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<i> Narrator: The beaches</i>
<i> and cliffs of normandy.</i>

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<i> In June 1944, the most</i>
<i> important place on the planet.</i>

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Dr delgado: It's the greatest
battlefield in human history.

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Full of incredible stories.

5
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<i> Narrator: But some of d-day's</i>
<i> greatest stories remain untold,</i>

6
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<i> Because vital evidence is</i>
<i> hidden beneath the waves.</i>

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<i> Imagine if we could</i>
<i> empty the oceans.</i>

8
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<i> Letting the water</i>
<i> drain away to reveal the</i>
<i> secrets of the sea floor.</i>

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<i> Now we can.</i>

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<i> Using accurate data.</i>

11
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<i> And astonishing technology.</i>

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<i> To bring light once</i>
<i> again to a lost world.</i>

13
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<i> What shocking weapon</i>
<i> blew a key british</i>
<i> warship into fragments?</i>

14
00:01:11,172 --> 00:01:17,709
<i> Can this shattered landing</i>
<i> craft explain why omaha was the</i>
<i> bloodiest beach of them all?</i>

15
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Hendley: Unloading had to be
stopd, because the living
couldn't climb over the dead.

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<i> Narrator: And why did the</i>
<i> power of the sea mean life</i>
<i> or death on utah beach?</i>

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Dr delgado: The seas were
still churned up and as the
man next to you goes down,

18
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It's the luck of the draw.

19
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<i> Narrator: After more than a</i>
<i> year of meticulous planning,</i>

20
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<i> 7,000 ships and a quarter</i>
<i> of a million men are ready.</i>

21
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<i> The allied invasion of</i>
<i> nazi occupied europe</i>
<i> is about to begin.</i>

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Nicholas: The scale of
d-day is absolutely epic.

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It's the most extraordinary
thing that's ever been
undertaken in history.

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<i> Narrator: For years,</i>
<i> archaeologists have studied</i>
<i> the battle on land.</i>

25
00:02:29,083 --> 00:02:32,968
<i> But now, they're</i>
<i> looking somewhere else.</i>

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<i> Marine archaeologists</i>
<i> working with the french</i>
<i> underwater unit, drassm,</i>

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<i> Are scanning 50 miles of coast</i>
<i> using the latest 3d technology</i>

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Andy: This is the largest
continuous underwater mapping

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Projects ever done
for this particular area.

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<i> Narrator: They've</i>
<i> already discovered</i>
<i> 300 military relics.</i>

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<i> Many unknown to historians.</i>

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Archaeologist:
That is really odd.

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It's really hard to tell
what we're looking at.

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<i> Narrator: Scanned in forensic</i>
<i> detail, this deep-sea treasure</i>
<i> trove is transforming</i>

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<i> Our understanding</i>
<i> of the invasion.</i>

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Nicholas: It's all
still there in a way that
actually it isn't on land.

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And we found some
tremendously exciting things.

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<i> Narrator: Now for the first</i>
<i> time, we can use this data to</i>
<i> unlock the secrets of d-day.</i>

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<i> By draining away the murky</i>
<i> waters of the normandy coast,</i>

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<i> To reveal exactly</i>
<i> what happened here.</i>

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<i> As the seas begin to empty,</i>
<i> they uncover just some</i>
<i> of the hundreds of wrecks.</i>

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<i> Each with a story to tell.</i>

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<i> Target number one,</i>
<i> an allied destroyer.</i>

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<i> Sunk before the</i>
<i> landings even begin.</i>

45
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<i> Her fate is one of d-day's</i>
<i> greatest mysteries.</i>

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<i> 1,200 allied warships</i>
<i> approach the normandy coast.</i>

47
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<i> Catching the enemyrning,</i>
<i> unprepared and off-guard.</i>

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Prof grove: One can
imagine the feelings of
many of the germans.

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It must have been sheer terror
to have seen this huge fleet.

50
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<i> Narrator: Fire rains down on</i>
<i> the five beaches the allies</i>
<i> have marked for invasion,</i>

51
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<i> Utah, omaha, gold,</i>
<i> juno, and sword.</i>

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<i> A norwegian destroyer</i>
<i> called the svenner is</i>
<i> on the eastern flank.</i>

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<i> A crew of 219</i>
<i> are preparing to join the</i>
<i> bombardment of the beaches.</i>

54
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<i> When suddenly</i>

55
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<i> A massive explosion</i>
<i> and she's gone.</i>

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<i> How is this svenner</i>
<i> destroyed while surrounded</i>

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<i> By over a thousand</i>
<i> heavily armed warships?</i>

58
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<i> Data from the survey contains</i>
<i> tantalizing details.</i>

59
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<i> Combining them with</i>
<i> the latest computer</i>
<i> visualization techniques</i>

60
00:06:03,180 --> 00:06:09,601
<i> Means we can empty the</i>
<i> normandy coast, and go</i>
<i> looking for clues.</i>

