On this day,17 April 2000 – The film U 571 was released. It did raise some controversy in the UK, The first capture of a naval Enigma with its cipher keys from U 110 was made on 9 May 1941 by HMS Bulldog of the Royal Navy. In parliament it was said to be an “affront to the memories of the British sailors who lost their lives on this action.” However, Sub Lt. David Balme, who led the Royal Navy boarding party on U-110, called U-571, “a great film” reasoning it would not have been financially viable without being as he called it “americanised”. The end credits do dedicate the film to the “Allied sailors and officers who risked their lives capturing Enigma materials” which also acknowledge both the Royal Navy’s role in capturing Enigma machines and code documents from U-110 and U-559 and the U.S. Navy’s capture of U-505
© Gregg Smith
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