Hardly the fault of the film makers as there were no WW2 U boats sailing in 1971 but the type 1X and V11C of the period were very much smaller in size and less streamlined than the submarine shown on the film.The advanced Electro boats of 1945 were introduced too late in the war to be used in the front line.The film makers try to disguise this with little touches such as a 'bandstand' to the rear of the conning tower but it's obviously too modern a sub for WW2!
shareIt had some updates over the years, but it was a WWII submarine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tilefish_(SS-307)
"if it was any good they'd have made an American version by now." Hank Hill
Ok thanks for that...I'm a bit of a U Boat buff but am obviously lacking in WW2 US submarine recognition!!!
shareMany thanks for sharing that very interesting information!
I remember being irritated by the very un-U-Boat appearance of the sub in the most enjoyable 'Murphy's War' ...
As with the ex-USN Cruiser used to represent the 'panzerschiff' Admiral Graf Spee in 'The Battle of the River Plate' there was little chance of accuracy due to the unique lines of the German warships of the WW2 period.
Yeah, but there were a couple of monster Nazi German subs, though I seem to recall they had turrets on the sail or something, which would be hard to mimic on that sub.
They did their best with what they had to work with. It's an interesting film.
Yes, obviously not a German sub but the "Tilefish" certainly has a modern look to it(sorry to comment 4 years late; I just saw the film for the first time yesterday). The dazzle-paint job baffled me; I thought that went out with WWI. Now if you want to see the real thing, get to Chicago's Museum of Science and Technology. I refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-505. Also too much interior room in that sub; take the tour and see how incredibly cramped the Germans really would have been.
shareInterestingly enough, the Tilefish was modified before being sold to the Venezuelan Navy to incorporate technology gleaned by the Allies from the late war German Type XXI boats. Though not one of the GUPPY boats, she used some of the technology from that program (taller, streamlined sail, better batteries)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Underwater_Propulsion_Power_Program