When a Destroyer Rammed a U-Boat and left the Crew in the Water — Transcript

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1. 0:00It’s 1 am on the 1st of November, 1943,
2. 0:04and the USS Borie is hunting for a U-boat in the midst of a terrible storm in the North Atlantic.
3. 0:10“Contact 8,000 yards away at 170.”
4. 0:11A contact appears on the ship’s radar.
5. 0:13In command is 30-year-old Lieutenant Charles Harris Hutchins.
6. 0:17He quickly issues the order to give chase at maximum speed.
7. 0:20“Turn 170! Flank speed!”
8. 0:21And the USS Borie powers through 15-foot waves.
9. 0:27But nearby, around 5 nautical miles away, sits U-405,
10. 0:31a Type 7C U-boat under the command of Korvettenkapitän Rolf-Heinrich Hopman.
11. 0:38The U-boat is surfaced and it's recharging its batteries under the cover of darkness
12. 0:43when, deep within the ship, the hydrophone operator hears something.
13. 0:50It's the unique telltale sound of propellers churning through the water.
14. 0:54“High speed ship, bearing 90!”
15. 0:56"Hydrophone operator reports high-speed ship bearing 90!"
16. 0:57Hopman knows there is no friendly ships in the area.
17. 0:59This has to be an American.
18. 1:00"Prepare to dive! All crew to battle stations!"
19. 1:03Alarms ricochet through the U-Boat, and the 45-man crew urgently prepare to dive below the surface.
20. 1:11Back on the USS Borie, Hutchins searches in the darkness for any sign of his enemy.
21. 1:16He can’t see a thing, but the radar operator continues providing updates.
22. 1:21Hutchins orders course corrections in response
23. 1:23"Steady as she goes"
24. 1:26"2000, bearing 265"
25. 1:28until the U-boat vanishes from their radar screens.
26. 1:32“Contact has been lost, Sir.”
27. 1:34The news sends chills down Hutchins’ spine.
28. 1:37The U-boat has submerged, and that can only mean one thing.
29. 1:41The Germans know they’re here,
30. 1:43and now the two are in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
31. 1:48“Half speed. Any returns on sonar?”
32. 1:51With the submarine submerged, sonar tracking the echoes from a U-boat is their only chance.
33. 1:59There's a contact!
34. 2:00“Sonar contact 2000 yards bearing 170.”
35. 2:03"Turn 170!"
36. 2:04Hutchins orders a course to intercept.
37. 2:08On board the U-boat,
38. 2:10the submariner on the hydrophone listens intently but he can only hear Borie’s general direction;
39. 2:16the data isn't precise enough for a counterattack.
40. 2:19What he can hear is ever louder propellers and the regular sonar pulse emanating from Borie.
41. 2:26“They’re very close, Captain!”
42. 2:29“Turn to port!”
43. 2:32Meanwhile, aboard the USS Borie, the sonar operators track the U-boat drifting into range.
44. 2:38"600 yards!"
45. 2:40"Prepare port launchers for depth charges!"
46. 2:42The crew move quickly, left-side depth charge racks clattering as they ready the release.
47. 2:47Then, the sonar trace shifts abruptly —
48. 2:49“Contact has been lost, Sir.”
49. 2:53the U-boat has slipped directly beneath their keel.
50. 2:57"500 yards. Now bearing starboard, drawing fast."
51. 3:01“Full to starboard!”
52. 3:02Hutchins orders a hard turn to pursue the target,
53. 3:05swinging the rear of the ship towards the submarine to bring the depth charges to bear.
54. 3:10“300 yards!”
55. 3:11“Fire!”
56. 3:12The charges launch off with loud thunks, flying through the air and splashing into the sea right by the U-405’s nose.
57. 3:22The U-boat is rocked by the blasts, the shockwave punches the submarine’s bow.
58. 3:26"Flooding in the bow, Sir!"
