Das Boot Movie Allied Air Attack on La Rochelle

[elxaime]

I was recently watching the 1981 movie Das Boot. The full movie link on YouTube is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxdkKfl8YME

At the end of the movie there is an Allied air attack on the U-Boat pens. The location is supposed to be La Rochelle and the time frame October 1941. The attack seems to be led by several single engine planes followed by a larger number of two engine ones. There seems minimal German AAA and there is no German Luftwaffe presence. The air attack is at 4:02:00 or so (right near the end of the movie.

I couldn't guess what type of Allied planes these were supposed to be. But it struck me as unlikely that the RAF (this was pre-US entry into WW2) during this time frame had planes of these types with the range to strike a target as far away as La Rochelle. It also struck me as strange there was so little German anti-air defenses, when I had read the U-Boat pens were heavily protected.

I would be interested in hearing from aficionados their opinion of the historical realism of this scene, given the time frame, target and combatants on either side.

[decourcy2]

La Pallice, the sub pen area in La Rochelle, was not even completed until late '42 for the pens and the covered lock was not completed until '44. The first raid on La Pallice was not until, what July or August '44 and was carried out by Lancasters with 2000lb bombs. I think a few Mosquitoes also attacked occasionally.

[Ralzakark]

Beauforts and Whitleys as well as four engined Halifaxes were used to attack Scharnhorst in the summer of 1941 when she was at La Pallaice next to the La Rochelle U-Boat pens. These attacks were usually at night but the famous Halifax raid was an unescorted daylight mission as none of the RAF's single engined fighters had the necessary range. Defences were certainly present with dense flak and German Bf 109s taking a heavy toll on the Halifaxes.

[elxaime]

Thanks. Sounds like the day light RAF air attack in the movie was a plot device that stretched some facts. Too bad, because it seems otherwise they stay pretty close to reality.

[jwolf]

As I recall, the U-boat in the movie went through Gibraltar -- barely surviving -- and then to an Italian port, maybe La Spezia?? Its original orders were for La Rochelle but that was changed sometime in the middle of the movie as the captain got new orders.

[AWGreif]

Tried to go through Gibraltar ... but seriously damaged had to return to the Fench bases on the Atlantic.

[jwolf]

Ah, my apologies, I didn't realize the ship turned back the other way!

[sullafelix]

I was just reading that some of the incidents from the book/movie were based on a Uboat captain that was brought up on cowardice charges, convicted and shot.

I cannot remember the mans name or where I was reading that had the link to the story, possible " the wargamer".

This was the link to trivia about the movie, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/trivia.

[soeren01]

The Author made three submarine trips as Kriegsberichterstatter. The movie is more or less an mix of what happened during this three sorties, plus a bit of what happend on other boats. It is not a documentary of one specific sortie.

[cato12]

im a das boat movie fanatic and have watched the film to many times to remember. and until I read this thread Id always assumed that the port they finally docked in was la spezia in Italy!

[:)]

[elxaime]

There seems room for confusion.

* The opening movie credits place the launch point of the U-96 in La Rochelle
* However the emblem on the U-96's conning tower is the Laughing Sawfish, the emblem of the 9th flotilla, which operated from Brest
* The actual U-96 was part of the 7th Flotilla, which operated out of St. Nazaire

If the book is a mix of various voyages and incidents, I can see how this all got mixed up. Given that, I am surprised the director didn't tweak things some more, have the U-boat leave from St. Nazaire in early 1942, then have it arrive back just in time for Operation Chariot. Instead of an air raid, we get an epic shot of the crew's amazed faces as they watch the HMS Campbeltown bearing down on them. [:D]

BTW if the planes in the final air attack sequences seemed a bit off, I found out why:

"At the end of the film, when a group of bombers attacks La Rochelle, a group of heavy bombers breaks formation. This particular shot (with German WW2 Heinkel 111 bombers) was bought from the movie Battle of Britain (1969)."

Lots of good trivia here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/trivia