1 00:00:02,347 --> 00:00:04,349 NARRATOR: World War I. 2 00:00:05,177 --> 00:00:08,249 A new stealth weapon brings terror to the oceans. 3 00:00:09,699 --> 00:00:11,459 DELGADO: This is a dirty war. 4 00:00:11,494 --> 00:00:14,048 NARRATOR: Evidence of a naval revolution. 5 00:00:14,083 --> 00:00:19,295 Lost for a century beneath the storm ravaged seas of the British Isles. 6 00:00:24,334 --> 00:00:27,234 Imagine if we could empty the oceans. 7 00:00:28,787 --> 00:00:34,034 Letting the water drain away to reveal the secrets of the sea floor. 8 00:00:35,656 --> 00:00:37,761 Now we can. 9 00:00:38,555 --> 00:00:42,249 Using accurate data and astonishing technology... 10 00:00:44,768 --> 00:00:49,256 To bring light once again to a lost world. 11 00:00:51,637 --> 00:00:53,329 This time... 12 00:00:53,363 --> 00:00:57,540 Why do three Royal Navy warships simply disappear? 13 00:00:58,058 --> 00:01:00,060 GROVE: The British are shocked. 14 00:01:00,370 --> 00:01:03,684 NARRATOR: How does a single torpedo change the course of history? 15 00:01:04,754 --> 00:01:07,619 EOIN: For a shop of that size to disappear in 16 00:01:07,653 --> 00:01:10,449 less than 20 minutes was just incredible. 17 00:01:11,243 --> 00:01:14,729 NARRATOR: And how do the Allies strike back in a battle that changes 18 00:01:14,764 --> 00:01:17,491 naval warfare forever? 19 00:01:19,355 --> 00:01:24,291 [theme music plays]. 20 00:01:29,641 --> 00:01:33,438 Today's superpowers prize one weapon above all others. 21 00:01:39,823 --> 00:01:42,309 The submarine. 22 00:01:51,697 --> 00:01:54,907 The ultimate stealth weapon. 23 00:01:56,323 --> 00:01:58,359 Striking at will. 24 00:01:58,773 --> 00:02:01,845 Delivering its deadly payload from out of nowhere. 25 00:02:05,263 --> 00:02:09,198 But the rise of the submarine started a century ago. 26 00:02:14,375 --> 00:02:18,483 It's a story that begins with a mystery off the coast of Holland. 27 00:02:23,350 --> 00:02:26,491 The corpse of an enormous ship emerges. 28 00:02:27,457 --> 00:02:29,356 And not just one. 29 00:02:29,390 --> 00:02:32,359 Three broken giants lie side by side. 30 00:02:33,808 --> 00:02:35,983 How did they get here? 31 00:02:38,330 --> 00:02:40,021 1914. 32 00:02:40,056 --> 00:02:42,610 Britain and Germany go to war. 33 00:02:44,371 --> 00:02:46,890 Britannia has ruled the waves for centuries. 34 00:02:50,825 --> 00:02:54,691 Her fleet so massive, how can Germany ever hope to win? 35 00:03:08,602 --> 00:03:11,052 Just seven weeks into the war. 36 00:03:11,501 --> 00:03:16,955 HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue scan the horizon near the Dutch coast. 37 00:03:19,060 --> 00:03:23,824 Their mission seek and destroy any enemy that dares to threaten British vessels 38 00:03:24,445 --> 00:03:27,241 supplying the battle fields of France. 39 00:03:29,450 --> 00:03:33,523 GROVE: It was there as a screen against serious German surface attack on 40 00:03:33,558 --> 00:03:35,698 these vital cross Channel supplies. 41 00:03:37,769 --> 00:03:40,427 NARRATOR: The three ships are packed with cutting edge technology. 42 00:03:42,118 --> 00:03:46,053 Among the first ever protected by super hardened steel plate. 43 00:03:47,813 --> 00:03:50,230 A whole new class of warship... 44 00:03:50,816 --> 00:03:52,370 Armored Cruisers. 45 00:03:53,578 --> 00:03:55,442 GROVE: These are powerful ships. 46 00:03:55,752 --> 00:03:58,652 They'll blow you out the water if they see you on the surface. 47 00:03:58,893 --> 00:04:02,483 They're armed with twelve 6 inch guns, two 9.2 inch guns, each. 48 00:04:06,487 --> 00:04:10,491 NARRATOR: The morning of September 22nd is clear and calm. 49 00:04:10,905 --> 00:04:13,287 There's no enemy in sight. 50 00:04:13,632 --> 00:04:16,290 Yet the three cruisers vanish. 51 00:04:18,948 --> 00:04:21,916 Their last communication, a distress signal. 52 00:04:30,028 --> 00:04:31,788 In the weeks that follow, 53 00:04:31,823 --> 00:04:35,309 hundreds of bodies wash up along the Dutch coast. 54 00:04:36,137 --> 00:04:40,487 Britain's belief that her navy is invincible is rocked to the core. 55 00:04:44,905 --> 00:04:48,598 For a decade, Klaudie Bartelink has been investigating the fate 56 00:04:48,633 --> 00:04:50,945 of the lost patrol. 57 00:04:52,361 --> 00:04:54,639 Now she's onto something. 58 00:04:55,709 --> 00:04:59,816 BARTELINK: So we're 20 miles off the Dutch coast, over there is England, 59 00:05:00,300 --> 00:05:02,578 and over there is the Netherlands. 60 00:05:03,855 --> 00:05:07,721 I try to find the three cruisers and figure out what has happened to them. 61 00:05:11,380 --> 00:05:15,245 NARRATOR: She's on the last known coordinates of the three ships. 62 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:35,611 115 feet down Klaudie and her dive buddy find themselves among piles 63 00:05:36,025 --> 00:05:38,372 of twisted wreckage. 64 00:05:43,722 --> 00:05:46,000 The wreck site is massive, 65 00:05:46,035 --> 00:05:49,556 stretching for hundreds of feet into the darkness. 66 00:05:54,733 --> 00:06:00,221 Klaudie's exploration reveals that there's more than one vessel here. 67 00:06:03,811 --> 00:06:06,607 And her lights pick out something else. 68 00:06:11,647 --> 00:06:15,858 Strewn all around shells still in their casings. 69 00:06:15,892 --> 00:06:18,723 Never fired. 70 00:06:20,310 --> 00:06:22,416 BARTELINK: I saw a lot of ammunition. 71 00:06:22,658 --> 00:06:25,454 I saw here the boxes with small shells. 72 00:06:26,593 --> 00:06:29,354 It's has to be a military ship. 73 00:06:30,182 --> 00:06:34,186 And on these coordinates they're definitely Cressy, Hogue or Aboukir. 74 00:06:36,879 --> 00:06:41,228 NARRATOR: A positive ID, but in the gloom it's difficult to see how 75 00:06:41,262 --> 00:06:43,264 the ships met their end. 76 00:06:46,026 --> 00:06:48,856 BARTELINK: It's very hard to understand the shape of the ship below 77 00:06:49,547 --> 00:06:51,825 because you only see part of the ships. 78 00:06:51,859 --> 00:06:54,586 And you can't recognize like the bow or something. 79 00:06:54,621 --> 00:06:56,692 It's, it's impossible. 80 00:06:58,763 --> 00:07:02,318 NARRATOR: High tech sonar scans provide a solution. 81 00:07:02,352 --> 00:07:05,010 Mapping the wrecks in perfect detail. 