note This is VERY noticeable, the deck gun being on the conning tower is a dead giveaway, as is the whole shape of the tower (British WWII subs are pretty unique in form). The German U-boats encountered in the film, however are played by a Royal Navy S-class submarine. and the River-class Saltash is changed to the Castle-class Saltash Castle, as the film-makers couldn't get a hold of an actual River-class frigate. The Compass Rose is portrayed by the Real Life Flower-class corvette HMS Coreopsis, note Slightly off because it's a later 'long-forecastle' model from late in the war (we see a short-forecastle Flower briefly in the stock footage). Artistic License – Ships: Averted in the book, but zig-zagged in the film.This goes for civilians as well as sailors. Anyone Can Die: There's a war on, so yes.

This novel and film provides examples of: In 2003, The Cruel Sea was placed 113th in The BBC Big Reads Top 200 Books. The novel was adapted into an Ealing Studios film in 1953, starring Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden.

They survive the war having sunk a single U-Boat in five years of nearly continuous combat. The plot comes to a head when Compass Rose is torpedoed by a German U-boat, and the survivors are reassigned to the River-class frigate Saltash. The crew of the corvette HMS Compass Rose are subjected to all of the discomfort, boredom, and occasional horror of the Battle of the Atlantic. The main plot focuses on two Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Sub-Lieutenants, Lockhart and Ferraby, although the novel portrays point of view of a number of other crew members, including Commander Ericson, Lieutenant Morell, Chief Engine Room Artificer Watts and Petty Officer Tallow.

The Cruel Sea is a novel about life on a Flower-class corvette in the Royal Navy in World War II, written by Nicholas Monsarrat.

Author of the novel the cruel sea