61
00:06:13,407 --> 00:06:16,375
<i> As the water begins</i>
<i> to drain away.</i>

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<i> A sight lost for 75 years.</i>

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<i> Hundreds of tonnes of</i>
<i> twisted and ruined metal.</i>

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<i> Shocking evidence</i>
<i> of a huge explosion.</i>

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<i> The bow and stern</i>
<i> are in one piece.</i>

66
00:06:39,983 --> 00:06:42,367
<i> But the midsection</i>
<i> is shattered.</i>

67
00:06:47,307 --> 00:06:50,509
<i> What could have</i>
<i> caused so much damage?</i>

68
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<i> It can't be a shell.</i>

69
00:07:01,889 --> 00:07:08,443
<i> The svenner is beyond the</i>
<i> range of german artillery.</i>

70
00:07:08,479 --> 00:07:10,479
<i> And it can't be a bomb.</i>

71
00:07:10,514 --> 00:07:15,333
<i> The allies completely dominate</i>
<i> the air throughout d-day.</i>

72
00:07:21,041 --> 00:07:27,045
<i> But returning to the scan data,</i>
<i> the survey team has a theory.</i>

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Sauvage: You can see that the
ship was violently broken into,

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Because two parts have sunk
in two different orientations.

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So that really is the impact
of a torpedo explosion.

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<i> Narrator: If it was a torpedo,</i>
<i> does that mean a hidden u-boat</i>

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<i> Managed to penetrate</i>
<i> allied defenses?</i>

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<i> To find the answer,</i>
<i> the team must dig deeper</i>

79
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<i> Into the secret history</i>
<i> of d-day itself.</i>

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<i> Historian nick hewitt</i>
<i> visits suffolk house,</i>

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<i> Headquarters of d-day</i>
<i> commander, dwight eisenhower.</i>

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Nicholas: This room
was the nerve centre
of a huge operation.

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It was planned all over the uk,
all over the world, actually,

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And it was two years
in the making,

85
00:08:17,814 --> 00:08:21,933
And this map is the very
map used by eisenhower
and his senior commanders

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00:08:21,969 --> 00:08:24,803
To make it all happen.

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The key elements that could
be controlled were when it
was going to happen

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And precisely where it
was going to happen.

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<i> Narrator: But the only way</i>
<i> this plan could work is if the</i>
<i> germans never learn of it.</i>

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<i> To divert attention the</i>
<i> allies leak fake plans.</i>

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Prof grove: We had to
keep the germans
guessing, which we did,

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00:08:45,142 --> 00:08:47,943
By an enormously
successful deception plan,

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Which meant the germans
didn't know, were we going
to land in norway perhaps?

94
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Were we going to land
just across the channel?

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00:08:53,850 --> 00:08:57,936
That was a vital part
of the operation.

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<i> Narrator: Hitler's</i>
<i> defense against invasion</i>
<i> is the atlantic wall.</i>

97
00:09:03,377 --> 00:09:09,714
<i> A vast network of bunkers,</i>
<i> pillboxes and artillery</i>
<i> positions lining the coast</i>

98
00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:12,267
<i> From Spain to norway.</i>

99
00:09:16,306 --> 00:09:22,477
<i> He believes the allies will</i> <i>e</i>
<i> coast of the english channel.</i>

100
00:09:22,512 --> 00:09:26,615
<i> And orders field marshall</i>
<i> erwin rommel to stop them.</i>

101
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<i> Influenced by the</i>
<i> allied deception plan,</i>

102
00:09:37,978 --> 00:09:45,200
<i> So concentrates his forces and</i>
<i> heavy artillery at calais,</i>
<i> cherbourg, and le havre.Port.</i>

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00:09:45,235 --> 00:09:50,572
<i> So when the invasion fleet</i>
<i> targets the beaches of normandy</i>
<i> along the bay of the seine,</i>

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<i> The most powerful</i>
<i> german defenses are</i>
<i> in the wrong place.</i>

105
00:09:59,516 --> 00:10:02,601
<i> And there is not a</i>
<i> single u-boat nearby.</i>

106
00:10:11,011 --> 00:10:17,999
<i> So if the svenner was blown</i>
<i> apart by a torpedo, it can't</i>
<i> have come from a u-boat.</i>

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00:10:18,035 --> 00:10:25,273
<i> The survey team dig deeper</i>
<i> and uncover another suspect.</i>

108
00:10:25,309 --> 00:10:30,879
Nicholas: By June 1944,
the german navy is almost
finished as a fighting force,

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00:10:30,914 --> 00:10:36,468
But they do have the number
of small warships, operated
by actually incredibly

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00:10:36,503 --> 00:10:41,339
Well-trained and
courageous crews.

