Das Boot

The epic Second World War novel, now an acclaimed Sky One series

By: Lothar Gunther Buchheim

Narrated by: Tim Bruce

'Breathless, terrifying U-boat drama... a masterclass in economical, tight-space storytelling, piling the pressure on both characters and audience'
Time Out

It is autumn 1941 and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made, the hunters rapidly become the hunted.

As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea, a game of cat-and-mouse begins, where the increasing claustrophobia of the submarine becomes an enemy as frightening as the depth charges that explode around it. Of the 40,000 men who served on German submarines, 30,000 never returned.

Written by a survivor of the U-boat fleet, Das Boot is a psychological, military drama merciless in its intensity, and an epic rendering of the Second World War.

Critic reviews

Breathless, terrifying U-boat drama ... a masterclass in economical, tight-space storytelling, piling the pressure on both characters and audience

worth the hype

An amazing story that led to the best war movie ever. I have wanted to read the book for ages. And it was worth the wait.