1 00:00:05,309 --> 00:00:06,832 NARRATOR: Dynamic. 2 00:00:08,356 --> 00:00:09,922 In Your Face. 3 00:00:11,185 --> 00:00:14,101 And always moving forward. 4 00:00:15,015 --> 00:00:17,191 WATSON: No city looks more to the future than New York City. 5 00:00:18,105 --> 00:00:20,324 NARRATOR: The Big Apple grew out of water. 6 00:00:22,283 --> 00:00:26,026 The secret story of its success lies hidden under its two rivers... 7 00:00:27,331 --> 00:00:29,333 And its mighty harbor... 8 00:00:32,771 --> 00:00:36,123 DELGADO: This is one of the most notorious stretches of water on 9 00:00:36,166 --> 00:00:38,125 the New York waterfront. 10 00:00:40,562 --> 00:00:43,086 NARRATOR: Imagine if we could empty the oceans. 11 00:00:45,306 --> 00:00:47,569 Letting the water drain away... 12 00:00:48,309 --> 00:00:50,963 To reveal the secrets of the sea floor. 13 00:00:51,834 --> 00:00:54,141 Now we can. 14 00:00:54,837 --> 00:00:58,188 Using accurate data and astonishing technology 15 00:01:01,104 --> 00:01:05,326 to bring light once again to a lost world. 16 00:01:11,288 --> 00:01:15,988 How does the horror of 911 lead to an extraordinary discovery 17 00:01:16,032 --> 00:01:18,600 from the birth of America? 18 00:01:18,948 --> 00:01:22,082 WATSON: The most grizzly and bloodiest event of the entire revolutionary war. 19 00:01:23,605 --> 00:01:25,650 NARRATOR: What does this off-shore wreck 20 00:01:25,694 --> 00:01:28,436 reveal about the City's explosive growth? 21 00:01:29,306 --> 00:01:31,482 JAFFE: People talked about a forest of masts. 22 00:01:33,049 --> 00:01:35,921 NARRATOR: And what sank this huge US warship, 23 00:01:36,618 --> 00:01:38,837 just miles from New York? 24 00:01:41,449 --> 00:01:47,063 [theme music plays]. 25 00:01:58,422 --> 00:02:01,121 The largest city in America... 26 00:02:02,383 --> 00:02:05,386 300 square miles. 27 00:02:07,083 --> 00:02:09,651 Eight and a half million people. 28 00:02:13,916 --> 00:02:15,744 Tenacious. 29 00:02:15,787 --> 00:02:17,224 Powerful. 30 00:02:17,267 --> 00:02:19,487 Confident. 31 00:02:21,445 --> 00:02:23,795 All of it built from scratch... 32 00:02:24,100 --> 00:02:27,147 in just 400 years. 33 00:02:27,843 --> 00:02:30,367 And the secret to its success: 34 00:02:30,672 --> 00:02:33,501 its rivers and harbor. 35 00:02:34,328 --> 00:02:36,504 In the waters around New York, 36 00:02:36,547 --> 00:02:39,594 archaeologists have located thousands of wrecks. 37 00:02:41,030 --> 00:02:42,205 Time capsules... 38 00:02:42,597 --> 00:02:46,122 that can reveal this city's incredible story in a new light. 39 00:02:48,385 --> 00:02:50,866 One in particular... 40 00:02:52,128 --> 00:02:55,087 What is this strange wreck? 41 00:02:55,131 --> 00:02:57,394 And why is it here? 42 00:03:04,662 --> 00:03:06,273 [explosion] 43 00:03:11,452 --> 00:03:13,584 [screams] 44 00:03:14,890 --> 00:03:18,894 [siren and horn] 45 00:03:23,072 --> 00:03:26,467 As New Yorkers recover from the shock of 9/11. 46 00:03:27,511 --> 00:03:30,558 The ruins of the Twin Towers reveal a secret... 47 00:03:31,123 --> 00:03:34,388 From the very start of their city's story. 48 00:03:35,127 --> 00:03:37,521 RIESS: Little did we know that from this terrible tragedy, 49 00:03:37,565 --> 00:03:39,741 there would be a major discovery. 50 00:03:41,482 --> 00:03:43,223 A secret from the past. 51 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:49,490 NARRATOR: By 2010 1.8 million tons of debris have been removed. 52 00:03:52,623 --> 00:03:55,757 The construction of a high-security parking garage is underway. 53 00:03:57,846 --> 00:04:00,501 RIESS: They decided to make that entrance underground, 54 00:04:00,544 --> 00:04:02,503 so they dug down deeper than they had before. 55 00:04:04,156 --> 00:04:06,289 NARRATOR: 22 feet beneath the tarmac. 56 00:04:09,336 --> 00:04:11,860 In the shadow of the twin towers... 57 00:04:12,687 --> 00:04:15,080 The remnants of an ancient ship. 58 00:04:17,561 --> 00:04:19,737 REPORTER [over TV]: At the construction site at ground zero, 59 00:04:19,781 --> 00:04:21,565 a rare find. 60 00:04:21,609 --> 00:04:24,089 What we can see is believed to be half of a ship. 61 00:04:28,137 --> 00:04:29,965 NARRATOR: Construction halts. 62 00:04:30,008 --> 00:04:33,490 And a team of Archaeologists rush to ground zero. 63 00:04:34,535 --> 00:04:37,625 The principle investigator: Warren Riess. 64 00:04:39,366 --> 00:04:40,845 RIESS: It was right there. 65 00:04:40,889 --> 00:04:44,501 Right where the security area is for parking at the World Trade Center. 66 00:04:46,024 --> 00:04:48,723 NARRATOR: When Warren arrives only part of the ship is exposed. 67 00:04:49,985 --> 00:04:53,249 Its secrets still hidden under the mud. 68 00:04:53,641 --> 00:04:58,210 RIESS: The history of this particular vessel might fill in tremendous gaps in our 69 00:04:59,516 --> 00:05:01,953 knowledge about the history of New York City itself. 70 00:05:03,477 --> 00:05:07,829 NARRATOR: To find out more, Warren's team scan the excavated site with 71 00:05:07,872 --> 00:05:10,005 high-accuracy laser technology. 72 00:05:12,268 --> 00:05:14,575 Combining the high-resolution 3-D data, 73 00:05:15,271 --> 00:05:17,404 with cutting-edge computer-imaging... 74 00:05:18,318 --> 00:05:21,712 We can turn back time and drain Ground Zero... 75 00:05:33,376 --> 00:05:37,685 To reveal an astonishing subterranean secret. 76 00:05:42,037 --> 00:05:45,823 Layers of earth crumble away. 77 00:05:49,827 --> 00:05:53,701 22 feet underground, in the heart of Manhattan... 78 00:05:56,181 --> 00:05:59,054 The flattened wreck of a wooden ship. 79 00:06:03,667 --> 00:06:08,237 It's 30-foot-long and its wooden structure is roughly-hewn. 80 00:06:09,934 --> 00:06:12,502 RIESS: We'd never seen a vessel just like this one. 81 00:06:13,721 --> 00:06:16,376 It was not only rare it's one of a kind. 82 00:06:17,289 --> 00:06:19,161 NARRATOR: What is this ship? 83 00:06:19,204 --> 00:06:22,120 And what's it doing beneath the heart of Manhattan? 84 00:06:22,643 --> 00:06:26,473 More than 500 yards from the shoreline. 85 00:06:27,212 --> 00:06:31,565 To find out, Riess and his team need to learn its age. 86 00:06:34,916 --> 00:06:40,095 Taking a closer look inside the wood they find well preserved tree rings. 