Hell Below (TV series)

Last updated
Hell Below
GenreHistorical documentary
Directed byIan Herring
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes18
Production
ProducersIan Herring, Maija Leivo, Carolyn Schmidt
Release
Original releaseJuly 17, 2016 (2016-07-17) [1]

Hell Below is a TV series on The Smithsonian Channel [2] produced by Parallax Film Productions Inc. The series is narrated by Canadian voice-over artist Mark Oliver, charting the stealth game of subsea warfare and the narrative from contact to attack of the greatest submarine patrols of World War II. Six initial episodes cover the rise of the Wolfpack to the drive for victory in the Pacific. Expert analysis and stock footage are woven with re-enactments filmed on authentic Second World War era submarines. [3]

Contents

Episodes

Season 01 [1]

Season 02

Season 03

Production

As it has many fully restored and working parts, the World War II museum ship Gato-class submarine USS Cod moored in Cleveland, Ohio was used for interior and exterior scenes [15] to depict the USS Tang, U-99 and U-100.

The film crew travelled to Laboe, Germany to film in U-995, a Type VIIC/41 U-boat which is now used as a museum. HMCS Sackville, a small, surface vessel used as a museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was also used. [15]

Much of the footage inside the submarines was filmed using hand-held cameras. Because space was so tight there was often no room for the director. [15]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">U-boat</span> German submarine of the First or Second World War

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Atlantic</span> Attempt by Germany during World War II to cut supply lines to Britain

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USS <i>Cod</i> Submarine of the United States

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SS <i>Shinyō Maru</i> Second World War Japanese hell ship

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References

  1. 1 2 ""Hell Below" Takes In-Depth Look at Greatest Submarine Campaigns of World War II". TV Weekly Now. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  2. "Hell Below: The Wolfpack". Smithsonian Channel. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  3. "Hell Below (PARTI) REVIEW: The Wolfpack | Naval Historical Foundation". www.navyhistory.org. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  4. "USS Barb (SS-220)". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  5. "Werner Henke". uboat.net. Retrieved 2022-12-11.
  6. "HMS Upholder". uboat.net. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  7. "Venturer (P68)". rnsubs.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  8. "The Day Nuclear War Almost Broke Out". newyorker.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  9. "The First Man To Storm A Nazi U-Boat And Seize An Enigma Machine". forces.net. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  10. "USS Growler (SS-215)". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  11. "SS Athenia: The British Passenger Ship Sunk At The Outbreak Of World War Two". forces.net. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  12. "Cdr Lawson Ramage, USS Parche (Ss-384)". mohmuseum.org. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. "German U-Boat Operations in Australian Waters". navy.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  14. "Iwo Jima Pilot Rescue". tv.apple.com. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  15. 1 2 3 "Film shoot truly was hell below". Times Colonist. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 2019-03-20.