Hell Below – Episode 5: Destroyer Killer | Free Documentary History

Hell Below – Season 1, Episode 5: Destroyer Killer | History Documentary

Watch ‘Hell Below – Season 1, Episode 6’ here: https://youtu.be/gUc7vgjjNKI

In this episode:
June, 1944. Six allied commandos spying on Japanese ship movement fall under threat when their covert operation is discovered by the enemy. Stuck in the jungles of occupied Borneo, 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.

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.

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April 1944 in the South Pacific an American submarine considers a deadly Showdown with an enemy [Music] warship a Japanese Destroyer closes in on USS harder Skipper Sam Dy must choose to dive or fight normally submarines avoid destroyers and other escorts cuz they’re designed to kill submarines by taking on a destroyer 101 you are in fact taking on the toughest game with the Japanese still occupying great swaths of the Pacific the Allies use submarines to subvert their control de proves Relentless in bold attacks during daring patrols leading USS harder and its crew into glory and peril in World War II subc weapon allows Warriors to fight from beneath the waves with cunning force and tenacity their enemies Strike Back revolutionary but still sometimes primitive it’s a desperate bid to change the course of War their story our Legend on April 13th 1944 Commander Sam Dy and his crew face a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific in three War patrols they have already sunk 10 Japanese Merchant ships but they have never beaten a destroyer a type of Warship that carries depth charges de charges are synical canisters about two and a half feet they’re triggered by an orice that that allows sea water to come in so that when a certain amount of sea water actually gets in it triggers the de charge to explode packed with up to 325 lb of explosives they’re rigged to sink submarines just before 700 p.m. D decides to attack instead of evade the Destroyer ready tube tube two ready fire tube on the way at some point he realized that when he was being pursued by destroyers instead of waiting for them to death charge him he could shoot back standby three fire three three on the way a bubble trail from D steam powered Torpedoes will give away harder’s location fire if the offensive fails the Destroyer will know exactly where to find them [Music] harder Skipper sinks the escort before it can drop a single bomb more than 2 years into the Pacific War only 14 Japanese destroyers have been sunk by American submarines D joins an elite group of Submarine officers daring enough to accomplish this exclusive feat the success emboldens him Commander Sam Dy is a calm professional and reserved naval officer however In the Heat of a battle he turns out to be very very aggressive in a way that many had not foreseen the 37-year-old de has commanded USS harder since it was commissioned in 1942 the soft spoken Skipper comes from an upper crust Texas family usually officers from those kind of families didn’t go to submarines submarines were associated with career path in the Navy that really didn’t go very far like aviation in the near War years it was seen as a negative so for him to take that path says a lot about him as an individual you have to understand there were people that that you would meet that would seem to be the quietest cautious types then you find out they were completely crazy and they would do things that that would be absolutely terrifying for deal the the easy solution isn’t necessarily the best solution could he back out of an attack back yes however it would also go against his nature de and the crew of USS harder and their patrol in freem manle Australia freemantle became an Allied subbase after another Japanese assault only 2 months after Pearl Harbor in February 1942 the island of java fell in a fiery campaign and sent the American station there into a panic retreat they scuttled military assets like the warship USS Stewart dry do for repairs when the Japanese struck the Destroyer fell into enemy hands the Japanese empire reaches a Zenith stretched out over about 20 million square miles in seven times so it’s huge it’s held together over millions of miles of sea lanes and open ocean there were an island nation who depended on this Maritime Highway uh to move all their goods around they had to import almost everything they needed including rice and that was especially cute when it came down to war materials particularly oil which is a precious fuel source for battleships bombers Fighters everything the massive but far-flung Empire is also a weakness in early 1944 American submarines in Australia are commanded by rear Admiral Ralph Waldo Christie Christy’s silent Hunters Target Japanese ships hauling Goods to sustain the Pacific War Allied operatives planted throughout the Japanese empire spy on shipping and collect intelligence that helps chrisy assign his submarines the advantages of having agents assure were enormous the Australians had Coast Watchers the Japanese would Steam down the coast and they would reported by May 1944 one of these operations takes an alarming turn Australian Commandos spying and occupied Borneo are betrayed to Japan’s Infamous military police the kempe [Music] Thai three have already been captured six more hide in the northern jungles hunted by hundreds of troops Australian Special Forces request assistance to recover the Commandos now running low on supplies