87 00:06:44,099 --> 00:06:48,669 They reveal that the timber was felled in 1773 or soon after. 88 00:06:51,933 --> 00:06:54,675 RIESS: It was like a time capsule, a secret time capsule. 89 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,985 NARRATOR: In America the 1770s mean only one thing... 90 00:07:01,682 --> 00:07:03,205 Revolution. 91 00:07:03,248 --> 00:07:05,425 RIESS: What we have is a, 92 00:07:05,468 --> 00:07:07,688 a vessel that's been hiding underneath New York City 93 00:07:07,731 --> 00:07:09,690 that's from the revolutionary period. 94 00:07:10,430 --> 00:07:14,782 NARRATOR: Back then, New York is home to just 25,000 people. 95 00:07:14,825 --> 00:07:18,699 But the quality of its harbor has already made it one of America's 96 00:07:18,742 --> 00:07:21,441 most successful ports. 97 00:07:22,354 --> 00:07:26,054 Its strategic importance puts New York firmly in the cross hairs of 98 00:07:26,097 --> 00:07:28,578 Britain's King George... 99 00:07:30,275 --> 00:07:34,628 when the American revolution begins in 1775. 100 00:07:36,586 --> 00:07:40,721 Just a year later a huge British invasion force drives George Washington's 101 00:07:40,764 --> 00:07:42,679 army out of the city. 102 00:07:44,464 --> 00:07:47,728 [gunfire] 103 00:07:48,206 --> 00:07:51,819 Could this ship have been part of the battle? 104 00:07:55,257 --> 00:07:59,261 Going back to the drained wreckage, clues emerge... 105 00:08:01,089 --> 00:08:06,616 Beneath the decking, 327 pieces of artillery. 106 00:08:07,748 --> 00:08:11,708 Including a cannonball and 56 musket balls. 107 00:08:15,059 --> 00:08:20,412 Soldiers from one side or another have clearly been on board this ship. 108 00:08:23,241 --> 00:08:25,417 Then, in the center of the wreck, 109 00:08:25,461 --> 00:08:29,552 Warren Riess's team discover the smallest of clues. 110 00:08:33,513 --> 00:08:35,210 RIESS: This button was found, 111 00:08:35,253 --> 00:08:37,473 in the midships area on the vessel, 112 00:08:37,517 --> 00:08:40,171 between some frames and some planks and 113 00:08:40,215 --> 00:08:44,045 because of that we know it was on the ship before it was buried. 114 00:08:46,221 --> 00:08:49,790 NARRATOR: The pewter button is stamped with the number fifty-two. 115 00:08:50,225 --> 00:08:53,924 It's fallen from the uniform of a soldier from the fifty second regiment 116 00:08:53,968 --> 00:08:55,709 of the British army. 117 00:08:56,405 --> 00:08:59,495 RIESS: They were grenadiers which means they were very aggressive assault troops. 118 00:09:01,497 --> 00:09:06,807 Pretty exciting to find this because this ties the ship to a British soldier, 119 00:09:07,982 --> 00:09:10,680 in New York during the revolution. 120 00:09:10,724 --> 00:09:13,248 A common soldier who's lost their button. 121 00:09:14,989 --> 00:09:18,383 NARRATOR: If this ship was used by some of the most fearsome troops in 122 00:09:18,427 --> 00:09:21,648 the British army, what were they using it for? 123 00:09:24,476 --> 00:09:28,263 Combining the scanning data with new research by Texas A&M University, 124 00:09:30,787 --> 00:09:32,876 we can resurrect the ship. 125 00:09:36,750 --> 00:09:41,798 As her original form rises from the dirt, her full size becomes clear 126 00:09:43,060 --> 00:09:45,715 and her striking features. 127 00:09:46,673 --> 00:09:48,675 50-feet-long... 128 00:09:48,718 --> 00:09:50,938 her beam, eighteen feet. 129 00:09:51,199 --> 00:09:53,680 With the hull of a river craft. 130 00:09:54,028 --> 00:09:57,727 Just four feet deep and a small keel. 131 00:09:58,859 --> 00:10:01,731 This is not an ocean-going vessel... 132 00:10:02,689 --> 00:10:05,996 It's specifically designed for use in sheltered coastal waters. 133 00:10:08,433 --> 00:10:10,653 RIESS: It was able to get into shallow water, 134 00:10:11,567 --> 00:10:14,222 into little coves, up alongside ships. 135 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,143 NARRATOR: A ship that's perfect for operating within New York harbor, 136 00:10:22,447 --> 00:10:24,972 and crewed by British grenadiers. 137 00:10:25,015 --> 00:10:29,150 Evidence that she could be part of a little known but brutal story. 138 00:10:32,762 --> 00:10:36,679 During the war British forces ferried many thousands of Americans... 139 00:10:37,158 --> 00:10:39,203 to a horrifying destination. 140 00:10:39,769 --> 00:10:41,423 Just two miles away... 141 00:10:41,466 --> 00:10:43,730 off the shores of Brooklyn. 142 00:10:44,774 --> 00:10:46,210 RIESS: During the American Revolution. 143 00:10:46,254 --> 00:10:51,738 This was known as Wallabout Bay and it was the most lethal place during 144 00:10:52,652 --> 00:10:54,654 the whole Revolution for the Americans. 145 00:10:57,178 --> 00:11:00,398 WATSON: New York City still has its secrets, its dark past. 146 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:03,837 Including the most grisly and bloody, 147 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,753 bloodiest event of the entire Revolutionary War. 148 00:11:08,755 --> 00:11:11,322 NARRATOR: As the British try to quell the uprising, 149 00:11:11,366 --> 00:11:14,108 they capture thousands of prisoners and ferry them 150 00:11:14,151 --> 00:11:20,680 out onto the waters of Wallabout Bay to a place known as 'Hell Afloat'. 151 00:11:24,945 --> 00:11:27,730 A flotilla of festering British ships. 152 00:11:27,991 --> 00:11:33,475 Overcrowded, freezing cold, poorly supplied and run by brutal guards. 153 00:11:35,999 --> 00:11:39,437 WATSON: The diseases that swept through just terrorized the men on board. 154 00:11:41,439 --> 00:11:45,661 NARRATOR: Most notorious of all, the HMS Jersey. 155 00:11:47,619 --> 00:11:51,536 WATSON: She would serve as potentially the worst prison ship, floating dungeon, 156 00:11:52,276 --> 00:11:54,801 in human history. 157 00:11:55,279 --> 00:11:58,326 NARRATOR: Warren Riess believes that the World Trade Center ship may 158 00:11:58,369 --> 00:12:02,286 play a role in this dark chapter of New York's history. 