The Greyhound

[JLawrence08648]

How much damage was done by the U boats off, close to the U.S. shore? Not in the middle of the Atlantic.

 

[JLawrence08648]

I'm reading about the number of US ships sunk and U boats sunk, 600 ships sunk close to shore, one site said 55 U boats. Still reading.

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

WOW! I wish I could speak my mind without it getting deleted and me getting another vacation!

Sorry I didn't know you hated those guys that much!

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

How much damage was done by the U boats off, close to the U.S. shore? Not in the middle of the Atlantic.

Without checking, quite a bit initially as the U-boats took advantage of ships being back-lit by coastal cities because there were no blackouts initially...

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

Yeah, maybe "factual is incorrect but lets be realistic. We are talking a movie here, not a documentary.
It gives Americans (and the world) a pretty good idea of what war was like back then, so I agree with you.
But that is where we part "company" )

Your following thoughts on boat sinking are just your thoughts, it would be to the benefit of all Americans if they researched the "Battle of the Atlantic during WWII. Roughly 30,000 Germans lost their lives and up to 800 (EIGHT HUNDRED) Uboats were sunk, NINTY (90) U Boats alone were sunk off the coast of North Carolina! We had U Boats all up and down our coast that many do not know, really interesting, even for me.

Anyway, its all good and you are right in discounting my post as far as "factual" the movie is "inspired on" the battle of the Atlantic and I thought it was hands down terrific to show the young what war was like back then, brutal, almost no electronics, no planes to protect them ect. much more real and better then most of the garbage coming out of the film industry.

Here is an interesting read, the ads are a PITA but VERy reputable source on the movie = Smithsonian magazine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-behind-greyhound-movie-180975077/

I think you're being a bit sensitive here and taking my comments personally for some reason. I didn't "discount your post" I only qualified my own thoughts, and yes they are my own thoughts. I said the film is a good representation overall but you have to take the compressed action with a grain of salt. Just like Saving Private Ryan doesn't tell the whole story of D-Day, Greyhound doesn't tell the whole story of the "Battle of the Atlantic" but it does a great job of conveying some of the themes, especially early war. Obviously in a 90-min film they can't get everything and I think it is a worthy film and I bought it, so. And it is certainly better than some of the recent idiot-action films starring the likes of Bon Jovi!

As I said, I think it improbable that four U-Boats would be lost in a single action in early 1942 to four destroyers, corvettes, or destroyer escorts, though I should conversely say that I doubt a defended convoy would suffer as many merchant ship casualties as shown as well. Like most films the action is compressed into 90 mins to three hours so they have to make dramatic choices. I'm sure many things happened, but the action is a bit exaggerated for a single convoy although later in the war the German Kriegsmarine certainly did lose multiple subs over the course of days.

If you liked it, I recommend Das Boot if you have never seen it, it's an excellent view from the perspective of the other side...

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

BTW, the the war was bigger than what happened off the US coasts. And it wasn't just the U-boat threat. The Kriegsmarine had surface commerce raiders, their Italian allies that had a good navy, and they had the Luftwaffe that was quite adept at conducting strikes using Condor bombers (eventually using radio-guided "smart" bombs) on shipping until the US entered the war and Commonwealth and US aircraft were able to achieve air superiority/supremacy via smaller escort carriers...

 

[Jackson_Slugger]

And if we don't? Aren't we entitled to our opinion? This is called FREEDOM, right?

Of course! My controversial opinion is that The Thin Red Line is one of the greatest war films ever made that is overlooked and underrated and is better than Saving Private Ryan (both came out in 1998 I think)...

 

[alarmguy]

I grew up watching Westerns and WWII movies . Tom Hanks does a pretty darn good job portraying a Navy officer with his first command . Of a destroyer on convoy from the USA to the UK .

If you like military and / or WWII movies , give it a watch . Or if you like Tom Hanks , give it a watch .

My dad served in the Navy , in the South Pacific , in WWII , as an enlisted man .

May God bless all that served . Especially those that did not make it back home or were badly injured . And their families .

[email protected]

The OP has been lost in this thread and maybe my agreement with him too.
Really good movie and a good watch.

 

[WyrTwister]

Not lost , just taking a nap .



Think this link will take you to the trailer on youtube . If not , you can go to youtube and search for The Greyhound trailer .

God bless
Wyr

 

[wpod]

I don't look at movies as a source of learning facts,,, they are mindless entertainment . Though I doubt I could handle the load of running a ship or plane.