1 00:00:03,204 --> 00:00:06,774 NARRATOR: The Pacific Ocean, a tropical paradise, 2 00:00:07,241 --> 00:00:11,745 that in 1941 turns into a vision of hell. 3 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:19,387 ERIC: This was the largest scale maritime war in history. 4 00:00:20,521 --> 00:00:22,623 NARRATOR: Many of this conflict's most shocking 5 00:00:22,656 --> 00:00:25,759 and inspiring stories remain untold. 6 00:00:27,328 --> 00:00:30,531 Because for decades, its iconic shipwrecks, 7 00:00:30,564 --> 00:00:34,602 have been lost under some of the deepest waters on the planet. 8 00:00:36,137 --> 00:00:38,572 Imagine if we could empty the oceans, 9 00:00:39,607 --> 00:00:44,945 letting the water drain away to reveal the secrets of the sea floor. 10 00:00:46,414 --> 00:00:48,516 Now we can. 11 00:00:48,882 --> 00:00:53,254 Using accurate data and astonishing technology. 12 00:00:53,721 --> 00:00:57,725 To bring light once again to a lost world. 13 00:01:02,930 --> 00:01:08,402 How does the world's biggest aircraft carrier end up in pieces on the seabed? 14 00:01:09,237 --> 00:01:11,805 JAMES: The attacks left the ship a shambles. 15 00:01:12,072 --> 00:01:16,043 NARRATOR: What happened to the warship that broke America's heart? 16 00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:17,778 NORMAN: This was a confused battle. 17 00:01:17,811 --> 00:01:19,780 And all sorts of terrible things happened. 18 00:01:19,813 --> 00:01:22,049 NARRATOR: And what was the tragic fate of the ship 19 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:25,486 that played a key role in the first atomic bomb? 20 00:01:40,234 --> 00:01:45,906 The Pacific Ocean, 60 million square miles. 21 00:01:47,308 --> 00:01:50,077 The largest mass of water on the planet. 22 00:01:50,611 --> 00:01:52,413 ROOSEVELT (over radio): The United States of America 23 00:01:52,446 --> 00:01:55,048 was suddenly and deliberately attacked. 24 00:01:56,284 --> 00:01:58,886 NARRATOR: After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 25 00:01:58,919 --> 00:02:03,591 it's the site of a conflict that kills 3 million combatants 26 00:02:04,758 --> 00:02:07,495 and destroys 3,000 ships. 27 00:02:08,796 --> 00:02:11,965 ERIC: The Americans in particular were tested to extremes 28 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:15,769 but they proved able to match the challenge 29 00:02:15,803 --> 00:02:18,572 and eventually grind Japan down. 30 00:02:18,606 --> 00:02:22,009 ROOSEVELT (over radio): We will gain the inevitable triumph. 31 00:02:22,042 --> 00:02:23,644 So help us God. 32 00:02:27,915 --> 00:02:31,885 NARRATOR: Now an extraordinary mission is unlocking the secrets 33 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,689 of some of the most important moments of the Pacific War. 34 00:02:39,693 --> 00:02:45,233 Crammed with state-of-the-art technology, the Research Vessel Petrel is on the hunt 35 00:02:45,266 --> 00:02:46,934 for lost warships. 36 00:02:53,474 --> 00:02:58,812 Part of a project funded by Microsoft co-founder, the late Paul G Allen, 37 00:02:58,846 --> 00:03:02,416 in honor of his own father's service in World War II. 38 00:03:06,153 --> 00:03:11,492 Veteran marine explorer, Rob Kraft, and his crew of wreck-hunters aim to discover 39 00:03:11,525 --> 00:03:15,829 and document the last resting places of the warriors of the past. 40 00:03:16,864 --> 00:03:19,099 ROB: There you go, we've, is that deck? 41 00:03:19,132 --> 00:03:24,472 We do these as a testament to the brave souls that served on these ships and that, 42 00:03:24,505 --> 00:03:26,440 you know, fought for their countries. 43 00:03:28,476 --> 00:03:32,480 NARRATOR: Petrel is 500 miles east of Australia in the Coral Sea. 44 00:03:35,283 --> 00:03:40,120 Hunting for one of the most famous American warships of all time. 45 00:03:41,455 --> 00:03:45,693 When the Pacific War begins, the USS Lexington is the 46 00:03:45,726 --> 00:03:49,129 biggest aircraft carrier in the world. 47 00:03:49,162 --> 00:03:54,101 At 900 feet long and capable of launching over sixty warplanes, 48 00:03:54,134 --> 00:03:56,136 she's bristling with menace. 49 00:03:56,737 --> 00:03:58,906 NORMAN: The Lexington was a very, very tough ship. 50 00:04:00,073 --> 00:04:04,678 NARRATOR: The 'Lady Lex' as she is known, is a key target of the attack on Pearl Harbor. 51 00:04:06,013 --> 00:04:10,551 Her lucky escape makes her a symbol of hope for millions of Americans. 52 00:04:12,553 --> 00:04:14,788 And hope is in short supply. 53 00:04:18,326 --> 00:04:22,129 For months after Pearl Harbor the Japanese military machine 54 00:04:22,162 --> 00:04:26,834 appears unstoppable racking up conquest after conquest. 55 00:04:28,268 --> 00:04:34,675 Then, by May, 1942, a huge new invasion fleet is storming south towards Australia. 56 00:04:37,144 --> 00:04:40,348 The Lady Lex is sent to try and stop it. 57 00:04:42,350 --> 00:04:44,752 She comes under fierce aerial attack, 58 00:04:44,785 --> 00:04:47,755 is wounded, but survives. 59 00:04:50,524 --> 00:04:55,763 So why, many hours later, does she end up on the seabed? 60 00:05:01,168 --> 00:05:03,771 On the Petrel, the team studies the battle, 61 00:05:05,873 --> 00:05:09,009 hoping it will help them find the wreck of the Lexington, 62 00:05:09,042 --> 00:05:11,645 lost for 75 years. 63 00:05:12,112 --> 00:05:15,182 ROB: So Lexington was on southerly heading at two three zero. 64 00:05:15,215 --> 00:05:17,150 PAUL: Which gives a position. 65 00:05:17,184 --> 00:05:21,889 NARRATOR: Paul Mayer is the Petrel's onboard historical researcher. 66 00:05:21,922 --> 00:05:27,127 He's studying US Navy reports and logbooks from the 1940's, 67 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,765 trying to shed light on a possible location for the Lady Lex. 68 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,603 ROB: Does it say that Lexington sunk here? 69 00:05:35,636 --> 00:05:40,408 PAUL: Yes, it says Lexington disappeared from sight 10 miles away from us, right? 