159 00:12:04,419 --> 00:12:08,075 RIESS: They needed boats to go back and forth and to bring prisoners out and 160 00:12:08,118 --> 00:12:10,991 this would have been a perfect vessel for that. 161 00:12:12,079 --> 00:12:14,951 They would have just stuffed them in there even if they had to pack them in, 162 00:12:15,430 --> 00:12:17,040 sitting down. 163 00:12:17,084 --> 00:12:19,739 It might carry 100 people on board. 164 00:12:23,003 --> 00:12:25,396 NARRATOR: The casualty figures are staggering. 165 00:12:26,484 --> 00:12:29,096 Far worse than 9/11. 166 00:12:30,706 --> 00:12:36,016 Historians estimate that 11,000 men die on HMS Jersey alone... 167 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:42,413 WATSON: Twice as many men died aboard the Jersey as were lost in combat during 168 00:12:42,936 --> 00:12:46,200 the entirety of the Revolutionary War. 169 00:12:46,591 --> 00:12:48,724 It's unimaginable. 170 00:12:51,161 --> 00:12:53,903 RIESS: It was a very dark chapter of American history. 171 00:13:01,911 --> 00:13:05,175 NARRATOR: One last mystery remains about the British ferryboat. 172 00:13:06,437 --> 00:13:10,485 Why was it found under the heart of Manhattan? 173 00:13:23,367 --> 00:13:26,457 NARRATOR: America finally wins independence. 174 00:13:27,719 --> 00:13:29,896 And New York changes fast. 175 00:13:33,943 --> 00:13:36,119 JAFFE: In the years after the American Revolution, 176 00:13:36,163 --> 00:13:38,905 New York very much uh is like a phoenix 177 00:13:38,948 --> 00:13:41,951 rising from the ashes politically and economically. 178 00:13:43,126 --> 00:13:45,912 NARRATOR: At its heart, a thriving dock... 179 00:13:46,390 --> 00:13:50,177 That looks very different to the city of today. 180 00:13:51,439 --> 00:13:53,136 RIESS: We're in the middle of a modern city here, 181 00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:55,878 in the lower districts of Manhattan and about 182 00:13:55,922 --> 00:13:58,968 halfway down that block was the original shoreline. 183 00:14:00,491 --> 00:14:04,844 NARRATOR: Eager to improve their harbor New Yorkers build new wharves. 184 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,109 Extending the island of Manhattan out into the bay... 185 00:14:10,197 --> 00:14:12,112 Abandoned in the docks, 186 00:14:12,155 --> 00:14:14,244 half sunk in the mud, 187 00:14:14,288 --> 00:14:17,987 the old British ferry is simply built around and over. 188 00:14:22,122 --> 00:14:24,124 Centuries later, 189 00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:28,345 the World Trade Center rises on top of the old dockland and the ships 190 00:14:28,955 --> 00:14:31,740 that had witnessed America's bloody birth. 191 00:14:34,308 --> 00:14:39,095 Commerce drives the city's expansion and for commerce, location is everything. 192 00:14:42,490 --> 00:14:44,579 Facing the roaring Atlantic, 193 00:14:44,622 --> 00:14:47,016 at the mouth of the Hudson River, 194 00:14:48,061 --> 00:14:50,063 New York's huge natural harbor 195 00:14:50,106 --> 00:14:52,804 is the perfect place for an international port. 196 00:14:55,459 --> 00:14:58,027 Miles of shoreline in a protected bay. 197 00:14:59,115 --> 00:15:02,466 From which an independent America can trade with the world. 198 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:05,600 In the 1800s, 199 00:15:05,643 --> 00:15:09,430 more passengers and cargo flow through New York than all other 200 00:15:09,473 --> 00:15:11,606 US ports combined. 201 00:15:12,737 --> 00:15:16,306 JAFFE: There were so many sailing vessels, coming and going and docking here, 202 00:15:17,090 --> 00:15:20,310 that observers would describe it as a forest of masts. 203 00:15:23,661 --> 00:15:27,013 NARRATOR: But the city's ambition soon outgrows the fabulous 204 00:15:27,056 --> 00:15:29,363 harbor provided by nature. 205 00:15:31,104 --> 00:15:33,802 Just yards from bustling uptown Manhattan... 206 00:15:38,328 --> 00:15:42,550 Evidence of an earth-shattering event that reshaped this city. 207 00:15:45,683 --> 00:15:51,124 Just how far would New Yorkers go to make their port the greatest on Earth? 208 00:15:59,523 --> 00:16:03,223 New York Harbor's main entrance is the Verrazano Narrows. 209 00:16:08,576 --> 00:16:11,144 But there's a second gateway to the Atlantic... 210 00:16:11,883 --> 00:16:14,234 Long island Sound. 211 00:16:16,627 --> 00:16:19,935 Crucial to sustaining the frenzied flow of commerce. 212 00:16:23,330 --> 00:16:26,811 But it's obstructed by a perilous stretch of the East River. 213 00:16:29,684 --> 00:16:31,816 Hell Gate. 214 00:16:32,730 --> 00:16:36,082 In the 1850s, one in fifty ships are devoured here. 215 00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,041 A terrifying statistic. 216 00:16:42,871 --> 00:16:44,568 James Delgado, 217 00:16:44,612 --> 00:16:49,095 Maritime archaeologist from Search Incorporated, wants to learn more about the 218 00:16:49,138 --> 00:16:51,140 dangers of Hell Gate. 219 00:16:53,316 --> 00:16:54,883 DELGADO: This early map is particularly 220 00:16:54,926 --> 00:16:57,277 remarkable because it shows us Hell Gate... 221 00:16:59,018 --> 00:17:01,237 with the positions of a number of rocks marked. 222 00:17:04,284 --> 00:17:08,027 NARRATOR: Islands and hidden reefs choke the shipping lane. 223 00:17:09,158 --> 00:17:11,900 Churning the water into a maelstrom. 224 00:17:13,510 --> 00:17:15,382 DELGADO: This is a challenging, if not dangerous, 225 00:17:15,425 --> 00:17:17,297 area to navigate... 226 00:17:18,298 --> 00:17:20,039 a gauntlet to be run. 227 00:17:21,649 --> 00:17:24,391 NARRATOR: Among the many perils of Hell Gate, 228 00:17:24,434 --> 00:17:27,046 one monster looms large and deadly... 229 00:17:28,830 --> 00:17:30,527 Flood Rock. 230 00:17:33,139 --> 00:17:37,099 Nine acres of stone lurking just beneath the surface. 231 00:17:40,276 --> 00:17:42,583 Right at the heart of Hell Gate. 232 00:17:49,155 --> 00:17:52,071 Today, the channel is still dangerous... 233 00:17:54,595 --> 00:17:56,597 DELGADO: The major obstacle was basically right 234 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,642 in the middle of the road, right off of here. 235 00:18:00,166 --> 00:18:04,257 NARRATOR: But there's no sign of Flood Rock above the water. 236 00:18:05,823 --> 00:18:09,914 Does the ship-devouring monster lie beneath the surface? 