Documentary: Educational: Submarines - Invisible Hunters - Total War in the Seas

Documentary: Educational: Submarines - Invisible Hunters - Total War in the Seas - Submarines had a great influence in military history and are technical masterpieces.

When submarines were first used more than 100 years ago, hardly anyone believed in their usefulness. Many admirals were convinced that the simple "submersibles" could not stand up to the powerful battleships. This changed in the First World War. For the first time, submarines operated militarily in larger numbers. The reconnaissance boats quickly become hunters that sink enemy ships. In British and Allied propaganda, the German submarine became synonymous with treachery, cruelty and inhumanity in naval warfare.

The German submariners were hailed as heroes at home. The image of the U-boat commander as a silent hunter did the rounds. This heroic glorification has little to do with the reality and the danger the crews find themselves in on every mission.

Submarines originated from a completely non-military idea, namely to be able to look at the world under water. In its history, the submarine was and is both a deadly steel monster and a vital shelter.
As impressive as its construction is, as terrifying is its destructive power. Hardly any other weapon triggers as many emotions as the submarine. It strikes from ambush and can tear the whole world into the abyss with nuclear missiles.

At 171 metres long, the USS Pennsylvania is the biggest submarine in the US Navy. It can dive deeper than a thousand feet, sail for 20 years without refuelling, and remain submerged for up to 6 months. The vessel carries a crew of 155 men and a deadly nuclear arsenal. The film investigates how this submarine was made possible through a series of six historic engineering breakthroughs. We explore the inner workings of six landmark submarines, including the tiny Turtle and colossal German U-Boats. Each features a major technological innovation that allowed engineers to build bigger submarines, including the development of underwater breathing, torpedo’s, missile launch systems, and stealth technology. Using computer-generated imagery this film reveals the incredible stories behind these machines and the inventions that have allowed them to grow in size. Six ingenious leaps forward enabling submarines to evolve, from BIG, to BIGGER, into the US Navy’s BIGGEST.