Description
Object description
Feature film paying tribute to the Merchant Navy, dramatising an attempted U-boat attack on an Atlantic convoy during the Second World War. The players are not professional actors but serving officers and men of Allied Navies and Merchant Fleets.
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(Reel One) Survivors of the merchant ship Jason, sunk by a U-boat, cling to a lifeboat in an Atlantic storm: meanwhile, in the Western Approaches Command Operations Room, Jason's last-known position is plotted on a wall chart along with the suspected U-boat's estimated position. Back on the lifeboat, the Master and Steward distribute rations to the others and tend to an injured crewman. One of the men, Bob, describes how the men in Jason's other lifeboat had been gunned down after the U-boat surfaced and opened fire with her machine gun. The men discuss what to do next; although a distress call could not be sent before the ship sank, the young "Sparks" on the lifeboat has a battery-operated wireless set with him that can send a signal for 200 miles. New York: the next convoy is being prepared. One of the ships, the Leander, is loaded with matériel, including Sherman tanks, steam locomotives, Grumman Martlets (being craned aboard with their wings removed) and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. Captain Kerr tells his First Officer, Rogers, that he is off to the Commanders' conference.
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(Reel Two) Rogers and his colleague Thompson watch Griffiths, the ship's gunner, tending Leander's 4-inch gun, and speak to Dick Longford, the ship's radio officer. Meanwhile, the Master's Conference of convoy leaders meets: the Commodore, the Port director and the Senior Officer of the Escort brief the captains. Captain Kerr is unhappy with the Commodore's instruction that the entire convoy will slow down if one of its members develops a minor engine defect which can be fixed in a short time. This is to ensure there are no stragglers, but Captain Kerr warns that Leander, with her heavy cargo, would be difficult to control at slow speeds. At dusk, the convoy sets sail from New York: Rogers and Griffiths have tea and discuss the estimated journey time. Back on the lifeboat, Captain of the convoy leader on the boat has tea; the survivors sing songs and chat to keep up morale. Longford and his colleague Wadham do a crossword in Leander's wireless room...
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(Reel Three) ...as First Officer Rogers calls in for a weather report, and listens as the pilot of a Hudson aircraft radios in. On the lifeboat, the lonely vigil continues; the men plot their position and continue sending their message. Back with the convoy, there is a problem: the Senior Officer Escort's destroyer pulls alongside the freighter Belle France which is straggling behind. To the lifeboat again: the men chat about why they came to sea and what they would be doing if they were at home, when suddenly an aircraft flies over - they fail to attract its attention.
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(Reel Four) They hide their disappointment, but unbeknown to them, the convoy is coming (illustrated by montage of the ships at sea). After night falls the more able-bodied of the survivors row the lifeboat through the calm sea, but the Master orders quiet, because a sound can be heard - the diesel engines of a U-boat recharging its batteries. The wounded sailor, crying out deliriously, has to be knocked out to keep him quiet. Meanwhile, the convoy is experiencing rough seas, and the Belle France develops engine trouble; the convoy is ordered to slow to keep pace with her. Leander, however, has problems keeping under control travelling at the slower speed and indicates by Aldis lamp to the concerned destroyer escort that she is travelling on ahead and will rejoin the convoy in the morning.
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(Reel Five) At Western Approaches Command, the convoy's progress is monitored, and the possible presence of U-boats reportedly in their path; the convoy is advised to change course. When he receives the news onboard his destroyer, the Senior Officer Escort realises that Leander must be informed. Cut to the interior of a submerged U-boat which has spotted the Jason's stricken lifeboat. The latter is still trying to send its distress message, but the wireless battery is getting low and the wounded sailor is delirious. Meanwhile, Leander is on alert as an aeroplane approaches (Griffiths prepares his gun), but it is an Allied aircraft which sends the message for the ship to rejoin the convoy. At this moment, the lifeboat distress signal is picked up by Longford: should Leander divert to try and rendezvous?
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(Reel Six) Unaware of this, the Master of the lifeboat fears the worst as the radio battery dies; he keeps the news from the rest of the men. Nearby, the U-boat lies in wait. Water rations on the lifeboat are low, and morale is fading. Leander, meanwhile, continues her search and her plume of smoke soon comes into the lifeboat's view. An argument takes place over whether to signal it, because Rawson, the delirious crewman, claims to have heard the U-boat and the captain orders a distress flare to be doused. The Master argues that if they signal the ship whilst a U-boat is watching, the position of the ship would be revealed immediately and the U-boat could attack it. He advises the men to keep watch for a periscope.
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(Reel Seven) They do not have long to wait: the periscope rises and is immediately spotted. The lifeboat crew begin waving, but in the opposite direction to that which Leander is approaching, in order to mislead the submariners. Initially, the strategy works, although the U-boat captain orders the two remaining torpedoes to be loaded. Leander has spotted the lifeboat by this time, and sounds its foghorn to attract the attention of the men who are waving in the opposite direction. The lifeboat crew make semaphore flags out of rags and a bisected boathook and, hidden from view of the periscope by the lifeboat's sail, they signal to the Leander who receives the message just a moment too late - the torpedoes are fired, and one of them hits home. Leander's crew scramble.
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(Reel Eight) In Leander's wireless room, Longford sends a message requesting assistance. Meanwhile, in the U-boat, the captain realises that only one torpedo has hit and the Leander will have to be sunk by gunfire. Onboard Leander, Captain Kerr orders the crew to abandon ship, and the lifeboats are prepared. Below deck, First Officer Rogers searches for Griffiths, who has gone missing; he is unconscious in the bosun's locker. Waking up, he finds himself trapped, and calls for help: Rogers hears him and smashes down the jammed door with an axe. In another part of Leander, the Captain empties the safe; all the other crew having left. Griffiths and Rogers climb to the deck, but upon spotting the periscope they decide to keep out of sight and prepare to man the gun if the U-boat surfaces. The German captain watches Leander closely, wanting to be sure that she is deserted before surfacing, but he is adamant that the ship must be sunk. All this time, Rogers and Griffiths edge closer to Leander's gun...
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(Reel Nine) ...and lie on the deck waiting for the periscope to lower, when they can make the last sprint to the gun platform without being seen. Finally, the U-boat captain believes Leander is deserted, gives the order to surface and lowers the periscope. Rogers and Griffiths seize their chance to man the gun. As the submarine surfaces, the two men wait until the German crew climb onto the deck to man the U-boat's deck guns. Griffiths fires, and narrowly misses, and the enemy immediately man their guns and return fire. Hearing the gunfire, Captain Kerr climbs to the deck and mans Leander's machine gun. During the ensuing battle Griffiths is hit, but Rogers takes over the gun and manages to hit the U-boat: some of the German sailors abandon ship but many more are trapped in the rapidly flooding vessel as she sinks. On Leander, Captain Kerr climbs up to congratulate Rogers and the mortally wounded Griffiths. The danger is over and with Leander still seaworthy, the crew return. The convoy is alerted, and the Jason survivors are welcomed aboard where the two captains meet - it transpires that they are old friends, and greet each other heartily. As Leander steams away, the Jason's abandoned lifeboat is left drifting in the Atlantic.
Physical description
35mm