237 00:18:13,048 --> 00:18:15,920 James takes to the water. 238 00:18:17,748 --> 00:18:19,924 MAN [over radio]: Alright, sounds good. 239 00:18:26,148 --> 00:18:29,282 DELGADO: This is one of the most notorious stretches of water on 240 00:18:29,325 --> 00:18:31,153 the New York waterfront. 241 00:18:35,897 --> 00:18:39,248 What you would have been faced with is all this fast-moving water, 242 00:18:39,292 --> 00:18:40,771 and it's not just 243 00:18:40,815 --> 00:18:42,469 moving in one direction it's going back and forth, 244 00:18:42,512 --> 00:18:44,819 it's swirling around rocks. 245 00:18:45,776 --> 00:18:48,605 You'd sail through, you lose the wind and suddenly that movement of 246 00:18:48,649 --> 00:18:51,608 water drags you right into the teeth. 247 00:18:52,609 --> 00:18:55,351 NARRATOR: In search of Flood Rock, the team from NOAA scans 248 00:18:55,395 --> 00:18:58,876 Hell Gate with multi-beam sonar... 249 00:18:59,355 --> 00:19:01,749 Firing sound waves into the murky depths... 250 00:19:03,316 --> 00:19:06,014 The return signal records the shape of the features beneath. 251 00:19:08,016 --> 00:19:11,280 MAN: This is a real time image of the bottom. You can see all the rubble. 252 00:19:12,238 --> 00:19:14,414 DELGADO: Wow. 253 00:19:14,805 --> 00:19:17,460 NARRATOR: Using the 3-D multi-beam data and the latest 254 00:19:17,504 --> 00:19:20,333 computer visualization technology... 255 00:19:20,768 --> 00:19:24,206 It's now possible to pull the plug on the entire harbor. 256 00:19:27,078 --> 00:19:30,517 To reveal a jaw-dropping sight... 257 00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:38,046 Icons of the city, as never seen before... 258 00:19:45,575 --> 00:19:48,448 As the water recedes from the East River, 259 00:19:48,491 --> 00:19:51,277 the remains of Flood Rock should come into view... 260 00:19:55,063 --> 00:19:59,023 But there's not a trace of the beast that is shown in the old charts. 261 00:20:02,375 --> 00:20:05,856 Nine acres of rock have vanished. 262 00:20:08,729 --> 00:20:10,731 How? 263 00:20:14,343 --> 00:20:17,172 Buried in the archives... 264 00:20:17,564 --> 00:20:21,698 An incredible story of New York self-confidence and ambition. 265 00:20:24,614 --> 00:20:27,574 DELGADO: This 1848 chart by the US coast survey is actually a working 266 00:20:28,270 --> 00:20:30,533 document it was never published. 267 00:20:30,577 --> 00:20:33,493 This is for an engineer to figure out how best to start dealing with this. 268 00:20:35,016 --> 00:20:38,106 How do we pull these teeth to make this a smoother ride through? 269 00:20:40,239 --> 00:20:42,458 NARRATOR: Backed by wealthy New York merchants, 270 00:20:42,502 --> 00:20:45,374 the City Fathers make a decision. 271 00:20:45,766 --> 00:20:48,464 The future of the city is at stake. 272 00:20:48,508 --> 00:20:51,380 Flood Rock has got to go. 273 00:20:52,555 --> 00:20:56,429 DELGADO: It is the beginning of an age in which nothing was deemed impossible, 274 00:20:57,473 --> 00:20:59,562 if enough ingenuity, 275 00:20:59,606 --> 00:21:04,263 engineering and perhaps money was put behind it as human beings worked to 276 00:21:04,785 --> 00:21:07,353 reshape the planet to their purposes. 277 00:21:09,355 --> 00:21:12,532 NARRATOR: James discovers how the city's engineers planned to do it. 278 00:21:14,098 --> 00:21:16,057 By attacking the problem.... 279 00:21:16,100 --> 00:21:17,754 From beneath. 280 00:21:19,495 --> 00:21:23,369 First, they sink a 70-foot shaft into the heart of the island. 281 00:21:25,501 --> 00:21:27,677 Over nine long years, 282 00:21:27,721 --> 00:21:30,332 miners dig four miles of tunnels... 283 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:37,644 And drill 15,000 bore-holes and in them they place a staggering 284 00:21:37,687 --> 00:21:41,561 150 tons of explosives. 285 00:21:44,128 --> 00:21:48,263 DELGADO: The Hell Gate work is an epic moment in the history of civil engineering... 286 00:21:49,612 --> 00:21:54,051 this is a moment in which technology will triumph over nature. 287 00:22:00,362 --> 00:22:04,975 NARRATOR: On October the 10th 1885, 50,000 people flock to 288 00:22:05,019 --> 00:22:07,761 New York's East River. 289 00:22:07,804 --> 00:22:10,416 DELGADO: Everybody is waiting for the big show. 290 00:22:11,025 --> 00:22:13,549 NARRATOR: Flood Rock is primed with explosives... 291 00:22:15,508 --> 00:22:17,858 And the detonator is pushed. 292 00:22:18,511 --> 00:22:22,297 [explosions] 293 00:22:24,604 --> 00:22:30,479 Seven million cubic feet of pulverized rock flies up into the skies over New York City. 294 00:22:32,699 --> 00:22:35,571 DELGADO: The greatest explosion, not only that New York has seen, 295 00:22:35,615 --> 00:22:38,226 but that the world has seen up to that time. 296 00:22:40,968 --> 00:22:43,057 NARRATOR: And when the spray clears, 297 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:45,799 Flood Rock is history. 298 00:22:48,715 --> 00:22:51,544 Leaving the riverbed looking like a gravel pit. 299 00:22:53,633 --> 00:22:57,593 JAFFE: If you really wanna think about how New Yorkers have reconfigured and 300 00:22:58,202 --> 00:23:01,815 reshaped their entire environment both on land and 301 00:23:01,858 --> 00:23:05,253 in water I think the word chutzpah is perfect for that. 302 00:23:08,996 --> 00:23:11,607 NARRATOR: With its second entrance now secure, 303 00:23:11,651 --> 00:23:14,001 New York's shipping business increases at an 304 00:23:14,044 --> 00:23:16,003 ever-faster rate. 305 00:23:17,831 --> 00:23:20,137 Cargo ships move sugar, 306 00:23:20,181 --> 00:23:23,967 spices, cotton, machinery and construction materials... 307 00:23:28,276 --> 00:23:31,235 all to feed America's booming economy. 308 00:23:35,022 --> 00:23:38,112 DELGADO: New York expands dramatically in the 19th century... 309 00:23:39,635 --> 00:23:41,985 it's becoming the industrial and commercial heart of the United States. 310 00:23:44,205 --> 00:23:48,470 NARRATOR: By the 1880s the city's population is more than a million. 311 00:23:49,950 --> 00:23:52,648 And its waters are getting crowded... 312 00:23:53,344 --> 00:23:54,824 Dangerously so. 313 00:23:56,217 --> 00:23:59,699 In the wild Atlantic, just a few miles beyond New York harbor... 