70 00:05:40,841 --> 00:05:44,912 Yeah, you do the research and then you come out and start looking for it 71 00:05:44,945 --> 00:05:46,914 and that's kind of the final piece of the puzzle. 72 00:05:48,348 --> 00:05:49,817 There you go, X marks the spot. 73 00:05:49,850 --> 00:05:51,351 ROB: Right there! 74 00:05:53,387 --> 00:05:58,258 NARRATOR: They search many miles of seabed using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, 75 00:05:58,291 --> 00:06:04,164 or AUV, a robot submarine worth $5 million dollars. 76 00:06:09,837 --> 00:06:14,007 It uses the latest sonar to map the seabed in fine detail. 77 00:06:18,011 --> 00:06:23,016 It scans for days, until it finally spots something astonishing. 78 00:06:24,384 --> 00:06:27,320 ROB: Oh man. Look that that! PAUL: Wow. 79 00:06:28,255 --> 00:06:30,357 NARRATOR: If you're looking for an aircraft carrier, 80 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:33,193 then planes are a very good sign. 81 00:06:33,226 --> 00:06:38,165 ROB: Two, three, four, five, six, seven at least! 82 00:06:39,399 --> 00:06:40,801 NARRATOR: At 2 miles down, 83 00:06:40,834 --> 00:06:43,671 these planes are far beyond the reach of divers. 84 00:06:46,073 --> 00:06:49,142 The team must deploy another high-tech tool, 85 00:06:49,176 --> 00:06:53,681 a Remotely Operated Vehicle, or ROV. 86 00:06:55,282 --> 00:06:59,352 At three tons, it weighs more than a small truck. 87 00:06:59,386 --> 00:07:05,759 Its super strong titanium shell can handle pressure that will be 500 times greater 88 00:07:05,793 --> 00:07:07,360 than on the surface. 89 00:07:12,032 --> 00:07:17,871 Tethered to the Petrel, its cameras send back live images from a long-hidden world. 90 00:07:19,106 --> 00:07:20,340 ROB: What have you got? 91 00:07:20,373 --> 00:07:22,209 MAN: Something coming into view. 92 00:07:24,812 --> 00:07:28,616 NARRATOR: The ROV's onboard lamps illuminate a shape. 93 00:07:31,318 --> 00:07:33,053 ROB: Oh, wow. 94 00:07:35,889 --> 00:07:40,728 PAUL: That looks like an airplane, T5. 95 00:07:42,563 --> 00:07:45,165 NARRATOR: It's an American bomber called a Devastator. 96 00:07:46,867 --> 00:07:49,036 The Lexington carried those. 97 00:07:50,704 --> 00:07:53,006 ROB: Alright. 98 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:54,975 PAUL: Shall we carry on, Scott? 99 00:07:56,844 --> 00:08:00,514 ROB: We do have a target in front of us. 100 00:08:00,548 --> 00:08:04,552 About 50 meters dead ahead. Looks interesting on sonar. 101 00:08:15,162 --> 00:08:16,964 Where are we? Is that the? 102 00:08:16,997 --> 00:08:20,067 PAUL: Those are hangers for lifejackets. 103 00:08:21,535 --> 00:08:23,804 ROB: I'm trying to work out what we're looking at here. 104 00:08:25,973 --> 00:08:27,741 PAUL: Basically we're looking through a tunnel 105 00:08:27,775 --> 00:08:30,043 and so we're just looking at a very small portion of it. 106 00:08:30,377 --> 00:08:32,646 Trying to orientate our self to where it is. 107 00:08:34,347 --> 00:08:36,884 Uh oops, go, go back a little bit. 108 00:08:36,917 --> 00:08:38,285 Right on the corner of that little mess. 109 00:08:38,318 --> 00:08:39,887 Was there something written there? 110 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:41,589 What's that? 111 00:08:42,890 --> 00:08:47,394 MAN: Right there, Lexington, right, right there. L.E.X. 112 00:08:47,427 --> 00:08:48,929 PAUL: Oh yeah. 113 00:08:54,001 --> 00:08:57,638 ROB: If there was ever any question. 114 00:08:59,707 --> 00:09:03,476 NARRATOR: The Petrel's crew are the first people to lay eyes on the Lexington 115 00:09:04,645 --> 00:09:07,915 since the day she settled on the floor of the Pacific. 116 00:09:12,753 --> 00:09:16,590 Now, by using their high definition scans, 117 00:09:17,357 --> 00:09:20,293 and removing the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, 118 00:09:21,228 --> 00:09:24,197 we can see her in all her glory. 119 00:09:26,767 --> 00:09:28,769 An extraordinary sight. 120 00:09:30,804 --> 00:09:36,043 Lady Lex has been scythed through as if by some enormous force. 121 00:09:40,547 --> 00:09:43,951 She lies amid a vast field of scattered debris. 122 00:09:47,054 --> 00:09:53,293 And her mighty frame is broken into three colossal sections, each hundreds of feet apart. 123 00:09:57,264 --> 00:10:01,468 On her flight deck, evidence of appalling violence. 124 00:10:03,270 --> 00:10:05,973 Where once planes landed and took off, 125 00:10:06,006 --> 00:10:08,108 there's now a gaping hole. 126 00:10:10,210 --> 00:10:13,480 What could have caused such massive destruction? 127 00:10:19,519 --> 00:10:24,291 Hours before she goes down, the Lexington is involved in a fight for her life. 128 00:10:26,359 --> 00:10:28,896 By six am on the morning of May 8th, 129 00:10:28,929 --> 00:10:32,132 two Japanese carriers have entered the Coral Sea. 130 00:10:33,466 --> 00:10:37,838 The Lexington is one of two American carriers that come within striking range. 131 00:10:39,606 --> 00:10:44,544 The first ever sea battle between aircraft carriers is soon underway. 132 00:10:46,346 --> 00:10:48,916 ANTHONY: The first one to sight the other and launch their planes 133 00:10:48,949 --> 00:10:51,852 and get the strike in had a very good chance of winning the battle. 134 00:11:00,027 --> 00:11:02,963 NARRATOR: By 11 am, Lexington is under attack. 135 00:11:06,466 --> 00:11:08,201 ANTHONY: Once the Japanese planes were sighted, 136 00:11:08,235 --> 00:11:10,871 it becomes almost continual action and gunfire. 137 00:11:18,812 --> 00:11:23,316 NARRATOR: At the heart of the assault, one of the most feared Japanese aircraft. 138 00:11:26,186 --> 00:11:31,691 In May, 1942, the Aichi is the fastest dive bomber in the Pacific War. 139 00:11:32,192 --> 00:11:38,331 Its speed of more than 260 miles an hour helps the Aichi sink more Allied ships 140 00:11:38,365 --> 00:11:40,600 than any other plane in World War II. 141 00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:44,237 It carries two small bombs under its wings 142 00:11:44,271 --> 00:11:48,008 and a devastating 500 pounder under its fuselage. 143 00:11:49,176 --> 00:11:52,645 The Lexington's gunners manage to shoot down four bombers. 