U-571 is a 2000 WWII military thriller starring Matthew McConaughey as Andrew Tyler, a US Navy lieutenant who finds himself unexpectedly commanding a stolen German U-Boat while on a secret mission to capture one of the 4-reel Enigma encoding machines used by the Kriegsmarine. Directed by Jonathan Mostow and co-written by David Ayer, the film encountered controversy for its dramatic license regarding the actual events surrounding the capture of the machine. The cast included Harvey Keitel, David Keith, Bill Paxton and Jon Bon Jovi.
The film is based loosely on the capture of the Type IXB U-Boat U-110 by the crew of the British B-Class destroyer HMS Bulldog on the 9th of May 1941 (Operation Primrose), along with its intact Enigma machine and accompanying Kurzsignale codebook. The real U-571, on the other hand, was a Type VIIC U-Boat sunk off the coast of Ireland in January 1944 by depth charges dropped from a Short Sunderland flying boat of the Royal Australian Air Force.
The following weapons were used in the film U-571:
The M1911A1 is the standard issue sidearm of the US sailors in the film and it's seen predominantly in the hands or holsters of Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) and Chief Petty Officer Henry Klough (Harvey Keitel). Kapitänleutnant Gunther Wassner (Thomas Kretschmann) also gets his hands on a M1911A1 onboard the U-571. Seaman Anthony Mazzola (Erik Palladino) also handles a M1911A1 during the scuffle with him and Wassner.
The Thompson M1928A1 is used by several of the sailors when commandeering the U-571. Interestingly, the Thompsons featured in the film have the buttstocks removed, and have chopped folding stocks taken from M1A1 Carbine Paratrooper installed. Though historically 'possible', there is no evidence of this being done during WWII. However, this would make sense as the full stock of the Thompson wouldn't be practical for combat in the confined space of a U-Boat.
During the raid on U-571, a sailor is briefly seen wielding an M1A1 Thompson modified with a folding stock and a compensator. It is identifiable by its side mounted bolt.
Kapitänleutnant Gunther Wassner (Thomas Kretschmann) uses a Walther P38 as his sidearm in the film. When the US sailors try to take control of the U-Boat, Wassner is seen firing his sidearm at the Yankees. A couple of other German crewmen also use the Walther P38 inside the U-571.
An MG34 is mounted on the German U-571. A German sailor briefly uses it in the beginning of the film.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingMG34 with front and rear sights folded down - 7.92x57mm MauserError creating thumbnail: File missingA German sailor prepares to execute American survivors with the MG34. This is something of a reversal of reality: the reason U-110 was captured was that Royal Navy ships opened fire on her crew who were attempting to surrender, thinking that they were trying to man the U-Boat's deck gun. In the confusion, the crew did not think to go back below and destroy sensitive materials as they would have done otherwise. Note how the rounds in his hand are obvious crimp-nosed blanks.
Other
The U-571 and the American S-33 has some heavy weapons that are included on this page just for the sake of completion.
C35 88 / 45 Schiffskanone
Seaman Rabbit (Will Estes) and Radioman Wentz (Jack Noseworthy) fire the main 88mm / 45 calibre deck gun on the U-571.
Used by the German destroyer in an effort to sink the captured U-571. These are obviously fakes, as is the ship itself: she is marked as Z49, a number assigned to a ship in the never-built Type 1936C series. Only Z46 and Z47 were ever laid down, and both of these ships were broken up for scrap when their shipyard was captured by Allied troops in 1945. The ship was actually played by an Italian tug in most shots.
