Hell Below

During the second world war,

As allied airmen target the strongholds of the japanese empire,

Submarines perform lifeguard duty,

To rescue pilots shot down and unable to return to base.

They understand the risks.

The japanese punished them when they captured them.

Lifeguarding really firms up that american military idea

Which is leave no man behind and that we will do everything

We can to bring you home.

In world war ii,

A subsea weapon allows warriors to fight from

Beneath the waves.

With cunning, force and tenacity,

Their enemies strike back.

Revolutionary but still sometimes primitive,

It's a desperate bid to change the course of war.

Their stories are legend.

October, 1943.

The central pacific.

American submarine commander eugene mckinney and his crew scan the skies,

As dogfights break out between american and

Japanese aircraft.

They are not here to sink ships.

Mckinney watches in case an american plane goes down

Near their submarine.

If he receives word,

Skate will attempt to rescue the survivors.

The americans have always been serious about

Search and rescue operations because we knew that this had

A positive effect on morale.

Below deck, skate's crew tune in to the

American aviators' radio frequency.

But they can only listen.

The radio is a lot like a police scanner

It only transmits one way.

They can't radio and prevent their own planes

From attacking them.

For submariners conditioned to react to

Warplanes as a lethal threat,

It is an unnerving situation.

They are so used to having to dive when they see

An airplane you can't get rid of those instincts.

Their wariness proves justified...

There's a sub. Let's get 'em.

As skate hears an american pilot identify their submarine,

As a target.

Mckinney and his crew are virtually helpless.

Skate's commander considers a dive,

But over the radio...

Lay off. He's for us.

The pilot's squadron leader identifies the

Submarine as friendly.

The airman banks away before mckinney is forced to act.

Uss skate is positioned off japanese-occupied wake island.

The military outpost lies nearly 2,000 miles

Southeast of japan.

To disrupt enemy operations here,

The us navy launches a massive strike...

With hundreds of american aircraft launched from carriers,

To drop 320 tons of explosives over the

Next two days.

From shore, the japanese reply with a barrage of

Anti-aircraft fire and mitsubishi zero fighters.

The battle lights up the night sky.

12 miles west of the raid,

Skate receives word of a downed american aircraft,

Whose crew might have bailed out.

All ahead full!

Mckinney runs his submarine on the surface,

Where lookouts can scan the seas,

Along with others who came on the bridge to

Watch the airstrike.

But the darkness makes the search for survivors challenging.

As the fight above continues...

Aircraft!

A japanese zero drops out of the sky,

And trains his guns on the american submarine.

The search has left the crew on deck exposed.

Clear the bridge!

They got a dozen guys all of whom have to clear the

Bridge in order for the sub to be able to dive.

The enemy aircraft continues its attack.

Mckinney's men can only descend the ladder one by one,

As the bullets whiz past.

Mckinney remains topside, counting off each man.

When all his crew are clear, he too,

Hustles down, and pulls the hatch closed behind him.

Skate dives to evade the attack.

As the submarine descends to 90 feet,

Aerial bombs explode near the submarine.

When it goes off you get first of all the,

The shock wave hitting the side of the submarine...

Making this wham sound followed up by this horrendous rumble.

Absolutely terrifying.

Skate survives the bombing,

With no damage to their sub.

But as the confusion settles, junior officer of the deck,

Willis edward maxson, suddenly collapses.

He had been struck by a bullet from the japanese

Aircraft that forced their dive.

It is only now that the crew learn that he has been shot.

Pharmacist's mate!

The round hit maxson in the back,

But did not exit.

The pharmacist's mate on board can clean the wound

And wrap it.

He does not have the skills or facilities to

Remove the bullet.

Mckinney faces a difficult choice.

Does he abandon his mission and seek medical care

Or does he stay and continue to try to rescue

These downed airmen?

How you feeling son?

I'm good, I'm good.

Despite his serious wound,

Maxson himself requests skate carry on with their rescue duties.

Mckinney elects to continue with their mission.

In all the excitement, the opportunity to rescue

The american aviator passed.

Upon surfacing the next morning,

The submarine receives word of more downed air crews.

Skate's commander decides to man the bridge alone and

Orders the conning tower hatch closed to save their

Submarine if they have to dive fast.

Mckinney has learned his lessons from

The day before.

This will allow them to dive much faster in case

They're surprised again.

Mckinney locates the downed aviator,

Just two miles off wake island,

But there is no pre-set rescue procedure.

It really comes down to a lot of improvisation

At this point.

They are really having to figure it out as they go.

Within reach of the japanese shore battery,

He decides to lower the submarine,

To reduce its profile, and close in.

But as three of mckinney's crewmen walk the flooded deck,

Japanese guns fire from the island.

With both the airman,

And the submarine, in their range.

For the second time in as many days,

Uss skate has drawn enemy fire in their attempt to save a life.

An american submarine continues a mission of mercy...

Aircraft!

Even after a crew member was injured in

A rescue attempt the day before.

A japanese plane strafed uss skate,

And junior officer of the deck,

Willis edward maxson,

Suffered a serious gunshot wound.

The shooting of lieutenant maxson is

Devastating on the crew.

He is a popular young officer and here is wounded while they

Are trying to save a pilot that they don't even know.

Now, skate's crew creep out on the

Submarine's flooded deck.

Toward another us aviator shot down during an airstrike

Against wake island.

The japanese open fire on the rescuers and the aviator,

With shore guns.

This is the big fear of submariners,

Not only are they exposed to the planes from above,

But also now from attacks from the shore.

Even two miles out, a single round could puncture

The submarine's hull,

And compromise their ability to escape.

Despite the risks, as the shells drop all around

Uss skate, the submariners press forward.

All of a sudden, attacks by american planes

Silence the shore batteries.

The enemy fire ceases.

Finally, skate's rescue crew close within reach of airman,

Lieutenant harold j. Kicker,

And pull him aboard.

For kicker, it must seem like a miracle.

When you finally see american faces the

Thankfulness that you must have to know that you're rescued.

It is a momentous event.

Lieutenant kicker is the first aviator to be saved

By an american submarine assigned to lifeguard duty.

This rescue really lifts everyone's morale.

This really humanizes that experience for them and puts a

Face and a name to these great risks that they're taking.

But for uss skate,

The price of the lifeguard mission will prove

Even more costly.

Early the next morning,

Junior officer of the deck willis edward maxson

Succumbs to his wounds aboard the submarine.

It's a very emotional time for these crew members.

Submarines are tight ecosystems and tight fraternal

Orders and these men know each other.

And it really falls to the skipper at this point

To be the one who's got to guide them.

On the night of October 9th, 1943,

Commander mckinney and his crew prepare maxson's

Body for burial at sea.

Submarines are not equipped to be able to handle

Remains of deceased sailors,