't breach Scapa Flow.
    U-47: *then torpedoes the Royal Oak*
    Royal Navy: *surprised Pikachu face*

    • @advorak8529
      @advorak8529 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      They tried several times in WWI with no good outcome. Prien thought he had spotted a weakness between 2 block ships (sunken to close off side entrances) that had IIRC not settled quite as planned due to the water rushing strongly with the tides through these narrow channels.
      At spring tide, he thought, at night there was just enough space for his submarine to get past. He was right.
      On the other hand, see how many torpedoes he fired and how many exploded. The _Torpedokrise_ was in full swing.
      Incidentally, that was how the Allies first learned about the very existence German electric torpedoes - a couple of them were found undamaged when they, very diligently, searched the harbour, including under water.