Corrected entry: After the S-33 is torpedoed, Tyler and his men rig the U-571 for dive. Just before Wentz says "Opening midship valves; opening midship vents," someone else - I think it's the Chief - says "Opening ballast tanks." This makes no sense; the ballast tanks are the air tanks - you open them when you want to surface, not when you want to dive. (00:51:30)
Grumpy Scot
14th Nov 2004
U-571 (2000)
Correction: Actually the ballast tank vents are what are ordered to open to dive. These are deck level and as air escapes water is drawn in from the always open bottoms of the ballast tanks.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The German commander is depicted eating a piece of fruit just prior to the depth charge attack against the U-571. No German commander would have done this. Food was strictly rationed and accounted for on the boat for various reasons - not the least of which was making sure there was enough to last for the duration of the patrol. If men were allowed to grab food and eat it as it suited them there would be no way to control its consumption. No commander would have set such a dangerous precedent by such wanton consumption.
Correction: He could have saved it from his last meal. I know when I was in boot camp, I would often save an apple or orange to eat a little later.
6th Nov 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: A grenade exploding in the control room of a U-boat would have destroyed and damaged many important controls and indicators - yet no damage appears to any of the controls in later shots.
Correction: It was a tear gas grenade. They are designed more like a can of hair spray, they have no explosive, just compressed propellants to discharge the gas.
11th Sep 2002
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: Anybody with any mechanical knowledge seems to have been killed in the fire in the engine room, on a sub on patrol there would have been at least two watches, one working, one resting and both watches would not have been in the engine room at once.
Correction: When the alarms start ringing and the engine room is sustaining heavy damage, all the mechanics would have rushed in to fix it.
27th Aug 2001
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: In the scene on the dock where the mess steward sees the lieutenant struggling to light a cigarette, he comes over and offers his lighter. The officer was actually facing away from the sailor, so how could the mess man even know the lieutenant could not light the cigarette?
Correction: If you look closely, the mess steward is not standing with his back to Tyler. He is walking by with Tyler on his left side. He glances over and sees Tyler having trouble lighting his cigarette.
27th Aug 2001
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: Non-whites were not allowed in the "Submarine Navy" until the next decade.
Correction: Black men were allowed on submarines as cooks or stewards in WWII. In a sub everyone has to know two or three jobs. Often this was the only way for a black man to learn technical jobs like sonar or navigator.
4th Mar 2002
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: The sailors - rightly so - become very frightened when the long range plane spots them. However no sub captain in his right mind would stay on the surface if he heard the sound of an aircraft - it was one of the lookout's primary tasks: alert the captain if they heard propellers, and prepare to dive.
Correction: U-571 was badly damaged. She might not be able to submerge quickly or for long periods, no matter what the lookout saw or heard.
27th Mar 2003
U-571 (2000)
Corrected entry: When the US commandos are about to board U-571, we see a cocked MP-40 gun hanging from an officer's neck, which is hidden in his jacket. You don't just let those guns hang like that, or it'll fire off at the slightest shock. Not a very smart thing to do in a stormy sea.
Correction: The MP38 (which is identical to the MP40) had that defect. It was corrected in the MP40.
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Correction: Ballast tanks are opened so they can be filled with water to dive. The water is pumped out making the sub buoyant again to surface.
Grumpy Scot