144 00:11:55,148 --> 00:12:00,087 But just ten minutes into the battle, disaster. 145 00:12:01,521 --> 00:12:06,927 An Aichi soars above the flight-deck and drops its 500-pound ship-killer. 146 00:12:07,594 --> 00:12:09,129 NORMAN: The flight deck is not armored. 147 00:12:09,162 --> 00:12:11,398 The flight deck is thin steel. 148 00:12:11,431 --> 00:12:13,433 So, bombs do go through it. 149 00:12:14,601 --> 00:12:17,971 NARRATOR: The bomb crashes through the deck just behind a gun turret 150 00:12:18,005 --> 00:12:22,375 and plummets deep into the ship's interior where it explodes. 151 00:12:26,646 --> 00:12:30,951 JAMES: The attacks on Lexington left the ship a shambles. 152 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:34,855 NARRATOR: She may be in shambles, 153 00:12:35,789 --> 00:12:38,125 but somehow she survives. 154 00:12:41,028 --> 00:12:45,732 In fact, her wreck is almost 100 miles away from the site of the battle. 155 00:12:50,270 --> 00:12:56,043 So, if the bomb didn't sink the Lexington, who or what did? 156 00:13:03,616 --> 00:13:07,454 NARRATOR: Perhaps there's a clue to the fate of the USS Lexington 157 00:13:07,487 --> 00:13:10,657 in remarkable footage filmed after the battle. 158 00:13:11,491 --> 00:13:14,061 This shows how immediately after the attack, 159 00:13:14,094 --> 00:13:16,029 her crew begin repairs. 160 00:13:18,365 --> 00:13:22,535 This allows all her precious planes to return and land. 161 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:32,279 So confident is the crew that by noon they're even asking about shore leave. 162 00:13:34,915 --> 00:13:38,585 They've no inkling of the disaster about to engulf them. 163 00:13:43,090 --> 00:13:47,327 Can the drained wreck site tell us what happened next? 164 00:13:48,728 --> 00:13:53,800 On the seabed, the Lady Lex still wears the scars of the battle she survived. 165 00:13:55,969 --> 00:14:01,374 One of the three massive sections, the bow, bears the punch hole of the dive bomb. 166 00:14:03,776 --> 00:14:06,779 But her other two sections were clearly thrown far apart 167 00:14:06,813 --> 00:14:10,483 by a force many times greater than a bomb. 168 00:14:13,286 --> 00:14:19,292 And that dive bomb hole is completely dwarfed by the cavernous space 169 00:14:19,326 --> 00:14:21,828 that's been gouged out of her flight deck. 170 00:14:23,931 --> 00:14:28,535 It all looks like Lady Lex has been ripped open from the inside. 171 00:14:32,105 --> 00:14:34,241 What could have done that? 172 00:14:37,644 --> 00:14:39,246 MAN: See that looks like a fracture on the ship. 173 00:14:39,279 --> 00:14:41,181 ROB: Yeah. Oh yeah. 174 00:14:41,214 --> 00:14:43,050 Yeah, she's broken badly. 175 00:14:44,985 --> 00:14:48,721 NARRATOR: On board Petrel, the team studies the Lexington's original blueprints. 176 00:14:49,056 --> 00:14:52,960 And these reveal that like every aircraft carrier of her age, 177 00:14:52,993 --> 00:14:55,595 Lexington has an Achilles heel. 178 00:14:57,830 --> 00:14:59,566 ANTHONY: It's basically a floating airport. 179 00:15:00,333 --> 00:15:02,835 As you would at an airport you need to have refueling tanks. 180 00:15:07,774 --> 00:15:11,444 NARRATOR: To fuel herself and her many planes, the Lady Lex is carrying 181 00:15:11,478 --> 00:15:17,284 140,000 gallons of gasoline running along a network of fuel lines. 182 00:15:18,918 --> 00:15:22,455 When she is hit, these are ruptured. 183 00:15:24,591 --> 00:15:28,661 ANTHONY: Gas vapor began to leak very slowly through the ventilation systems 184 00:15:28,695 --> 00:15:30,563 and through the doors. 185 00:15:33,266 --> 00:15:35,468 It was a time bomb waiting to go off. 186 00:15:38,771 --> 00:15:40,207 (explosion) 187 00:15:42,675 --> 00:15:48,148 NARRATOR: A series of blasts culminates in a massive explosion around three pm. 188 00:15:50,683 --> 00:15:52,986 Lexington can't take much more. 189 00:15:54,687 --> 00:16:00,693 Almost 3,000 crew rush to escape the inferno and are rescued by nearby ships, 190 00:16:02,996 --> 00:16:06,566 but even now the Lady Lex is not quite ready to die. 191 00:16:11,271 --> 00:16:14,674 At the wreck site there's one final discovery. 192 00:16:15,875 --> 00:16:18,011 ROB: What the hell is that? 193 00:16:21,281 --> 00:16:24,451 NARRATOR: This American torpedo is a haunting artifact 194 00:16:24,484 --> 00:16:26,986 from the Lexington's final moments. 195 00:16:30,690 --> 00:16:34,494 24 hours ago, she had been the Pride of the Fleet. 196 00:16:36,496 --> 00:16:40,667 Now the US Navy decides to put her out of her misery. 197 00:16:44,571 --> 00:16:49,642 A US destroyer at close range aims five torpedoes at the Lexington. 198 00:16:50,177 --> 00:16:52,079 MAN (over radio): Commence firing. 199 00:17:01,254 --> 00:17:03,323 NARRATOR: She slips under the water. 200 00:17:03,856 --> 00:17:06,993 Partly filled with gas, and packed with munitions, 201 00:17:07,026 --> 00:17:10,363 she erupts in a cataclysmic explosion. 202 00:17:16,736 --> 00:17:21,474 It's this that tears the Lexington into the three broken pieces 203 00:17:21,508 --> 00:17:23,910 that are so striking in her wreck site. 204 00:17:27,514 --> 00:17:31,584 But the Lady Lex snatches victory from her own defeat. 205 00:17:32,085 --> 00:17:36,723 She may lie on the seabed but the Japanese don't know that 206 00:17:36,756 --> 00:17:40,127 and fear she could launch more air attacks. 207 00:17:41,594 --> 00:17:46,366 Their invasion fleet retreats and never returns to the Coral Sea. 208 00:17:47,967 --> 00:17:50,637 JAMES: The tides of war were beginning to change. 209 00:17:56,209 --> 00:18:01,448 NARRATOR: The Petrel has moved 600 miles north hunting another massive wreck from 210 00:18:01,481 --> 00:18:04,551 another critical moment of the Pacific War. 211 00:18:07,954 --> 00:18:10,957 Today, these waters are idyllic. 212 00:18:11,191 --> 00:18:15,027 Seventy-five years ago they are a scene of carnage. 213 00:18:17,964 --> 00:18:20,433 The Allies summon enough resources to attack 214 00:18:20,467 --> 00:18:23,203 and land on the island of Guadalcanal, 215 00:18:23,236 --> 00:18:26,206 seizing a strategic airfield from the Japanese. 