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00:10:41,375 --> 00:10:46,144
<i> Narrator: Small warships</i>
<i> like these, torpedo boats.</i>

112
00:10:46,179 --> 00:10:48,380
<i> They pack a real punch.</i>

113
00:10:48,415 --> 00:10:52,267
<i> With six torpedo tubes and</i>
<i> two anti-aircraft guns,</i>

114
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<i> Maneuverable and sleek</i>

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00:10:55,806 --> 00:10:59,374
<i> They can reach a top</i>
<i> speed of 35 knots.</i>

116
00:11:00,811 --> 00:11:03,111
<i> Perfect for a hit and run.</i>

117
00:11:07,501 --> 00:11:11,269
<i> And there's a flotilla</i>
<i> of them in le havre.</i>

118
00:11:11,304 --> 00:11:14,506
<i> Just 20 miles away</i>
<i> from the d-day fleet.</i>

119
00:11:18,512 --> 00:11:24,132
<i> Now, using all their research,</i>
<i> and details from the drained</i>
<i> wreck of the warship,</i>

120
00:11:24,167 --> 00:11:28,803
<i> The team can reconstruct</i>
<i> exactly what happened to</i>
<i> the svenner.</i>

121
00:11:35,412 --> 00:11:40,732
<i> Just before dawn, the</i>
<i> fifth torpedo boat flotilla</i>
<i> is ordered to attack.</i>

122
00:11:42,836 --> 00:11:48,623
<i> A force of just four</i>
<i> boats will challenge a</i>
<i> thousand allied warships.</i>

123
00:11:52,112 --> 00:11:56,381
<i> Out of the blue, the t-boats</i>
<i> approach the invasion fleet.</i>

124
00:11:59,503 --> 00:12:03,104
<i> The allies he laid</i>
<i> a dense smoke screen.</i>

125
00:12:03,140 --> 00:12:06,541
<i> The t-boat crews use</i>
<i> it to their advantage.</i>

126
00:12:08,545 --> 00:12:12,447
<i> They get close enough</i>
<i> to fire 18 torpedoes.</i>

127
00:12:14,301 --> 00:12:20,972
<i> Each packed with 600 pounds</i>
<i> of explosive, enough to</i>
<i> cripple the biggest warship.</i>

128
00:12:22,943 --> 00:12:27,278
<i> But now, the smokescreen</i>
<i> helps the allies.</i>

129
00:12:27,314 --> 00:12:31,900
<i> The t-boats are firing blind.</i>

130
00:12:31,935 --> 00:12:35,703
<i> 17 torpedoes miss their mark.</i>

131
00:12:37,674 --> 00:12:43,278
<i> Leaving just one that runs</i>
<i> straight into the svenner.</i>

132
00:12:48,668 --> 00:12:55,540
<i> 186 crewmen swim to safety,</i>
<i> but 33 go down with the ship.</i>

133
00:13:05,068 --> 00:13:09,471
<i> The haunting remains of</i>
<i> the vessel stand as</i>
<i> brutal testimony</i>

134
00:13:09,506 --> 00:13:13,908
<i> To the deadly power of</i>
<i> a german t-1 torpedo.</i>

135
00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,814
<i> But the nazis are</i>
<i> so unprepared,</i>

136
00:13:19,850 --> 00:13:24,702
<i> That this is their</i>
<i> only success at sea</i>
<i> throughout d-day.</i>

137
00:13:26,406 --> 00:13:30,008
Prof grove: The fact that the
germans are able to inflict
only this single loss

138
00:13:30,043 --> 00:13:33,745
Demonstrates that the
defenses that had
been planned

139
00:13:33,780 --> 00:13:36,581
For the landings were
very, very successful.

140
00:13:36,616 --> 00:13:41,503
It was now up to the army
alone and the army would
have a difficult job.

141
00:13:44,241 --> 00:13:47,809
<i> Narrator: The battle for the</i>
<i> beaches is about to begin.</i>

142
00:13:47,844 --> 00:13:50,979
<i> All of them packed</i>
<i> with defenses.</i>

143
00:13:51,014 --> 00:13:54,666
<i> Pillboxes, barbed wire,</i>
<i> machine gun posts.</i>

144
00:13:57,704 --> 00:14:02,240
<i> As the waters along the</i>
<i> normandy coastline</i>
<i> continue to recede,</i>

145
00:14:02,275 --> 00:14:05,777
<i> They reveal strange</i>
<i> objects on the sea floor.</i>

146
00:14:06,847 --> 00:14:13,501
<i> What can they tell us of</i>
<i> allied plans to confront the</i>
<i> terrifying challenge ahead?</i>

147
00:14:25,749 --> 00:14:29,333
<i> The naval guns fall silent.</i>

148
00:14:29,336 --> 00:14:35,840
<i> More than 100,000 highly</i>
<i> trained troops are ready</i>
<i> to storm fortress europe.</i>

149
00:14:37,978 --> 00:14:42,347
<i> 23,000 americans approach the</i>
<i> most western of the beaches.</i>