the plan requires a submarine to sneak into enemy Waters and rescue the operatives before the Japanese find [Music] them harter’s fifth Patrol will include an attempt to rescue the Australian Commandos [Music] the jungles of Boral lie thousands of miles north of freem harter’s G Class build is engineered to make the longdistance run it’s got the ability to go huge distances be on patrol for a couple months and then come back it could carry a fairly Hefty load of torpedoes and also the food and Logistics that you need to keep a crew going for that length of time before harder leaves freemantle Dy welcomes a special passenger Australian operative major Bill Jenkins already an escape prisoner of war he’s committed to defeating the Japanese his first step is to coordinate the rescue of his besieged comrades the assignment will not be jenkin’s first mission aboard a submarine it takes a little bit of a different type to go into the submarine service you know it’s a very austere environment you’re living on top of men and bunks you can go weeks even months without seeing daylight a submarine can be extremely bizarre for most people creepy for others the Hall of course as it’s diving is going to Creak and stress under de pressure but you also have the sound of water rushing into the ballast tanks on both sides air rushing out you have the bow going down and the stern going up it’s a bizarre feeling with the confined space and eeriness of the submerged environment Jenkin signs on for all of the risks of a submarine on active Patrol in addition to the rescue attempt the sub will continue with its regular operations 22% of America’s silent service are killed at Sea the highest casualty rate of any arm of the US Military even if the rescue is a success it may only take the Commandos out of the Jungle and put them squarely in the line of fire on May 26 1944 USS harder leaves freem manle Australia among the Personnel now aboard is Australian operative Bill Jenkins he quickly volunteers to stand watch on the deck and becomes an accepted member of the [Music] crew they enjoy their share of Creature Comforts American submarines boast air conditioning a critical perk in the heat and humidity of the South Pacific you’re in a submarine and you’re there for 75 days how well you feel determines how well you’ll fight a lot of things that feel like luxuries really are things that make it better for you to fight in the [Music] end D’s earlier defeat of a Japanese Destroyer proved he can be aggressive but this Mission will also require stealth the waters that surround Northern Borneo are guarded by one of Japan’s largest Naval bases ta tawi harder patrols alone with only 24 Torpedoes in 1944 it takes American Skippers an average of 10 Torpedoes to sink one ship against a single Destroyer Dilly stood a chance against a fleet of Warships aggression would be [Music] suicide just after 6:30 p.m. the crew spots the first threat to their mission three tankers head to a port on the east coast of Borneo to pick up fuel they’re escorted by two Japanese destroyers quick and highly maneuverable Japan relies on these escorts and their underwater bombs to protect against enemy submarines submarines are uniquely vulnerable to attacks not only are they at risk of damage for instance from a depth charge but of all that pressure from the seawater pushing in on them can uh can lead to collapses the problem with the Japanese was that they didn’t know the depths of where the American submarines were so they generally assume it is shallow and so they would set their depth Chargers to hit rather high in the water triggering their underwater bombs to explode at around 150 ft the American submarine captains knew this and so they would dive under and be safe that Advantage was shattered 19 months into the war when American Congressman Andrew Jackson May held a press conference unfortunately us politician who came back from the Far East boasted that our submarines were safe because the Japanese death charges were set too shallow this was not really helpful and the Navy was Furious the Japanese picked this information up and quickly retool their depth charges so that it would go down farther and as a result a number of American submarines were sunk so by June of 1944 deely risks deep set death charges every time he evades his G Class submarine the gor class by 1944 isn’t obsolete however it is not as up to dat as the bow class for the G Class with a maximum dive depth of about 300 to 350 ft they don’t have that extra 100 ft of depth to be able to maneuver in it also means they’re more likely to be detected and caught at 9:25 PM one of two destroyers escorting the three tanker Convoy spots USS harder on the surface the warship is the mitsuki a mitsuki class destroyer designed to travel at up to 30 7 knots the escort can speed nearly twice as fast as D submarine even on the surface D tries out running it but hard as phosphorescent wake illuminates a path to their position Dilly drops to Periscope death to hide from the escort but sharp eyed Lookouts track the periscopes Wake the Destroyer turns to intercept USS harder it’s 1100 yd away and closing with a submarine your only protection is your invisibility the cloak of invisibility if you like as long as that works you’re okay if they can see you you’re dead D’s only chance to thwart the escort’s depth charges is to attack first speak speed 34 knots speed 34 knots driven by his earlier success he prepares to attack an enemy Destroyer again deily orders full R