The USS Borie was badly damaged and scuttled the following day.Most of the encounters that happened between warships and U-boats unfolded at a distance with depth charges and torpedoes. We shot on a set in Baton Rouge, and we shot onboard the USS Kidd that is usually sitting on the Mississippi River there. In conducting our Greyhound fact check, we discovered that up to 80,000 Allied sailors, airmen, and merchant seamen were killed during the six-year-long Battle of the Atlantic, which spanned almost the entirety of WWII. 9 depth charges. Louisiana Economic Development said pre-production for Greyhound has already begun, and other Baton Rouge locations will be used in the film. This never happened in real life. No. The USS Kidd is now part of a museum located on the Mississipi River which runs through Baton Rouge in Louisiana. Tom Hanks’ new World War II thriller Greyhound is the most authentic film portrayal of naval warfare since 2003’s Napoleonic Wars epic Master & Commander: The Far Side of … But the real-life destroyer filmmakers used as her stand-in—the USS Kidd (DD-661)—earned eight battle stars in World War II’s Pacific theater. Hanks plays Captain Krause, the skipper of the fictional U.S. Navy destroyer USS Keeling. Lilium’s New Course: On Verge Of Going Public, It’s Working On A Bigger Air Taxi. Hanks has written the screenplay and will play the lead character. The Greyhound—radio call sign for the fictional USS Keeling—in Tom Hanks’ new film of the same name is a Battle of the Atlantic convoy escort. In 1995 the museum wrote an open letter to navies that once operated Fletcher-class destroyers. The U.S. destroyer was trying to ram the U-boat when a wave cause its bow to come down on top of the U-boat, trapping both in a deadly dance. Kidd took the vessel under tow for approximately 200 nautical miles until additional assistance from their parent company arrived to further assist the vessel in returning it to Costa Rica for repairs. It is instead based on author C. S. Forester's 1955 novel The Good Shepherd. But the sea drama was shot on the USS Kidd, a decommissioned WWII-era Fletcher-class destroyer, and a … Adopted by Hanks from CS Forester’s 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, Greyhound has all the hallmarks of a classic WWII film, with a unique intimacy. For some shots, director Schneider swapped out Kidd for a reproduction of the ship’s bridge, mounted on moving gimbals. 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There would have been no American soldiers for D-Day, and in turn, no D-Day and no victory.Germany used squadrons of U-boats known as wolf packs, in addition to various warships, to prowl the Atlantic Ocean and hunt down and attack Allied convoys, which is what they do to the convoy Commander Krause's ships are protecting in the Greyhound movie. The real-life clash that may have inspired the duel in the book happened on November 1, 1943 between the USS Borie and U-boat U-405. “Six 25-man balsa liferafts were located in Seal Beach, California,” the museum stated. Revenue from filming the movie 'Greyhound' starring Tom Hanks in April helped get the national historic landmark in top shape. While the U-boats did occasionally eavesdrop after stumbling upon the transmitting frequency of the escort ships, as far as we know, they were never able to transmit on that frequency, nor were they able to hack into and broadcast over the convoy's inter-ship communication system. Work continued to restore Kidd. The Fletcher-class Kidd, which commissioned in 1943 and fought in the Pacific Theater and also in the Korean War, is the only World War II destroyer still in her original configuration. Portions of the naval drama were filmed onboard the USS KIDD and other locations in Baton Rouge in 2018. USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class destroyer, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.Admiral Kidd was the first US flag officer to die during World War II, and the first American admiral ever to be killed in action. Several films are told from the point of view of the German U-boat crews. The screenplay for “Greyhound” was … “She was still very much in appearance as she had been when the Japanese had surrendered on Sept. 2, 1945,” the museum continued. The USS KIDD served as a living encyclopedia for the teams, especially when it came to the interior shots. No, not exactly. All five five-inch/38-caliber gun mounts were still in place.”. As we parsed out the Greyhound true story from the movie, we learned that Commander Ernest Krause is a fictional character based on Commander George Krause from C. S. Forester's book The Good Shepherd. “We had to make sure they compensated us for lost revenue, additional staff time, overtime ... and maybe come out a little bit ahead for our trouble,” museum director David Beard said. “The safety of vessels at sea is the responsibility of all mariners,” said Cmdr. A Greyhound fact check reveals that the USS Keeling (codenamed "Greyhound") is fictional and was not a real-life Navy destroyer. Maintaining a 1943-vintage destroyer is hard, expensive work. A: Three if you count the hotel lobby where Elisabeth Shue and I exchange Christmas gifts, for one day. The titular Greyhound vessel the film, aka the USS Keeling, was not a ship involved in the real-life Battle of the Atlantic. The $60-million production spent half its money in Baton Rouge. Set in the winter of 1942, Greyhound—a nod to the nickname of the U.S.S. Percentage-wise, it was the most severe loss of any of Germany's armed forces. 