Best movies like Thunder Afloat

Screaming adventure with fighters of America's "Suicide Fleet!"

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Thunder Afloat Starring Wallace Beery, Chester Morris, Virginia Grey, Douglass Dumbrille, and more. If you liked Thunder Afloat then you may also like: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, U-571, U-Boat Prisoner, Up Periscope, The Navy Comes Through and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Captain Nemo has built a fantastic submarine for his mission of revenge. He has traveled over 20,000 leagues in search of Charles Denver - a man who caused the death of Princess Daaker. Seeing what he had done, Denver took the daughter to his yacht and sailed away.

U-571

In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.

U-Boat Prisoner

Merchant seaman Archie Gibbs manages to survive when his ship is torpedoed by a German submarine. Disguising himself in the uniform of a dead Nazi spy, Gibbs is picked up by the Nazi U-boat. He manages to convince the German sailors that he's the spy, and in this guise he tries to rescue a group of captured Allied scientists.

Up Periscope

Lieutenant Braden discovers that Sally, the woman he's been falling in love with, has actually been checking out his qualifications to be a U.S. Navy frogman. He must put his personal life behind him after being assigned to be smuggled into a Japanese-held island via submarine to photograph radio codes.

No More Women

Two deep-sea divers, known only by their nicknames of "Three-Time" and "Forty-Fathoms," find that no place on earth is big enough for both of them at the same time, even the bottom of the ocean. All day long they fight to salvage sunken gold at forty fathoms deep in the ocean, and all night long they fight over dames. This situation continues even when they both go to work for Helen Young, the owner of a tug-boat and a salvage business.

On the High Seas

Three castaways all from differing levels of society reach and board a deserted schooner in mid-ocean.

The Key

In wartime England, circa 1941, poorly-armed tugs are sent into "U-Boat Alley" to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to captain one of these tugs. He's given a key by a fellow tugboat-man -- a key to an apartment and its pretty female resident. Should something happen to the friend, Ross can use the key.

The African Queen

At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.

The Bedford Incident

During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.

Blackbeard, the Pirate

Honest Robert Maynard finds himself serving as ship's surgeon under the infamous pirate Blackbeard.

Civilization

Count Ferdinand, a submarine commander and secret pacifist refuses to torpedo a defenseless passenger ship during wartime. His submarine is sunk in the following fracas. In the spirit world, Christ commends the captain, and returns to earth in the commander's body to promote His message of peace.

Convoy

A tale of life on board a Royal Navy cruiser assigned to protect the vital convoys between America and England during WWII.

Corvette K-225

The story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.

Jungle Cruise

Dr. Lily Houghton enlists the aid of wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff to take her down the Amazon in his dilapidated boat. Together, they search for an ancient tree that holds the power to heal – a discovery that will change the future of medicine.

The Cruel Sea

At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer

Greyhound

A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the “Black Pit” to the front lines of WW2. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.

Morituri

A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.

The Enemy Below

The crew of the American destroyer escort, the USS Haynes, detects a German U-Boat—resulting in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits.

The Frogmen

The new commander of a Navy Underwater Demolition Team--nicknamed "Frogmen"--must earn the respect of the men in his unit, who are still grieving over the death of their former commander and resentful of the new one.

Down Periscope

Maverick Navy lieutenant Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.

Macao

A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop.

Sink the Bismarck!

The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.

The Spanish Main

Laurent van Horn is the leader of a band of Dutch refugees on a ship seeking freedom in the Carolinas, when the ship is wrecked on the coast of Cartagene, governed by Don Juan Alvardo, a Spanish ruler. Alvarado has Laurent thrown in prison, but the latter escapes, and five-years later is a pirate leader. He poses as the navigator on a ship in which Contessa Francesca, daughter of a Mexican noble, is traveling on her way to marry Alvarado, whom she has never seen. Laurent's pirates capture the ship and Francesca, in order to save another ship, gives her hand-in-marriage to Laurent, who sails her to the pirate hideout. This irks his jealous pirate comrades Anne Bonney and Captain Benjamin Black. They overpower Laurent and send Francesca to Alvarado, and then Mario du Billar, a trusted right-hand man, makes a deal to deliver Laurent to Alvarado.

Tugboat Annie

Waterfront couple raise their son to be a sea captain. He grows up to be rather snotty and rebels against drunken Beery. Valiant Dressler keeps things moving even as hubby ruins their tugboat business.

The Spy in Black

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

Sealed Cargo

A Newfoundland fishingboat comes to the aid of a wrecked Danish sailing ship and tows it to a small village, but eventually the captain of the fishingboat realises that it's a U-boat supply ship in disguise, loaded with torpedoes. So, together with his crew and a group of villagers he sets about a plan to blow the ship as well as any U-boats that approach it. Based on the novel "The Gaunt Woman" by Edmund Gilligan.