report or left towards the destroyer’s profile fire fires three Torpedoes to Target the widest area of the ship possible if they Miss D will have to dive to avoid the rain of depth charges D’s Torpedoes close in one strikes its bow a second breaks the ship spine depth charges on the deck explode in the Flames less than a minute after the torpedo strike the Destroyer starts to [Music] list Dy brings the sub to the surface about a, yards away to confirm the [Music] kill he invites Jenkins and other crew to the bridge to watch and minuki and its dep charges slip beneath the [Music] waves de has sunk the second destroyer of his career D’s contribution is to go after destroyers and Sh and work and he sinks a lot of Destroyers that way not only does he sink a lot of them but he probably inspires his fellow officers to think this is not a bad idea that’s what Sam de does and very successfully despite the commando’s awaiting rescue D is not finished with the Convoy within minutes the sub detects another ship only 14400 yd away USS harder is forced to dive again June 6th 1944 France the Allies land on the beaches of Normandy hoping to turn the tide of the European war in the Pacific an American submarine has just sunk a Japanese Destroyer near Northern Borneo and now pursues the Convoy at Garden a second Destroyer prows near Japan’s Naval obas tawi tawi seeking revenge on the American sub using active sonar the Destroyer sends pings of high frequency sound into the ocean if the Japanese crew hear the echo bounce off the submarine they can estimate its location and relative distance when the enemy ship is close enough the sound even penetrates the hull of the sub USS harders Hunter is almost certainly an akazuki class destroyer the Apex of Japan’s World War II escort design the akazuki carry up to 72 depth charges to kill submarines D works the attack Periscope in a bid to take the offensive but intermittent clouds block the Moonlight and help cloak his Target as the Destroyer approaches headon harder does not have the advantage of attacking the broadside D must Target the bow which is only a tenth as wide it’s a down the throat shot he’s heading right for a scope stand by Two Fire two two on the way fire six Torpedoes gambling one will St strike the escort head on this is before homing Torpedoes he’s just firing a bullet basically at this narrow thing coming at him but this time D’s aggressive gamble fails all six of his Torpedoes Miss take her deep rig for depth charge harder Skipper has run out of offensive choices he moves quickly to the defense [Music] as the submarine plunges the crew can only wait for the enemy’s depth charges to begin detonating you have to imagine the worst possible experience the sound of the dep charge reverberating through the water the shock impact on the hall the shaking of the hall and what that does inside the hall is absolutely terrifying you’re inundated with noise you’re inundated with the feeling of motion random motion but also with anything in the compartment flying around and potentially hitting you Darkness cuz light bulbs tend to burst it’s pretty horrendous harder races to its maximum depth to outrun The destroyer’s Barrage as the dive nears 300 ft the crew expects the submarine to level off the goal is to equalize hardest buoyancy with water then level it with its Stern planes a pair of rudders that control the angle of the submarine but in the control room a very green plesman he is in the the stern plane position so he’s controlling the planes at the back of the boat he pushed the plane in the wrong direction he raises the stern of the submarine in essence driving the boat deeper a mistake very human mistake under the stress of combat the sound of depth charges all of that human mistake extremely dangerous people on Subs being trained one of the things that they have to learn is what is and is not dangerous people who are completely new don’t get it they don’t get it until they’ve experienced it you’re now pushing the submarine closer to crush depth if you don’t recover fast enough you could lose a submarine the diving officer rushes to correct the mistake non-essential crew charge to the rear of the submarine to manually redistribute the weight and a desperate bid to bring the bow out of its [Music] dive they managed to level the sub but the uncontrolled descent has caused another problem one of the torpedos in the tubes has started a hot run its propeller spins as if it’s been launched you got a torpedo sitting in the tube the torpedo gets shaken enough that it starts up that’s very dangerous if it keeps spinning Dilly submarine could be sunk by its own Warhead in the South Pacific World War II two submarines Under Siege a Japanese Destroyer launches underwater bombs at USS harder a hot run torpedo complicates the crew’s flight a torpedo hot run is when a torpedo shifts in the tube and causes the propulsion sequence to start whereby the engine of the torpedo is actually run up and the propellers are actually turning in the two the sound makes it even more unnerving deely and his American Crew are in the depths of chaos they’re lucky this time the Rogue torpedo winds down before the Warhead overheats or explodes at that depth everyone would have perished and their fate remain an unsolved mystery about an hour into the onslaught the ocean finally Falls silent parter has endured a depth charge attack by Japan’s greatest Destroyer class but the clock is ticking for Commander Dy and major Jenkins to rescue six Allied operatives