216 00:18:28,608 --> 00:18:31,811 JAMES: Guadalcanal is one of the key turning points in the Pacific War. 217 00:18:32,512 --> 00:18:34,714 It's where the United States, 218 00:18:34,747 --> 00:18:37,817 and its Allies, begin to push back. 219 00:18:37,850 --> 00:18:42,489 NARRATOR: For three months, battle rages on land and in the waters around the island 220 00:18:42,522 --> 00:18:45,325 as the Japanese try to take back the airfield. 221 00:18:48,228 --> 00:18:53,800 Now Petrel is looking for a mighty warship that played a tragic role in that campaign. 222 00:18:56,068 --> 00:18:59,972 Her loss, it is said, breaks America's heart. 223 00:19:01,674 --> 00:19:06,379 Only nine months old, the USS Juneau is one of the most modern warships 224 00:19:06,413 --> 00:19:08,147 in the Allied Fleet. 225 00:19:10,049 --> 00:19:14,221 With forty anti-aircraft cannons, and the latest strengthened armor, 226 00:19:14,254 --> 00:19:17,156 she's well-equipped to resist Japanese bombers. 227 00:19:18,558 --> 00:19:22,295 She's also loaded with new technology, including radar. 228 00:19:24,797 --> 00:19:30,803 Amongst her crew of 697, are the most famous sailors in the United States Navy, 229 00:19:31,404 --> 00:19:33,973 the Sullivans. 230 00:19:34,374 --> 00:19:38,044 ANTHONY: All five resolved to join the Navy after Pearl Harbor, 231 00:19:38,077 --> 00:19:41,414 and not only that, they insisted on serving on the same ship. 232 00:19:42,715 --> 00:19:46,286 NARRATOR: The Sullivan brothers become household names. 233 00:19:46,319 --> 00:19:50,357 Yet just months after they volunteer, they're gone. 234 00:19:51,224 --> 00:19:52,759 (explosion) 235 00:19:54,827 --> 00:19:58,164 ANTHONY: All the descriptions of the Juneau explosion talk about its volcanic power. 236 00:20:00,467 --> 00:20:02,769 When the smoke cleared away there was nothing to be seen of Juneau. 237 00:20:05,238 --> 00:20:09,041 NARRATOR: The Juneau disappears in an astonishing thirty seconds. 238 00:20:10,443 --> 00:20:14,046 What could make a ship blow up that catastrophically? 239 00:20:17,817 --> 00:20:21,854 ROB: So, we've got deck logs and war diaries from the other vessels but the USS... 240 00:20:21,888 --> 00:20:25,325 NARRATOR: Rob and Paul want to find the location of the Juneau, 241 00:20:25,358 --> 00:20:29,028 one of the last great mysteries of World War II. 242 00:20:29,729 --> 00:20:34,033 ROB: We have three positions reported for Juneau, 243 00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:37,003 but all three positions are within about a mile. 244 00:20:37,036 --> 00:20:38,805 1.3, 1.4 miles. 245 00:20:38,838 --> 00:20:41,207 So, it's a very concentrated area. 246 00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:43,843 NARRATOR: After many weeks of searching, 247 00:20:43,876 --> 00:20:46,679 the crew finally have a target that looks promising. 248 00:20:49,115 --> 00:20:50,983 ROB: The problem is it is very deep, 249 00:20:51,017 --> 00:20:54,153 and the north side is, is very treacherous. 250 00:20:55,087 --> 00:20:58,958 NARRATOR: The area they're searching lies among steep ravines on the seabed, 251 00:20:58,991 --> 00:21:03,530 some are over twice the depth of the Grand Canyon. 252 00:21:10,970 --> 00:21:13,573 The crew uses its sonar to search for anything that 253 00:21:13,606 --> 00:21:16,075 stands out from the natural topography. 254 00:21:19,078 --> 00:21:23,716 ROB: All of that looks pretty natural, except for that. 255 00:21:24,751 --> 00:21:29,389 We've got a massive debris field right here, which spans probably a kilometer. 256 00:21:30,289 --> 00:21:32,024 Prep the ROV. 257 00:21:40,733 --> 00:21:42,935 NARRATOR: As the ROV descends to the seabed, 258 00:21:42,969 --> 00:21:48,375 two and a half miles down, it sends a live video feed. 259 00:21:52,011 --> 00:21:55,114 First, there's a trail of enigmatic debris, 260 00:21:58,250 --> 00:22:02,655 then suddenly, metal, lots of it. 261 00:22:05,324 --> 00:22:11,731 ROB: This is definitely a ship but obviously we're looking for some unique identifier. 262 00:22:13,533 --> 00:22:16,436 Ah, there you go, we've, is that deck? 263 00:22:18,204 --> 00:22:21,708 NARRATOR: This wreck has clearly suffered horrific damage. 264 00:22:22,809 --> 00:22:24,010 ROB: Is that the keel? 265 00:22:25,011 --> 00:22:26,779 Yeah, look at this. 266 00:22:26,813 --> 00:22:29,048 MAN: Yeah. ROB: That is the bow. 267 00:22:30,249 --> 00:22:31,918 So, we are gonna wanna go over there 268 00:22:31,951 --> 00:22:33,786 and take a look at that stern, huh? 269 00:22:37,356 --> 00:22:38,991 MAN: There's a letter, right here, yeah? MAN 2: Yeah. 270 00:22:41,027 --> 00:22:43,763 ROB: Oh, and it's right where it's supposed to be, yeah, E, oh there's that piece, 271 00:22:43,796 --> 00:22:49,268 yes, U N E, that's it. 272 00:22:49,836 --> 00:22:52,071 That is the Juneau. 273 00:22:58,344 --> 00:23:00,212 NARRATOR: But what has happened to her? 274 00:23:02,281 --> 00:23:05,985 Using the Petrel's scans, it's now possible to see the Juneau as never before. 275 00:23:09,756 --> 00:23:11,891 She's been ripped apart. 276 00:23:12,592 --> 00:23:15,528 Each piece is catastrophically mangled. 277 00:23:17,497 --> 00:23:19,231 And there's a mystery. 278 00:23:19,265 --> 00:23:23,736 How did the two opposite ends of the ship, the bow and the stern, 279 00:23:23,770 --> 00:23:26,506 end up crumpled on top of each other, 280 00:23:28,608 --> 00:23:32,712 while her mid-section is 2,000 feet away? 281 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,817 What could explain a wreck so strange? 282 00:23:44,356 --> 00:23:50,497 NARRATOR: By November, 1942, the Imperial Japanese Command is furious that after three 283 00:23:50,530 --> 00:23:55,234 months they've still not recaptured Guadalcanal from the US marines. 284 00:23:58,404 --> 00:24:02,208 They send a mammoth Japanese fleet racing towards the island. 285 00:24:03,375 --> 00:24:08,347 To stop this, the Allies can only muster a much less powerful naval force, 286 00:24:09,816 --> 00:24:11,518 including the Juneau. 287 00:24:13,753 --> 00:24:16,455 It's David versus Goliath. 