314 00:24:00,700 --> 00:24:05,531 What can one strange offshore wreck tell us of the pace of trade through 315 00:24:05,574 --> 00:24:08,229 the waters of New York? 316 00:24:09,578 --> 00:24:12,538 And the peril facing those pursuing the American dream. 317 00:24:16,933 --> 00:24:20,284 Before daybreak, on March the 14th, 1886... 318 00:24:21,851 --> 00:24:26,073 The SS Oregon is nearing the end of a 3,000-mile voyage from England. 319 00:24:28,336 --> 00:24:33,036 Transporting her cargo and over 600 passengers through the dark approach to 320 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,299 New York harbor. 321 00:24:37,476 --> 00:24:39,739 It's a calm night. 322 00:24:40,130 --> 00:24:43,743 Just 60 miles stand between her and her final destination. 323 00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:49,618 But at first light, 324 00:24:49,662 --> 00:24:53,622 a look-out from Fire Island signal station reports her masts 325 00:24:53,666 --> 00:24:55,711 drifting off course. 326 00:24:58,888 --> 00:25:03,327 Moments later the Oregon disappears. 327 00:25:06,592 --> 00:25:09,725 And never arrives in New York. 328 00:25:10,291 --> 00:25:14,077 What happens to her and all the people onboard, 329 00:25:15,514 --> 00:25:17,516 out in the darkness? 330 00:25:24,305 --> 00:25:27,656 DELGADO: As flat as this seems, this is a dangerous section of ocean. 331 00:25:30,137 --> 00:25:35,055 There are many disasters that happen within the reach of this light's beams but every 332 00:25:35,577 --> 00:25:36,883 once in a while, 333 00:25:36,926 --> 00:25:39,799 there comes a big disaster in which a large ship is lost. 334 00:25:43,324 --> 00:25:45,979 NARRATOR: For over 130 years, 335 00:25:46,022 --> 00:25:49,417 Oregon has lain shrouded by the Atlantic. 336 00:25:51,724 --> 00:25:54,465 DELGADO: The waters off the New York coast are dark, 337 00:25:54,509 --> 00:25:56,642 cold and often murky. 338 00:25:56,685 --> 00:26:00,646 NARRATOR: The ocean has concealed her secrets. 339 00:26:01,342 --> 00:26:03,126 But now that's changing. 340 00:26:06,521 --> 00:26:08,697 Off the Southern shore of Fire Island, 341 00:26:08,741 --> 00:26:11,657 the Ferdinand R. Hassler goes in search of wreckage. 342 00:26:13,441 --> 00:26:16,270 KIDD: You are clear to turn around and make another pass. 343 00:26:16,836 --> 00:26:21,362 NARRATOR: For hundreds of years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 344 00:26:21,405 --> 00:26:24,931 coast survey has been charting and re-charting these waters. 345 00:26:26,541 --> 00:26:29,849 KIDD: We're about 12 nautical miles south of Fire Island and we're 346 00:26:29,892 --> 00:26:32,155 about to go right on top of her now. 347 00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:36,943 NARRATOR: Multi-beam scanners in the ship's hull emit sonar pulses. 348 00:26:37,683 --> 00:26:40,860 KIDD: We use this technology to very accurately and precisely 349 00:26:40,903 --> 00:26:43,384 map features on the ocean floor. 350 00:26:44,951 --> 00:26:47,780 Oh, wow there it is! 351 00:26:48,694 --> 00:26:50,391 Look at that, that's awesome! 352 00:26:52,741 --> 00:26:56,136 NARRATOR: Based upon this detailed three-dimensional data, 353 00:26:56,179 --> 00:26:57,920 we can bring the Oregon, 354 00:26:57,964 --> 00:27:00,880 and her story, back into the light.... 355 00:27:09,976 --> 00:27:13,632 First, a towering structure of tangled metal. 356 00:27:19,638 --> 00:27:21,901 The water receding further... 357 00:27:23,990 --> 00:27:27,689 The Oregon as never seen before. 358 00:27:30,344 --> 00:27:32,912 She's taken a beating from the ocean; 359 00:27:32,955 --> 00:27:36,655 her insides are exposed to the elements allowing us to 360 00:27:36,698 --> 00:27:38,918 examine what type of ship she is. 361 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,487 Though her masts were seen from ashore, 362 00:27:43,531 --> 00:27:45,968 they must have been supplementary. 363 00:27:46,969 --> 00:27:48,928 Oregon isn't a sail ship. 364 00:27:48,971 --> 00:27:52,671 In fact, she represents a revolution in shipping. 365 00:27:53,715 --> 00:27:56,413 She is a steamer. 366 00:27:57,719 --> 00:28:00,200 Beneath her four-story high steam engine, 367 00:28:00,243 --> 00:28:02,724 the remains of nine boilers... 368 00:28:02,768 --> 00:28:04,944 Each 16-feet wide. 369 00:28:06,032 --> 00:28:07,729 DELGADO: This thing is a behemoth. 370 00:28:07,773 --> 00:28:09,818 With so many fires going, 371 00:28:09,862 --> 00:28:13,126 that it's consuming massive amounts of coal. 372 00:28:15,084 --> 00:28:16,825 NARRATOR: And towards her stern, 373 00:28:16,869 --> 00:28:20,133 a huge screw propeller, 24 feet wide. 374 00:28:23,658 --> 00:28:26,182 This is the corpse of an athlete... 375 00:28:27,270 --> 00:28:29,838 A ship built with one thing in mind... 376 00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:33,146 Speed. 377 00:28:33,450 --> 00:28:35,496 But why? 378 00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:41,850 The answer is part of the DNA of New York City itself... 379 00:28:43,939 --> 00:28:45,375 Immigrants. 380 00:28:47,377 --> 00:28:49,989 WATSON: Folks from all around the world came for opportunity and for 381 00:28:50,032 --> 00:28:52,861 this dream that New York City was. 382 00:28:53,644 --> 00:28:56,996 NARRATOR: More than 70% of immigrants bound for America arrive 383 00:28:57,039 --> 00:28:58,519 in New York. 384 00:28:59,259 --> 00:29:03,089 JAFFE: New York is the gateway, as Lincoln said, it was the front door. 385 00:29:04,743 --> 00:29:09,965 NARRATOR: By the late 1800s 650,000 immigrants arrive, 386 00:29:10,009 --> 00:29:13,316 every year and up to 20,000 boats a year 387 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:15,797 maneuver through the harbor, 388 00:29:15,841 --> 00:29:18,191 and everyone is in a hurry. 389 00:29:19,105 --> 00:29:21,107 DELGADO: It's a time of rampant capitalism. 390 00:29:21,150 --> 00:29:23,544 Great fortunes are being made. 391 00:29:23,587 --> 00:29:25,676 Profit is everything! 392 00:29:27,026 --> 00:29:29,463 JAFFE: The waters are just alive with vessels. 