59. 3:28Flooding is impossible to stem when a submarine is fully submerged, as the water pressure is too great.
60. 3:33So Hopman is left without any choice.
61. 3:36"Surface! And man the guns!"
62. 3:37USS Borie sails past, and her sailors look back at the scene of the explosion.
63. 3:43The water is still settling from the blasts when they witness the mighty U-Boat burst from under the sea.
64. 3:48“It surfaced on our stern!”
65. 3:50“Turn on the searchlight! Inform lights where to point!”
66. 3:52Lights come on, and U-405 is immediately clear in the light.
67. 3:58Dozens of Germans are pouring out of the hatches
68. 4:00and they rush to man their 20mm guns and open fire.
69. 4:05The weapons come alive with loud bangs, sending shells streaking over the waves.
70. 4:10The shells slam into the USS Borie’s hull and litter the superstructure, sending American sailors diving for cover.
71. 4:18On U-405 German sailors brave the heavy wind and waves.
72. 4:22The Borie’s spotlight shines directly on their faces as they fire away with 20mm guns.
73. 4:30But they know it's not enough.
74. 4:32The German sailors scramble to ready their much more powerful 88mm deck gun.
75. 4:40Hutchins knows the danger and acts swiftly.
76. 4:43“All guns! Local control, pointer fire!”
77. 4:46The guns open fire.
78. 4:50The first salvos fly over the Germans’ heads and splash into the water behind.
79. 4:54But it doesn’t take long for Borie’s 20mm cannons to find their mark.
80. 5:00Shells crash through the U-405’s forecastle,
81. 5:03devastating the German gunners, including those manning the vital 88mm.
82. 5:08“Heavy losses reported!”
83. 5:10“Reinforce the deck guns! Keep firing!”
84. 5:12There’s a stream of determined men, but they don’t last.
85. 5:15They fall in droves, sliding into the deep amid the fray.
86. 5:20Brave men reach the 88mm and try to aim, but when they look down the sights,
87. 5:26they find themselves staring directly at a wall of 4-inch main guns aimed towards them.
88. 5:34They're too late.
89. 5:39The shells slam directly into the forecastle in a brutal strike.
90. 5:44When the smoke clears, U-405’s 88mm gun and its valiant crew are gone.
91. 5:52Borie continues its wide about-turn while pummelling the enemy without relent.
92. 5:56But it's not enough.
93. 5:57Hutchins knows conning tower hits will never sink it. He needs to deal a fatal blow.
94. 6:02“Ram it!”
95. 6:03The helmsman steers the ship towards the target as Hutchins warns the crew,
96. 6:08"Stand by for a ram. Stand by for a ram."
97. 6:13All hands brace as the ship barrels down towards the sub at 27 knots.
98. 6:21USS Borie crashes directly into the side of U-405, which buckles her bow.
99. 6:27Deep inside Borie, Chief Engineer Kenneth Miles Lucas sees torrents of water gushing from the fissures.
100. 6:34“Get me the repair team!”
101. 6:38Over in U-405, Hopman stumbles to his feet and orders.
102. 6:42“Attack!”
103. 6:43German sailors charge out of the hatches, and a massive firefight breaks out on both decks.
104. 6:50Borie’s sailors have Tommy Guns, pistols, and rifles;
105. 6:52but the rest fight with whatever they can find.
106. 6:55Flare pistols, shell casings, entire misfired shells, and even kitchen knives are fair tools in this chaos.
107. 7:05The Germans fight back as best they can,
108. 7:07but the Americans have cover and the advantage of elevation.
109. 7:11The U-Boat’s deck grants no cover, and its last defenders don’t stand a chance.
110. 7:16The U-405 incredibly is still afloat and functional,
111. 7:21but the crew is devastated and they've lost all their weapons, except the torpedoes.
112. 7:27“Full back! Hard to port!”
113. 7:29U-405 pulls with all its power in an attempt to slip from Borie’s grasp.
