Above Us the Waves
| Above Us the Waves | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Original UK poster
|
|
| Directed by | Ralph Thomas |
| Produced by |
William MacQuitty executive Earl St John |
| Screenplay by | Robin Estridge |
| Based on |
Above Us the Waves by C. E. T. Warren & James Benson |
| Starring |
John Mills John Gregson Donald Sinden |
| Music by | Arthur Benjamin |
| Cinematography | Ernest Steward |
| Edited by | Gerald Thomas |
|
Production
company |
London Independent Producers
|
| Distributed by |
GFD (UK) Republic Films (US) |
|
Release date
|
April 1957 (US) |
|
Running time
|
99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Above Us the Waves is a 1955 British war film directed by Ralph Thomas, about human torpedo and midget submarine attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz. It is based on two true-life attacks on the Tirpitz by British commando frogmen, first using Chariot manned torpedoes in Operation Title in 1942, and then X-Craft midget submarines in Operation Source in 1943. Some of the original equipment was used in the film.
The Royal Navy is concerned about constant attacks on convoys by German submarines and having to keep "half the fleet" watching for the German battleship Tirpitz. The Tirpitz is 60 miles from the sea inside a Norwegian fjord and attempts by the Royal Air Force to sink her have failed. Commander Fraser (Mills) is determined to prove that an attack by human torpedoes is practical, despite scepticism from the higher echelons that such an operation would be feasible.
Fraser assembles and trains a force of British commando frogmen officers and ratings to use the Mk I Human Torpedo manned torpedoes (Chariots) at their Scottish base. After receiving a refusal to allow the operation to go ahead from an admiral, the team use dummy mines to attack the admiral's own ship using the Chariots.
An attack is authorised on the Tirpitz with the initial operation using the Chariots. The attack fails and the crew are forced to abandon ship and land in Norway. They walk to neutral Sweden from where they are returned to Scotland.
For the next operation the crews are trained to use three small X-Craft submarines: X1, X2 and X3. They are initially towed by conventional submarines and are then left to penetrate the area where the Tirpitz is anchored.
They manage to approach the ship under their own power to lay their "side-cargoes", each containing 2 tons of amatol, under the ship's hull undetected. Two crews then scuttle the submarines and are picked up by the crew of Tirpitz, to be taken away as prisoners of war. The third (X2) is too badly damaged to re-surface and the crew decide to stay on board to prevent "giving the game away".
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Wikipedia