82 00:07:06,805 --> 00:07:10,464 Allowing us to do something never possible before. 83 00:07:13,398 --> 00:07:17,575 Drain away the English Channel to see the lost patrol clearly 84 00:07:17,609 --> 00:07:21,268 for the first time in over 100 years. 85 00:07:34,523 --> 00:07:36,973 The warships bristle with guns. 86 00:07:37,008 --> 00:07:41,633 Including these, innovative side mounted weapons called casement guns. 87 00:07:43,808 --> 00:07:47,743 On the smooth hull of Aboukir there's no sign of battle damage. 88 00:07:52,782 --> 00:07:56,234 But near the stern a gaping wound. 89 00:07:59,651 --> 00:08:04,207 On the other two wrecks fatal blows also clearly visible. 90 00:08:04,898 --> 00:08:07,866 Hogue's hull is broken open. 91 00:08:08,695 --> 00:08:11,801 Cressy's interior completely exposed. 92 00:08:13,389 --> 00:08:16,703 Damage like this, far beneath the waterline, 93 00:08:16,737 --> 00:08:19,429 is hard evidence that a terrible new weapon 94 00:08:19,464 --> 00:08:21,362 is in play. 95 00:08:22,502 --> 00:08:25,574 BARTELINK: So what you see where torpedoes went into the ships. 96 00:08:26,644 --> 00:08:30,613 And I think this is the moment that the naval warfare changed forever. 97 00:08:35,031 --> 00:08:37,758 NARRATOR: Torpedoes are self-propelled and deadly. 98 00:08:40,002 --> 00:08:43,592 Flying under the waves they strike below the waterline. 99 00:08:45,835 --> 00:08:50,391 DELGADO: The torpedo, as initially developed and tested through the 1860s and 1870s, 100 00:08:51,841 --> 00:08:54,326 is truly refined, in World War I. 101 00:08:57,675 --> 00:09:00,781 NARRATOR: They are originally fired from ships. 102 00:09:01,886 --> 00:09:05,234 But on the day of the lost patrol the horizon is empty. 103 00:09:07,547 --> 00:09:10,653 The source of the torpedoes must lurk unseen. 104 00:09:11,827 --> 00:09:15,693 Unable to defeat the Royal Navy's massive battle fleets on the surface. 105 00:09:17,418 --> 00:09:22,562 The Germans are deploying new technology under the waves. 106 00:09:24,805 --> 00:09:27,428 They call them, 'Unterseeboote'. 107 00:09:28,429 --> 00:09:30,570 U-boats. 108 00:09:31,881 --> 00:09:35,609 The British cruisers are completely unprepared. 109 00:09:35,885 --> 00:09:38,647 GROVE: What they weren't expecting was this covert, underwater attack, 110 00:09:39,406 --> 00:09:42,305 which is carried out with great skill. 111 00:09:42,685 --> 00:09:46,240 NARRATOR: Unfired ammunition on the sea-bed shows that the cruisers 112 00:09:46,275 --> 00:09:48,588 don't put up much of a fight. 113 00:09:48,795 --> 00:09:52,902 By the time they spot torpedoes running the battle is already over. 114 00:09:58,598 --> 00:10:01,324 DELGADO: U-boats are a game changer. 115 00:10:02,463 --> 00:10:05,950 NARRATOR: The way the drained ships lie close together reveals 116 00:10:05,984 --> 00:10:07,814 that they were sitting ducks. 117 00:10:12,681 --> 00:10:16,650 As the first goes down the other two race in to rescue survivors, 118 00:10:18,756 --> 00:10:20,999 giving U-Boat number nine 119 00:10:21,034 --> 00:10:24,244 the perfect opportunity to pick them off with ease. 120 00:10:34,323 --> 00:10:36,808 They still lie where they fell. 121 00:10:37,222 --> 00:10:39,639 Side by side. 122 00:10:43,781 --> 00:10:45,886 GROVE: The sinking of the three cruisers, Aboukir, 123 00:10:46,231 --> 00:10:49,372 Hogue and Cressy, demonstrated the power 124 00:10:49,407 --> 00:10:51,305 of the submarine perhaps more than anything else. 125 00:10:56,276 --> 00:11:00,211 NARRATOR: The Dutch authorities bury the British dead with military honors. 126 00:11:06,838 --> 00:11:08,806 BARTELINK: In the Netherlands it was big news. 127 00:11:10,566 --> 00:11:13,465 It was in all newspapers because in one and 128 00:11:13,500 --> 00:11:19,471 a half hour almost 1500 men died and 13 of them were teenage boys, 129 00:11:20,403 --> 00:11:22,889 so it was a very big story. 130 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,341 And they were buried here, honorably. 131 00:11:27,583 --> 00:11:29,723 There were soldiers along the road, 132 00:11:29,758 --> 00:11:31,863 they paid a lot of attention to it. 133 00:11:39,768 --> 00:11:43,703 NARRATOR: U-Boats are so effective because German engineers have 134 00:11:43,737 --> 00:11:46,567 overcome some massive technical challenges. 135 00:11:51,503 --> 00:11:55,231 And how they manage this can still be seen because, remarkably, 136 00:11:56,025 --> 00:11:58,856 the very first U-boat survived. 137 00:11:59,753 --> 00:12:04,689 KOERVER: This is U-1, Germany's first submarine, over 100 years old and 138 00:12:06,691 --> 00:12:11,696 you could make some 5 or 6 hours submerged with electric engine 139 00:12:11,731 --> 00:12:13,802 at slow speed 5-6 knots. 140 00:12:15,976 --> 00:12:20,636 NARRATOR: Electric engines power the 139 foot long vessel when under water. 141 00:12:21,948 --> 00:12:25,468 Its batteries are recharged by 2 gasoline engines, 142 00:12:26,435 --> 00:12:28,678 which run the U-Boat on the surface. 143 00:12:29,058 --> 00:12:31,785 KOERVER: We have two different pairs of engine. 144 00:12:31,820 --> 00:12:34,754 Two Gasoline and two electric motors, 145 00:12:35,962 --> 00:12:38,343 so it's like a modern car, a hybrid system. 146 00:12:39,620 --> 00:12:44,764 NARRATOR: U-1 can dive to 100 feet and travel submerged for 50 miles. 147 00:12:46,869 --> 00:12:48,768 But for their crew, 148 00:12:48,802 --> 00:12:51,391 U Boats are unforgiving places. 149 00:12:52,219 --> 00:12:55,775 There's deafening engine noise, exposed electrical circuits. 150 00:12:56,603 --> 00:13:02,264 And if sea water gets into the batteries deadly chlorine gas will quickly spread. 151 00:13:05,301 --> 00:13:06,751 MCCARTNEY: If you're serving in submarines, 152 00:13:06,786 --> 00:13:08,546 you've got a higher change of dying than 153 00:13:08,580 --> 00:13:10,824 you have if you're on the Western Front. 154 00:13:11,894 --> 00:13:14,690 NARRATOR: U-Boats maybe dangerous for their crews, 155 00:13:15,346 --> 00:13:17,762 but they're lethal to their enemies. 156 00:13:18,176 --> 00:13:21,145 And the Germans have boats almost three times bigger 157 00:13:21,179 --> 00:13:23,388 than U-1 on the drawing board. 158 00:13:24,044 --> 00:13:28,290 During 1915 Germany expands its fleet to over 50. 