Episodes

• Life and Death Decisions

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  Decisions Captains make can change the course of history. See the impact of some of those decisions in this special episode of WW2 Hell Under the Sea.

• Courageous Captains

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  Cunning, aggressive, ruthless. Submarine Captains are a unique breed. See the impact those Captains have had on the course of history.

• Fight for the Fjords

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  Despite textbook set ups to sink Royal Navy ships, faulty torpedoes threaten a U-Boat commander’s mission during the German invasion of Norway.

• Subversion

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  A German U-Boat commander faces accusations of subversion from his crew that lead to his court martial over a clash about Nazi ideology.

• The Hunted

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  While a U.S. Hunter Killer Group stalks a German U-Boat, a destroyer rams the sub and the enemy crew uses the opportunity to board the American ship.

• Edge of Survival

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  After an enemy bomb blast shatters an American submarine, the crew battles an out of control dive and a toxic fire in their quest to survive.

• Chaos in Command

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  Failure creates conflict between the Commander and his Executive Officer during the first war patrol of an American submarine.

• The Interceptor

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  As the Japanese empire evacuates VIPs from the Philippines, a US submarine sets out to stop them and sets a record for the U.S. Navy in World War II.

• Fight for Survival

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  In this special episode, submarine crews fought for survival as they engaged in some of the most intense naval battles of World War II.

• Killer Strike

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  In the opening weeks of World War II, a German U-Boat Commander launches a shocking attack against the Royal Navy in its own home port.

• Heroes of the Deep

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  In this special episode, submarine crews face deadly hand-to-hand combat, chaos in command, and crippling explosions as they fight for survival at sea.

• Enigma Capture

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  In direct violation of Hitler's orders a German U-Boat Commander sinks a passenger ship on the first day of the war sparking an international crisis.

• The Longest Journey

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  On Christmas morning 1944, an Allied merchant ship off the coast of Australia fights off a torpedo attack by a German U-Boat with its deck guns.

• Torpedo Rampage

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  July 1944. An American submarine commander manages to penetrate the defences of a Japanese convoy in the Luzon Strait. The tables are turned, however, when the convoy's escorts go on the attack.

• Commander Down

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  After a spectacular collision and ensuing attack from a Japanese ship, an American submarine crew begins a desperate struggle for survival.

• Iwo Jima Pilot Rescue

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  As carrier groups deliver destruction to Japanese strongholds, American subs risk everything to surface in enemy waters and rescue downed aviators.

• Wounded Warrior

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  USS Silversides battles depth charges, a jammed torpedo and an emergency appendectomy deep in enemy waters whilst intercepting Japanese ships to Guadalcanal.

• Submarine Raiders

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  June 1945. With Japanese merchant shipping slowed to a trickle, US Medal of Honor Recipient, Commander Eugene Fluckey bets a crew member they'll sink 15 vessels during their War Patrol. He also plots to destroy shore based targets along Japan's coast. The harassment campaign develops unprecedented tactics and lands a small crew of saboteurs to bomb a train on a Japanese island.

• Relentless Pursuit

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  January 1944. A German U-Boat defies the odds and escapes both Allied depth charges and aircraft to sink ships and return to port despite severe damage. Ten weeks later, U-515 led by U-boat Ace Werner Henke is on route to the Gold Coast and meets one of the new Hunter Killer Groups led by Captain Daniel Gallery. The encounter puts Henke and his crew to the ultimate test.

• Defying Rommel

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  Sept 1941. Victoria Cross recipient, Lt. Commander Malcolm Wanklyn of HMS Upholder joins three other British submarines hunting for Italian ships carrying supplies for Rommel's relentless war in North Africa. With the same target in sight, teammates HMS Upholder and HMS Unbeaten unknowingly take aim at each other, placing themselves in danger and potentially creating a win for the Axis powers.

• North Sea Showdown

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  February 1945. Beneath icy Norwegian waters HMS Venturer, commanded by Lt. James Launders intercepts a German U-Boat. U-864 is on a secret mission to deliver German "wonder weapons" to Japan. The result is a rare World War II attack where both submarines operate submerged.

• Cold War Crisis

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  October 1962. A secret mission sends Four Soviet Project submarines carrying nuclear torpedoes, racing toward Cuba. While they are enroute the U.S. implements a Quarantine Line around the island. When Soviet submarine, B-59, is discovered "practice depth charges" are dropped; nearly inciting a nuclear war.

• America Fights Back

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  January 1943. More than a year after Pearl Harbor cripples America's surface fleet, its submarine force struggles to gain an edge in the South Pacific. Dudley "Mush" Morton, commander of USS Wahoo, sets out to turn the tide. Morton's brash new tactics prove effective against a Japanese destroyer but not before it exacts a potentially deadly revenge. The new skipper decides to take on an entire convoy. If he succeeds, he will be the first American submarine commander to claim such a prize. Morton's drive to sink all targets is one of World War II's greatest submarine stories.

• Fatal Voyage

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  December 1943. Fueled by the loss of mentor and friend Dudley "Mush" Morton, Richard Hetherington O'Kane and his submarine USS Tang set out to assault Japanese shipping. In Tang's first four patrols its fiery commander transits 40,000 miles and sinks 17 ships, climbing to the rank of America's top submarine ace. But in the Formosa Strait his last Mark 18 torpedo turns against him. As O'Kane's submarine meets its end, an unforgettable fight to survive begins.

• Destroyer Killer

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  June, 1944. Six allied commandoes spying on Japan's merchant ships fall under threat when their covert operation is discovered by the enemy. Stuck in the jungles of Borneo deep in Japanese territory, the only hope for rescuing them is USS Harder, an American Gato Class submarine. To save the operatives, Commander Sam Dealey and his crew ply through waters guarded by a key Japanese Naval base, an act that pits the single submarine against dozens of warships. The daring rescue puts USS Harder's strength and stealth to the test.

• The Wolfpack

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  July 1940. In the North Atlantic, a British escort pins down one of Germany's top U-boat captains. Otto Kretschmer and his crew face a barrage of underwater bombs that test their spirits and their submarine. U-99 survives the onslaught and its emboldened commander forges a reputation as a daring tactician who outperforms his fellow captains in Germany's first successful submarine Wolfpack attack. The Allies strike back with new anti-submarine technology bringing a high-stakes battle with Germany's U-boat aces to a dramatic climax.

• Hitler's Revenge

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  December 1941 -- Hoping to capitalize on the chaos after Pearl Harbor, the German Commander of U-boats, Karl Dönitz orders five submarines to travel 3,000 miles to launch a surprise attack directly against Atlantic coastal shipping. Leading the pack, a young and aggressive officer, Kapitanleutnant Reinhard Hardegen carries out the most ambitious mission: an attack against the heart of American shipping in New York Harbor. The Germans call the mission Paukenschlag: Operation Drumbeat.

• Atlantic Showdown

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  March 1943. Two Allied convoys, HX.229 and SC.122 leave North America bound for Britain. They total nearly 100 ships carrying vital food and raw materials to supply the Allied war effort. John Gordon Luther commands the short-handed escort group charged with protecting convoy HX.229. Short at least two ships, he lacks adequate defenses for the mid-Atlantic U-boat attack that the Karl Donitz, Gross Admiral of the German Navy, has in store for them. For three days the convoys are hammered by a merciless litany of torpedo attacks and an Atlantic winter storm. Many ships are hit and Luther is repeatedly torn between protecting the convoy or falling...