150
00:14:42,382 --> 00:14:45,767
<i> Codename utah.</i>

151
00:14:45,802 --> 00:14:49,203
<i> But their plan</i>
<i> immediately unravels.</i>

152
00:14:49,239 --> 00:14:54,309
<i> Strong currents push them</i>
<i> more than a mile from their</i>
<i> designated landing zone.</i>

153
00:14:57,447 --> 00:15:02,700
<i> And yet, for many, this</i>
<i> turns into a stroke of luck.</i>

154
00:15:02,736 --> 00:15:07,872
<i> Led by brigadier general</i>
<i> theodore roosevelt, son</i>
<i> of the former president,</i>

155
00:15:07,908 --> 00:15:14,512
<i> They land in an area</i>
<i> between two german strong</i>
<i> points, an enemy blind spot.</i>

156
00:15:18,735 --> 00:15:21,936
Dr delgado: When they
come ashore, they realize
they're in the wrong spot,

157
00:15:21,972 --> 00:15:26,441
But it turns out to
be the right spot, because
there's less germans there.

158
00:15:26,476 --> 00:15:29,544
And so theodore roosevelt
jr in command, simply stops,

159
00:15:29,579 --> 00:15:32,847
Plants his flag and says,
the war starts here.

160
00:15:38,872 --> 00:15:42,974
<i> Narrator: Roosevelt's</i>
<i> men outflank the</i>
<i> german positions.</i>

161
00:15:43,026 --> 00:15:48,379
<i> And soon control</i>
<i> the beach head.</i>

162
00:15:48,415 --> 00:15:55,036
<i> But a mile and half off shore,</i>
<i> the survey team discovers</i>
<i> something surprising.</i>

163
00:15:56,706 --> 00:16:00,274
<i> Strange shapes</i>
<i> on the sea bed.</i>

164
00:16:00,310 --> 00:16:06,014
<i> It looks like some</i>
<i> allied units never</i>
<i> reached utah beach</i> .

165
00:16:06,049 --> 00:16:08,900
Andy: Looks like three
different vehicles of
some sort,

166
00:16:08,935 --> 00:16:12,870
Like potentially an
upside-down tank here.

167
00:16:12,906 --> 00:16:15,373
And then this vehicle's a bit
more difficult to determine

168
00:16:15,408 --> 00:16:18,209
What it is and so we'll try
to take a close look at that.

169
00:16:26,336 --> 00:16:28,086
<i> Narrator: Divers</i>
<i> go to investigate</i>

170
00:16:34,611 --> 00:16:37,478
<i> And find the wrecks</i>
<i> heavily encrusted.</i>

171
00:16:40,316 --> 00:16:43,434
<i> They spot what could</i>
<i> be tank tracks.</i>

172
00:16:45,205 --> 00:16:46,804
<i> And a gun barrel.</i>

173
00:16:49,676 --> 00:16:53,211
<i> But visibility is too</i>
<i> poor to identify them.</i>

174
00:16:54,247 --> 00:16:57,382
<i> There is one way</i>
<i> to see clearly.</i>

175
00:16:59,836 --> 00:17:06,007
<i> Combine visual clues with</i>
<i> the teams 3d scan data and</i>
<i> drain millions of gallons</i>

176
00:17:06,042 --> 00:17:08,443
<i> Of sea water away.</i>

177
00:17:10,613 --> 00:17:17,268
<i> As the waves recede, they</i>
<i> gradually reveal a cluster</i>
<i> of military vehicles.</i>

178
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,875
<i> But the puzzle only deepens.</i>

179
00:17:23,910 --> 00:17:29,147
<i> They have gun barrels, and</i>
<i> a turret set to one side.</i>

180
00:17:34,571 --> 00:17:40,575
<i> They've got tracks,</i>
<i> heavy armor.</i>

181
00:17:40,610 --> 00:17:43,177
<i> They look like tanks.</i>

182
00:17:44,547 --> 00:17:47,582
<i> But this isn't a tank gun.</i>

183
00:17:47,617 --> 00:17:52,136
<i> It's more like the cannon</i>
<i> of field artillery.</i>

184
00:17:52,172 --> 00:17:54,605
<i> So what are they?</i>

185
00:18:01,681 --> 00:18:05,233
<i> The team examines specialized</i>
<i> allied weapons designed</i>

186
00:18:05,268 --> 00:18:08,469
<i> For the unique challenge</i>
<i> of this terrain.</i>

187
00:18:08,505 --> 00:18:12,140
<i> And focus on close</i>
<i> support artillery.</i>

188
00:18:15,578 --> 00:18:22,366
<i> In world war two, artillery</i>
<i> is normally pulled by men,</i>
<i> vehicles or horses,</i>

189
00:18:22,402 --> 00:18:26,370
<i> But in sand and water,</i>
<i> this won't work.</i>