288 00:24:17,690 --> 00:24:19,526 ANTHONY: The American commanders know they would be outgunned. 289 00:24:20,126 --> 00:24:22,929 In fact, some of them saw it as a potential suicide mission. 290 00:24:25,197 --> 00:24:28,367 NARRATOR: As night falls the two fleets approach each other. 291 00:24:30,036 --> 00:24:32,872 The Allies do have one advantage. 292 00:24:32,905 --> 00:24:35,708 The very latest radar. 293 00:24:36,909 --> 00:24:38,545 But there's a problem. 294 00:24:38,911 --> 00:24:41,213 NORMAN: The American ships had radars of various kinds, 295 00:24:41,714 --> 00:24:44,851 but we didn't really understand how you use radar. 296 00:24:46,085 --> 00:24:50,590 NARRATOR: Radar is so new, many Allied captains don't trust its data. 297 00:24:52,391 --> 00:24:55,127 As they struggle to make sense of their positions, 298 00:24:55,161 --> 00:24:57,163 they drift out of formation 299 00:25:00,533 --> 00:25:03,770 and right into the gun-sights of their approaching enemy. 300 00:25:05,437 --> 00:25:08,074 The Japanese captains can't believe their luck. 301 00:25:10,209 --> 00:25:12,111 JAMES: Ships were crossing in each other's wakes. 302 00:25:12,144 --> 00:25:15,648 They were practically colliding and gun flashes in the night 303 00:25:15,682 --> 00:25:19,151 illuminated a vessel right next to you and then away. 304 00:25:23,923 --> 00:25:26,392 NARRATOR: The Japanese target the thirteen warships in the 305 00:25:26,425 --> 00:25:30,563 Allied fleet with one of their most devastating weapons. 306 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,905 The Type 93 is the most powerful torpedo of World War II. 307 00:25:39,271 --> 00:25:42,474 NORMAN: It's a very fast torpedo and it has an enormous warhead. 308 00:25:43,042 --> 00:25:49,448 NARRATOR: With its 1,000-pound warhead the mega torpedo helps wreck six Allied ships. 309 00:25:52,585 --> 00:25:55,121 One strikes the Juneau amidships. 310 00:25:59,391 --> 00:26:02,762 But from the maelstrom of destruction all around her, 311 00:26:02,795 --> 00:26:05,264 the Juneau manages to slip away. 312 00:26:08,267 --> 00:26:13,706 Her strong modern keel is barely cracked, enabling her to escape. 313 00:26:14,874 --> 00:26:18,678 JAMES: Daylight finds Juneau limping away after the night fight, 314 00:26:18,711 --> 00:26:21,013 hoping to join the other survivors. 315 00:26:22,682 --> 00:26:26,452 NARRATOR: The Juneau does eventually find the other Allied ships, 316 00:26:26,485 --> 00:26:30,056 and her captain signals she's in decent shape, 317 00:26:30,456 --> 00:26:33,225 but seconds later she explodes. 318 00:26:43,269 --> 00:26:46,238 The Juneau ends up in pieces, 319 00:26:47,306 --> 00:26:52,444 yet just hours before she'd survived the strongest weapon the Japanese have. 320 00:26:54,446 --> 00:26:57,049 What could possibly destroy her now? 321 00:26:59,385 --> 00:27:03,055 The latest historical research allows us to answer that question, 322 00:27:04,090 --> 00:27:08,627 and rebuild the Juneau the way she was moments before she sinks. 323 00:27:10,797 --> 00:27:16,435 She looks undamaged apart from the tell-tale wound left by the Japanese mega-torpedo. 324 00:27:19,305 --> 00:27:22,274 Behind this spot is the armaments store. 325 00:27:27,013 --> 00:27:29,415 As her crew signals to their comrades, 326 00:27:29,448 --> 00:27:32,919 they don't spot a lone Japanese submarine nearby, 327 00:27:34,253 --> 00:27:37,523 and out of the blue, a torpedo rushes towards her. 328 00:27:39,191 --> 00:27:44,663 It's much smaller than the one she's already survived, but, unfortunately for the Juneau, 329 00:27:44,697 --> 00:27:47,767 it hits in almost exactly the same spot, 330 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:53,973 breaking through the weakened armor and igniting the stored munitions. 331 00:27:58,277 --> 00:28:00,847 She sinks in just thirty seconds, 332 00:28:01,413 --> 00:28:05,184 a victim of almost impossible bad luck. 333 00:28:09,288 --> 00:28:11,323 And what of her crew? 334 00:28:12,224 --> 00:28:14,994 The explosion is so cataclysmic that nearby 335 00:28:15,027 --> 00:28:19,198 US ships are convinced the entire crew must be dead. 336 00:28:23,135 --> 00:28:27,539 ROB: When the smoke had cleared the ship and all debris completely vanished. 337 00:28:27,573 --> 00:28:29,075 There was nothing left. 338 00:28:31,610 --> 00:28:36,082 NARRATOR: But eight days later other US forces make a terrible discovery. 339 00:28:37,216 --> 00:28:43,189 100 men from Juneau did survive the blast, and were left behind on the open sea. 340 00:28:46,993 --> 00:28:50,729 Only ten live long enough to tell the tale. 341 00:28:52,932 --> 00:28:56,535 JAMES: What powerfully hit American households 342 00:28:56,568 --> 00:28:58,871 was the loss of all five Sullivan boys. 343 00:29:00,472 --> 00:29:02,574 But it also inspired them. 344 00:29:03,042 --> 00:29:06,445 And a new ship, the USS "The Sullivans", 345 00:29:06,478 --> 00:29:08,647 would be launched to commemorate the service 346 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,650 and the sacrifice of those five men. 347 00:29:13,953 --> 00:29:17,156 NARRATOR: The Sullivan brothers and their ship aren't lost in vain. 348 00:29:19,992 --> 00:29:22,761 Faced with unexpectedly strong resistance, 349 00:29:22,795 --> 00:29:25,164 the Japanese abort their mission. 350 00:29:26,265 --> 00:29:29,201 At Guadalcanal, the Allies gain ground 351 00:29:29,235 --> 00:29:32,972 and keep it for the first time in the Pacific War. 352 00:29:37,810 --> 00:29:40,012 The Petrel is on another expedition, 353 00:29:40,046 --> 00:29:45,151 in pursuit of a new and spectacular target and this time, 354 00:29:47,153 --> 00:29:49,188 she's Japanese. 355 00:29:50,789 --> 00:29:56,929 In late 1944, the Allies are on the march and move north to try to take the Philippines. 356 00:30:00,132 --> 00:30:04,837 Realizing that they're losing the war, the Japanese launch an all-out attack 357 00:30:04,871 --> 00:30:09,008 on the US Navy, deploying the biggest fleet they've ever assembled. 