a key objective of their patrol the command was in Bourne in 1944 running low on food and supplies they’re being hunted by the Japanese in extremely harsh conditions they really need to be pulled out and every attempt at that point had failed so for the harder to go in for them it was extremely important those guys needed help D and the crew set course for Borneo and finalized plans for the rescue in the case of De he’s taking a submarine right up to the Shoreline so he’s making himself very vulnerable from shorefire but he’s also putting himself in a position if a destroyer comes along or another craft can identify him of not being able to escape because there’s no water under the kill to dive no ability to maneuver after dark on June 8th 1944 harder surfaces and heads towards Shore some 6,000 yd out they scrape bottom it’s as close as they can get to the rivu point on the North Coast Japanese outposts threaten the submarine on both sides Special Operations tend to be dangerous because you have to go inure if someone spots you you may be attacked before you can get away the crew assist Jenkins and his partner to get their collapsable boats and gear to the deck they have 3 days worth of rations should they need to remain ashore to locate the Commandos this would be a worst case scenario when really brings his submarine to the surface to make the rescue in Borneo he’s bathed in Moonlight he’s very visible it’s far more light than he’d like to have and he’s very close to the Shoreline to do the rescue so he’s also now open to anybody on Shore who’s got small arms and Munitions so he could be shot at by artillery machine guns even rifles not a good position to be in [Music] the rescue team stays in contact with USS harder through a series of light signals to assist them with their bearings as they near shore they use another light flash to alert the Commandos communication with those people to be rescued is essential and the only way to do that going to be blinker light however anyone on Shore can see it and the blinker light in return from Shore is just as visible so anybody behind the submarine could potentially see that too they can only hope no one else is watching just after 1:00 a.m. the operative signal as they approached the darken sub all right I see him let’s get him the they pull alongside USS the Commandos and their Rescuers are hauled aboard mentally and physically [Music] exhausted good job de’s crew Springs to ation gently backing away from Shore and out of shallow water USS harder leaves the enemy [Music] behind below deck the rescued operatives receive clean clothes in their first real food in months the cook whips up a celebratory meal of steak and eggs for those living on short rations steak and eggs for breakfast is a massive morale boost they’ve been under stress and strain for so long and then they’re greeted with really a hearty breakfast the first real good food they’ve had in a long time you can imagine the feeling in that crew as they were being rescued food on the US boats was considered among the best and other navies which sometimes say things like well the Americans are just soft well no we did very well quality of life is what it’s called now we understood that before World War II as the Commandos turn in Commander Dy must turn his attention to a new directive Allied Intel has revealed that Japanese are mobilizing warships at tawi tawi the enemy Naval Base the crew of USS harder barely survived just days ago military brass believe it may be the sign of an epic enemy offensive Japan’s new battle plan operation AO orders a Consolidated attack to Halt advancing American carriers and protect Japanese gains question was are they doing it one of the better sources of information would be if you actually saw what was happening in their ports that’s why you send in a sub you have to see this is the world before satellites and very longrange reconnaissance planes and all the things that enable you to see what’s inside a harbor now on Google on your computer submarine is a very good way of finding out that’s why he goes in there the US Navy needs this information before D takes the rescued operatives home just 4 hours from the shores of Borneo D and his crew spot evidence of the military buildup a Japanese war plane patrolling north of the sautu pass also sees them planes armed with death charges are submarine’s deadliest threat when there are airplanes you’d rather dive because first the airplane can bomb you but second he can call in people to go after you your job is to disappear [Music] as harder reaches 75 ft an aerial depth charge detonates off the port side the explosion throws the submarine starbard the rescued Commandos get a rude awakening you can have these moments of total boredom when you’re laying on your bunk and you’re just hanging out and then you can have at the same point absolute Terror when you may still be laying on that same bunk and you’ve got lights exploding around you gauges being destroyed and so from a psychological standpoint where you feel safe in your bunk can also be where you feel terrified harder withstands the aerial depth charges but the war plane will probably report their coordinates to Japan’s nearby Fleet new heading come about 0 to 0° de needs to keep his head down [Music] on June 10th harder nears the base of tawi tawi it will be a perilous prowl he must remain submerged to conceal his presence but shallow enough to use his Periscope only about 55 ft below the surface at 5:00 p.m. the crew picks up