U-864

Hitler's Last Deadly Secret

Author: Marc Brasse, Christopher Rowley, Karl Vandenhole

Length: 50' HD

In February 1945, one of the most dramatic chases in the history of naval warfare took place in the North Atlantic. The German submarine U 864 loaded with some of the latest Messerschmitt jet engine parts and missile guidance systems headed its way to Japan. Unknown to them, one of the Royal Navy’s most advanced hunter submarines, the Venturer, already lay in wait. After a three hour chase through the icy waters off the Norwegian coast, the Venturer fired four torpedoes and sunk U 864. To hit a target that was submerged was a feat that had never been achieved in the history of submarine warfare. Had the German U-boat arrived at its destination, the Nazi’s revolutionary jet technology might have changed the course of the Second World War, tipping the balance in favour of the Japanese Air Force in its desperate struggle against the US Navy. 60 years later, following a chance discovery by local fishermen, a Norwegian salvage team prepares to recover U 864. For the wreck is an ecological time bomb. According to German records, the sub also carried 80 tons of highly toxic mercury. At any time, its deadly load could leak from the sunken vessel’s eroded hull and cause a major environmental disaster in the North Sea.

A SPIEGEL TV GmbH production in co-production with Cream Productions Canada for BBC, Discovery Science, The History Channel UK, History Television Canada, La7, NRK and ZDF

year of production: 2006