114. 7:34The Americans watch as the U-405 starts to move underneath them,
115. 7:38But not everything is going the Americans’ way.
116. 7:40Deep in the engine compartment, engineers attempt speedy repairs as the water quickly rises.
117. 7:47Lucas and his men continue to work the turbines, battling through the water.
118. 7:51The ship moves forward, now laden with hundreds of tons of water filling up its hull.
119. 7:56Borie's gunners continue to fire, but they can't strike a final blow.
120. 8:01“Prepare torpedoes!”
121. 8:02One of USS Borie’s triple torpedo mounts stirs to life and aims its payload towards the target.
122. 8:08"Fire!"
123. 8:10A torpedo blasts out to sea, and tears a path towards the enemy - but misses.
124. 8:17Hopman is in a terrible position.
125. 8:19The ship's managing, but only 15 of its 45-man crew remain.
126. 8:24Heimrich orders a hail mary.
127. 8:25“Turn around! Prepare torpedoes!”
128. 8:29On the USS Borie, the men see the U-405 turning around to attack.
129. 8:35Hutchins, though, has a plan…..
130. 8:37“Disable the searchlight!”
131. 8:39The light that had been so crucial to land accurate gunfire goes dark.
132. 8:43The men aboard the U-405 see the light go out.
133. 8:46Hopman is surprised.
134. 8:47This is their chance to escape.
135. 8:49“Abort torpedo attack! Turn to starboard!”
136. 8:53But USS Borie’s radar never lost sight of the submarine,
137. 8:56and Hutchins' plan has worked…
138. 8:58“Enable the searchlight!”
139. 9:00The lights come back on, revealing U-405 immediately in front.
140. 9:05“Ram it!”
141. 9:07Hopman sees it coming and orders evasive maneuvers.
142. 9:10U-405 makes a nimble turn to sneak past USS Borie’s starboard side,
143. 9:15but Hutchins won't let it go that easily.
144. 9:17"Hard to starboard!"
145. 9:18The whole ship trembles as it strains through the maneuver,
146. 9:21stern swinging out towards the enemy and bringing depth charges into range.
147. 9:26“Fire depth charges!”
148. 9:29The canisters fly off the mounts and splash perfectly around the enemy ship.
149. 9:37The explosions send U-405 into a tumble, its hull is now breached beyond repair.
150. 9:43There’s silence across the water until the Germans fire out flares from their stricken U-boat.
151. 9:50It's a signal to surrender.
152. 9:52Moments later, 15 survivors and their captain make their way out and board life rafts.
153. 9:59USS Borie inches close to the stricken men, seeing what they can do to help in the heaving waves.
154. 10:04But a lookout shouts to announce a flare in the distance, shortly followed by an incoming torpedo.
155. 10:11"Flare astern!"
156. 10:12"Torpedo in the water!"
157. 10:12They assume it’s another German submarine.
158. 10:14Hutchins immediately orders Borie to turn the stern towards the incoming torpedo to show a thin profile,
159. 10:23but that also sends Borie straight into the German life rafts.
160. 10:38The Borie’s crew are forced to abandon the German survivors who await rescue…
161. 10:44That rescue would never come
162. 10:45and the men of U-405 were all lost to the Atlantic.
163. 10:50USS Borie wins the engagement, but is still mortally wounded.
164. 10:55The flooding cannot be stopped.
165. 10:58Lucas and his men continue operating the engines even as they have to dive to reach the valves.
166. 11:03Eventually, they evacuate through the roof hatch.
167. 11:06The crew abandon ship.
168. 11:09Tragically, the sea also claimed 27 of USS Borie’s 122 men before rescue ships arrived at the scene.
169. 11:19Both Lieutenant Commander Charles Harris Hutchins and Kenneth Miles Lucas survived the war.
170. 11:24Hutchins would be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.
171. 11:28"Those Japanese are up to something at Midway,
172. 11:30What would their perspective look like?
173. 11:31Watch this film and find out."