the sound of approaching ships Dy raises the Periscope for visual corroboration two battleships and at least four Cruisers steam the waters near tawi tawi Eight destroyers and airplanes provide additional coverage the fleet of Warships confirms that Japan’s Navy is mobilizing but before can report the high-profile sighting a patrol plane detects harder through the glassy Waters the aerial Scout divulges D’s presence to the warships two of The Fleets destroyers turn on the submarine Battle Stations Del targets the first escort 1,500 yd from hard’s bow fire tube two he fires a spread of three Torpedoes as the other Destroyer advances from the starboard side de is out of time take her deep rig for death charge he Dives to avoid the second incoming [Music] ship the sub is rocked explosions detonate the impact tosses the crew and breaks water lines as the sea goes silent the real hunt [Music] begins June 1944 an American submarine attempted to perform reconnaissance of a Japanese naval base in the southern Philippines now two destroyers stalk USS harder the Japanese Crews used two types of sonar the passive sonar team listens for any man-made sound beneath the waves one way to detect a sub is to listen for it if you believe that they’re chasing you you’ll try to cut off every bit of sound you can so that they won’t notice you D takes harder deep and a bid to escape the Destroyers he might also rig for Silent Running Silent Running is the procedure whereby you reduce all noise in the submarine by switching off anything that makes a noise unless it’s essential for their operation from the submarine but no matter how quiet they are USS harder remains vulnerable to the destroyer’s active sonar pings if an echo returns to the listening Crews they will hone in on the [Music] location rigged to roll death charges off the stern and launch them from the sides the two destroyers strategize where harder may be and lay down a carpet of underwater bombs to make death charging work you have to visualize how to maneuver the stern of your ship over where you think the submarine will be you can watch him on your sonar while you con someone else to drop death charges over him that’s called a creeping attack a strike within 50 ft could breach the hull so the idea is that you create a barrage of these things if you do maneuver just right you may be able to launch enough depth charges to make a pattern that will enclose the sub if it’s exploded a certain distance from your sub it’ll open it up and that’s it Del submarine is trapped in the heart of enemy Waters submerged and relying on batteries harder lacks the power to run away a Submarine underwater using its batteries goes at its maximum speed of about 8 knots it will actually run out of all of its battery power and just one hour and so you’ve got destroyers up above and they’ve got you cornered you know you can’t just put it in full gear and go or you won’t have the power needed to get back to the surface you’re not fast enough to get away and all you’ll do is exhaust your battery so that if they give up you’re dead anyway [Music] come about new heading of 020 all ahead 2/3 for 5 minutes de has a plan that Japanese probably haven’t considered using a device called a bathy thermograph he searches for a location where water temperature changes called a thermocline the difference in density between warm and cold layers distorts sound waves enough to deflect active sonar [Music] 2 hours after Harter is attacked D finds what he’s searching for Rising gradually from the depths he locates warm curs about 200 ft below the surface it acts as a barri to sound waves so the sonar bounces off of the thermocline not the submarine and it looks like the submarine vanishes now invisible to sonar USS harder escapes the Waters of tawi tawi later that night the subsurfaces in clear Seas to transmit details about the warships they cited intelligence gathered by submarines helps the Allies to track Japanese troop movements and thwarts Japan’s objective to reinforce a Key island in the fight for New Guinea it also helps to tip the balance in favor of the US Navy and the battle for the Philippine Sea on June 21st harder and the rescued Commandos reached Darwin Australia they outmatched 16 ships and 18 aircraft to bring the Allied operatives Home Admiral Christie Awards Ste a Navy cross for this epic Patrol Commander Sam D’s Legacy to the United States Navy is one of an inspirational role model for the submarine Force but less than 3 months after the Borneo rescue D’s six Patrol would be his last on August 24th 1944 USS harder is sunk by the underwater bombs that had escaped many times the attack involved American built USS Stewart seized by the Japanese and Java at the beginning of the war in a terrible twist it seems likely that the ship to best USS harder was an American one some say the toll of D’s high stakes missions played a role in his end others believe submarines like Harter just ran out of chances it doesn’t sound as though the way they die is from burning out it sounds like the way they die as their luck Runs Out Dilly accelerated the campaign against the Japanese empire by directly attacking its warships to erode its ability to conduct War he’d never learn of his greatest tributes for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity beyond the Call of Duty Dy would posthumously receive the Congressional Medal of Honor after the war the American Navy would name a new class of Destroyers in his honor an ironic tribute to a destroyer killer