Episode #1.1

There is a passing reference to Captain Sharp's poor luck, but without explanation. His previous command was the HMT Lancastria. Like the Laconia, this was another civilian liner commandeered by the British Admiralty for use as a troop ship. She was sunk in June 1940 in the Loire estuary by the Luftwaffe while participating in Operation Aerial, the rescue of British troops and civilians from the west coast of France after the country had fallen to the Germans. Although the exact number of people who died in the sinking will never be known, estimates are between 4,000 and 9,000 people, making the sinking of the Lancastria the single worst loss of life on any British ship in history. This is the incident the British officers are referring to.

At the dry dock scene, the U-Boat officers walk by a ship with a bulbous bow, a feature that was not adapted by the German Navy until the 1950's.

This British-German co-production exists in two versions. The British cut focuses more on the British side, the German one focusing more on the German side. This is mainly done by a different arrangement of the scenes.