Surviving the U-Boats - WW1 Uncut - BBC

Dr Sam Willis jumps into a stormy sea survivial tank to understand better what it was like if your ship was torpedoed by a U-Boat during WW1.

#bbc

[sussurus]

I've got a stool
ARGGHHH
And I've got a big chair
ARGGHHH

[derkaiser]

I was in the US Navy but I give the British Navy huge props. That shit would be scary as hell being hounded all the time by U-boats. We had a Russian sub following us around and most of the crew on my ship were freaking out and we knew they were there.

[stephenmurphy]

My grandad, Neil Bell, fought in the Royal Navy. It wasn't during First World War it was during the second. Thank god he wasn't torpedoed!

[Gendo-kar]

"I got a stool." AGGGHHH.... "I got a big chair." ARGGGHHH

[Timmyboy]

my Great grandfather survived the destruction of hia boat and saved himself and his commander. For that heroic action, he became the "eisernes Kreuz"

[ralphbernhard]

The reason to get as far away from a sinking ship, is not only to 'get away from the propellers', as mentioned here.
A sinking ships is an unpredictable mass, which behavior cannot be predicted. Any small piece breaking or falling off the heeling ship, could fall on your head and knock you unconscious. When ships sink, pieces often break off.
The chances of being smashed by the chimney stack breaking off, or by another crew member jumping on top of you, or a loose piece of cargo falling down, or by the ship keeling over and being smashed by the superstructure, etc., is much larger than 'being sucked down', as is often mentioned in movies or docs.

[MrTigerlore]

You can dive the Lusitania today. It's one of the most famous sites for wreck divers.

[AnikaJarlsdottr]

Lusitania was a legitimate target due to the ammunition onboard. It is treated like Lusitania was attacked with no legal right but it was a vessel carrying materials for the war effort so it was sunk as a legitimate target.

[ralphh]

You have to hand it to the German military in 1914. They had the most advanced machines. And lots of them..and they were so confident in them that they decided to wage war on two (3) fronts. Incredible. It's hard for me to belive that they ever thought that they had a chance. But they almost did it. They almost captured Paris several times. They waged war wayyy up until the very very end. The French almost destroyed their own army from within they had them so licked. In the spring offensive of 1918 the Germans almost had the Americans and the brits fleeing to the sea. It was so close. But the home front fell apart. Astonishing. They fought and they fought and they fought. Absolutely incredible.

[pontan]

"After all, the best way to sink a ship is to put a hole in its bottom, and THATS whats U-Boat torpedoes were particularly good at" YOU DONT SAY?!!

[ronron]

Funny in Australia all kids go through swimming safety and from memory in a rescue scenario the last thing you want to do is link arms with someone. The theory being drowning people are unpredictable and might drown you whilst trying to stay afloat.

[hg]

My great grandfather served for the British during WW1

[LimaHotel]

My great-grandfather was present on a ship when Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in World War II, the ship was sunk and he was picked up by a Japanese patrol boat and remained a prisoner for the rest of the war.

[timpatjoe]

A reason a lot of sailor's didn't wear life jackets and some fishermen to this day is you die quicker.

[robloxisthefuture]

My great uncles ship the HMS dasher sank and he didn't make it out

[jinj]

I fell off fishing boat once. Fortunately it was t very high but I was shaken up for a few hours.

[josephnardone]

One thing that I do know if survival training is that when jumping into the water, kicking-off shoes increases survival chances because the shoe fill with water and drag you down and make it hard to swim. People in this video jumped into the pool with their shoes on which was wrong if they wanted to simulate real conditions. In fact, stripping down to your skivvies was the best way to survive because your clothes also weighed you down.

[ThethDOCTOR]

When HMS Hood was sunk 1941,   many of the survivors were left to their fate in the sea by British Naval fleet,   their priority was to pursue the Bismark and sink it.

[WarlordRising]

No lifeboat or life jacket? No problem. Remove pants. Tie the bottom ends. Swing the pants above your head to get some air in them before slamming it into the water. Instant and relatively effective floating device. At least good enough until you discover larger material to support even more weight.

[isunlloaoll]

Very very very good little documentary video!