[Carl in Tampa]

These mishaps bring to my mind the movie The Enemy Below, with Robert Mitchum as the Captain of a WWII Destroyer in the South Atlantic.

The movie was filmed on board an actual Destroyer, and depth charges were actually fired as a part of the movie action.

What I found interesting was the purported agility of the Destroyer as it pursued a German submarine. The Captain of the Destroyer calculated the amount of time after the submarine they were pursuing submerged before he could expect incoming torpedoes. He presented his beam to the submarine to entice the attack.

Then, at the chosen moment he shouted for "Left Full rudder; Flank speed on the starboard engine; Stop port engine." The Destroyer turned sharply and the incoming torpedoes were avoided.

One would think that modern Destroyers would be similarly agile, and the controls would be as easy to operate as a World War II Destroyer.

NOW; the "Rest of the Story."

This movie was hampered by multiple mishaps. Among them was when Robert Mitchum opened and stepped through the wrong hatch and fell 20 feet to the deck below, severely injuring his back.

Perhaps more troubling, on the part of the Navy, was when they fired several depth charges (apparently in an improper manner) and the concussion disabled the Destroyer.

Yep, they knocked themselves out of action.

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