Britannic

It was the sister ship of the infamous Titanic... and its final destiny was the same. Experience the true untold story of Britannic, a tumultuous, epic voyage of human passion, courage and betrayal aboard an ill-fated ocean liner bound for a shattering demise. With the world at war, an undercover British agent (Amanda Ryan), embarks the Britannic in search of a German spy believed to be on board to sabotage the ship. Posing as a governess, the undercover agent finds herself falling in love with the ship's chaplain (Edward Atterton). In a stunning discovery, the lovers suddenly find themselves enemies of war. And when a massive explosion deals a deathblow to the ship, their battle becomes one for their own survival. With a dynamic, international cast and a story line that hosts a chilling tale of espionage, politics and romance, Britannic brings one of history's most devastating events to riveting, new life.

Steamboat Round the Bend

A Louisiana con man enters his steamboat into a winner-take-all race with a rival while trying to find a witness to free his nephew, about to be hanged for murder.

The Lightship

A trio of robbers, two brothers and their twisted genius leader, invade a lightship, but don't reckon on the crew fighting back.

Torpedo Run

A submarine commander is on a relentless pursuit of a Japanese aircraft carrier in the South Seas during World War II.

Atlantic Convoy

American naval forces are using a port in Iceland as a base for anti-submarine patrols to protect North Atlantic convoys from Nazi subs. The Nazis send undercover agents into the port in a scheme to blow up the entrance to the harbor and keep the patrols blocked in. The officers in charge of the patrols have to find the spies and stop them before they achieve their objective.

Perfect Strangers

After World War II service changes them, a married couple dread their postwar reunion.

Landfall

A British coastal command pilot is charged with neglect when it is thought that he has sunk a British submarine rather than a German U-boat. Unable to live with his actions, he volunteers for a deadly mission. His girlfriend meanwhile tries to prove that he is innocent.

San Demetrio London

British drama documentary from 1943, based on the true story of the 1940 rescue of the tanker MV San Demetrio by parts of her own crew after she had been set afire in the middle of the Atlantic by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then had been abandoned. When one of the lifeboats drifted back to the burning tanker the day after, and found that she still hadn't exploded, they decided to board her and put out the fires. Eventually, they managed to start the engine again and decided to try to reach Britain against all odds.

Submarine D-1

Butch Rogers and Sock McGillis are old submarine hands stationed in Panama. On land, Butch and Sock battle over pretty Ann Sawyer. At sea and underwater, however, our two heroes are inseparable.

Operation Seawolf

During the last days of World War II, Germany, desperate for any last grasp to defeat the allied powers, looked to their last remaining weapons and soldiers. The German Navy and the last remaining U-Boats were formed together for one desperate last mission – a mission to attack the United States Homeland, known as Operation Seawolf. Captain Hans Kessler, a grizzled submarine commander from both World Wars, is called into service to make one mission a success and help turn the tide of the war.

The Battle of the River Plate

In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.

Mercy Island

The beautiful Florida Keys provide the setting of this adventure that tells the tale of a fun-filled fishing trip that becomes a nightmare when the charter boat is wrecked on an isolated island. Unfortunately, there are very few provisions and the group must fend for themselves. They are eventually assisted by a hermit, but before that one of the group goes insane, and another is eaten by an alligator.

Hornblower: Duty

Admiral Pellew interrupts Hornblower's wedding reception and tasks him to locate a British ship which has disappeared off the French coast, where Napoleon's troops are engaged in covert activities.

Captains Courageous

A spoiled little rich boy learns what life is really like after he falls overboard in the middle of the ocean and is picked up by a crusty old sea captain.

Carry on Admiral

Two friends get drunk and decide to switch identities. One is a Parliamentary Secretary, and the other is the captain of a ship. The former's lack of sea knowledge causes several catastrophes, including torpedoing the First Lord of The Admiralty. The grass is always greener.... In this British comedy, two drunken comrades find out the truth of that saying when they decide to trade places for a while. One of the boozers is a public relations man who knows nothing about sailing, while the other is a captain for the Royal Navy. Comic mayhem ensues as the hapless "captain" tries to run his ship and follow orders.

Lusitania: 18 Minutes That Changed the World

Lusitania: an ocean liner to rival Titanic. On May 7th 1915 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale she was struck by a single torpedo from a German U-boat. 18 minutes later she was gone: a death toll of nearly 1200. Who will live and who will die, as the political shockwave is felt around the world?

Ace of Aces

A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into joining the army. He becomes a fighter pilot, and undergoes a complete personality change.

Suicide Fleet

Three US sailors aboard a decoy ship fight German U-boats in World War I and try to win Sally who works on the Coney Island midway.

Q Ships

During World War I, the British navy disguised some of its warships as civilian cargo ships, known as Q Ships, in order to fool the Germans. German U-boat commander Capt. Von Haag spots one of these ships, commanded by Adm. Sims, in the English Channel and begins tracking it, leading to a war of nerves between Von Haag and Sims.

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