393 00:29:31,944 --> 00:29:35,164 NARRATOR: Faster ships mean more trade and bigger profits. 394 00:29:37,732 --> 00:29:39,908 Time is money. 395 00:29:46,915 --> 00:29:50,919 The quest for profit leads to an extraordinary technological race to 396 00:29:50,963 --> 00:29:54,227 build ships that will cross the Atlantic faster and faster. 397 00:29:59,928 --> 00:30:03,105 DELGADO: The early days of ocean steam are cut-throat. 398 00:30:03,758 --> 00:30:06,630 You have entrepreneurs who are battling it out on the ocean. 399 00:30:09,938 --> 00:30:12,506 By the 1870s and into the 1880s, 400 00:30:13,202 --> 00:30:15,639 that's when you begin to see the birth of truly 401 00:30:15,683 --> 00:30:17,903 magnificent ocean steamers. 402 00:30:17,946 --> 00:30:19,252 Greyhounds of the sea. 403 00:30:19,295 --> 00:30:21,384 Leviathans. 404 00:30:22,908 --> 00:30:25,127 NARRATOR: The British-operated 'Guion Line' 405 00:30:25,171 --> 00:30:29,610 builds the Oregon in 1881 to boost its New York Express Service. 406 00:30:32,700 --> 00:30:34,354 And she's cutting-edge. 407 00:30:36,182 --> 00:30:38,967 DELGADO: It has the largest steam engine yet put into one of these ships. 408 00:30:41,056 --> 00:30:44,233 NARRATOR: Consuming over 200 tons of coal a day, 409 00:30:44,886 --> 00:30:48,629 her boilers generate upwards of 12,000 horsepower... 410 00:30:49,673 --> 00:30:53,764 Driving the huge screw propeller that thrusts Oregon forward at an 411 00:30:53,808 --> 00:30:55,854 astonishing eighteen knots. 412 00:30:57,377 --> 00:31:02,121 In April 1884 she crosses the Atlantic in under 6 and a half days. 413 00:31:03,296 --> 00:31:05,864 Slashing 13 hours off the record. 414 00:31:06,821 --> 00:31:09,215 DELGADO: It's something that nobody had thought could be done. 415 00:31:12,479 --> 00:31:17,136 NARRATOR: Oregon claims the prize and earns the nickname Greyhound of the Atlantic. 416 00:31:21,792 --> 00:31:25,448 So, what took down such a powerful machine? 417 00:31:28,190 --> 00:31:30,889 Returning to the drained wreck there's a clue. 418 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,327 Disguised by decades of decay. 419 00:31:37,069 --> 00:31:41,116 On her port side a section of the hull is more crumpled than anywhere else. 420 00:31:47,079 --> 00:31:50,038 Something must have ripped a hole right here. 421 00:31:54,129 --> 00:31:55,914 But what? 422 00:31:56,305 --> 00:32:00,048 The degradation means it's impossible to tell from the wreckage alone. 423 00:32:04,618 --> 00:32:07,795 An article from the New York Times holds the answer. 424 00:32:12,104 --> 00:32:16,108 Oregon is a victim of New York's heaving waterways. 425 00:32:19,154 --> 00:32:23,071 JAFFE: The risk of getting into a collision is actually shockingly high. 426 00:32:27,032 --> 00:32:30,513 NARRATOR: Combining this research with the evidence from the drained wreck, 427 00:32:30,557 --> 00:32:33,864 we can piece together the final moments. 428 00:32:37,172 --> 00:32:40,567 At 4:30 in the morning Oregon is bound for New York. 429 00:32:41,220 --> 00:32:43,439 Under a full head of steam. 430 00:32:43,831 --> 00:32:45,398 DELGADO: It's a dark night, 431 00:32:45,441 --> 00:32:47,791 they're lining up and heading towards the port. 432 00:32:47,835 --> 00:32:51,621 They can see the lights along the Long Island shore, 433 00:32:51,665 --> 00:32:54,973 the Fire Island light is brilliantly lit. 434 00:32:57,932 --> 00:33:00,456 NARRATOR: A light appears on her port side. 435 00:33:01,283 --> 00:33:03,155 DELGADO: It's another ship, 436 00:33:03,198 --> 00:33:05,592 heading right for them and it strikes them dramatically on the side. 437 00:33:10,336 --> 00:33:12,512 Then the other ship backs off and disappears. 438 00:33:14,644 --> 00:33:16,995 The ocean is pouring into the heart of Oregon. 439 00:33:23,088 --> 00:33:27,353 NARRATOR: Over eight frantic hours nearby boats rescue every passenger 440 00:33:27,396 --> 00:33:29,355 on board the Oregon. 441 00:33:31,357 --> 00:33:34,099 Their dreams of a new life in America still intact. 442 00:33:38,146 --> 00:33:41,541 But the mighty Oregon has suffered a fatal blow. 443 00:33:45,197 --> 00:33:49,288 DELGADO: This Greyhound of the Atlantic has been gored and sunk just off the 444 00:33:49,766 --> 00:33:51,116 entrance to the city. 445 00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:57,165 NARRATOR: While Oregon never makes it to port thousands more liners do. 446 00:33:59,341 --> 00:34:02,127 Ellis Island opens in 1892. 447 00:34:03,519 --> 00:34:07,654 Twelve million new Americans pour through its halls. 448 00:34:11,353 --> 00:34:14,661 Ocean liners flood the harbor, beckoning a golden age... 449 00:34:17,011 --> 00:34:21,407 In just a century New York's population grows from 60,000 to 450 00:34:22,103 --> 00:34:24,105 three and a half million. 451 00:34:25,672 --> 00:34:29,850 By 1900 it's the largest city in the western hemisphere. 452 00:34:30,764 --> 00:34:33,680 Drawing the eyes of the world. 453 00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:37,771 Including those who would try and take her down. 454 00:34:40,034 --> 00:34:41,862 40 miles from New York, 455 00:34:42,776 --> 00:34:45,126 off the shores of Long Island. 456 00:34:45,170 --> 00:34:47,563 What sank this giant? 457 00:34:48,129 --> 00:34:52,046 And how does her sinking reveal New York's vulnerability at the 458 00:34:52,090 --> 00:34:54,092 dawn of the 20th century? 459 00:34:59,445 --> 00:35:01,577 NARRATOR: In the Summer of 1917, 460 00:35:01,621 --> 00:35:04,537 America is at war. 461 00:35:05,059 --> 00:35:06,539 Trans-Atlantic convoys, 462 00:35:06,582 --> 00:35:09,107 carrying troops and supplies to Europe, 463 00:35:09,150 --> 00:35:11,413 are key to the Allies hopes of success. 464 00:35:13,154 --> 00:35:14,764 Protected by warships... 465 00:35:14,808 --> 00:35:17,245 Like the USS San Diego. 466 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,598 500-feet-long, over 13,000 tons... 467 00:35:23,947 --> 00:35:27,255 Armor-plated, with 40 guns of up to eight inches. 468 00:35:28,952 --> 00:35:32,130 And multiple watertight bulkheads to make her unsinkable. 469 00:35:37,570 --> 00:35:43,402 On July 19th, 1918, she's approaching New York to pick up a convoy. 