National Geographic - Convoy War for the Atlantic (2009) Part 2 The Hunt

“During the war only one thing ever frightened me – the U boat peril. Battles might be won or lost but our power to fight and keep ourselves alive rested on our struggle to keep control of the Atlantic.” - Sir Winston Churchill By May 1940, Britain was an isolated nation, cut off from the rest of Europe. The Nazi's controlled France and Norway, posing a deadly threat to the southern and eastern shores. Cornered by Hitler, Britain’s only hope for survival was to import food, raw materials, and munitions from America. Merchant ships sailing the Atlantic in convoys became the nation's crucial lifeline, one that the Nazi's were determined to break. Thus began the longest and bloodiest campaign of World War 2. Over four years, 100,000 people died and 2,500 ships were sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic. It brought Britain to the brink of defeat. From the eastern seaboard of the U.S.A. to the west coast of Africa, those who died had no graves – only their names carved on memorials. This four part series unpacks the critical moments of the biggest naval campaign of the 20th Century. Powerful interviews with those who fought in the battle, dramatic archive - some of it in colour, and impressionistic drama reconstructions brings the horrors of the Atlantic war to a new generation.

Part 2: The Hunt

In 1941, supply ships supporting Britain in the epic struggle against Hitler are being devastated by German U-boats. But slowly, the convoys begin to fight back, turning the hunters into the hunted. Since the beginning of the war the elite crews of German U-boats destroyed more than two and a half million tons of goods, they called it their happy times, but those happy days will soon come to an end. The war changed and the Germans were under threat of defeat.