190
00:18:26,406 --> 00:18:32,710
<i> So, to support the</i>
<i> infantry on the beaches</i>
<i> the allies deploy these.</i>

191
00:18:38,067 --> 00:18:40,935
<i> M7 priest guns.</i>

192
00:18:40,970 --> 00:18:43,938
<i> Artillery that</i>
<i> transports itself.</i>

193
00:18:45,375 --> 00:18:51,813
<i> 105mm howizer mounted on the</i>
<i> chassis of an m4 sherman tank.</i>

194
00:18:53,783 --> 00:19:01,239
<i> A tank fires in a flat</i>
<i> trajectory, so the target</i>
<i> must be in its line of sight,</i>

195
00:19:01,274 --> 00:19:08,479
<i> But a howitzer fires</i>
<i> in an arc to lob shells</i>
<i> up and over obstacles.</i>

196
00:19:08,515 --> 00:19:12,366
<i> Perfect for enemy</i>
<i> positions high above</i>
<i> the normandy beaches.</i>

197
00:19:18,074 --> 00:19:24,312
<i> More research reveals that the</i>
<i> americans have 30 priest guns</i>
<i> ready to land on utah beach,</i>

198
00:19:24,347 --> 00:19:28,766
<i> Carried on amphibious</i>
<i> landing craft.</i>

199
00:19:28,801 --> 00:19:32,970
<i> Accounts from the day suggest</i>
<i> only 27 make it to shore.</i>

200
00:19:41,881 --> 00:19:47,401
<i> Archaeologist, james</i>
<i> delgado, thinks that these</i>
<i> could be the missing three,</i>

201
00:19:47,437 --> 00:19:52,039
<i> But they're nowhere near</i>
<i> their landing craft, which</i>
<i> means whatever happened</i>

202
00:19:52,075 --> 00:19:56,077
<i> Was so violent, it threw</i>
<i> the priest guns clear.</i>

203
00:19:58,181 --> 00:20:02,733
<i> What nazi weapon was</i>
<i> powerful enough to do that?</i>

204
00:20:02,769 --> 00:20:04,502
<i> He has a theory.</i>

205
00:20:06,339 --> 00:20:11,509
Dr delgado: This entire
50 mile long section of the
coastline had been fortified.

206
00:20:11,544 --> 00:20:16,247
Rommel had anticipated
scattering some 50
million mines,

207
00:20:16,282 --> 00:20:21,702
He was only able to deploy 20
million mines, but just the
same, if you consider that,

208
00:20:21,738 --> 00:20:23,905
It just boggles the mind.

209
00:20:26,342 --> 00:20:30,912
<i> Narrator: The night before</i>
<i> d-day, around 300 allied</i>
<i> minesweepers</i>

210
00:20:30,947 --> 00:20:36,167
<i> Carefully clear channels</i>
<i> to each of the five</i>
<i> landing zones.</i>

211
00:20:36,202 --> 00:20:40,905
<i> The invading fleet should have</i>
<i> a clear run to the beaches.</i>

212
00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:43,574
<i> So what happened to</i>
<i> the three priest guns?</i>

213
00:20:48,248 --> 00:20:50,748
<i> The survey team</i>
<i> spots something else.</i>

214
00:20:54,387 --> 00:20:59,440
<i> Plotting the precise</i>
<i> co-ordinates of the guns,</i>
<i> places them well off course.</i>

215
00:21:03,746 --> 00:21:07,348
<i> Their landing craft</i>
<i> has strayed out of</i>
<i> the clear channels</i>

216
00:21:07,383 --> 00:21:10,601
<i> And drifted into an</i>
<i> uncleared minefield.</i>

217
00:21:14,274 --> 00:21:18,776
<i> The same shifting</i>
<i> currents that so helped</i>
<i> roosevelt's infantry,</i>

218
00:21:18,811 --> 00:21:20,811
<i> Push it into deadly waters.</i>

219
00:21:25,735 --> 00:21:28,202
<i> The huge power of</i>
<i> rommel's sea mines</i>

220
00:21:34,177 --> 00:21:36,644
<i> Explains why the priest</i>
<i> guns were thrown</i>

221
00:21:36,679 --> 00:21:38,646
<i> Far from their landing craft.</i>

222
00:21:42,935 --> 00:21:48,572
<i> The bodies of the seven men</i>
<i> crew may still be inside</i>
<i> each of these vehicles.</i>

223
00:21:48,608 --> 00:21:53,744
<i> A haunting reminder of</i>
<i> the human cost of d-day.</i>

224
00:22:00,937 --> 00:22:05,573
<i> At utah, this is one of</i>
<i> the few allied set-backs.</i>

225
00:22:05,608 --> 00:22:10,244
<i> Roosevelt's men take the beach</i>
<i> head with just 200 casualties,</i>

