That was that story I posted. I should have investigated further. The story is basically historical fiction as it included references to actual people, but there main narrative was fictitious. The story about the cook who purportedly develop acoustic damping/dampening is published on
WWII Rising Stories, and there is a disclaimer comment:
How this was made
Altered or synthetic content. Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.
It should indicate AI-generated narrative. There are various channels like WWII Rising Stories that create 'historical fiction'.
If one listens to the narrative, one hears mention of Convoy HX 229, which is an actual convoy, and reference to German (Kriegsmarine) U-boat U758, which is an actual submarine that attacked Convoy HX 229.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoys_HX_229/SC_122#Convoy_HX_229
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-758#Second_patrol
In the beginning of the video, one hears reference to merchant ship SS William Eustis (an actual ship) on which Thomas (Tommy) Patrick Lawson is supposedly serving as cook. SS William Eustis was part of HX 229, and it was hit by a torpedo from Kriegsmarine U435 on 22 March 1943.
https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/2796.html
There was a Professor Patrick Blackett, but it is not clear that he did research in underwater acoustics; he did serve in the Royal Navy during WWI.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Blackett#Early_life_and_education
During WWII, Blakcett worked with experimental physicist Evan James Williams to address merchant convoy survivability and the U-boat menace.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Blackett#World_War_II_and_operational_research
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_James_Williams
Rear-Admiral Leonard Murray is an actual person
https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/corporate/history-heritage/canadian-naval-heroes/leonard-murray.html
So there are historical facts weaved into a fictional narrative. I'm not sure how a cook onboard a ship and sitting in a noisy engine room could hear how ships sound underwater. One might be able to hear noise of ships through the hull, but one would have to be distant from the engine room and propulsion systems of one's own ship. I do not think a cook would have access to a hydrophone, nor would a merchant ship necessarily be deploying a hydrophone.
