Plot Synopsis

Using expert analysis, stock footage and re-enactments filmed aboard authentic WWII-era submarines, this six-episode series charts the stealthy game of undersea warfare from the greatest submarine campaigns of World War II. HELL BELOW profiles the strategic masterminds behind the brutal tactics of Nazi U-boats and reveals the extraordinary feats of Allied subs in the Atlantic and Pacific. The series kicks off with The Wolfpack, as Hitler's U-Boats begin their deadly combined attacks on Atlantic convoys in 1940. One of Germany's top U-boat captains is pinned down in the North Atlantic, and realizes the vulnerability of attacking with a single submarine. His U-99 survives the onslaught, and its emboldened commander forges a reputation as a daring strategist who leads Germany's first successful multiple submarine attack. The Allies strike back with new anti-submarine technology that would change the face of naval warfare, pitting British engineering against Germany's U-boat aces. Smithsonian Channel aired the U.S. premiere of this series on Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT, three months after the series debuted in Canada.
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On Sunday, August 21, 2016 at 9pm ET, Smithsonian Channel broadcast the season finale of HELL BELOW. In the season ender, "Fatal Voyage," submarine commander Dick O'Kane participated in the most successful attacks on Japanese ships during World War II, until his luck, and the last torpedo he fired, took a dramatic turn. We track O'Kane's successful career, first as a protege aboard the legendary USS Wahoo, and then as Commander of the short-lived but lethal USS Tang. Through expert testimony, we relive O'Kane's seminal triumphs, and the tragic path of his last warhead.