This short, silent film — an extract from a German newsreel — shows footage of U-boats on patrol in the Atlantic during WWII. At :34, the U-boat leaves submarine pens on its way to patrol. At :49 the Captain is visible on the conning tower. At :47 a distinctive logo is shown, indicating this is likely the boat known as the Running Devil – U-552. At :52, the boat heads out to sea and continues surface running in high seas :59. At 1:49 what appears to be a cameraman dangles from a line, filming the crew in the weather part of the conning tower. At 2:16 the boat’s clock is set. At 2:26, surface running, the U-boat sinks an enemy cargo ship with its deck gun. At 2:38 the crew of the stricken ship is seen in life boats. At 2:50 the U-boat prepares to dive. At 3:32 the crew listens anxiously as an enemy destroyer probes for them. At 3:49 a fuse is replaced in the electrical panel and the lights in the boat come back on. At 3:54 the captain looks through the periscope. At 4:14 crew members rush forward as ballast as the boat surfaces. At 4:57, night engagement, the boat destroys what must have been an oiler. At 5:21, the newsreel cameraman films the sinking enemy ships.
German submarine U-552 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 December 1939 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 528, launched on 14 September 1940 and went into service on 4 December 1940. U-552 was nicknamed the Roter Teufel (“Red Devil”) after its mascot of a grinning devil which was painted on the conning tower. She was one of the more successful of her class, operating for over three years of continual service and sinking or damaging 30 Allied ships with 164,276 tons sunk and 26,910 tons damaged. She was a member of 21 wolf packs.
U-552 was involved in two controversial actions: in October 1941 she sank the USS Reuben James, the first US Navy warship to be lost in World War II; this was at a time when the US was still officially neutral, and caused a diplomatic row. In April 1942 she sank the freighter SS David H. Atwater off the US seaboard.
U-552 had an unusually long service life, surviving to the end of World War II; after evacuating from her French base during the spring of 1944 she operated on training duties in the Baltic Sea until 2 May 1945, when her crew scuttled her in Helgoland Bight, to prevent her falling into enemy hands.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