159 00:13:30,671 --> 00:13:33,191 And that's just the start. 160 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,782 KOERVER: The climax was reached with the number of 125 available submarines, 161 00:13:38,714 --> 00:13:44,375 means around 30, 40 submarines were at sea daily. 162 00:13:47,688 --> 00:13:51,313 NARRATOR: And this expanding U-Boat force doesn't just have military 163 00:13:51,347 --> 00:13:53,763 targets in its sights. 164 00:13:53,798 --> 00:13:56,663 GROVE: There were elements in the German navy who quite deliberately wanted 165 00:13:56,697 --> 00:13:59,355 to achieve what you might call a form of maritime terrorism. 166 00:14:01,254 --> 00:14:04,809 NARRATOR: The killer U-boats target a world-famous ship in 167 00:14:05,016 --> 00:14:07,812 an attack that shocks the world. 168 00:14:14,370 --> 00:14:16,717 NARRATOR: The U-Boat menace is growing. 169 00:14:16,994 --> 00:14:20,687 By 1915, no Allied ship is safe. 170 00:14:20,929 --> 00:14:22,758 Off Ireland's southern coast, 171 00:14:22,792 --> 00:14:26,520 Eoin McGarry investigates what happens when the German navy 172 00:14:26,555 --> 00:14:29,178 dramatically escalates its campaign. 173 00:14:29,765 --> 00:14:32,526 EOIN: It's under the water, you can look around, you don't know where it is, 174 00:14:32,975 --> 00:14:35,184 you don't know where it's going to attack from. 175 00:14:35,391 --> 00:14:37,531 How do you attack back? 176 00:14:39,775 --> 00:14:43,813 NARRATOR: U-Boats entering service in the second year of the war could dive almost 177 00:14:43,848 --> 00:14:48,577 twice as deep as U-1 and run submerged for 80 miles. 178 00:14:50,027 --> 00:14:54,341 Increased range means they can now strike deep into the Atlantic. 179 00:14:56,723 --> 00:15:00,209 And soon the German Navy is making the most of its killer technology. 180 00:15:10,737 --> 00:15:16,777 Beneath this buoy lies the wreck of one the most iconic ships in history and 181 00:15:17,123 --> 00:15:19,125 its shocking secret. 182 00:15:19,608 --> 00:15:23,232 Eoin is one of a select few experienced enough to make the dive. 183 00:15:24,475 --> 00:15:28,893 It's so deep he must breathe a special mix of gases to stay alive. 184 00:15:30,791 --> 00:15:35,589 EOIN: It's like the Everest of diving, it's just within the realms of 185 00:15:36,004 --> 00:15:38,938 safety and the limitations of your qualifications. 186 00:15:51,260 --> 00:15:55,955 NARRATOR: He heads down over 300 feet into the darkness. 187 00:16:02,616 --> 00:16:07,380 This twisted wreckage is all that remains of one of the most luxurious passenger 188 00:16:07,414 --> 00:16:09,554 liners ever built. 189 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,979 But for over a century the power of the sea has taken its toll. 190 00:16:23,568 --> 00:16:29,333 EOIN: On a huge wreck like 798 foot long it still lies as a huge hulk 191 00:16:30,196 --> 00:16:31,542 on the sea floor. 192 00:16:31,576 --> 00:16:33,406 It's festooned with fishing nets, 193 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,787 discarded fishing nets, tangled fishing nets. 194 00:16:35,822 --> 00:16:37,858 It's a dangerous dive. 195 00:16:39,757 --> 00:16:43,347 NARRATOR: It also hides clues to an atrocity so shocking, 196 00:16:43,968 --> 00:16:46,764 it changes the course of the war. 197 00:16:48,421 --> 00:16:51,803 This is the wreck of RMS Lusitania. 198 00:16:58,258 --> 00:17:00,467 On May 1st 1915... 199 00:17:00,950 --> 00:17:04,506 Lusitania leaves New York for Britain. 200 00:17:07,750 --> 00:17:10,753 Like her ill-fated rival Titanic, 201 00:17:10,788 --> 00:17:14,516 this massive liner has been engineered to be unsinkable. 202 00:17:15,758 --> 00:17:19,314 On board nearly 2000 souls. 203 00:17:19,969 --> 00:17:22,420 EOIN: It was like a floating 5-star hotel. 204 00:17:22,455 --> 00:17:26,390 In one end of it and then for the third-class passengers it was still 205 00:17:26,424 --> 00:17:30,256 a luxurious way and fast way of crossing the Atlantic. 206 00:17:34,743 --> 00:17:36,710 NARRATOR: Six days later, 207 00:17:36,745 --> 00:17:40,542 Lusitania is just 12 miles from the Irish coast. 208 00:17:42,889 --> 00:17:46,237 Her captain has been warned that U-boats are in the area, 209 00:17:47,066 --> 00:17:50,552 but Lusitania can surely outrun any threat. 210 00:17:51,587 --> 00:17:55,591 EOIN: The Lusitania was doing 24 knots when she was cruising and 211 00:17:56,385 --> 00:17:58,560 if you look off the stern in the Lusitania you could 212 00:17:58,594 --> 00:18:02,771 put 60 water skiers across the water and she could pull water skiers, 213 00:18:03,012 --> 00:18:05,291 she went that fast. 214 00:18:06,533 --> 00:18:08,846 NARRATOR: So why does this super liner, 215 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,160 built to be invincible, never arrive? 216 00:18:13,954 --> 00:18:15,715 300 feet down... 217 00:18:15,749 --> 00:18:17,958 Clues are hard to spot. 218 00:18:22,860 --> 00:18:27,968 But feeding precise 3-D scanning data into powerful animation software 219 00:18:29,729 --> 00:18:32,318 means we can now reveal the wreck of 220 00:18:32,352 --> 00:18:35,769 one of the most famous ships that ever sailed. 221 00:18:38,531 --> 00:18:41,672 Lusitania slowly emerges back into the light. 222 00:18:43,432 --> 00:18:47,229 32,000 tons of scarred and twisted metal. 223 00:18:54,719 --> 00:18:59,517 She lies tilted on her starboard side part sunken into the sea bed. 224 00:19:02,658 --> 00:19:05,558 Can this be linked to how she sank? 225 00:19:06,179 --> 00:19:10,563 Now seeing under the sea floor, itself it's possible to reveal 226 00:19:10,597 --> 00:19:12,703 something never seen before. 227 00:19:13,359 --> 00:19:16,327 Evidence of a fatal blow. 228 00:19:16,603 --> 00:19:21,539 Here under the water line the unmistakable hallmark of a torpedo strike. 229 00:19:27,476 --> 00:19:31,239 U-20 has been ordered to stalk these waters. 230 00:19:31,825 --> 00:19:33,931 Not only hunting warships... 231 00:19:35,519 --> 00:19:37,693 Liners too. 232 00:19:40,248 --> 00:19:44,183 The U-Boat unleashes a single torpedo, like an assassin's bullet. 