Battle Stations - The Eastern Sea Frontier

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Battle Stations – The Eastern Sea Frontier"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Air Date: April 9, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Battle Stations transports listeners to the thick of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II, focusing on the pivotal role of the Eastern Sea Frontier. Blending dramatic narration, historical reporting, authentic interviews, and immersive soundscapes, the episode brings to life the intense struggle between Allied naval forces and the formidable German U-boat fleet. Listeners get a first-hand sense of life at sea, naval strategy, and the relentless evolution of anti-submarine warfare.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: The Battle of the Atlantic, 1943

• The episode opens with the gravity of the crisis: German U-boats threaten the lifeline between the U.S. and Europe.
• Dramatic statistics are shared, illustrating Allied shipping losses as the U-boat campaign intensifies.
  • “Bad January ships sunk, 32 ships to a little better February 1943, 20 ships to worse March 1943, 25 ships.” (03:04)

Inside the Enemy’s Morale and Motives

• A dramatized interview with a captured German U-boat radioman, Manfred Holtz, reveals the mentality and pride of U-boat crews:
  • Interviewer: “Do you think you have a chance of winning a war?”
    Holtz: “There's not the slightest doubt we shall.” (06:23)
• Emphasis on the experience and longevity of U-boat personnel:
  • “Seven years of experience is not rare in Donitz's U boat Fleet.” (03:55)
• Despite setbacks, German morale remains high, buoyed by leadership changes and propaganda broadcasts.

The Allies Strike Back: Turning the Tide

• The Allies respond with robust countermeasures:
  • Intensive air attacks on submarine bases (07:58)
  • Mass production of escort vessels and incremental improvement in anti-submarine tactics and technology
• Key moment: Notices Allied hope and careful optimism as the balance slowly shifts:
  • Admiral Ernest J. King (Washington): “The submarine menace is being dealt with. We expect to bring it under control now in four to six months time.” (10:08)
  • Winston Churchill (London): “In May for the first time the Allies destroyed more submarines than the Nazis can build in a month. …We did not expect to attain this rate of destruction until 1944.” (10:18)

Technology and "The Uppercase X": Innovation at Sea

• The American approach is characterized by innovation—deploying new ship classes (destroyer escorts, subchasers, blimps) and refining existing techniques:
  • “The weapons DD DE SC PBY YP PC K2 the cutter destroyers, destroyer escorts, sub chasers, patrol planes, converted yachts, patrol ships. Blimps…” (12:48)
• Blimps (K2s) become a surprising anti-submarine asset, patrolling vast oceanic distances with impressive detection capabilities.
• The “uppercase X” in the equation of war ultimately refers to "Trained Men"—the relentless, rigorous preparation of American sailors.

Life on the Convoy

• Through a fictionalized exchange between crew members aboard the USS Vigilant, listeners experience the tension of anti-submarine action:
  • “General quarters, Captain. Not this one. All depth charges ready, sir.” (15:57)
  • Submarine breaking water off port quarter… All deck guns open fire…” (17:42)
• The reality of sudden alerts and intense focus on duty is underscored.

The Secret Weapon: "TM" – Trained Men

• A powerful section delves into the concept of "TM" (trained men) as the Allies' secret weapon:
  • “They are learning, being trained to see in near darkness. To be armed in combat with a vital power, trained eyesight. ... These are trained free men, Navy weapons that have proved their worth.” (20:55)
• The episode emphasizes the human factor—dedication, relentless training, and vigilance—over simple reliance on mechanical or technological superiority.

First-Hand Perspective: Interview with Seaman Joe Brainard

• Joe shares emotional insight into the burden and camaraderie of naval warfare:
  • NBC Announcer: “What about the rest of the time, Joe?”
    Joe: “There isn't any other time. Any moment may be dangerous on a ship at sea in time of war. That's why the Navy takes such great pains to train us for action.” (22:27)
• On the stress of false alarms:
  • Joe: “Nothing. Nobody squawks about being pulled out of bed or away from chow or the card game. They know it might have been a submarine, that they might have been in the water by then. They just say, that's okay, boy. You keep your eye on the water...” (23:36)
• The routine and tension of life at sea are brought vividly to life.

