When a Destroyer Rammed a U-Boat and left the Crew in the Water

It's 1am on the 1st of November 1943 and the USS Boree is hunting for a U-boat in the midst of a terrible storm in the North Atlantic. A contact appears on the ship's radar. In command is 30-year-old Lt. Charles Harris Hutchins. He quickly issues the order to give chase at maximum speed. And the USS Boree powers through 15-foot waves. But nearby, around five nautical miles away, sits U-405, a Type VIIc U-boat under the command of Corvettin Kapitan Rolf Heinrich Hobman. The U-boat is surfaced and it's recharging its batteries under the cover of darkness when, deep within the ship, the hydrophone operator hears something. It's the unique telltale sound of propellers churning through the water. Hobman knows there's no friendly ships in the area. This has to be an American. Alarms ricochet through the U-boat and the 45-man crew urgently prepare to dive below the surface. Back on the USS Boree, Hutchins searches in the darkness for any sign of his enemy. He can't see a thing, but the radar operator continues providing updates. Hutchins orders course corrections in response. Until the U-boat vanishes from their radar screens. The news sends chills down Hutchins' spine. The U-boat has submerged and that can only mean one thing. The Germans know they're here and now the two are in a deadly game of cat and mouse. With the submarine submerged, sonar tracking the echoes from a U-boat is their only chance. There's a contact. Hutchins orders a course to intercept. Onboard the U-boat, the submariner on the hydrophone listens intently, but it can only hear Boree's general direction. The data isn't precise enough for a counterattack. What he can hear is ever louder propellers and the regular sonar pulse emanating from Boree. Meanwhile, aboard the USS Boree, the sonar operators track the U-boat, drifting into range. The crew move quickly, left side depth charge racks clattering as they ready the release. Then the sonar trace shifts abruptly. The U-boat has slipped directly beneath their keel. Hutchins orders a hard turn to pursue the target, swinging the rear of the ship towards the submarine to bring the depth charges to bear. The charges launch off with loud thunks flying through the air and splashing into the sea right by the U-405's nose. The U-boat is rocked by the blasts. The shockwave punches the submarine's bow. Flooding is impossible to stem when the submarine is fully submerged. As the water pressure is too great, so Hoffman is left without any choice. USS Boree sails past and her sailors look back at the scene of the explosion. The water's still settling from the blasts when they witness the mighty U-boat burst from under the sea. Lights come on and U-405 is immediately clear in the light. Dozens of Germans are pouring out of the hatches and they rush to man their 20mm guns and open fire. The weapons come alive with loud bangs sending shells streaking over the waves. The shells slam into the USS Boree's hull and litter the superstructure sending American sailors diving for cover. On U-405 German sailors brave the heavy wind and waves. The Boree's spotlight shines directly on their faces as they fire away with 20mm guns. But they know it's not enough. The German sailors scramble to ready their much more powerful 88mm deck gun. Hutchins knows the danger and acts swiftly. The guns open fire. The first salvos fly over the Germans' heads and splash into the water behind. But it doesn't take long for Boree's 20mm cannons to find their mark. Shells crash through the U-405's fo'c'sle devastating the German gunners including those manning the vital 88mm. There's a stream of determined men. They don't last. They fall in droves sliding into the deep amid the fray. Brave men reach the 88mm and try to aim. But when they look down the sights they find themselves staring directly at a wall of 4-inch main guns aimed towards them. They're too late. The shells slam directly into the fo'c'sle in a brutal strike. When the smoke clears U-405's 88mm gun and its valiant crew are gone. Boree continues its wide about turn while pummeling the enemy without relent. But it's not enough. Hutchins knows conning tower hits will never sink it. He needs to deal a fatal blow. The helmsman steers the ship towards the target as Hutchins warns the crew. All hands brace as the ship barrels down towards the sub at 27 knots. USS Boree crashes directly into the side of U-405 which buckles her bow. Deep inside Boree Chief Engineer Kenneth Miles Lucas sees torrents of water gushing from the fissures. Over in U-405 Hopman stumbles to his feet and orders German sailors charge out of the hatches and a massive fire fight breaks out on both decks. Boree's sailors have tommy guns, pistols and rifles but the rest fight with whatever they can find. Flare pistols, shell casings entire misfired shells and even kitchen knives are fair tools in this chaos. The Germans fight back as best they can but the Americans have cover and the advantage of elevation. The U-boat's deck grants no cover and its last defenders don't stand a chance. The U-405 incredibly is still afloat and functional but the crew is devastated and they've lost all their weapons except the torpedoes. U-405 pulls with all its power in an attempt to slip from Boree's grasp. The Americans watch as the U-405 starts to move underneath them but not everything is going the American's way. Deep in the engine compartment engineers attempt speedy repairs as the water quickly rises. Lucas and his men continue to work the turbines battling through the water. The ship moves forward now laden with hundreds of tons of water filling up its hull. Boree's gunners continue to fire but they can't strike a final blow. One of USS Boree's triple torpedo mounts stirs to life and aims its payload towards the target. A torpedo blasts out to sea and tears a path towards the enemy but misses. Hoffman is in a terrible position. The ship's managing but only 15 of his 45-man crew remain. Heinrich orders the Hail Mary. On the USS Boree the men see the U-405 turning around to attack. Hutchins though has a plan. Disable the searchlight. The light that had been so crucial to land accurate gunfire goes dark. The men aboard the U-405 see the light go out. Hoffman's surprised. This is their chance to escape. But the USS Boree's radar never lost sight of the submarine and Hutchins' plan has worked. Enable the searchlight. The lights come back on revealing U-405 immediately in front. Ram it! Without hesitation the Halsman turns towards the submarine aiming for a direct hit. Hi, I'm David Webb the narrator of this film and the head of Yarnhub. If you think films like this are important and you would like to invest in Yarnhub as a video producer and also with our move into gaming you can now buy shares in our company. Please click the link in the description for the full details on how you can own a piece of our company and share in our future. Hoffman sees it coming and orders evasive maneuvers. U-405 makes a nimble turn to sneak past USS Boree's starboard side but Hutchins won't let it go that easily. The whole ship trembles as it strains through the maneuver stern swinging out towards the enemy and bringing depth charges into range. The canisters fly off the mounts and splash perfectly around the enemy ship. The explosion sent U-405 into a tumble. Its hull is now breached beyond repair. There's silence across the water until the Germans fire out flares from their stricken U-boat. It's a signal to surrender. Moments later 15 survivors and their captain make their way out and board life rafts. USS Boree inches close to the stricken men seeing what they can do to help in the heaving waves but a lookout shouts to announce a flare in the distance shortly followed by an incoming torpedo. They assume it's another German submarine. Hutchins immediately orders Boree to turn the stern towards the incoming torpedo to show a thin profile but that also sends Boree straight into the German life rafts. The Boree's crew are forced to abandon the German survivors who await rescue. That rescue would never come and the men of U-405 were all lost to the Atlantic. USS Boree wins the engagement but is still mortally wounded. The flooding cannot be stopped. Lucas and his men continue operating the engines even as they have to dive to reach the valves. Eventually they evacuate through the roof hatch. The crew abandon ship. Tragically the sea also claimed 27 of USS Boree's 122 men before rescue ships arrived at the scene. Both Lieutenant Commander Charles Harris Hutchins and Kenneth Miles Lucas survived the war. Hutchins would be awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. Those Japanese are up to something at Bidway. What would their perspective look like? Watch this film and find out.