233 00:19:45,356 --> 00:19:48,739 EOIN: If you could imagine being on the deck of the Lusitania being six, 234 00:19:49,429 --> 00:19:53,226 seven story's up and looking over and you see this thing coming at 235 00:19:53,261 --> 00:19:56,333 you and you know it's gonna hit you and you know exactly what it is... 236 00:19:57,989 --> 00:20:00,233 That must be daunting. 237 00:20:06,274 --> 00:20:08,793 NARRATOR: Lusitania is built to take on huge amounts 238 00:20:08,828 --> 00:20:11,417 of water yet still stay afloat. 239 00:20:12,003 --> 00:20:14,143 How could a single shot, 240 00:20:14,178 --> 00:20:16,732 send a ship this big to the bottom? 241 00:20:19,873 --> 00:20:23,739 The drained wreck reveals the hull is snapped clean in half. 242 00:20:26,294 --> 00:20:28,572 And the tip of the bow severely damaged. 243 00:20:29,262 --> 00:20:33,128 Evidence the liner hits the sea floor with tremendous force. 244 00:20:36,442 --> 00:20:41,309 Now at last we can reconstruct Lusitania's final moments. 245 00:20:44,519 --> 00:20:46,935 The torpedo blows open a hole. 246 00:20:50,525 --> 00:20:55,599 Lusitania is traveling so fast that her momentum forces tons of water in. 247 00:20:56,634 --> 00:20:59,327 She plunges into the Atlantic taking nearly 248 00:20:59,361 --> 00:21:03,158 1,200 men, women and children with her. 249 00:21:03,986 --> 00:21:07,300 EOIN: She's almost driving herself underneath the water. 250 00:21:07,335 --> 00:21:11,131 And even if the props were stopped she still was 32,000 tons 251 00:21:11,166 --> 00:21:13,237 still being driven forward. 252 00:21:14,411 --> 00:21:17,414 NARRATOR: There's hardly any time to launch life boats. 253 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,210 EOIN: She was gone in 20 minutes which must have been just terrifying 254 00:21:21,625 --> 00:21:23,765 for the people on board. 255 00:21:23,799 --> 00:21:27,182 NARRATOR: Lusitania's speed hasn't saved her. 256 00:21:27,216 --> 00:21:29,184 It's killed her. 257 00:21:29,736 --> 00:21:34,500 She hits the sea bed so fast that her huge hull snaps in two. 258 00:21:41,852 --> 00:21:44,544 Many hundreds of bodies wash ashore nearby. 259 00:21:45,407 --> 00:21:48,307 Buried in mass graves in Ireland. 260 00:21:48,790 --> 00:21:52,207 As the whole world reels in shock. 261 00:21:56,522 --> 00:21:58,455 DELGADO: The Germans were seen as murderers, 262 00:21:58,489 --> 00:22:00,560 they were seen as villains. 263 00:22:02,390 --> 00:22:05,116 NARRATOR: U-Boats are now a terror weapon. 264 00:22:08,396 --> 00:22:10,467 But it's a risky strategy. 265 00:22:10,743 --> 00:22:13,711 The loss of American civilians on Lusitania and 266 00:22:13,746 --> 00:22:16,887 further U-Boat attacks on American shipping, 267 00:22:16,921 --> 00:22:19,752 pushes the US towards joining the war. 268 00:22:21,305 --> 00:22:24,170 The German Navy knows that the clock is ticking. 269 00:22:26,724 --> 00:22:29,175 DELGADO: The Germans know that they have a short window in which they can 270 00:22:29,209 --> 00:22:30,521 try to win the war. 271 00:22:30,556 --> 00:22:32,212 If they can get enough subs out there, 272 00:22:32,247 --> 00:22:34,283 if they can have advances on the battlefield, 273 00:22:34,318 --> 00:22:35,768 then they have a chance. 274 00:22:36,941 --> 00:22:39,910 NARRATOR: The killer U-Boats launch a new campaign 275 00:22:39,944 --> 00:22:42,153 to crush their enemy outright. 276 00:22:44,673 --> 00:22:47,573 Waged here just off the coast of Britain. 277 00:22:50,507 --> 00:22:54,683 But the battle is about to get a lot tougher for everyone. 278 00:23:05,314 --> 00:23:07,420 NARRATOR: Lurking beneath the surface. 279 00:23:08,421 --> 00:23:10,803 Unseen, unchallenged, 280 00:23:11,113 --> 00:23:14,462 the U-Boat seems invincible. 281 00:23:16,325 --> 00:23:18,258 DELGADO: To counter the threat of the German U-boats, 282 00:23:18,293 --> 00:23:19,846 the Royal Navy in particular 283 00:23:19,881 --> 00:23:22,090 didn't have much that they could throw at it. 284 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,922 NARRATOR: U-Boats can hide themselves within sight of any British port. 285 00:23:28,165 --> 00:23:30,512 The enemy is at the gates. 286 00:23:35,759 --> 00:23:40,419 After sinking Lusitania the U-Boat fleet doubles to over 100 vessels. 287 00:23:42,628 --> 00:23:45,354 They're planning to land a decisive blow. 288 00:23:46,148 --> 00:23:49,462 GROVE: We will sink enough ships to stop Britain importing and 289 00:23:49,497 --> 00:23:51,257 this will defeat the British, 290 00:23:51,533 --> 00:23:54,294 who are the lynch pin of the allies before the Americans, 291 00:23:54,571 --> 00:23:57,090 who might well declare war, can bring their power to bear. 292 00:23:59,679 --> 00:24:03,165 NARRATOR: Britain's ports are the final destination for a vast 293 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:04,926 maritime supply chain. 294 00:24:05,616 --> 00:24:08,585 Thousands of merchant ships bring vital food, 295 00:24:08,619 --> 00:24:12,761 munitions and supplies from the British Empire and the USA. 296 00:24:15,523 --> 00:24:19,423 DELGADO: The need to support the war in Europe sees a massive shipment of 297 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,668 men and material across the Atlantic, 298 00:24:23,151 --> 00:24:26,326 as well as the movement of ships in and around the British Isles. 299 00:24:26,948 --> 00:24:32,091 The Germans know this and the submarines are sent out to take those ships out, 300 00:24:33,679 --> 00:24:35,681 with deadly effect. 301 00:24:35,991 --> 00:24:39,236 NARRATOR: If the German U-Boats can cut the flow of supply ships, 302 00:24:39,270 --> 00:24:43,447 they can starve Britain into submission and they'll stop at nothing to do it. 303 00:24:44,931 --> 00:24:47,278 MCCARTNEY: It's a total war. Civilians are targets. 304 00:24:47,313 --> 00:24:50,799 Merchant seamen are targets. This is what total war is. 305 00:24:51,179 --> 00:24:53,630 It's not a war between sailors and soldiers. 306 00:24:53,664 --> 00:24:57,357 It's a war in which everybody is involved and everybody will be sacrificed. 307 00:25:00,257 --> 00:25:03,605 NARRATOR: This war rages most fiercely here in the Irish Sea, 308 00:25:04,123 --> 00:25:07,333 just outside the important port of Liverpool. 309 00:25:11,199 --> 00:25:14,616 In these seas Bangor University's survey vessel, 310 00:25:14,651 --> 00:25:17,170 Prince Madog is on a mission. 