The Strategic Nerve Center: The Eastern Sea Frontier

• The Eastern Sea Frontier (ESF) is revealed as a crucial hub:
  • “On the wall of the plotting room, a huge map of the Atlantic is dotted... show[ing] at a glance the situation of every convoy, every ship, every patrol plane, every blimp that plies the waters of the Atlantic and the location of every reported enemy U boat.” (25:17)

Ongoing Battle & Final Message

• The struggle is framed as ongoing, with a reminder of the vital role of American workers and the industrial home front:
  • “Keep sending the weapons, America. Your navy will put them to good use.” (27:50)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On U-boat morale:
  “There’s not the slightest doubt we shall [win].” – Manfred Holtz, German radioman (06:26)

• On training and vigilance:
  "A ship is run by teamwork. Teamwork involving every man aboard." – Seaman Joe Brainard (22:48)

• On the value of American sailors:
  "Ships without well trained men are only ships. Ships with well trained men are men of war." – Narrator/Announcer (21:30)

• Turning point in the battle:
  "For the first time the Allies destroyed more submarines than the Nazis can build in a month. This has been our goal... and we did not expect to attain this rate of destruction until 1944." – Winston Churchill (10:18)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening NBC Announcer and Scene Setting: 00:49 – 01:31
• Shipping Losses and U-boat Campaign: 03:04 – 03:18
• Captured U-boat Crew Interview: 03:30 – 06:26
• German Propaganda & Allied Responses: 07:05 – 10:57
• Allied Gains and Strategic Outlook: 10:57 – 14:02
• Life Aboard the Convoy (USS Vigilant): 15:04 – 18:42
• American Secret Weapon ("TM" - Trained Men): 20:03 – 21:54
• Interview with Seaman Joe Brainard: 22:01 – 24:43
• The Eastern Sea Frontier Command Center: 24:43 – 26:23
• Final Reflections & Call to Home Front: 27:05 – 28:46
• Program Credits & Tease for Next Episode: 28:46 – 30:34

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Tone & Style

• The narrative is formal, urgent, and patriotic, blending factual reporting with the dramatized pulse of wartime storytelling.
• Voices alternate between grim realism, determined resilience, and cautious optimism.
• Episodes like this serve as both history lesson and morale booster, honoring the grit of Allied sailors and their support teams.

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Conclusion

Battle Stations – The Eastern Sea Frontier is a vivid audio snapshot of a critical naval campaign during WWII, told with immediacy and respect for the men who faced danger daily. The episode balances strategic context with personal experience, ultimately reinforcing the idea that while technology and ships matter, the true “secret weapon” is the courage and training of ordinary American sailors.

Transcript

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[Narrator/Commentator]

Battle stations battle stations.

[NBC Announcer]

The National Broadcasting Company's Department of Special Events Cooperating with the United States Navy is presenting in a series of four programs a report to the people of the United States on the progress of its navy in the war being fought in five oceans. Report title Battle Stations. Tonight, the battle of the atlantic, part 2.

[Narrator/Commentator]

It's a familiar human failing for a futile challenger. Entering the ring for a return bout to tip his hand to speak of new stratagems of new powers. It rallies his supporters to confidence. This time it'll be different, he says. I got the champ figured out. I'll work in with my left hand inside his right hand lead. And I got a heavier punch this time. A paper hanger entered a war with much that same sort of a statement. Germany was defeated in 1918 because of the failure of the U boat. Today our U boat fleet is powerful. We will not fail again. Right from the feed box. To mix the metaphor straight from the horse's mouth and containing a high percentage of truth from a man never noted for his veracity. Germany defeated in 1918 because the U boat failed 25% true. Today Germany's U boat fleet is powerful. True. Germany will not fail again. We shall see. How has the battle gone? The Battle of the Atlantic. Anxious millions have followed its progress from

[Narrator/Announcer]

bad January ships sunk, 32 ships to a little better February 1943, 20 ships to worse March 1943, 25 ships.

