The Cruel Sea

An adaptation of the novel "The Cruel Sea" (1951), written by the veteran naval officer Nicholas Monsarrat. It depicts the Battle of the Atlantic was fought between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-boats, In the late 1930s, Lieutenant-Commander George Ericson was part of the Royal Naval Reserve. At the start of World War II in 1939, Ericson is recalled to the Royal Navy and granted command over a new Flower-class corvette . His ship is tasked with convoy escort duties. Ericson is not impressed with his immediate subordinates. Both of his sub-lieutenants have no previous experience at sea, and the first lieutenant James Bennett tries to enforce discipline in rather cruel ways. The crew gains hard experience over the next few years, while facing enemy submarines, the brutal weather of the North Atlantic, and bouts of poor health. After their initial ship is sunk by a torpedo, Ericson and his right-hand-man Lockhart are reassigned as the leading officers of a Castle-class frigate. They spend the last years of the war in service with the Arctic convoys.