Different way of saying "Feuer!"

Question

In certain war films, Germans are shown shouting "Feuer!" to give the order to open fire. However, during the movie U-571, the German U-boat commander (Thomas Kretschmann) shouted something that sounded like "lawss!" to fire a torpedo. Subtitles showed "Fire!" as he said that.

What's the exact word? I could find a similar word in German "los", which according to Google translate, it means "off". Could that be the word?

Before "fire" was used in terms of muskets there was "loose" to let arrows fly. It seems like a good word to use to open "open fire". You really don't want to confuse it with the panic word for open combustion on a submersible. "Did you say you wanted us to shoot these things or that you've spotted a fire and you want us to come put it out?" — Mikey Mouse, Sep 17 '18 at 08:29

score 47 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 17 '18 at 06:38

47

"Los" is the German equivalent of English "Go" - as in "Ready, set, go" which is "Auf die Plätze, fertig, los" in German.

Thus it's a frequent choice when something is launched or set off.

answered Sep 17 '18 at 06:38

RHa

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Yep also to release / let something free. As when something is let loose, on the hunt et.c. "die Wachthunde loslassen". – mathreadler Sep 17 '18 at 09:46
In this context, this is the correct answer. – AnoE Sep 17 '18 at 13:23

score 32 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 17 '18 at 07:45

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"Fire" isn't really a very logical way to command the release of a torpedo - unlike Firearms and cannons, there isn't really a lot of fire involved underwater.

This is why the standard command to release a torpedo is, even today, in German "Torpedo los". In the movie, that was apparently shortened to "los". "los" is a prefix for a lot of verbs that denotes release actions, like

loslassen
loslaufen
...

edited Sep 17 '18 at 07:45

Ingmar

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answered Sep 16 '18 at 22:47

tofro

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basically like "release"? – RealCheeseLord Sep 17 '18 at 11:11
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@RealCheeseLord basically "release", but it is better translated as "go!" – rexkogitans Sep 17 '18 at 11:44
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“los” is more than a prefix; it’s a self-contained adverb or interjection with a similar meaning as “weg” and cognate to the English “loose”. Another common nautical command is “Leinen los!” (“Cast off!”). – David Foerster Sep 17 '18 at 11:56
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also as in ready-set-go, *Achtung, fertig, los!" – dlatikay Sep 17 '18 at 13:18

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 18 '18 at 11:13

Submarine warfare uses different wording for firing a torpedo. The command "fire" is only used for declaring an emergency: something in the submarine is burning.

In order not to confuse the command to fire a torpedo with that emergency, a different command "Torpedo los!" is used.

Different way of saying "Feuer!"

3 Answers3