[Narrator/Commentator]

But what of the enemy? What are his numbers? What is the state of the morale of the enemy's men beneath the sea?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Illustration Naval officers talk to a member of a captured U boat crew.

[Narrator/Commentator]

He speaks fair English. Lived in this country a few years.

[Interviewer]

Would you rather talk in German or in English?

[Narrator/Commentator]

I can speak either language.

[Narrator/Announcer]

However, the tide of battle has gone. For the men beneath the sea, the arrogance remains. Name?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Rank? Manfred Holtz, radio man.

[Interviewer]

How long have you been in the service?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Seven years. The fierce U boat fleet is not manned by novices.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The officers nod. Seven years of experience is not rare in Donitz's U boat Fleet. Hitler began to build his weapons for the Battle of the Atlantic in 1935 and to train his men.

[Interviewer]

How much action have you seen in the Atlantic?

[Narrator/Commentator]

All of it. I have fought in the Atlantic since the start of the war. You give me a chart. I will show you where our thinkings have been accomplished.

[Interviewer]

Get a chart for him.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator/Announcer]

He's not trying to be helpful. Their invisibility in battle robs them of the glory they believe should be theirs. This fellow now would like to boast and perhaps to mislead.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Here's the charter now.

[Interviewer]

If you intend to waste our time with some of the fairy tales they

[Narrator/Commentator]

broadcast over your radio, Ronald, you will recognize the actions I report. That's where we got the first of your ships off Cape Cod. On what date was that? Oh, sometime late in January. It was very easy. Then simply to follow. Then at dusk, boom.

[Interviewer]

If it was so easy, why didn't

[Narrator/Commentator]

you keep it up? Oh, there was no use taking chances closely ashore. When there was unprotected shipping elsewhere.

[Interviewer]

A plane patrol gave you trouble?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Some.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

Some.

[Narrator/Commentator]

And our coastwise convoys?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Some.

[NBC Announcer]

Some.

[Narrator/Commentator]

As I say, the chances were unnative.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

Needless.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah, needless. When there was unconvoyed shipping elsewhere.

[Interviewer]

And you haven't had such a good time lately?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Oh, there is some trouble. But we are not entirely helpless against convoys. Ah. Do you believe that? You know how many men you've lost? No, and neither do you.

[Narrator/Announcer]

And in this he is partially correct. Unofficial estimates in April placed the Nazi losses then at 12,000 trained officers and men lost or taken prisoner. But this man doesn't know. Only Admiral Donitz knows accurately.

[Interviewer]

Where is your control center located?

[Narrator/Commentator]

If you should find out, I would like to know.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Somewhere in France is the Allied guess. The Nazis boast frequently that Allied bombers fly over it regularly. Their camouflaged U boat control center.

[Interviewer]

How many U boats do you think you have left?

[Narrator/Commentator]

I would be interested in knowing that too.

[Narrator/Announcer]

No, he doesn't know. Between 4 and 500 is a frequent guess. 150 of them on the hunting ground simultaneously. But what of this fellow's morale?

[Interviewer]

Do you think you have a chance of winning a war?