311 00:25:19,310 --> 00:25:20,898 MCCARTNEY: There she is. 312 00:25:22,590 --> 00:25:25,524 NARRATOR: Marine archaeologist Innes McCartney has 313 00:25:25,558 --> 00:25:28,734 joined forces with Oceanographer Mike Roberts. 314 00:25:30,943 --> 00:25:33,601 Using the latest scanners, 315 00:25:33,635 --> 00:25:37,363 their ambitious plan is to locate every victim of this battle. 316 00:25:38,364 --> 00:25:43,300 And discover what happens when the U-Boats try to starve Britain into submission. 317 00:25:44,853 --> 00:25:48,547 ROBERTS: In World War I this stretch of water was a very, very dangerous place to be. 318 00:25:51,757 --> 00:25:55,277 NARRATOR: Every merchant ship runs the gauntlet to make it through 319 00:25:55,312 --> 00:25:57,452 this corridor of death. 320 00:25:58,349 --> 00:26:01,905 ROBERTS: It must have been terrifying knowing what could happen at any moment. 321 00:26:02,940 --> 00:26:07,635 NARRATOR: And Prince Madog's survey is uncovering the massive scale of the killing. 322 00:26:08,670 --> 00:26:12,294 ROBERTS: Immediately beneath us are the remnants of a protracted battle, a 323 00:26:12,329 --> 00:26:15,608 battlefield effectively which contains the remains of many, 324 00:26:15,643 --> 00:26:18,093 many hundreds of shipwrecks. 325 00:26:20,682 --> 00:26:24,203 NARRATOR: The sonar scans reveal the scattered bodies of the U-Boats victims. 326 00:26:25,307 --> 00:26:28,794 They prey on any type of vessel, thousands perish. 327 00:26:33,246 --> 00:26:35,524 Innes and Mike study one wreck closely. 328 00:26:37,906 --> 00:26:40,633 A ship heavily laden with cargo for the war effort. 329 00:26:42,290 --> 00:26:46,294 MCCARTNEY: We know from the position of where it is, combined with the length and 330 00:26:47,122 --> 00:26:50,574 other details, that we can see that this is the wreck of SS Apapa. 331 00:26:55,579 --> 00:26:56,856 NARRATOR: 4:00AM. 332 00:26:56,891 --> 00:26:59,618 Nov 28th 1917. 333 00:27:00,895 --> 00:27:05,278 SS Apapa is almost at the end of her journey from West Africa. 334 00:27:07,833 --> 00:27:11,630 As well as cargo, she's carrying 119 passengers. 335 00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:15,530 Including many women and children. 336 00:27:16,117 --> 00:27:19,465 Soon they'll be docking safely at Liverpool. 337 00:27:19,499 --> 00:27:21,501 They hope. 338 00:27:21,778 --> 00:27:24,677 MCCARTNEY: It's coming into the danger zone where the U-boats are waiting. 339 00:27:27,646 --> 00:27:31,097 NARRATOR: US-96 is in the perfect position. 340 00:27:33,582 --> 00:27:37,069 MCCARTNEY: The U-boat had maneuvered round and was between the land and the ship. 341 00:27:37,276 --> 00:27:40,210 Undetectable against the background. 342 00:27:41,694 --> 00:27:44,283 Fires a torpedo which struck Apapa in the stern. 343 00:27:46,665 --> 00:27:48,805 And it immediately began to sink. 344 00:27:50,323 --> 00:27:54,086 The captain on the Apapa ordered the women and children to be put into the lifeboats, 345 00:27:54,949 --> 00:27:57,296 so the lifeboats are swung out and they're put down on the rail. 346 00:27:59,436 --> 00:28:04,406 NARRATOR: Though Apapa is already sinking, U-96's Commander Heinrich Jess, 347 00:28:04,441 --> 00:28:06,788 isn't finished with her yet. 348 00:28:09,135 --> 00:28:12,173 MCCARTNEY: At this point U-96 has fired its second torpedo, 349 00:28:12,898 --> 00:28:15,314 what the commander referred to as the killing shot. 350 00:28:17,385 --> 00:28:20,457 And it was being hit the second time while everybody was evacuating and 351 00:28:20,491 --> 00:28:22,528 it caused 77 people to die. 352 00:28:25,186 --> 00:28:28,672 NARRATOR: The dead civilians onboard Apapa make this one of the most 353 00:28:28,707 --> 00:28:31,261 infamous U-Boat attacks ever. 354 00:28:31,468 --> 00:28:33,332 But it's just one of many. 355 00:28:33,366 --> 00:28:38,233 Under orders to sink a monthly quota of 600,000 tons of shipping, 356 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,064 U Boat attacks are relentless. 357 00:28:41,271 --> 00:28:45,171 GROVE: In fact, at one month, April 1917, they get to 800,000 tons, 358 00:28:46,241 --> 00:28:47,346 it's quite massive. 359 00:28:47,380 --> 00:28:49,866 They're doing better than they expected. 360 00:28:52,282 --> 00:28:55,078 NARRATOR: National survival is on the line, 361 00:28:55,112 --> 00:28:57,425 how can the British fight back? 362 00:28:58,737 --> 00:29:02,361 DELGADO: Not only do German submarines improve and change during the 363 00:29:02,395 --> 00:29:04,432 First World War, 364 00:29:04,466 --> 00:29:07,090 but also the means by which to find them and sink them, also begin to change. 365 00:29:11,853 --> 00:29:14,580 NARRATOR: Prince Madog has found dozens of wrecks. 366 00:29:15,512 --> 00:29:18,687 Now she picks up a new signal from the sea floor. 367 00:29:18,722 --> 00:29:21,483 Unlike any seen so far. 368 00:29:21,898 --> 00:29:25,177 Is this evidence of an under-water counter offensive? 369 00:29:26,109 --> 00:29:29,250 MCCARTNEY: Skinny and tube-like with a central high point. 370 00:29:30,630 --> 00:29:33,530 This is a classic submarine wreck. 371 00:29:34,324 --> 00:29:36,878 NARRATOR: Among the wrecks surveyed in the killing zone, 372 00:29:37,914 --> 00:29:40,226 this is the only U-Boat. 373 00:29:41,055 --> 00:29:44,886 So, if U-Boats are so dominant here in 1917, 374 00:29:46,198 --> 00:29:48,476 what is it doing on the sea bed? 375 00:29:52,825 --> 00:29:57,209 Prince Madog's detailed scan makes it possible to drain back the 376 00:29:57,243 --> 00:29:59,073 waters and investigate. 377 00:30:02,386 --> 00:30:05,389 It's an amazingly well-preserved U-Boat. 378 00:30:05,424 --> 00:30:07,771 Frozen in time. 379 00:30:11,533 --> 00:30:16,573 And this fearsome killer's 200 foot long body looks completely undamaged. 380 00:30:22,682 --> 00:30:26,859 Accurate measurements from the high res scan means Innes can identify 381 00:30:26,894 --> 00:30:29,172 exactly which U-Boat this is. 382 00:30:31,899 --> 00:30:34,280 MCCARTNEY: The distance from the bow to the conning tower, to the stern, 383 00:30:34,902 --> 00:30:36,455 and all of that matches up 384 00:30:36,489 --> 00:30:38,560 exactly correctly for U-87. 385 00:30:41,356 --> 00:30:43,220 NARRATOR: It's an incredible discovery. 