470 00:35:47,275 --> 00:35:50,452 At 11:05 am, just outside the harbor, 471 00:35:52,628 --> 00:35:55,327 she is rocked by a huge explosion. 472 00:35:56,676 --> 00:35:59,766 CATSAMBIS: Within 20 minutes the ship had sunk. 473 00:36:02,725 --> 00:36:06,381 San Diego was the only major US Navy warship lost in the Great War... 474 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:09,993 it happens to lie just a few miles from the coast of New York. 475 00:36:11,995 --> 00:36:14,041 NARRATOR: So, what happened? 476 00:36:16,478 --> 00:36:19,351 A team from the US Navy has reopened the case. 477 00:36:20,830 --> 00:36:23,703 Led by archaeologist Alexis Catsambis. 478 00:36:24,921 --> 00:36:27,402 CATSAMBIS: The question has lingered for over a century... 479 00:36:27,446 --> 00:36:29,535 What sank San Diego? 480 00:36:31,711 --> 00:36:33,452 NARRATOR: To find out, 481 00:36:33,495 --> 00:36:36,063 Navy divers explore the wreckage of this sunken warrior. 482 00:36:38,848 --> 00:36:43,157 But it's impossible to see the whole picture through the murky waters. 483 00:36:46,987 --> 00:36:50,077 Working with the University of Delaware, 484 00:36:50,512 --> 00:36:52,775 Alexis deploys three-dimensional scanning 485 00:36:52,819 --> 00:36:56,126 equipment to map San Diego's structure on the seafloor. 486 00:36:58,303 --> 00:37:01,001 CATSAMBIS: This project is the first time we're getting comprehensive 487 00:37:01,044 --> 00:37:03,308 remote sensing data. 488 00:37:03,873 --> 00:37:07,399 NARRATOR: Combining this new data with the latest computer imaging technology 489 00:37:08,574 --> 00:37:11,446 we can do something impossible before now... 490 00:37:14,580 --> 00:37:17,278 Reveal, in perfect detail, 491 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,630 the wreck of a US casualty of the Great War. 492 00:37:27,419 --> 00:37:32,467 The San Diego comes into the light for the first time in 100 years. 493 00:37:36,558 --> 00:37:40,823 It's the beautiful sleek shape of her 500-foot hull that appears first. 494 00:37:44,610 --> 00:37:48,222 The steel structure is in remarkable condition for her age. 495 00:37:51,530 --> 00:37:54,141 Apart from this... 496 00:37:54,489 --> 00:37:58,145 Towards her stern, a section of the hull that's damaged. 497 00:37:59,407 --> 00:38:03,237 This is the blast site.... Eroded by decades of decay. 498 00:38:05,326 --> 00:38:07,589 But it appears to be below the waterline. 499 00:38:11,071 --> 00:38:14,553 If something hit the ship, it was beneath the surface. 500 00:38:24,084 --> 00:38:26,347 The team studies the historical records. 501 00:38:28,001 --> 00:38:33,049 There's no suggestion that engine malfunction or onboard ordnance caused the blast. 502 00:38:34,137 --> 00:38:38,098 Reinforcing the view that it could been caused by something more sinister. 503 00:38:48,630 --> 00:38:52,547 Advances in technology mean German U-boats can now cross the Atlantic. 504 00:38:54,767 --> 00:38:57,465 CATSAMBIS: This is a, a new era where submarine warfare 505 00:38:57,509 --> 00:38:58,945 is taking over. 506 00:38:58,988 --> 00:39:01,513 JAFFE: The war was brought to New York shores. 507 00:39:03,253 --> 00:39:07,040 NARRATOR: By the 1900s New York is the planet's busiest port. 508 00:39:09,303 --> 00:39:13,438 An irresistible target for the Imperial German Navy. 509 00:39:16,919 --> 00:39:18,965 WATSON: If you're an enemy of the United States, 510 00:39:19,008 --> 00:39:22,272 what is a more symbolic target than New York City? 511 00:39:25,493 --> 00:39:28,191 NARRATOR: The team wonders if a torpedo from a U-boat 512 00:39:28,235 --> 00:39:30,803 could have caused the explosion? 513 00:39:31,673 --> 00:39:33,283 To answer the question, 514 00:39:33,327 --> 00:39:35,503 they calculate the original size of the blast hole. 515 00:39:37,766 --> 00:39:39,812 CATSAMBIS: What damage is related to that original point of impact 516 00:39:40,726 --> 00:39:42,989 and that original explosion? 517 00:39:43,293 --> 00:39:47,515 NARRATOR: They find a report from a Navy diver who visited the wreck in 1918. 518 00:39:49,343 --> 00:39:52,477 CHESER: He says he was along the bottom on the port side around no 4 smoke stack. 519 00:39:54,174 --> 00:39:57,220 NARRATOR: He estimates the cavity to be just 5 feet wide. 520 00:39:59,048 --> 00:40:02,182 NAHSHON: That corresponds to being right below the armor belt which make sense. 521 00:40:03,531 --> 00:40:04,663 NARRATOR: Using this data, 522 00:40:04,706 --> 00:40:07,666 we can reconstruct the original blast hole... 523 00:40:11,234 --> 00:40:14,237 Could it have been caused by a torpedo? 524 00:40:19,329 --> 00:40:22,202 The team models the damage that World War I 525 00:40:22,245 --> 00:40:25,510 torpedo payloads cause and get a surprise. 526 00:40:26,815 --> 00:40:29,165 CATSAMBIS: It became rather evident that the torpedoes were simply 527 00:40:29,209 --> 00:40:31,254 too large of a weapon. 528 00:40:31,298 --> 00:40:33,866 They carried too large of a charge and would have resulted in a hole that was 529 00:40:33,909 --> 00:40:36,346 far larger than 5 or 6 feet. 530 00:40:37,696 --> 00:40:40,350 NARRATOR: They wonder if it was a mine. 531 00:40:40,742 --> 00:40:45,007 Incredibly, archives from the German government reveal U-boats were ordered 532 00:40:45,051 --> 00:40:47,445 to lay mines outside New York harbor. 533 00:40:49,229 --> 00:40:51,710 CHESER: They knew that it was an important area for shipping for the 534 00:40:51,753 --> 00:40:53,668 United States and allies. 535 00:40:55,061 --> 00:40:57,411 NARRATOR: But they discover standard German mines, 536 00:40:57,455 --> 00:40:59,674 known as Type 4, 537 00:40:59,718 --> 00:41:02,677 also inflict a blast hole larger than five feet. 538 00:41:06,464 --> 00:41:08,509 Then, a key insight. 539 00:41:14,820 --> 00:41:18,476 By 1918, Germany is running short of explosives. 540 00:41:21,827 --> 00:41:23,089 CATSAMBIS: The Germans, by the end of the war, 541 00:41:23,132 --> 00:41:25,265 were using diminished charges. 542 00:41:27,136 --> 00:41:29,530 NARRATOR: And allowing for the reduced charge in a 'Type four' mine... 543 00:41:30,705 --> 00:41:33,665 it produces a blast hole close to five feet wide. 544 00:41:36,189 --> 00:41:38,800 It appears to be a match. 