[Narrator/Commentator]

There's not the slightest doubt we shall. Yes, In March, the Nazi U boat crew still had the highest morale of the German fighting forces. They were tough, hardened, and they were winning the Battle of the Atlantic last March. This meant postponement of the dreaded second front in Europe, for it could not be launched until the steady flow of material of war across the Atlantic was assured. Yes, their morale was High in March. For in February they had had good news.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

This is Berlin calling the overseas service of the Reichsfundfunkaselchaft. Here's an important announcement from the Fuhrer's headquarters. Vice Admiral Karl Doenitz has been appointed by the Fuhrer to succeed Admiral Erich Railer as Grand Admiral of the German Navy. Here's a recording of the historic pledge Grand Admiral Donitz has made to our Fuhrer.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The entire German Navy will henceforth be put into the service of inexorable U boat warfare.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Morale was high in the Nazi U boat fleet in March. The moment of the supreme test had arrived and their victory was in sight. It was all out now on both sides.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

London has announced new attacks by the Allied air forces on Nazi submarine bases at San Nazaire and l'.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Oreal. Blows aimed where they would hurt. For Dennis's raiders must hold up at least two weeks for overhauling and restocking. Between each sally into the hunting ground many weeks longer for repairs to depth bombed submarines. Blows aimed where they would hurt. In the United States, convoy escort vessels were coming down the ways in unnumbered scores. This too was an answer to all out submari warfare. The showdown. In April the battle will be won or lost. Here

[Narrator/Announcer]

lo fire.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Or here

[Narrator/Announcer]

a naval officer turns the dial of a submarine locator sounding device.

[Narrator/Commentator]

You've got one, sir. I got something. Bridge. Getting something on the sound detector. 500 yards broad on the starboard bow.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Progress is tearing the cloak of invisibility from the raiders beneath the sea. You are hearing first a tone sent out by the escort vessel. Then that tone as it returns reflected from the hull of a submarine. And the U boat lying beneath the surface is like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Set fire. The Battle of April. And the United nations waited for word of its outcome. No figures. But by the first week of May, cautious words of the outcome began to be heard.

[Narrator/Announcer]

From Washington, a statement by Admiral Ernest J. King, United States Commander in Chief. An officer not noted for his optimism in the matter of U boat warfare.

[Interviewer]

The submarine menace is being dealt with. We expect to bring it under control now in four to six months time.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Then from London, Winston Churchill, never hasty

[Narrator/Announcer]

in his declarations in substance, announced in

[Narrator/Commentator]

May for the first time the Allies destroyed more submarines than the Nazis can build in a month. This has been our goal in the anti submarine campaign. In fact we did not expect to attain this rate of destruction until 1944. And then from of all places, Berlin,

[Narrator/Announcer]

an official Nazi publication not given to understating successes. Nor to overstate failure, however.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

Untiring U boats fight against the American convoys in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It is not possible to strangle enemy supply lines.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Who won the battle of April?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Losses in April 14 Ships much lower than March.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The Battle of May.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Losses in May nine ships lower still.

[Narrator/Commentator]

June. How went the battle in June?

[Narrator/Announcer]

A joint British United States statement.

[Narrator/Commentator]

June losses from submarine attack were the lowest since the United States entered the war. Fewer submarines are appearing in the Atlantic. They almost never attack the main convoys. But the sinkings of Axis submarines continue. Substantial and satisfactory. Substantial and satisfactory. How? With Grand Admiral Donitz's gastric ulcer. He had boasted that he knew all the answers. Is he at a loss for an answer to the July questions?

[Narrator/Announcer]

A professionally blithe voice from Berlin answers.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

Our Admiralty announces that the Reich U Boat League has been summoned to home basis to be equipped with a new secret weapon promised by Grand Admiral Donitz as the answer to increased Anglo American shipping. What the new secret weapon is has not been hinted at. Little doubt allowed that it will be.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Secret weapon. A timely variation on an old theme.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The U boat fleet disappeared from its old hunting grounds. While the United States not so secret weapons continue to take to the air, to the sea. And old techniques received new Polish.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The weapons DD DE SC PBY YP PC K2 the cutter destroyers, destroyer escorts, sub chasers, patrol planes, converted yachts, patrol ships. Blimps. K2 is a blimp. At the start of the war there were just four. Today there are many more. Their specifications and performance an open secret. Their effectiveness well known to the raiders that lurk below the waves. K2, 250ft long. Can cruise up to 2000 miles at 55 miles an hour with a crew of eight. Armament including Mach guns, bombs and depth charges. They have the ability to patrol 2000 square miles of ocean every 12 hours. Have a visibility of 5 miles in all directions. Can see as deep as 70ft below the surface. K2s hover over the clues. Oil smears, air bubbles. The glow of the U boat at night. The feather of the submarine's wake.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The K2s were there over the Atlantic as the battles of April, May and June were fought. Now of DDDEPC PCs are patrol ships.