386 00:30:45,257 --> 00:30:49,123 U-87 is one of a whole new class of long-range ocean-going hunter killers. 387 00:30:50,296 --> 00:30:54,680 It's faster than previous U-boats and carries twice as many torpedoes. 388 00:30:56,751 --> 00:30:59,064 A deadly threat. 389 00:30:59,409 --> 00:31:03,068 MCCARTNEY: U-87 was the best type of submarine the Germans were capable of 390 00:31:03,275 --> 00:31:06,278 making in 1916 to 1917. 391 00:31:07,796 --> 00:31:13,423 NARRATOR: What could its mysterious fate tell us of the desperate struggle 392 00:31:13,457 --> 00:31:16,426 to stop the killer U-Boats? 393 00:31:26,470 --> 00:31:29,680 NARRATOR: The wreck of U-87 sits on the sea bed. 394 00:31:29,991 --> 00:31:33,477 Apparently intact. 395 00:31:35,479 --> 00:31:38,689 But over 500 feet across the drained ocean floor, 396 00:31:39,587 --> 00:31:43,315 another much smaller piece of wreckage comes to light. 397 00:31:44,005 --> 00:31:49,045 It appears to be the very tip of U-87's stern. 398 00:31:49,493 --> 00:31:51,771 What's it doing here? 399 00:31:57,122 --> 00:31:59,434 Aboard Survey Vessel Prince Madog, 400 00:32:00,642 --> 00:32:03,542 Innes McCartney reviews records of U-87, 401 00:32:03,956 --> 00:32:08,305 detailing her mission, and learns more about the day she is destroyed. 402 00:32:11,688 --> 00:32:15,726 MCCARTNEY: Christmas Day 1917, U-87 encounters a small convoy. 403 00:32:20,490 --> 00:32:23,769 And torpedoes a steamship. 404 00:32:28,291 --> 00:32:31,673 The U-boat's periscope is subsequently spotted. 405 00:32:32,053 --> 00:32:37,024 NARRATOR: Royal Navy patrol boat P 56 has U-87 in its sights. 406 00:32:37,783 --> 00:32:40,165 MCCARTNEY: The chances of any of these patrol boats ever seeing 407 00:32:40,199 --> 00:32:44,893 a submarine was remote and when they did everything gets used to take them out. 408 00:32:53,212 --> 00:32:56,733 NARRATOR: And she's carrying a new kind of anti-submarine weapon. 409 00:32:57,147 --> 00:33:00,357 An underwater bomb, called a depth charge. 410 00:33:04,465 --> 00:33:07,123 DELGADO: A depth charge is an explosive that is set, 411 00:33:07,157 --> 00:33:09,332 once launched or rolled off the side or 412 00:33:09,366 --> 00:33:12,645 the back of a ship, to detonate at a set depth. 413 00:33:17,892 --> 00:33:21,309 NARRATOR: The British captain gets as close to the last sighting of U-87 414 00:33:21,930 --> 00:33:24,692 as he can and fires a volley of depth charges. 415 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,661 But is this what sinks the U-boat? 416 00:33:30,663 --> 00:33:32,872 Can this small fragment give us an answer? 417 00:33:33,908 --> 00:33:37,567 Some force has left it 500 feet away from the U-boat. 418 00:33:38,568 --> 00:33:42,020 But the edges of the wound look clean not jagged. 419 00:33:43,159 --> 00:33:45,299 Could a depth charge do this? 420 00:33:46,024 --> 00:33:48,647 ENGINEER: Can you confirm the range is clear for firing, over. 421 00:33:49,096 --> 00:33:52,064 MAN [over radio]: Confirmed, the range is clear. 422 00:33:52,651 --> 00:33:56,206 NARRATOR: At a remote defense testing facility in Scotland 423 00:33:56,241 --> 00:33:58,829 demolition experts are trying to understand 424 00:33:58,864 --> 00:34:02,247 what effect an underwater blast can have on a U-boat. 425 00:34:08,287 --> 00:34:12,636 Sensitive equipment measures the forces a depth charge unleashes outside 426 00:34:12,981 --> 00:34:15,087 and inside the hull. 427 00:34:16,606 --> 00:34:19,057 ENGINEER: 60 seconds. 428 00:34:19,885 --> 00:34:22,439 MISSELBROOK: I wouldn't want to be in a submarine when that happens to it, 429 00:34:22,474 --> 00:34:24,855 cos it's a very violent event. 430 00:34:25,856 --> 00:34:27,651 [air horn] 431 00:34:29,653 --> 00:34:33,864 ENGINEER [over radio]: 5-4-3-2-1. 432 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:35,694 [explosion] 433 00:34:44,151 --> 00:34:46,429 NARRATOR: The blast creates a pulsing shock wave. 434 00:34:48,914 --> 00:34:51,330 But is does not crack open the hull. 435 00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:57,854 However, the test reveals that depth charges can damage subs in other ways. 436 00:34:59,235 --> 00:35:02,790 MISSELBROOK: The direct shockwave excites the submarine, shakes it, 437 00:35:03,273 --> 00:35:06,207 vibrates it until equipment fails. 438 00:35:10,694 --> 00:35:13,421 NARRATOR: If this array of fragile pipes, valves 439 00:35:13,456 --> 00:35:17,667 and hatches breaks, that threatens the U-boats survival and 440 00:35:17,701 --> 00:35:19,703 exposes its biggest weakness. 441 00:35:22,396 --> 00:35:27,055 DELGADO: By setting a depth charge off underwater the blast is intended 442 00:35:27,815 --> 00:35:31,059 to rupture the seams, to break systems, 443 00:35:31,508 --> 00:35:33,855 to rattle the crew, to concuss them. 444 00:35:37,238 --> 00:35:40,172 MCCARTNEY: Depth charges had the immediate effect of driving 445 00:35:40,207 --> 00:35:42,692 the U-boat to the surface. 446 00:35:43,451 --> 00:35:46,420 NARRATOR: On the surface there's nowhere to hide. 447 00:35:46,903 --> 00:35:49,526 P 56 seizes the moment. 448 00:35:53,220 --> 00:35:55,705 GROVE: A good way of sinking submarines, was just to ram them. 449 00:35:56,637 --> 00:35:58,432 They were vulnerable to this. 450 00:35:58,708 --> 00:36:00,434 They could be cut in half or have bits, 451 00:36:00,468 --> 00:36:02,608 chunks taken out of them, by a ship ramming them. 452 00:36:02,643 --> 00:36:04,748 This would sometimes perhaps damage the ship, 453 00:36:04,783 --> 00:36:06,578 but on the other hand, on balance it was better 454 00:36:06,612 --> 00:36:09,650 to sink the submarine and ramming is very important. 455 00:36:13,654 --> 00:36:15,828 NARRATOR: Risking sinking itself, 456 00:36:15,863 --> 00:36:18,831 the patrol boat heads on a collision course with U-87. 457 00:36:24,251 --> 00:36:27,426 The drained wreck bears the scars of this incredible clash. 458 00:36:28,634 --> 00:36:32,431 The impact cleanly slices off the rear end, 459 00:36:32,466 --> 00:36:34,675 leaving the fragment intact. 