226
00:22:10,279 --> 00:22:14,582
<i> But 15 miles along the coast</i>
<i> other young american soldiers</i>

227
00:22:14,617 --> 00:22:21,205
<i> Are struggling in the</i>
<i> terrifying bloodbath</i>
<i> of omaha beach.</i>

228
00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:25,843
<i> Ten times more men</i>
<i> die here than at utah.</i>

229
00:22:25,878 --> 00:22:27,378
<i> But why?</i>

230
00:22:31,084 --> 00:22:38,873
<i> The survey team think they've</i>
<i> found a clue amid a twisted</i>
<i> mass of metal on the sea floor.</i>

231
00:22:38,908 --> 00:22:43,811
<i> As the once</i>
<i> blood-stained waters of</i>
<i> omaha beach drain away,</i>

232
00:22:43,846 --> 00:22:47,281
<i> Can this astonishing new</i>
<i> discovery shed light</i>

233
00:22:47,316 --> 00:22:50,601
<i> On d-day's deadliest</i>
<i> battlefield?</i>

234
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:09,904
<i> After two hours of fighting</i>
<i> on omaha beach the allied</i>
<i> plan is falling apart.</i>

235
00:23:09,939 --> 00:23:13,974
<i> Troops are pinned</i>
<i> to the shore.</i>

236
00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:19,013
<i> 2,000 dead and injured</i>
<i> soldiers litter these sands.</i>

237
00:23:22,235 --> 00:23:26,203
<i> It's the bloodiest</i>
<i> engagement of d-day, but why?</i>

238
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:39,633
<i> The survey team is eight</i>
<i> miles off shore, looking</i>
<i> for clues on the seabed.</i>

239
00:23:42,672 --> 00:23:47,908
<i> When their scanner picks</i>
<i> up an unusual outline.</i>

240
00:23:47,944 --> 00:23:50,277
Christopher: We do have a
definite flat bottom boat

241
00:23:50,313 --> 00:23:53,681
With a substantial amount
of damage in one corner

242
00:23:53,716 --> 00:23:56,467
And the front is
missing entirely.

243
00:23:59,572 --> 00:24:02,840
<i> Narrator: Divers</i>
<i> take a closer look.</i>

244
00:24:04,343 --> 00:24:10,181
<i> Visibility is poor,</i>
<i> just six or seven feet</i>

245
00:24:10,216 --> 00:24:15,803
<i> But, it's immediately clear</i>
<i> that whatever it is, it's</i>
<i> taken a hell of a beating.</i>

246
00:24:17,006 --> 00:24:20,541
<i> There are bullet</i>
<i> holes everywhere</i>
<i> and that's not all.</i>

247
00:24:45,101 --> 00:24:52,940
<i> Narrator: Mangled beyond</i>
<i> recognition, the team</i>
<i> has no idea what it is.</i>

248
00:24:52,975 --> 00:24:56,977
<i> But the multi-beam scanner</i>
<i> has captured every detail.</i>

249
00:24:58,314 --> 00:25:03,434
<i> Using that data, we can</i>
<i> drain away the waters</i>
<i> of omaha beach,</i>

250
00:25:03,469 --> 00:25:06,637
<i> To reveal a twisted</i>
<i> mass of metal.</i>

251
00:25:12,111 --> 00:25:18,933
<i> It's lying upside down, making</i>
<i> it even harder to identify.</i>

252
00:25:18,968 --> 00:25:24,471
<i> But, by using the scan</i>
<i> data, we can raise and</i>
<i> rotate the wreck,</i>

253
00:25:24,507 --> 00:25:30,044
<i> Exposing the very topside for</i>
<i> the first time in 75 years.</i>

254
00:25:31,948 --> 00:25:35,966
<i> Now, the team think</i>
<i> they know what it is.</i>

255
00:25:38,104 --> 00:25:43,741
<i> An lci, landing craft</i>
<i> infantry, one of the</i>
<i> workhorses of d-day.</i>

256
00:25:54,804 --> 00:25:58,072
<i> They compare their data</i>
<i> with u.S. Navy records</i>

257
00:25:58,107 --> 00:26:00,407
<i> And make a huge</i>
<i> breakthrough.</i>

258
00:26:02,111 --> 00:26:08,265
<i> They believe it is lci 85.</i>

259
00:26:08,301 --> 00:26:14,705
<i> Can it help us understand</i>
<i> just why omaha beach</i>
<i> was d-day's bloodiest?</i>

260
00:26:20,379 --> 00:26:23,847
<i> It's clearly been at</i>
<i> the heart of the battle.</i>

261
00:26:23,883 --> 00:26:28,369
<i> Its bow is blown clean off.</i>

262
00:26:28,404 --> 00:26:36,043
<i> It's covered in bullet</i>
<i> holes and shrapnel damage</i>
<i> from exploding shells.</i>

263
00:26:36,078 --> 00:26:42,566
<i> Ragged and twisted</i>
<i> metal here suggests a</i>
<i> devastating explosion.</i>