[Narrator/Announcer]

170 footers of steel construction. And where are they built? On the shores of the Great Lakes along the New England coast and inland. These are the subchasers. Direct in line of descent from the famous Cinderella boats of the First World War. PC has greater speed than its forebear. Greater maneuverability. And its gun power is rapid fire. It's a match for any submarine in a duel. PC was there fighting the Battle of the Atlantic in April, May, June, July. PC is there now.

[Narrator/Commentator]

All were there. All the weapons, old and new. Here is the destroyer escort, an effective weapon that did its part.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Illustration. The USS Vigilant, in bright daylight, is patrolling her position in the convoy screen. The crew is alert, more so than usual.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Okay, Joe, you can grab your sleep now. Mr. Yearwatt.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Uh huh.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Had any excitement? Two depth charge attacks. You didn't sleep through them, did you? No.

[Narrator/Announcer]

No.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

I mean, you had any excitement since then?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Nah. But the skipper figures of U boats are still around, waiting for a chance to slip inside the escort ring. Well, if they're gonna try, I got

[Narrator/Announcer]

my special brand of hell ready for them.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Get your sleep, Joe.

[Narrator/Announcer]

No sleep for Joe. Not for a while. For the phone from sound man to the bridge speaks.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Contact, Captain. Draw it on the starboard bow.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

Range 500 yards.

[NBC Announcer]

How good is it?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Very good.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

Pretty sure it's a submarine.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Come right to 015.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Right to 015, sir. General quarters, Captain. Not this one. All depth charges ready, sir.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Very good. The engine room telegraph on the ship's bridge shows her going full speed. All hands are tense as she reaches the estimated point of dropping her ash cans. It's the skipper's judgment when and where to drop them. The sound man has been feeding him information as to the bearing and distance of the hidden submarine. Suddenly, from the captain. Right full rudder.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Right full rudder, sir.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Intently, the skipper has his eyes glued on the stopwatch, watching that second hand closely. Stand by to drop depth charges.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Drop. One. One drop.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The second hand moves a few points on his stopwatch higher. Throwers.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Oh, throwers. Five. Drop. Two. Two. Drop.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Drop.

[NBC Announcer]

Three.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Three drop.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The charges explode at their set depths and the de bounces on the water's upheav. From below, the men cling to railings and stanchions until the spray off the fantail has fallen and the sea slowly recovers from the shock of explosions under.

[Narrator/Commentator]

What's the matter, Joe? Can't you sleep? Are you kidding? Do you think we got a nibble?

[Narrator/Announcer]

Oh, no.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Just waiting to see that slob. Submarine didn't surface by mistake or something, did it? No, no, it was under.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Picked up the contact on the sound device.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Man, oh, man, would I like to

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

see one of them babies come up with oil.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Spirits spouting out of it. Submarine breaking water off port quarter.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

Submarine breaking water off port quarter.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Less than 600 yards away. Lies the long gray hull of a Nazi U boat, its decks awash. The skipper on the deck trains high powered glasses on the quarry. Men coming from its conning tower think they're quitting, Captain.

[Narrator/Commentator]

All deck guns open fire. Oh, so they want to fight. E.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The big guns on the DE speak deeply and solemnly and often of destruction. The range shortens and the shells find their marks in the plates of the submarine, and the 20 millimeter slugs slice across the U boat deck. Then the sub settles, points its bow toward the sky and dives to the bottom.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The new destroyer escorts, along with the valiant older types of ships, have struck their blows in the showdown fight. No, these are not secret weapons. Theirs are not cosmic punches. Workmanship. Design. The indefinable, the intangible. The uppercase X in the equation of power. Account for their successes.