460 00:36:36,228 --> 00:36:38,196 It sinks to the bottom, 461 00:36:38,230 --> 00:36:41,199 followed quickly by the crippled U-boat. 462 00:36:46,273 --> 00:36:48,344 MCCARTNEY: As the submarine was sinking the patrol boat that, 463 00:36:48,378 --> 00:36:50,277 that had rammed it could see the Germans 464 00:36:50,311 --> 00:36:53,141 inside the submarine so we know it was opened right up. 465 00:36:55,627 --> 00:36:58,837 NARRATOR: The German's have been wreaking havoc in the Irish Sea for months. 466 00:37:01,184 --> 00:37:05,361 But now U-87's crew meets its own terrible fate. 467 00:37:08,847 --> 00:37:13,576 DELGADO: Submarines were known to their crews sometimes as steel coffins. 468 00:37:14,439 --> 00:37:17,580 I think it's an apt analogy because when we find one of these, 469 00:37:17,614 --> 00:37:18,788 sitting on the bottom, 470 00:37:18,822 --> 00:37:20,824 particularly one lost in combat, 471 00:37:20,859 --> 00:37:23,655 you realize that the crew is still inside. 472 00:37:27,175 --> 00:37:31,559 NARRATOR: The wreck of U-87 reveals that new technology plus some luck 473 00:37:31,870 --> 00:37:34,355 and courage could defeat a U-boat. 474 00:37:36,219 --> 00:37:38,394 And by the end of 1917, 475 00:37:38,704 --> 00:37:42,087 the Royal Navy has a new a force dedicated to the fight. 476 00:37:43,744 --> 00:37:45,332 MCCARTNEY: The anti-submarine division 477 00:37:45,366 --> 00:37:47,679 is charged with looking at every single means of technology, 478 00:37:48,127 --> 00:37:50,406 every single means of strategy available to it, 479 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,063 to combat this threat and it develops a whole raft of 480 00:37:53,098 --> 00:37:54,720 different ways of dealing with it. 481 00:37:58,103 --> 00:38:01,417 NARRATOR: The counter attack means taking the war to the U-Boats both 482 00:38:01,451 --> 00:38:04,143 above and below the waves. 483 00:38:05,144 --> 00:38:08,562 DELGADO: They also develop the undersea mine as a more effective weapon and 484 00:38:08,596 --> 00:38:10,253 ultimately build a, 485 00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:12,359 a fortress wall, a barrage as they call it, 486 00:38:12,393 --> 00:38:15,189 of mines to keep the Germans from approaching. 487 00:38:17,191 --> 00:38:21,264 NARRATOR: Around British coasts huge forests of deadly floating bombs 488 00:38:21,816 --> 00:38:24,302 now protect shipping. 489 00:38:24,336 --> 00:38:28,064 These massive mine fields sink U-boats and deter attacks. 490 00:38:30,825 --> 00:38:37,245 By the middle of 1918 the kill rate drops off from its peak at 800,000 tons per month, 491 00:38:37,763 --> 00:38:41,802 to under 400,000 tons but that's still a lot of sunken ships. 492 00:38:42,837 --> 00:38:45,737 DELGADO: For all of the work being done to counter the German U-boats, 493 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:48,740 they reign supreme. 494 00:38:52,364 --> 00:38:56,057 NARRATOR: Conventional weapons are still not landing a decisive blow. 495 00:38:58,646 --> 00:39:03,306 The British must use a secret stealth weapon of their own. 496 00:39:13,385 --> 00:39:16,768 NARRATOR: The English Channel is where the battle to defeat the U-Boats 497 00:39:16,802 --> 00:39:19,218 reaches its climax. 498 00:39:19,943 --> 00:39:24,258 By 1918 its entrance blocked by a huge minefield. 499 00:39:26,536 --> 00:39:30,575 But off Plymouth sonar scans reveal the outline of a wreck. 500 00:39:32,231 --> 00:39:34,820 It's similar to Apapa, a cargo ship. 501 00:39:35,856 --> 00:39:40,447 Does this mean that despite all allied counter-measures U-boats 502 00:39:40,481 --> 00:39:42,725 still threaten in these waters? 503 00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:49,283 Historical wreck researcher Steve Mortimer is heading out to take a closer look. 504 00:39:50,180 --> 00:39:54,426 For over 4 years he's been searching for a lost legend. 505 00:39:56,601 --> 00:40:00,363 And this wreck is exactly what he's looking for. 506 00:40:02,296 --> 00:40:05,748 MORTIMER: Today we're looking to dive a shipwreck that was sunk in 1918 507 00:40:06,438 --> 00:40:08,682 after a battle with a German U-boat. 508 00:40:08,716 --> 00:40:10,580 We've been looking for her for a number of years, 509 00:40:10,615 --> 00:40:13,100 today we've got a really hot target. 510 00:40:13,307 --> 00:40:16,172 She's lying in 65 meters, we think, something like that. 511 00:40:17,863 --> 00:40:20,038 All we can do is go down, 512 00:40:20,072 --> 00:40:22,178 see what we find, and see if we can identify her. 513 00:40:32,326 --> 00:40:36,468 NARRATOR: Among the thousands of defenseless cargo ships sunk by U-boats 514 00:40:36,503 --> 00:40:40,403 in these deadly waters, Steve's target is special. 515 00:40:44,234 --> 00:40:46,823 The shape and size of the hull, 516 00:40:46,858 --> 00:40:50,171 proof that this was built as a cargo ship. 517 00:40:55,591 --> 00:40:59,146 And the mangled wreckage shows that it met a violent end. 518 00:41:01,838 --> 00:41:05,221 But the murky conditions obscure further secrets. 519 00:41:10,191 --> 00:41:14,472 Only draining away the English Channel can fully uncover the wreck. 520 00:41:16,577 --> 00:41:19,511 And reveal the extraordinary truth. 521 00:41:21,306 --> 00:41:23,826 The hull is twisted and bent. 522 00:41:23,860 --> 00:41:26,069 The bow torn open. 523 00:41:26,104 --> 00:41:29,003 Classic torpedo damage. 524 00:41:29,210 --> 00:41:32,282 But there's a totally unexpected discovery too. 525 00:41:33,836 --> 00:41:35,803 Naval Guns. 526 00:41:35,838 --> 00:41:38,323 Military hardware on a cargo ship. 527 00:41:41,222 --> 00:41:44,398 For Steve Mortimer it's the evidence he's dreamed of. 528 00:41:47,194 --> 00:41:48,264 MORTIMER: Fantastic! 529 00:41:48,298 --> 00:41:50,369 That must be it, that must be it! 530 00:41:50,404 --> 00:41:52,233 The engine's on the stern of the ship, 531 00:41:52,268 --> 00:41:54,097 there's two big guns on the stern. 532 00:41:54,132 --> 00:41:55,513 It can't be anything else. 533 00:41:55,547 --> 00:41:57,480 That must be HMS Stock Force. 534 00:41:58,688 --> 00:42:02,278 NARRATOR: Stock Force is a legendary British secret weapon. 535 00:42:03,175 --> 00:42:05,419 Codenamed a 'Q' ship. 536 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,803 DELGADO: The Q-ship is a warship disguised as a merchant vessel. 