358 00:30:10,776 --> 00:30:15,647 JAMES: As the war reaches the Philippines, the Japanese are increasingly desperate. 359 00:30:16,048 --> 00:30:19,518 They're on the ropes and they throw everything they have in 360 00:30:19,551 --> 00:30:22,688 an effort to stop the US Navy in its tracks. 361 00:30:23,255 --> 00:30:26,325 NARRATOR: Heading the southern flank of their fleet is a giant battleship 362 00:30:26,358 --> 00:30:29,128 that's adored by the Japanese public, 363 00:30:29,161 --> 00:30:33,232 not least because she bears the mythic name for Japan herself. 364 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:36,435 The Fuso. 365 00:30:38,470 --> 00:30:41,607 With prodigious battle armor she's been upgraded with deadly new anti-aircraft guns. 366 00:30:43,609 --> 00:30:46,612 At the battle of Leyte Gulf she has a key role, 367 00:30:46,645 --> 00:30:50,016 launching a surprise attack on part of the Allied fleet. 368 00:30:51,984 --> 00:30:58,090 So why is it this behemoth herself that ends up on the ocean floor? 369 00:31:01,928 --> 00:31:06,532 The Petrel crew is on the case, but finding the Fuso won't be easy. 370 00:31:07,266 --> 00:31:10,769 ROB: We've multi-beamed up here to the north so the northwest is where 371 00:31:10,802 --> 00:31:12,138 we need to go. 372 00:31:12,171 --> 00:31:14,173 That's the only place. There's a lot of wrecks here. 373 00:31:14,206 --> 00:31:17,609 There's a lot of history from World War II in this particular area. 374 00:31:17,643 --> 00:31:19,445 But you're gonna run here next? 375 00:31:19,478 --> 00:31:21,047 MAN: Yeah, we'll just hold here, 376 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:22,681 trying to get over exactly where we need the ship to go. 377 00:31:24,616 --> 00:31:27,653 NARRATOR: They've narrowed down the hunt to a few square miles of ocean. 378 00:31:28,320 --> 00:31:30,923 MAN: C'mon where are you? Uh, something's coming in. 379 00:31:31,857 --> 00:31:33,725 MAN 2: Wow! 380 00:31:33,759 --> 00:31:36,328 MAN: Wow, that's sticking up huge. 381 00:31:36,828 --> 00:31:41,733 NARRATOR: The object is the right size for a battleship, but looks bizarrely twisted. 382 00:31:42,134 --> 00:31:44,937 MAN: Something's stuck out there, something's stuck out there and... 383 00:31:44,971 --> 00:31:48,440 MAN 2: It's well and truly busted up. 384 00:31:49,575 --> 00:31:55,948 NARRATOR: Can this bent and twisted form really be the mighty Fuso? 385 00:32:01,954 --> 00:32:05,491 NARRATOR: The Petrel Crew is exploring a wreck that could be the remains 386 00:32:05,524 --> 00:32:09,295 of a legendary Japanese battleship, the Fuso. 387 00:32:11,097 --> 00:32:13,532 These aren't the deepest waters they've explored, 388 00:32:13,565 --> 00:32:17,403 but strong currents make it tricky to operate the ROV. 389 00:32:22,708 --> 00:32:25,011 ROB: She is bouncing around a lot now. 390 00:32:25,611 --> 00:32:29,881 NARRATOR: 600 feet below the surface, and just barely visible, 391 00:32:29,915 --> 00:32:31,817 a damaged hull. 392 00:32:33,319 --> 00:32:36,122 ROB: Let's push in, have a, a little look here. 393 00:32:39,325 --> 00:32:41,293 That looks like a shaft and a propeller over there. 394 00:32:41,327 --> 00:32:43,395 PAUL: Looks like a prop. ROB: Okay. 395 00:32:43,429 --> 00:32:45,464 PAUL: Looks like that's the rudder. 396 00:32:47,733 --> 00:32:50,402 NARRATOR: It's definitely a large warship and there are clear signs of battle-damage. 397 00:32:51,470 --> 00:32:55,574 ROB: And that's a big hole. MAN: Torpedo damage. 398 00:32:57,243 --> 00:33:01,080 NARRATOR: The team turns to US Action Reports from the battle of Leyte Gulf 399 00:33:01,113 --> 00:33:04,683 that describe how the Fuso was hit by American torpedoes. 400 00:33:05,351 --> 00:33:07,953 ROB: We can see the torpedo hit was aft. 401 00:33:08,354 --> 00:33:10,422 NARRATOR: This gives them an idea. 402 00:33:10,456 --> 00:33:15,727 If they can match the pattern of torpedo holes on this wreck with the reports, 403 00:33:16,128 --> 00:33:18,530 they'll know whether this is the Fuso or not. 404 00:33:20,266 --> 00:33:21,733 ROB: Oh, there you go. Look at that. 405 00:33:21,767 --> 00:33:23,835 PAUL: Yeah, there you go. Wow. 406 00:33:24,136 --> 00:33:27,806 ROB: We're seeing damage all over the hull in the places noted in the damage report. 407 00:33:29,007 --> 00:33:31,610 NARRATOR: The damage pattern is an exact fit. 408 00:33:32,811 --> 00:33:37,049 ROB: Kabam! That's Fuso. 409 00:33:37,083 --> 00:33:38,550 PAUL: Yeah. 410 00:33:40,119 --> 00:33:42,954 NARRATOR: The torpedo holes are clues to Fuso's fate, 411 00:33:42,988 --> 00:33:45,624 but they don't fully explain what happened to her. 412 00:33:50,596 --> 00:33:53,765 As the waters of the Pacific Ocean drain away, 413 00:33:53,799 --> 00:33:57,836 we can at last see Fuso's vast steel structure. 414 00:34:02,908 --> 00:34:07,946 600 feet long, it's resting upside down, half sunk in mud, 415 00:34:09,047 --> 00:34:11,450 like a gargantuan beached whale. 416 00:34:13,485 --> 00:34:16,722 The bow bent back like an opened sardine can. 417 00:34:20,792 --> 00:34:23,762 Then, 150 feet from the wreck, 418 00:34:25,364 --> 00:34:30,136 a second, complex structure, studded with glinting glass. 419 00:34:33,705 --> 00:34:37,176 Could this help explain what happened here? 420 00:34:38,510 --> 00:34:41,747 It's a remarkable structure no Allied ship possessed. 421 00:34:49,054 --> 00:34:52,124 ANTHONY: The distinctive feature of the Japanese battleships is the tall tower 422 00:34:52,158 --> 00:34:55,594 masts which they called pagodas, which were essentially a series of 423 00:34:55,627 --> 00:35:00,031 platforms to provide the highest possible level for observation to sight the enemy 424 00:35:00,065 --> 00:35:01,667 vessels on the horizon. 425 00:35:04,336 --> 00:35:09,040 NARRATOR: The Fuso's pagoda was the biggest warship observation tower ever built. 426 00:35:11,076 --> 00:35:16,248 An astonishing 144 feet high, it towered over the ship. 427 00:35:18,750 --> 00:35:23,255 Packed with some of the most sophisticated optical equipment in the world from 428 00:35:23,289 --> 00:35:27,693 telescopes and binoculars to rangefinders and searchlights. 