264
00:26:42,602 --> 00:26:47,438
<i> The damage on lci 85 reveals</i>
<i> the power of german weapons</i>

265
00:26:47,473 --> 00:26:51,008
<i> Unleashed upon the americans</i>
<i> as they tried to land.</i>

266
00:26:55,281 --> 00:26:58,499
<i> And there is other</i>
<i> evidence too.</i>

267
00:26:58,534 --> 00:27:05,639
<i> The team unearth first</i>
<i> hand accounts from men who</i>
<i> served on lci85 that day,</i>

268
00:27:05,675 --> 00:27:12,613
<i> Including commanding</i>
<i> officer coit hendley and</i>
<i> lieutenant arthur farrar</i>

269
00:27:12,648 --> 00:27:17,835
<i> Now it's possible to</i>
<i> convey what happened</i>
<i> in terrifying detail.</i>

270
00:27:24,377 --> 00:27:26,844
<i> Allied troops have been</i>
<i> landing for two hours.</i>

271
00:27:31,117 --> 00:27:36,670
<i> But omaha with its high</i>
<i> cliffs is the most heavily</i>
<i> defended of all the beaches,</i>

272
00:27:36,706 --> 00:27:40,407
<i> And the americans are pinned</i>
<i> down under heavy fire.</i>

273
00:27:42,244 --> 00:27:48,382
<i> Lci 85 approaches the</i>
<i> beach with much needed</i>
<i> reinforcements.</i>

274
00:27:48,417 --> 00:27:54,271
<i> Lieutenant farrar must</i>
<i> get the 188 troops on</i>
<i> board quickly to shore.</i>

275
00:27:56,909 --> 00:27:59,309
<i> His problems</i>
<i> start immediately</i>

276
00:28:01,247 --> 00:28:03,280
Arthur: The path 50 yards wide
was supposed to be cleared

277
00:28:03,315 --> 00:28:05,899
Through the underwater
obstacles.

278
00:28:05,935 --> 00:28:10,037
We found it near to 10
yards wide and only
partially cleared.

279
00:28:12,375 --> 00:28:15,376
<i> Narrator: Blocked by an</i>
<i> uncleared mine field,</i>

280
00:28:15,411 --> 00:28:21,515
<i> Lci 85 is pounded by</i>
<i> shell after shell,</i>
<i> fired from the cliffs.</i>

281
00:28:27,106 --> 00:28:32,776
<i> Under a hail of bullets,</i>
<i> the commanding officer</i>
<i> tries another route.</i>

282
00:28:32,812 --> 00:28:36,180
Arthur: We then tried ramming
through the obstacles about

283
00:28:36,215 --> 00:28:38,348
200 yards to the right
of our assigned place.

284
00:28:41,704 --> 00:28:46,540
<i> Narrator: But, as the lci</i>
<i> grounds, it immediately</i>
<i> hits a mine.</i>

285
00:28:51,614 --> 00:28:55,632
<i> It starts to sink, but</i>
<i> is close enough to</i>
<i> shore for 50 men</i>

286
00:28:55,668 --> 00:28:57,868
<i> To scramble</i>
<i> towards the beach.</i>

287
00:28:59,472 --> 00:29:05,309
<i> Then another direct hit</i>
<i> from a german shell smashes</i>
<i> the landing ramps to pieces.</i>

288
00:29:10,850 --> 00:29:14,201
Hendley: We could
hear the scream of men
through the voice tube,

289
00:29:14,236 --> 00:29:15,803
Unloading had to be stopped,

290
00:29:15,838 --> 00:29:19,640
Because the living could
not climb over the dead.

291
00:29:19,675 --> 00:29:24,745
The deck was so slick with
blood and cluttered with
bits of flesh and dead,

292
00:29:24,780 --> 00:29:29,800
And mutilated men that it was
difficult to move from one
part of the ship to another.

293
00:29:31,704 --> 00:29:35,439
<i> Narrator: And we don't</i>
<i> only have the words of</i>
<i> eye witnesses.</i>

294
00:29:35,474 --> 00:29:40,944
<i> Extraordinarily, the team</i>
<i> discover color footage too.</i>

295
00:29:40,980 --> 00:29:47,334
<i> The courage and carnage on</i>
<i> board lci 85 is captured</i>
<i> by a combat camera team</i>

296
00:29:47,369 --> 00:29:49,136
<i> At the height of the battle.</i>

297
00:29:50,706 --> 00:29:56,610
<i> Here, filming the bodies</i>
<i> of the dead, and the</i>
<i> injured awaiting rescue.</i>

298
00:29:58,581 --> 00:30:02,733
<i> Shot in the leg, lieutenant</i>
<i> farrar is one of the wounded.</i>

299
00:30:02,768 --> 00:30:08,605
<i> He watches as his remaining</i>
<i> troops board another landing</i>
<i> craft and attempt once more</i>