537 00:42:10,838 --> 00:42:14,808 MCCARTNEY: It is a ship that is trying to pretend to be something it isn't, 538 00:42:16,085 --> 00:42:17,569 and in this particular case, 539 00:42:17,604 --> 00:42:20,572 to look innocent, but it is in fact far from innocent. 540 00:42:20,607 --> 00:42:23,092 NARRATOR: She may look like a harmless cargo ship, 541 00:42:23,506 --> 00:42:26,233 but Stock Force is heavily armed. 542 00:42:26,267 --> 00:42:28,373 Four-inch naval guns, 543 00:42:28,407 --> 00:42:32,170 like those on a cruiser or destroyer sit on platforms 544 00:42:32,204 --> 00:42:34,655 that can be folded away and hidden below deck. 545 00:42:35,553 --> 00:42:38,348 GROVE: It's one type of stealth against another type of stealth. 546 00:42:39,142 --> 00:42:42,560 NARRATOR: Under a directive from Admiralty Chief Winston Churchill, 547 00:42:43,077 --> 00:42:44,665 the Royal Navy has 548 00:42:44,700 --> 00:42:47,599 deployed Q ships since the submarine menace first began. 549 00:42:50,291 --> 00:42:53,605 MCCARTNEY: It's thought to have been at least 200 ships and they vary from the very 550 00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,539 smallest little fishing vessels, 551 00:42:56,574 --> 00:42:58,576 even single mast sailing ships, 552 00:42:58,610 --> 00:43:01,268 right through to large merchant ships. 553 00:43:01,509 --> 00:43:04,478 NARRATOR: The sailors on board are not merchant seamen, 554 00:43:04,512 --> 00:43:05,755 they're fighting men, 555 00:43:05,790 --> 00:43:08,275 practiced in the art of deception. 556 00:43:11,381 --> 00:43:13,694 July 30th 1918. 557 00:43:14,557 --> 00:43:17,698 As Stock Force sails along the English Channel, 558 00:43:17,733 --> 00:43:20,632 her job isn't to transport cargo, 559 00:43:20,667 --> 00:43:23,393 but to lure a U-boat to attack. 560 00:43:25,292 --> 00:43:27,190 She spots a periscope. 561 00:43:27,225 --> 00:43:29,365 The trap can be laid. 562 00:43:31,470 --> 00:43:35,613 What happens next makes Stock Force and her crew famous. 563 00:43:36,130 --> 00:43:38,788 Their story immortalized in a silent movie. 564 00:43:41,584 --> 00:43:46,175 With great skill U-80 has crept through a minefield and strikes first. 565 00:43:49,419 --> 00:43:51,525 MORTIMER: Most of the bridge is destroyed. 566 00:43:51,559 --> 00:43:54,010 Some members of the crew are trapped. 567 00:43:54,424 --> 00:43:57,635 NARRATOR: Stock Force starts to sink. 568 00:43:57,842 --> 00:44:01,190 The crew rushes to abandon ship. 569 00:44:01,708 --> 00:44:03,779 But it's all part of the trick. 570 00:44:04,918 --> 00:44:07,196 MCCARTNEY: They were even trained how to tip the lifeboat over 571 00:44:07,230 --> 00:44:08,611 while they were dropping it, 572 00:44:08,646 --> 00:44:10,993 so just to make the whole thing look very amateurish. 573 00:44:11,718 --> 00:44:14,548 The crew would then be off and the U-boat would then move in to close 574 00:44:14,582 --> 00:44:16,757 quarters to finish off the ship. 575 00:44:23,350 --> 00:44:25,145 NARRATOR: U-80 takes the bait, 576 00:44:25,179 --> 00:44:27,630 surfacing to inspect its handiwork. 577 00:44:30,598 --> 00:44:34,188 Stock Force's captain Harold Auten holds his nerve. 578 00:44:35,465 --> 00:44:39,193 MORTIMER: Auten waits until the U-Boat is in the optimum position to attack it 579 00:44:39,228 --> 00:44:41,092 and then shouts, 580 00:44:41,126 --> 00:44:43,646 "Let's Go", ordering his crew to fight back with everything they've got. 581 00:44:46,511 --> 00:44:48,202 GROVE: In would come the Submarine, 582 00:44:48,237 --> 00:44:50,135 down would come the covers over the guns and 583 00:44:50,170 --> 00:44:52,103 battle would commence. 584 00:44:54,795 --> 00:44:58,385 MCCARTNEY: It would be a hell-fire of shells pouring into it. 585 00:44:58,626 --> 00:45:02,354 GROVE: You have to be able to hold your nerve even if your ship is sinking. 586 00:45:04,011 --> 00:45:07,774 And open fire and continue firing on a platform that is going 587 00:45:07,808 --> 00:45:09,776 glug, glug, glug into the ocean. 588 00:45:11,191 --> 00:45:13,158 NARRATOR: The U-Boat is hit, 589 00:45:13,193 --> 00:45:16,196 the Captain of Stock Force escapes only moments before 590 00:45:16,506 --> 00:45:19,095 his ship goes down. 591 00:45:21,546 --> 00:45:24,583 Commander Harold Auten wins the Victoria Cross. 592 00:45:25,481 --> 00:45:28,311 Britain's highest award for valor. 593 00:45:30,106 --> 00:45:33,144 At last the Allies are neutralizing the U-boat threat. 594 00:45:34,214 --> 00:45:37,769 And cargo ships now reach Britain in well protected convoys. 595 00:45:38,839 --> 00:45:43,361 There are simply not enough U-Boats left to stop the flow of supplies. 596 00:45:45,639 --> 00:45:48,607 DELGADO: If the Germans had been able to keep producing more submarines, 597 00:45:49,436 --> 00:45:52,335 they might very well have won the war. 598 00:45:53,923 --> 00:45:57,755 NARRATOR: When the exhausted Germans finally surrender in November 1918, 599 00:45:59,998 --> 00:46:02,760 they are forced to hand over their U-boats. 600 00:46:07,834 --> 00:46:11,803 MCCARTNEY: Before 1914, there isn't a great deal of understanding about 601 00:46:11,838 --> 00:46:13,771 what the submarine can really do. 602 00:46:13,805 --> 00:46:15,324 But by 1918, 603 00:46:15,358 --> 00:46:17,671 everybody knows, it's a lethal weapon. 604 00:46:18,361 --> 00:46:21,261 NARRATOR: No-one knows this better than the man 605 00:46:21,295 --> 00:46:25,092 bent on resurrecting German naval power in the 1930s. 606 00:46:27,439 --> 00:46:29,062 DELGADO: The Nazis, 607 00:46:29,096 --> 00:46:31,478 well aware of the success of the U-boats in World War I, 608 00:46:31,512 --> 00:46:35,309 adopt that technology and adopt those strategies yet again. 609 00:46:37,415 --> 00:46:39,175 NARRATOR: In the Second World War, 610 00:46:39,210 --> 00:46:44,387 the Nazis launch over 1100 new and improved U-boats. 611 00:46:46,182 --> 00:46:49,427 And once again they devastate allied shipping. 612 00:46:51,532 --> 00:46:54,328 Crewed by brave and remorseless men, 613 00:46:54,363 --> 00:46:58,022 the killer U-boats revolutionize naval warfare. 614 00:46:58,608 --> 00:47:03,027 The ancestors of the super-subs that silently and secretly 615 00:47:03,061 --> 00:47:05,305 dominate the oceans today. 616 00:47:05,581 --> 00:47:07,410 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.