429 00:35:31,029 --> 00:35:35,167 At the height of a battle, sailors and technicians would work as one, 430 00:35:35,201 --> 00:35:38,837 computing distances and spotting enemy ships and planes. 431 00:35:41,373 --> 00:35:46,278 It's ingenious, but the Americans have gone one better. 432 00:35:48,647 --> 00:35:53,051 Since the battle of Guadalcanal, they've perfected radar. 433 00:35:55,454 --> 00:35:58,924 JAMES: By the late war, the United States not only had learned how to use radar, 434 00:35:58,957 --> 00:36:01,026 had learned to use radar well. 435 00:36:05,731 --> 00:36:11,169 NARRATOR: As the Fuso closes in on Leyte Gulf ready to surprise the Allies, 436 00:36:12,438 --> 00:36:14,906 she now lights up on their radar screens, 437 00:36:20,111 --> 00:36:23,215 and the Allies prepare their own surprise. 438 00:36:29,087 --> 00:36:32,324 ANTHONY: They were able to set the perfect trap as a result of this, 439 00:36:32,358 --> 00:36:35,461 and array their destroyer lines in a perfect ambush 440 00:36:35,494 --> 00:36:37,696 position from both sides of the strait. 441 00:36:38,797 --> 00:36:43,435 NARRATOR: As soon as they come in range, the US warships launch a barrage of torpedoes. 442 00:36:44,035 --> 00:36:47,573 ANTHONY: There's no way to turn East or West without running into some 443 00:36:47,606 --> 00:36:49,408 American torpedo spread. 444 00:36:50,242 --> 00:36:53,011 NARRATOR: Two torpedoes slam into the Fuso. 445 00:36:56,682 --> 00:36:58,617 She immediately starts to capsize, 446 00:37:01,387 --> 00:37:03,989 her top-heavy pagoda shearing off. 447 00:37:06,925 --> 00:37:10,629 In the shallow water, her bow crashes into the rocky seabed. 448 00:37:14,132 --> 00:37:16,368 It's this collision that wrenches her back 449 00:37:16,402 --> 00:37:19,037 into the bent sardine can shape of the wreck. 450 00:37:24,610 --> 00:37:29,047 The loss of the Fuso and almost her entire crew of 1,600 451 00:37:29,448 --> 00:37:32,918 is just the beginning of a bloodbath at Leyte Gulf, 452 00:37:34,853 --> 00:37:38,657 where twenty-five more Japanese warships are sunk. 453 00:37:40,926 --> 00:37:46,865 Japan will never again dare confront the Allies in a large-scale sea battle. 454 00:37:52,170 --> 00:37:57,309 The Petrel is in waters 700 miles east of the Philippines looking for another ship, 455 00:37:58,310 --> 00:38:03,281 one that played a vital role in the final apocalyptic days of the Pacific War. 456 00:38:06,151 --> 00:38:10,522 She's been in the thick of battle many times and survived them all. 457 00:38:12,591 --> 00:38:15,026 USS Indianapolis. 458 00:38:15,894 --> 00:38:20,732 In July, 1945, she is chosen to race to Tinian Island 459 00:38:20,766 --> 00:38:23,268 with a top-secret cargo of uranium, 460 00:38:23,635 --> 00:38:30,041 the crucial ingredient in the bomb that Enola Gay will soon carry to Hiroshima. 461 00:38:32,544 --> 00:38:36,815 But shortly after completing her mission, Indianapolis' Captain makes a controversial 462 00:38:36,848 --> 00:38:41,119 decision that will end in his court martial. 463 00:38:42,754 --> 00:38:45,991 What happens to the ship and her crew of 1,200 464 00:38:46,024 --> 00:38:50,328 is one of the most terrifying tales in maritime history 465 00:38:52,130 --> 00:38:54,332 and makes her wreck one of the most famous 466 00:38:54,366 --> 00:38:56,535 and sought after on the planet. 467 00:38:58,770 --> 00:39:02,874 No one has ever managed to find her until now. 468 00:39:08,279 --> 00:39:10,015 NARRATOR: The crew of the Petrel has been trying 469 00:39:10,048 --> 00:39:13,685 to track down the wreck of USS Indianapolis. 470 00:39:13,985 --> 00:39:16,121 ROB: We need to put the pieces of this puzzle together. 471 00:39:16,154 --> 00:39:18,890 It's, it's seventy-three years old, and there are you know, 472 00:39:18,924 --> 00:39:20,759 1,200-1,300 lives at stake, 473 00:39:20,792 --> 00:39:23,328 and families, and everybody has questions as to what happened here. 474 00:39:26,164 --> 00:39:29,701 NARRATOR: So far, they've scanned hundreds of square miles of seabed 475 00:39:29,735 --> 00:39:35,106 in the Philippines Sea, but as yet, the Indianapolis has eluded them. 476 00:39:37,776 --> 00:39:40,145 Then, finally, a moment of hope. 477 00:39:41,547 --> 00:39:43,682 ROB: What have you got? 478 00:39:44,015 --> 00:39:46,852 Yeah, we definitely need to go have a look at that. 479 00:39:48,487 --> 00:39:51,557 NARRATOR: The astonishing image certainly looks like a ship. 480 00:39:53,725 --> 00:39:56,828 The only way to know for sure is to send the ROV. 481 00:39:57,763 --> 00:40:00,231 MAN: Oh, something visual coming in top left. 482 00:40:00,265 --> 00:40:03,034 MAN 2: Uh huh. It's the wreckage site. 483 00:40:08,674 --> 00:40:11,276 ROB: There you go. That's good. 484 00:40:11,643 --> 00:40:13,679 NARRATOR: It's definitely a warship. 485 00:40:16,515 --> 00:40:20,619 The ROV cameras explore the deck and the hull looking for something 486 00:40:20,652 --> 00:40:22,287 that might identify her. 487 00:40:23,388 --> 00:40:24,556 ROB: Look at that edge. 488 00:40:24,590 --> 00:40:26,692 I mean that, that is just ripped, torn. 489 00:40:29,194 --> 00:40:32,363 NARRATOR: Then, on the bow, the crew spot a clue. 490 00:40:33,465 --> 00:40:34,533 MAN: So what does that say right there? 491 00:40:34,566 --> 00:40:39,004 ROB: Three five. There it is. 492 00:40:39,971 --> 00:40:43,475 NARRATOR: Every US naval vessel has its own unique ID number 493 00:40:43,509 --> 00:40:48,446 and the team know very well what number thirty-five means. 494 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:50,849 ROB: Yeah, we've got it. 495 00:40:50,882 --> 00:40:52,684 The Indy. 496 00:40:57,322 --> 00:40:59,591 NARRATOR: It's a truly historic moment. 497 00:41:00,158 --> 00:41:03,328 The crew is looking at the first ever images of one of 498 00:41:03,361 --> 00:41:06,965 the most famous shipwrecks in American History. 499 00:41:11,603 --> 00:41:15,040 As the boundless waters of the Pacific are rolled back, 500 00:41:15,073 --> 00:41:19,110 they reveal the long-lost wreck of the Indianapolis. 