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[Narrator/Commentator]

The uppercase X what is it? Call it tm. Not an official designation for this scale tipping fighting weapon, but let's call it tm. Karnitz cannot produce the tm. Not as well, not as many. This is just one phase in the development of tm.

[Narrator/Announcer]

A large room. Large and dark. And there's the tingle of alertness in the air not seen, for it is very dark. Just sense stage one. Gradually there is a suggestion of light filling the room. This is the interior of a room. There is a ceiling overhead, yet the haze of dusk fills the room. Stage 2 Dusk is wiped out in just a moment and the room is flooded with the luminescence of moonlight. And with the introduction of this light, young men can be seen staring unblinkingly into the void.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Stage 3.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Moonlight Gives Way to the gray of dawn.

[Narrator/Commentator]

This is a phase, a feature of the development of the Navy's most vital weapon. TM trained men in special courses of training directed by the Commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. They are learning, being trained to see in near darkness. To be armed in combat with a vital power, trained eyesight. These are TM successor to the ersatz product, now rapidly vanishing in obsolescence, the totalitarian superman. These are trained free men, Navy weapons that have proved their worth.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Navy Gospel. Ships without well trained men are only ships. Ships with well trained men are men of war.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The eyes that have sighted the subs, the hands that have set the courses, set the fuses, fired the guns, have written the record that proves the worth of the Navy's intangible, the uppercase X in the equation of power. Trained men. Yes.

[NBC Announcer]

We have one of these men here in the studio tonight. He is Joseph K. Brainerd, Seaman First Class, Regular Navy. Where are you from, Joe?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Wickliffe, Ohio.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

That's just east of Cleveland.

[NBC Announcer]

Well, I guess battle stations means more to you than just the name of a radio program.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

It sure does. It means life or death to us. In the Navy. When general quarters are sounded and we rush to our battle stations, we know that we must get there in a few seconds, whether we're dressed or not. Regardless of what we've been doing. Not only our own lives, but the life of our ship depends on every man doing his own job in time of danger.

[NBC Announcer]

What about the rest of the time, Joe?

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

There isn't any other time. Any moment may be dangerous on a ship at sea in time of war. That's why the Navy takes such great pains to train us for action. That's why we study so long and so hard. Why we go through drills. Why we get every detail of our job down pat and go over it time and time again. A ship is run by teamwork. Teamwork involving every man aboard.

[NBC Announcer]

At times does the training get tiresome.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

No question about it. At times we get tired of standing watch for hours without anything happening. Especially when you're bitterly cold, you're soaking wet from spray coming over the bow and it's dark. And there may be a German submarine 400 yards away and you can't see it. If you try to relax for five minutes, that can be a bad five minutes. Why, Joe, you might come to with a start and see a suspicious looking object out there in the water. It might turn out to be an empty barrel or the wake of a porpoise. Or even a funny breaking wave or a low cloud in the horizon. But if there's the least bit of doubt in your mind, you pass the ward and immediately sound general quarters. Then a guy's off watch come piling up on deck, some with their pants or shoes off, but all of them with their life jackets on, ready for anything.

[NBC Announcer]

What happens if it's a false alarm?

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

Nothing. Nobody squawks about being pulled out of bed or away from chow or the card game. They know it might have been a submarine, that they might have been in the water by then. They just say, that's okay, boy. You keep your eye on the water. And if you see something else funny, just give us another buzz.

[Narrator/Commentator]

We'll be right back up.

[NBC Announcer]

These false alarms and the day by day routine on shipboard must get you down at times.

