Chief Klough Quotes in U-571 (2000)

Chief Klough: You're the skipper now. And the skipper always knows what to do whether he does or not.

Chief Klough: Those Krauts sure know how to build a boat.

Chief Klough: Well, Mister Tyler, if you ever need a chief, I'll go to sea with you anytime.

Chief Klough: What the hell are those yardbirds doing to my boat?

Chief Klough: Don't you dare say what you said to the boys back there again, 'I don't know.' Those three words will kill a crew, dead as a depth charge. You're the skipper now, and the skipper always knows what to do whether he does or not.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: He torpedoed me, Chief. Nine months aboard the S-33 doing the best job I know how. Doing everything once, and then doing it again just to make sure I didn't miss anything the first time.

Chief Klough: You'll get your chance sir. There's other commands in the navy.

[as depth charges start falling]

Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman: Chief, you ever been depth-charged?

Chief Klough: Once, off Murmansk, back in World War One. One charge came so close, it rattled four teeth out of the skipper's head.

[a charge goes off overhead with a loud bang]

Chief Klough: Wasn't even close.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: [whispering] Tank, you alive back there?

Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens: Yes, sir.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Good. Port ahead two-thirds.

Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens: Port ahead two-thirds. Aye, sir.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: [pulls out paper] Tank... can you fix the stern tube?

Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens: I don't know, Mr. Tyler.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: I don't want an "I don't know." Can you fix the torpedo tube? Yes... or no?

Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens: Yes, sir. I think I can.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Thank you, Tank. Chief, make depth 1-6-0 meters.

Chief Klough: That's more than five hundred feet.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Take us down, Chief.

Chief Klough: Aye, sir. One-six-zero meters. Twenty degrees dive both planes.

Eddie, Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman: Twenty degrees dive, aye, sir.

Eddie: Mr. Tyler, sir, uh, do you plan on going up against a destroyer with only one fish in the tube and busted motor?

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Yes, I am, Eddie.

Lt. Hirsch: How wise is that, Lieutenant?

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Not very. But have a look. Chief.

[while speaking, drawing and showing Chief and Hirsch plan on paper]

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: There is no way a two-knot submarine can get in firing position against a thirty-knot destroyer unless we go deep. At one hundred sixty meters, we can shoot out a bunch of junk from the forward tubes. It will resurface and create a debris field. Now the destroyer's going to go to the center of that debris field, shut off its engines to make it real nice and quiet and do an acoustic search to make sure we're dead. But we're not. See, we're here, on our way up to periscope depth. All right, principle of ascent velocity. We let our positive buoyancy pull us up and away from the destroyer. And when we surface we'll be showing it our ass at seven hundred yards. That is a pefect setup for a stern shot on a stationary target. Boom. It don't get much prettier than that.

Chief Klough: All right, Mr. Tyler. Passing 1-3-0 meters.

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: Very well. Rabbit, I need you to load Mazzola's body into tube three and put an escape jacket on him to make sure he floats.

Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman: Wanna shoot him out like garbage?

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: [pause; slowly turns around] His body is gonna save our lives.

Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman: I'll say a few words for him.