545 00:41:39,453 --> 00:41:43,544 San Diego was almost certainly hit by a small German mine. 546 00:41:45,938 --> 00:41:48,897 But there's another question... 547 00:41:49,985 --> 00:41:52,814 The hole is still tiny. 548 00:41:52,858 --> 00:41:56,165 How could it sink a 500-foot long ship 549 00:41:57,036 --> 00:42:01,562 in just 20 minutes and flip her upside down? 550 00:42:10,615 --> 00:42:12,617 NARRATOR: Forty miles from New York, 551 00:42:13,008 --> 00:42:15,968 the drained wreck of the San Diego reveals another 552 00:42:16,011 --> 00:42:17,752 piece of the puzzle. 553 00:42:19,928 --> 00:42:23,149 CATSAMBIS: Understanding the weapon is only one part of a larger picture. 554 00:42:23,758 --> 00:42:27,501 We want to understand the whole sequence of events and how the ship sank. 555 00:42:30,286 --> 00:42:32,767 NARRATOR: Watertight bulkheads and doors are 556 00:42:32,811 --> 00:42:37,511 specifically designed to stop the spread of water and keep this warship upright. 557 00:42:38,730 --> 00:42:42,516 But somehow San Diego turned upside down. 558 00:42:44,692 --> 00:42:47,521 She sank through just 100 feet of water; 559 00:42:48,087 --> 00:42:50,524 not enough for her to roll on the descent. 560 00:42:51,177 --> 00:42:53,788 She must have capsized at the surface. 561 00:42:56,399 --> 00:43:00,708 How did a small hole in a watertight section of this ship leave her lying 562 00:43:00,752 --> 00:43:02,580 prone on the seafloor? 563 00:43:05,713 --> 00:43:09,195 Alexis and his colleagues are sure that water must have penetrated 564 00:43:09,238 --> 00:43:11,371 further into her hull. 565 00:43:12,851 --> 00:43:15,070 CATSAMBIS: We needed to understand how this happened... 566 00:43:15,114 --> 00:43:18,726 how did we get to the point where instead of simply sinking, 567 00:43:19,031 --> 00:43:21,381 the ship turned in on herself. 568 00:43:22,164 --> 00:43:27,300 NARRATOR: Analysis shows that even with substantial flooding San Diego wouldn't capsize. 569 00:43:30,869 --> 00:43:34,612 Baffled, the team studies San Diego's structure, 570 00:43:34,655 --> 00:43:36,788 looking for signs of weakness. 571 00:43:37,179 --> 00:43:41,662 NAHSHON: So here we can see a plan of the of the gun deck of the USS San Diego. 572 00:43:43,621 --> 00:43:47,146 NARRATOR: But plans are no match for inspecting a real warship. 573 00:43:50,192 --> 00:43:53,456 A contemporary of the San Diego, although a few years older, 574 00:43:54,414 --> 00:43:55,894 is the cruiser: 575 00:43:55,937 --> 00:43:58,157 USS Olympia. 576 00:43:59,637 --> 00:44:02,465 The oldest steel warship still afloat. 577 00:44:07,906 --> 00:44:11,692 Examining her internal structure, the team makes a breakthrough. 578 00:44:13,563 --> 00:44:16,305 CATSAMBIS: Then we realized that the fact that she was coal powered was critical and 579 00:44:16,349 --> 00:44:18,917 crucial to our determination of how she capsized. 580 00:44:19,961 --> 00:44:23,661 NARRATOR: Coal, stored on deck, has to be delivered to the engine rooms below. 581 00:44:25,314 --> 00:44:27,142 CATSAMBIS: So, this chute would have been somewhat like the one we would 582 00:44:27,186 --> 00:44:29,188 find on San Diego, 583 00:44:29,231 --> 00:44:31,930 it would have allowed coal to be deposited all the way through the coal bunkers 584 00:44:31,973 --> 00:44:34,715 and even though you can close it, it's still not watertight. 585 00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:38,937 NARRATOR: This weakness hadn't been clear on the San Diego's plans. 586 00:44:39,938 --> 00:44:41,853 CATSAMBIS: There were additional entry points we were not factoring in. 587 00:44:43,985 --> 00:44:47,685 NARRATOR: The watertight bulkheads prevent seawater from flooding the entire hull, 588 00:44:49,512 --> 00:44:53,255 but these chutes and a network of vents gave it another route. 589 00:44:55,823 --> 00:44:59,087 CATSAMBIS: And so, water coming in through the gun deck would have permeated through 590 00:44:59,131 --> 00:45:02,787 these chutes into the coal bunkers and from there on to the engine rooms and 591 00:45:02,830 --> 00:45:05,354 the boiler rooms and throughout the vessel. 592 00:45:09,228 --> 00:45:11,709 NARRATOR: By examining San Diego's wreckage, 593 00:45:11,752 --> 00:45:13,885 and piecing together the clues, 594 00:45:14,276 --> 00:45:17,932 we're able to tell her complete story for the very first time. 595 00:45:23,459 --> 00:45:26,462 The USS San Diego is headed for New York. 596 00:45:27,768 --> 00:45:29,944 The horizon is clear. 597 00:45:30,423 --> 00:45:33,121 But there's danger lurking beneath the water. 598 00:45:36,908 --> 00:45:39,780 A German U-boat has laid a minefield. 599 00:45:41,782 --> 00:45:44,350 San Diego brushes against one. 600 00:45:47,701 --> 00:45:51,444 CATSAMBIS: Water spewed into the air and it started then flooding the 601 00:45:52,140 --> 00:45:54,012 engineering and boiler room spaces. 602 00:45:56,492 --> 00:45:57,929 NARRATOR: As she lists, 603 00:45:57,972 --> 00:46:01,019 water pours onto the gundeck from the port side. 604 00:46:05,893 --> 00:46:08,940 Rapidly penetrating the ship via the coal chutes and vents... 605 00:46:09,897 --> 00:46:12,639 tipping her further. 606 00:46:14,075 --> 00:46:16,599 CATSAMBIS: Within a few moments she had capsized and, and was on her 607 00:46:16,643 --> 00:46:18,645 way to the bottom. 608 00:46:19,864 --> 00:46:23,868 NARRATOR: All but six of her 1,100 strong crew survived. 609 00:46:25,086 --> 00:46:28,089 But San Diego sinks to her watery grave... 610 00:46:28,133 --> 00:46:30,700 just miles from the heart of New York city. 611 00:46:33,312 --> 00:46:36,184 A heavyweight victim of a calculated attack. 612 00:46:43,844 --> 00:46:46,934 Draining New York city reveals stories of conflict, 613 00:46:49,371 --> 00:46:52,897 immigration and ruthless ambition. 614 00:46:54,812 --> 00:46:58,946 Today the spirit and success of this remarkable city... 615 00:46:58,990 --> 00:47:01,296 Still invites enemy attack. 616 00:47:01,819 --> 00:47:05,735 To which New York gives a familiar reply, defiance. 617 00:47:06,432 --> 00:47:07,302 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.