As preparation for the Normandy Invasion, the United States Army conducted various training exercises at Slapton Sands in Start Bay and in the nearby Tor Bay. The largest exercise of all was nicknamed 'Tiger'. Intended only to be a landing simulation, this operation ended disastrously. In fact, the death toll made "Tiger" the bloodiest battle for U.S. forces at that point in the war after Pearl Harbor. Eight German E-boats attacked the heavy loaded troop transporters at night, causing three landing ships to burst into flames. 749 GI's, most between the ages of 19 and 23 years old, drowned that night.

The “Exercise Tiger” quickly became an embarrassment and a potential security concern for American generals and Army strategists. The eight landing ships were escorted by only one cruiser, leaving 4000 soldiers virtually unprotected in waters closely monitored by the German Navy. Additionally, the radio frequencies assigned to the landing ships were easily detectable and blew their cover almost immediately. Because of highly sensitive nature of all military operations surrounding the planned Normandy beach invasions, the rescued and injured soldiers had to be treated in special camps, isolated from the public. >Soldiers were forbidden to consult with doctors, and reports on Exercise Tiger were classified. After the success of the real D-Day invasion, those tragic events off the coast of Devon lost their significance, and “Exercise Tiger” went largely ignored in the history of American involvement in the European theatre.

60 years on, an American diving expedition take a closer look at the exercise which jeopardized the very future of the Allied invasion of mainland Europe. Two survivors of the April 1944 catastrophe and the subsequent D-Day invasion are accompanying the divers. For these two American veterans, it's a journey into history and memory. They look back at the preparations for Exercise Tiger, the disastrous sinking of the landing vessels, and their dramatic rescue from the freezing water of the Atlantic Ocean.

We accompany the present-day diving crew and talk to the survivors as they come face to face for the first time in 60 years with the ships which almost became their tombs. The story of Exercise Tiger will be told with archive footage and interviews with other survivors. We will attempt to talk to the commander of the german E-Boat, Mr. Gunter Rabe. Also we will visit the 'Exercise Tiger Foundation', holding annual ceremonies in the US honoring the participants in Exercise Tiger.