501 00:41:22,247 --> 00:41:27,352 On her starboard side, the unmistakably violent signature of a torpedo strike. 502 00:41:30,155 --> 00:41:34,960 And where her bow should be there's nothing but a ghastly empty space. 503 00:41:37,596 --> 00:41:43,234 We know from contemporary accounts the bow was sheared off by a second torpedo strike. 504 00:41:46,304 --> 00:41:50,676 But remarkable as it seems, this doesn't explain why she sinks. 505 00:41:51,977 --> 00:41:55,046 ANTHONY: Throughout the Pacific War, multiple times, American cruisers had lost 506 00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:59,484 their bow and or received up to two torpedo hits without sinking. 507 00:42:06,091 --> 00:42:08,393 ROB: We need to know what that space is called right there? 508 00:42:10,361 --> 00:42:13,431 NARRATOR: The team analyzes the Indianapolis's blueprints. 509 00:42:16,201 --> 00:42:19,404 This shows her interior crisscrossed with compartments. 510 00:42:21,306 --> 00:42:25,611 These can be sealed shut with hatch doors, to make them watertight, 511 00:42:26,211 --> 00:42:29,347 and are intended to keep her afloat even without her bow. 512 00:42:31,950 --> 00:42:35,721 So why does she sink in just twelve minutes? 513 00:42:37,488 --> 00:42:41,526 There's a clue in naval records that show Captain Charles McVay 514 00:42:41,559 --> 00:42:43,228 makes a fateful decision. 515 00:42:46,998 --> 00:42:50,902 After she heads back from Tinian Island, the Indianapolis follows 516 00:42:50,936 --> 00:42:55,473 standard procedure, regularly changing direction or zigzaggin 517 00:42:55,506 --> 00:42:58,009 to make it harder for submarines to target her. 518 00:43:00,746 --> 00:43:05,917 But on the evening of July 29th McVay stops zigzagging. 519 00:43:08,519 --> 00:43:13,191 NORMAN: The captain of the Indianapolis decided that it was so dark that a submarine 520 00:43:13,224 --> 00:43:15,794 couldn't possibly attack and therefore he didn't have to zigzag. 521 00:43:18,997 --> 00:43:22,367 NARRATOR: A little after eleven pm, the moon rises. 522 00:43:24,169 --> 00:43:29,240 It's now light enough for a nearby Japanese submarine to spot the giant warship. 523 00:43:30,508 --> 00:43:35,480 And at five minutes after midnight, it gets ready to fire its torpedoes. 524 00:43:38,416 --> 00:43:42,654 So why don't her watertight compartments save the Indianapolis? 525 00:43:46,024 --> 00:43:49,127 The answer is revealed in her drained wreck. 526 00:43:51,162 --> 00:43:55,200 All along what's left of her once sleek 500-foot length, 527 00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:57,769 her portholes and hatch doors lie open. 528 00:44:00,405 --> 00:44:02,974 This strikes historians as unusual. 529 00:44:05,110 --> 00:44:06,611 JAMES: In the middle of a sea-fight, 530 00:44:06,644 --> 00:44:08,847 everything's battened down, portholes are closed, 531 00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:10,281 hatches are shut. 532 00:44:10,515 --> 00:44:12,183 NARRATOR: The day before her sinking, 533 00:44:12,217 --> 00:44:15,787 portholes were indeed closed, and compartments sealed, 534 00:44:17,288 --> 00:44:21,326 but as the tropical temperature rockets to above 100 degrees, 535 00:44:21,592 --> 00:44:25,130 the Captain decides to open the portholes and the hatch doors 536 00:44:25,163 --> 00:44:27,165 to ventilate the ship. 537 00:44:30,969 --> 00:44:34,873 Now, without zigzag, and lying open to the elements, 538 00:44:35,173 --> 00:44:38,309 the Indianapolis is a sitting duck. 539 00:44:39,210 --> 00:44:42,914 And the lurking Japanese submarine takes full advantage. 540 00:44:45,250 --> 00:44:48,486 Slamming two torpedoes into the Indianapolis. 541 00:44:54,492 --> 00:44:57,763 She continues to power ahead at full speed 542 00:44:58,930 --> 00:45:01,199 but now her bow starts to break off. 543 00:45:05,003 --> 00:45:09,240 Her forward movement funnels sea water into her interior 544 00:45:12,043 --> 00:45:16,614 and with doors open it can pour through all the unsealed compartments 545 00:45:16,647 --> 00:45:18,183 pulling her under, 546 00:45:18,216 --> 00:45:21,887 sealing the fate of Indianapolis and 300 of her crew. 547 00:45:25,456 --> 00:45:28,226 (splashing) 548 00:45:28,626 --> 00:45:34,032 But for the 900 men who make it into the water, the horror has just begun. 549 00:45:36,467 --> 00:45:42,040 600 of them perish over the next terrible four days from exhaustion, 550 00:45:42,073 --> 00:45:46,411 from dehydration and worse. 551 00:45:49,514 --> 00:45:54,152 It's the deadliest single-ship disaster in US Naval History. 552 00:45:57,688 --> 00:46:00,792 Captain McVay is court-martialed, convicted, 553 00:46:00,826 --> 00:46:03,761 and in 1968, commits suicide. 554 00:46:06,865 --> 00:46:10,435 But thirty-three years later, Congress clears his name, 555 00:46:10,468 --> 00:46:14,205 acknowledging that intelligence about submarines along his route 556 00:46:14,239 --> 00:46:16,274 wasn't passed to his ship. 557 00:46:21,046 --> 00:46:24,715 By locating the final resting place of the Indianapolis, 558 00:46:24,749 --> 00:46:27,652 the crew of the Petrel has done something remarkable, 559 00:46:29,988 --> 00:46:35,260 part of an exceptional series of discoveries giving a new generation insight into the 560 00:46:35,293 --> 00:46:39,597 widest-ranging combat-zone the world has ever known. 561 00:46:40,198 --> 00:46:43,301 JAMES: The rest of us have incredible respect for the late Paul Allen, 562 00:46:43,334 --> 00:46:45,536 for Rob Kraft, and for the entire team. 563 00:46:46,637 --> 00:46:48,273 They've got the right people, 564 00:46:48,306 --> 00:46:50,008 their hearts are in the right place, 565 00:46:50,041 --> 00:46:52,610 they do the right research and they then employ 566 00:46:52,643 --> 00:46:56,114 the best equipment in a very effective way. 567 00:46:56,147 --> 00:47:01,286 NARRATOR: This continuing quest helps honor those serving on both sides 568 00:47:01,319 --> 00:47:03,855 who gave their lives at sea. 569 00:47:04,389 --> 00:47:05,390 Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services