The Smithsonian Channel will air a new documentary series about submarine warfare in WW2 titled Hell Below. According to IMDB... "Hell Below is an event-based series charting the stealth game of sub sea warfare, tracking the dramatic narrative from contact to attack of the greatest submarine patrols of World War II. From the rise of the Wolfpack to the drive for victory in the Pacific, we profile the strategic masterminds and the rapid evolution of technology and tactics, as the threat of undersea warfare brings every sailor's worst nightmare to life. Expert analysis and stock footage are woven with narrative driven re-enactments filmed on authentic Second World War era submarines to place the characters at the heart of the action." The series will premier on Sunday July 17 at 9:00PM with The Wolfpack. "Take a deep dive into the North Atlantic as we go above and below sea level to relive one of the first attacks of Donitz's lethal subs in 1940, headed by leader of the pack Commander Otto Kretschmer. Then follow Britain's war strategists as they race to combat this new deadly attack." A couple of trailers are up on the Smithsonian Channel website. http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/hell-below/1004308 Definitely gonna watch it.
Thanks. I've added it to my calendar. I'm unfamiliar with the Smithsonian Channel so fingers crossed for a documentary series at a somewhat higher level than what we're used to from the "History" Channel!
Everything old is new again. Hard to beat the original https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silent_Service_(TV_series) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1nESHgqAnY
Appreciate the notice and will watch. The Smithsonian is a respected institution, at least to me, and I expect a good result. The History Channel is more bizarre, from good to ridiculous programming .....anything that will attach viewers ( read that as revenue )
I have watched the first six episodes and it is a fair series but much too "American" for my taste. The expert commentaries are good but that is about it. Then again, I am a huge fan of BBC produced documentaries and BBC use a very different approach than what this Canadian company did. Watch the BBC 2002 documentary called "Battle of the Atlantic" and you'll see what I mean.
Much of the Smithsonian channel is Canadian doc's, Mighty Ships, Air Disasters and such. Generally speaking good product, or at least entertaining. I believe I've seen all 6 episodes of Hell Below With three based on the US subs two on U-boats and one from a mixed escort/U-boat encounter. Over all I rate them better than the average, with a limited number of generalities and short cuts. The only tedious element is their attack animation which shows the same torpedo hitting the same target repeatedly. The animation for the subs seems bang on for class and sea condition and decent for convoy's/escorts. Combat diagrams are concise while relaying the 3 dimensional nature of the movements. You do not have to be a history wonk to understand what's going on. No word on a possible second season, but the other series I cited have more than one. If it is too 'American centric' that is understandable as it's target audience is North America and speaking historically the US and Germany waged the most extensive commerce raiding/denial operations during the war. I really would like to see a expansion that included British/Allied, Italian and Japanese focus episodes if there is a second season.
Interesting but needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I noticed the same thing Belasar did, the re-use of the same torpedo hit and other videos. "leader of the pack Commander Otto Kretschmer" is a misunderstanding, there was no formal commander of a German wolf pack, they were assembled and directed by Donitz's headquarters, in contrast to American practice of sending out a pack of usually three subs with a designated commander for an entire patrol together.
