Anyone who makes a noise underwater is dead
Otto Sander sounds the alarm in “Das Boot”
Quelle: picture alliance / United Archives/Impress
The US and France are at war with shrill words over their failed submarine deals with Australia. Everyone involved should know from the famous U-Boot films: It is important to avoid any sound.
EOn the occasion of the loud transatlantic roar about the Australian submarine trade, let’s remember the most dramatic scene in the classic film “Das Boot”.
The “U 96” is ordered from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean to protect Rommel’s supply lines in Africa. It has to pass through the eye of the needle in the Strait of Gibraltar, which is closely controlled by the Royal Navy. A suicide mission.
But the “Kaleun” Jürgen Prochnow would not be “the old one” if he had no plan. He wants to lead his boat up to the English surveillance chains in the dark over water, then dive down and let the underwater current pull him noiselessly through the strait.
Klaus Wennemann, Jürgen Prochnow and Herbert Grönemeyer (from left) in “Das Boot”
Quelle: picture alliance / United Archives/Impress
“Noiseless” is the key word, because submarines rely on moving unnoticed. Noise avoidance is also at the heart of the other famous submarine movie, “The Hunt for Red October”. The Soviets have succeeded in using a “magnetohydrodynamic drive” to build an almost undetectable boat, which is also commanded by Sean Connery, which is another invaluable asset. It’s a shame that Connery and Prochnow never competed against each other with submarines, that would have been interesting.
Technical details aside, suffice to say that magnetohydrodynamics does not require a propeller or other mechanical parts. Such a motor was built as a prototype in the USA and Japan, but it is still unsuitable for use in large objects.
So every submarine still needs a conventional engine, the only question is how it is powered. Nuclear submarines can stay under water longer, which would be important for the Australians, because they are not thinking of a war against Papua New Guinea, but of a conflict with China.
Sean Connery in “The Hunt for Red October” (1990)
Quelle: picture alliance / United Archives/kpa Publicity
Diesel submarines are smaller and more maneuverable; They too can operate quietly by switching off the diesel, as Kaleu Prochnow had already practiced (“Don’t make a riot and save fuel”). However, one hears, an Australian delegation told the engineers in Kiel that their diesel was too loud; that was a few years ago, before the Germans were thrown out of the competition and France won the race (for now, as we now know).
This was a painful blow to German submarine expertise, which was believed to have a solid foundation thanks to the global success of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s and Wolfgang Petersen’s “Boot”, regardless of the waves of politics. It may also have been damaged by the reputation of major German projects, which apparently can no longer be completed without enormous delays and exploding costs.
This is believed to be a more recent development; a mistake, if you look at the creation of “Das Boot”. Planned as a five million project, it had turned into DM 32 million by the time the film was finally finished in 1981.
![Das Boot, (DAS BOOT) D 1981, director: Wolfgang Petersen, KLAUS WENNEMANN, JÜRGEN PROCHNOW, HERBERT GRÖNEMEYER, keyword: Greetings [ Rechtehinweis: picture alliance/United Archives ]](https://img.welt.de/img/kultur/literarischewelt/mobile200893040/2632509337-ci102l-w1024/Das-Boot.jpg)
And it wasn’t until 40 years later, in July 2021, that the finances were finally settled: after years of litigation, the cameraman Jost Vacano was awarded a profit share of 160,000 euros, almost double what he had once received as a fee. You just can’t stay calm. You have to make noise.
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