63 gun directors and her boat boom,” the museum explained. Russian Bombers Practice Striking Key NATO Base, ‘Siri, Find Me A Russian Submarine,’ U.S. Navy Asks. Q: Back to “Greyhound,” director Aaron Schneider told us it was filmed at just two actual locations. On July 3, 1997, museum staff loaded Kidd’s torpedo tubes for the first time since 1964. Several months after the U.S. entry into World War II, an inexperienced U.S. Navy commander must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by a German submarine wolf pack. EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has proclaimed Friday, July 10th, as USS KIDD Day in the Capital City, to mark the global premiere of the feature motion picture “Greyhound” on Apple TV+. "A lot of them got modified in the Vietnam War and the wars that followed," Schneider explained. The strategy that the Allies used was to send a group of merchant ships across the Atlantic in a convoy that was escorted by a group of warships, and, when feasible, aircraft. The part of Greyhound that's based on a true story is the Battle of the Atlantic, in which the fictional USS Keeling becomes involved. A remembrance ceremony is held on the USS KIDD’s fantail each April 11th, which is the anniversary of the day when a kamikaze aircraft went through the hull of the USS KIDD (DD-661). The USS Kidd has been docked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for years, where it has served as a tourist attraction. To emphasize the importance of the battle, Winston Churchill coined the name "Battle of the Atlantic," intentionally alluding to the Battle of Britain. A large portion of the movie was shot aboard the USS Kidd (DD-661), a Fletcher-class Navy destroyer named after Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who lost his life on the bridge of the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. “Each compartment has been treated as a display case into which innumerable artifacts have been collected and arranged just as they would have been when sailors lived and worked on board,” according to the museum. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. There’s a good reason for that authenticity. (Error Code: 102630) BATON ROUGE - The USS Kidd Museum is now upgraded. It’s early 1942. STAFF PHOTO BY BILL FEIG "Greyhound," the World War … The U-boat was too close for the destroyer's guns, so the crew members opened fire with rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns. 16 depth-charge projectors and 12 20-millimeter magazine drums. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, subscribe to the History vs. Hollywood YouTube Channel. While it's a nice nod to the ship the movie was filmed on, in real life, the USS Kidd wasn't launched until late February 1943, several months after the events in the movie take place. 12/22 fire-control radar antenna and four more depth-charge projectors from the destroyer Tolman right before sinking Tolman in an exercise. Still, 80 percent of Allied convoys completed the journey safely. With Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham, Matt Helm. Greyhound is a 2020 American war film directed by Aaron Schneider and starring Tom Hanks, who also wrote the screenplay. Her restoration was complete. By early 1942, U-boats had begun to wreak havoc directly off the east coast of North and South America, easily picking off merchant ships that were poorly defended. One of the main reasons the filmmakers chose to shoot on the historic battleship is because the Kidd is the only surviving WWII destroyer still in her wartime configuration.If you listen closely during the movie, one of the sailors on the ship refers to a buddy he knows who was on the Kidd. “A sister ship of the Fletcher-class, USS Caperton, provided the quintuple Mk. Germany lost roughly 28,000 to 30,000 U-boat crewmen, roughly 70 percent of the 41,000 German seamen who took part in the lengthy battle. The USS KIDD Veterans Museum is bringing to Baton Rouge a small-scale exhibit from the movie, Greyhound, featuring one of Tom Hanks’ costumes and several props used in … The other ships in the movie are digital recreations of real-life vessels. It was also more difficult to remain unnoticed by the Germans.The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous battle of WWII. You may opt-out by. “The search for hard-to-find World War II-vintage equipment has gone around the world.” In 1984, the Dutch navy Zuiderkruis sailed to Baton Rouge and dropped off two twin 20-millimeter gun mounts, two Mk. “Her single-pole mast was still in place, though her own post-war damage control plans showed her with a tripod mast. Losing the supply lines was a constant worry for the Allies. There wouldn't have been enough men, food, weapons, or resources to make weapons. I write about ships, planes, tanks, drones, missiles and satellites. The U.S. and Canada needed to maintain the vital flow of supplies and men to Europe in order to keep up the fight. Yes. If Greyhound looks and feels real, it’s because Hanks and company shot many scenes aboard the 376-foot Kidd at her museum on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge. Greyhound is 90 minutes of high tension and cold, sea-soaked, bloody realism. During that same period, Germany lost 783 of its 1,100 U-boats. USS Smith (DD-378) was a Mahan-class destroyer in the United States Navy before and during World War II. The danger of traversing the Atlantic is echoed in the. New Forester’s classic 1955 novel The Good Shepherd. State officials said Tom Hanks will film a new movie about World War II in Baton Rouge early next year, using the iconic USS Kidd as a location. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Recommended for you. Germany knew that stopping the supply line would essentially give them victory in Britain and the rest of Europe, as well as the Soviet Union, thus ending the war. Despite being rooted in World War II history, the Tom Hanks movie is not directly based on a true story. And that’s it. No. 14 21-inch torpedo tubes that were missing, as well as a Mk. The screenplay for “Greyhound” was … No. In Greyhound (out on Apple TV+ July 10), ... Louisiana's WBRZ, much of the filming took place on the USS Kidd, which has been docked as a museum in the city since the 1980s. The Allies had yet to set up a convoy system, and according to the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, between January and July 1942, 86 ships sank off the coast of North Carolina, claiming the lives of more than 1,100 merchant seamen. Krause and his crew lead an American-Canadian-British escort force safeguarding a convoy from North America to Britain. Tom Hanks Filmed Parts Of "Greyhound" On The USS Kidd On The Mississippi River - Duration: 5:20. The movie's fictional incident is based on an event that unfolds in The Good Shepherd book from which the film was adapted. America’s last surviving World War II destroyer, the former USS Kidd, plays a starring role. Yes. She was named for Lieutenant Joseph B. Smith, USN. 27 torpedo director, two Mk. In Greyhound, Commander Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) peers out through a shattered porthole in a scene that was likely shot on the film’s reproduction of the USS Kidd’s pilothouse. I'm a journalist, author and filmmaker based in Columbia, South Carolina. Tom Hanks portrays Naval Commander Ernest Krause (named George Krause in the book), who after years of being a career officer is finally given command of a destroyer, the USS Keeling, whose radio codename is "Greyhound." A wolfpack of German U-boats stalks the convoy. It's a fictitious warship made for the purposes of the film. 'Greyhound' VFX Supervisors Nathan McGuinness And Pete Bebb ... Production took place aboard the retired destroyer USS Kidd and on stages, surrounded by white screen—and without an … Keeling, a destroyer under Krause’s command—features Hanks as a … The surging ocean you see through Kidd’s portholes is from footage director-of-photography Shelly Johnson shot while sailing the North Atlantic with the Canadian navy. Before towing Kidd from Philadelphia to Baton Rouge, the Navy remounted two twin 40-millimeter gun mounts forward of the bridge in place of the 1950s-vintage “hedgehog” anti-submarine mortars. Remembering those who've fallen aboard DD-661. Around 1975, the Navy tapped her to become a museum ship. The museum opened in August 1983. Smith was a senior officer aboard USS Congress and killed when CSS Virginia sank her. "Greyhound" relies heavily on CGI scenes depicting the expansive sea battles. Hanks’ movie has helped. While this rarely happened, such destroyer-vs-submarine duels did take place on one or two real-life occasions. Krause commands a multi-national group of four escort ships tasked with protecting a convoy of merchant ships that are being hunted by German U-boats. Director Aaron Schneider and editors Mark Czyzewski and Sidney Wolinsky keep Hanks, his crew and Keeling in the center of almost every shot. Hanks faithfully adapted the script from C.S. Logistically, moving approximately 40 ships as a cohesive unit was anything but easy. Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, As Airlines Frantically Seek Leisure Routes, American Looks West From Charlotte To Reno, Farewell To Learjet: Bombardier’s Exit Has Been Long In The Making, Target: Iceland! U-boat U-405 was swallowed by the sea that night, adding to the Atlantic's WWII seabed graveyard. Directed by Aaron Schneider. While the movie finds Tom Hanks' Commander Ernest Krause and the convoy caught up in the Battle of the Atlantic over a five-day period in the latter part of 1942, the battle actually spanned almost the entirety of the war, beginning on September 3, 1939 and ending on May 8, 1945. Set in 1942, at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, a new World War Two film Greyhound starring Tom Hanks tells the story of a newly-appointed naval captain heading to the front for the first time, tasked with commanding a convoy of 37 Allied ships across the treacherous North Atlantic while being hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi U-boats Around the same time, the Navy salvaged a searchlight and platform, a Mk. Copyright © 2021 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media. Greyhound exhibit “Greyhound,” starring Tom Hanks and USS KIDD, is receiving excellent reviews from critics and the public. Our friends David Crank and Julie Weiss--Production Designer and Costume Designer respectively--discuss their work on Greyhound with Dominic Patten, Senior Editor/Chief TV Critic of Deadline Hollywood as part of its Contenders Film series.. Can It Deliver? The WWII battle focused on Germany's effort to cut off transatlantic supply lines by gaining control of the Atlantic Ocean.