[Seaman Joe Brainard]

Not exactly, but the tenseness of waiting is bad. Sometimes it's a tight feeling, exactly like the feeling you get in a dressing room before a football game. But it goes away as soon as gentle quarters sound and you're ready to do your assignment. But aside from the calls to battle station, every day is pretty much the same. It's a routine of four hours on watch and eight off. No matter. Between any day in the week, we're always surprised when we're reminded that it's Sunday, in time for church services. Maybe nothing will happen all day, but it's still important to be ready for anything.

[NBC Announcer]

And your listeners are mighty glad that you are ready. Thank you, Seaman Joe Brainard.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Now, on our list of forces in the battle, esf. Esf. No, not a surface ship. Not a secret device, not a secret technique. ESF is the Eastern sea frontier whose defense is controlled by closely integrated frontier units directing the fine science of U boat detection, directing the task forces that smash the marauders. Somewhere on the Atlantic coast is located the headquarters of the Eastern Sea frontier, one of the several sea frontiers doing equally valiant work in the Battle of the Atlantic.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Hitler would sell what's left of his soul to have a man here, even for a few minutes. For on the wall of the plotting room, a huge map of the Atlantic is dotted with small, numbered colored shapes of celluloid that show at a glance the situation of every convoy, every ship, every patrol plane, every blimp that plies the waters of the Atlantic and the location of every reported enemy U boat. This is the nerve center. Seated at a long table facing the map, silent naval officers, each a specialist in his phase of U boat eradication. It is only a matter of seconds that the report of a sighted sub is flashed by radio and telephone to this center. And a matter of only a few seconds more for these silent men to dispatch planes and surface craft to the attack. This is the headquarters of the United States Navy's Eastern Sea frontier. A vital powerful force in the Battle of the Atlantic.

[Narrator/Commentator]

The Battle of July is ended and the United nations await the significant news of its outcome. The 10th of each month has been the assigned day for the joint release of United States and British communiques on the tide of battle. Two days overdue now. The report may have come with the distinguished recent visitor to Canada, Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Our history of the Battle of the Atlantic has been brought to the present moment with just one more development to add. It was a month ago that Grand Admiral Carl Donitz called his pack home to be refitted with a secret weapon. A week ago the German radio fairly crackled with its news.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

This is Berlin calling. Our Admiralty has announced its latest master stroke in the inexorable U boat warfare against the Anglo American forces. The Rice submarines have been equipped. Equipped with a device that will prevent their detection, make them completely invisible.

[Narrator/Commentator]

A direct answer was forthcoming from the London radio.

[Narrator/Announcer]

This is London.

[Radio Announcer (Berlin/London)]

The British Admiralty has just announced an attack by a pack of 30 submarines on an Allied convoy. Two of the U boats are reported definitely sunk and one other is quite likely sunk. None of the ships of the convoy nor of the escort vessels was damaged.

[Narrator/Commentator]

It will be for some future historian to record whether it will be the Allied navies or the Axis naval command who adds the final perfecting. Phillip. That makes the Axis U boat completely invisible. But the battle of the Atlantic goes on. The final score has not been written. Final victory will take more ships, more planes. American workers in the factories have helped bring the battle to the present favorable turn. It is in the workers power to help bring the final victory. Keep sending the weapons, America. Your navy will put them to good use.

[NBC Announcer]

This has been the second in a series of four programs prepared by the Special Events department of NBC in cooperation with the United States Navy. The script was written by Charles Gusman. The music was composed and scored by Leo Kempinski and the orchestra directed by Joseph Stilpack. The production was under the direction of Joseph Mansfield. Next Thursday at this time, Battle Stations tells the story of the development of the Navy's air arm. Of the pioneering that has given the air arm its striking power. The first launching of an aircraft from ship deck. The first landing of an aircraft on ship's deck. Pioneering with the catapult with dive bombing the first air crossing of the Atlantic next week. Take on Battle Stations. Jack Costello speaking Battle Stations was presented in New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.

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[Seaman Joe Brainard]

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