Free Republic

Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic "Das Boot" propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films "In the Line of Fire," "Air Force One" and "The Perfect Storm," has died. He was 81.

He had previously tried to dislodge the metal clamp by kicking it ineffectually with his trainer-shod foot. An astonished bystander filmed the man as he put his car into drive and then reverse in an attempt to break free from the clamp. The immobiliser remained stubbornly on the wheel and caused significant damage to the front fender as well as burning much of the rubber from his tire. 'Realising that he wasn’t doing much, he got back in the car and started to move it around. After getting stuck while reversing, he managed to drive forwards a bit faster, back...

The author of the German war novel "Das Boot", Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, has died, his spokeswoman said on Friday. He was 89. An artist, art collector and director of his own museum, Buchheim will be best remembered for the 1971 novel that presented a new perspective on the Nazi era by detailing the claustrophobic life on board a war-time submarine, or "U-Boot". In 1981, director Wolfgang Petersen turned the book into a six-hour film, which at the time was the most expensive movie in German history. Unlike Hollywood war films, with their stereotyped Nazi characters, Petersen portrayed the universal suffering of...

Return of the wolf pack German U-boats are back, and they’re stealthier and deadlier than ever By Tim Mahon January 04, 2007 Although Russia continues to build diesel-electric hunter-killer submarines (SSKs) based on the venerable but capable Kilo design — and is marketing the ultra-quiet Amur class — Germany has now taken on the mantle of world leader in the manufacture of diesel-electric submarines. The German navy (Bundesmarine) possesses one of the most capable conventional submarine designs in service today, the Type 212A. A product of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the first of four 212As entered service with the Bundesmarine in...

One of Germany's crack new fuel-cell-powered submarines has set a world record with a two-week-long dive, the German Navy said Wednesday. The trip by the U212A-class sub with a crew of 27 from Eckernfoerde in Germany to Rota in Spain involved the longest period that any non-nuclear vessel had ever spent under water. The navy did not say what the previous record had been. US and Russian nuclear submarines can stay under water for longer. Germany, which has no nuclear weapons and no nuclear-powered ships, developed the high-tech hybrid-powered submarines to replace diesel-electric vessels that need to surface more often...