300
00:30:08,641 --> 00:30:11,241
<i> To reach their comrades</i>
<i> on the beach.</i>

301
00:30:13,078 --> 00:30:19,933
<i> Astonishingly, 93</i>
<i> of them make it.</i>

302
00:30:19,969 --> 00:30:23,604
<i> But lci 85 is now</i>
<i> barely afloat.</i>

303
00:30:28,010 --> 00:30:32,846
<i> Her crew take the decision</i>
<i> to scuttle her, by setting</i>
<i> off an explosive charge.</i>

304
00:30:46,378 --> 00:30:52,933
<i> The drained wreck of lci</i>
<i> 85 is testimony to the</i>
<i> horror of omaha beach.</i>

305
00:30:54,036 --> 00:31:00,340
<i> The allied bombardment has</i>
<i> failed to take out any of</i>
<i> over 40 enemy strong points,</i>

306
00:31:00,376 --> 00:31:06,647
<i> Leaving men who try to land</i>
<i> here facing shell fire.</i>

307
00:31:06,682 --> 00:31:10,634
<i> Machine guns.</i>

308
00:31:10,669 --> 00:31:13,036
<i> And unswept mines.</i>

309
00:31:16,075 --> 00:31:22,512
<i> Finally, for those who</i>
<i> do reach the beach, a</i>
<i> new kind of hell awaits.</i>

310
00:31:27,236 --> 00:31:30,904
Dr delgado: In this
beach, men are being mowed
down with erupting fire,

311
00:31:30,940 --> 00:31:35,075
With shrapnel flying everywhere.

312
00:31:35,110 --> 00:31:39,580
And men are hunkered down and
they're waiting, as engineers
try to advance to clear mines

313
00:31:39,615 --> 00:31:43,634
And to take out pillboxes,
and it takes some time.

314
00:31:43,669 --> 00:31:46,203
And as that happens,
the casualties mount,

315
00:31:46,238 --> 00:31:49,840
Making this the bloodiest
beach on d-day.

316
00:31:54,213 --> 00:32:00,067
<i> Narrator: Securing omaha costs</i>
<i> over 2,400 american lives.</i>

317
00:32:00,102 --> 00:32:03,103
<i> It's the last of the</i>
<i> five beaches to fall.</i>

318
00:32:05,140 --> 00:32:08,575
<i> But the allies cannot rest.</i>

319
00:32:08,611 --> 00:32:12,045
<i> The must now prepare for the</i>
<i> inevitable counter attack.</i>

320
00:32:13,148 --> 00:32:18,936
<i> And that means landing</i>
<i> thousands of tons of</i>
<i> supplies every day.</i>

321
00:32:18,971 --> 00:32:22,306
<i> With no ports, it's</i>
<i> a huge challenge.</i>

322
00:32:27,046 --> 00:32:32,332
<i> The survey team is to the east</i>
<i> of omaha, near to juno beach.</i>

323
00:32:32,368 --> 00:32:38,071
<i> They detect a new wreck, it's</i>
<i> huge and it's in pieces.</i>

324
00:32:38,107 --> 00:32:43,477
<i> What can this shattered</i>
<i> warship reveal about a</i>
<i> desperate nazi attempt</i>

325
00:32:43,512 --> 00:32:46,713
<i> To stop the allies in</i>
<i> their tracks?</i>

326
00:32:58,377 --> 00:33:01,778
<i> D-day plus two.</i>

327
00:33:01,814 --> 00:33:10,737
<i> Over 4,000 allied troops have</i>
<i> died to claim the five beaches,</i>
<i> but 130,000 are now on shore.</i>

328
00:33:10,773 --> 00:33:16,677
<i> Another 700,000 are ready</i>
<i> to land, along with vast</i>
<i> quantities of vehicles,</i>

329
00:33:16,712 --> 00:33:21,815
<i> Fuel, ammunition and food.</i>

330
00:33:21,850 --> 00:33:25,769
<i> The battle to resupply</i>
<i> the bridgehead has begun.</i>

331
00:33:33,846 --> 00:33:39,066
<i> These vital operations are</i>
<i> coordinated from specially</i>
<i> adapted warships.</i>

332
00:33:43,072 --> 00:33:47,574
<i> For juno beach, that</i>
<i> ship is hms lawford.</i>

333
00:33:51,613 --> 00:33:54,548
<i> Equipped with powerful</i>
<i> anti-aircraft guns,</i>

334
00:33:54,583 --> 00:33:58,668
<i> And state of the art</i>
<i> submarine hunting technology,</i>

335
00:33:58,704 --> 00:34:02,272
<i> She's one of the most</i>
<i> up-to-date ships in</i>
<i> the royal navy.</i>

336
00:34:03,442 --> 00:34:05,909
Prof grove: Considerable
modifications made
to the superstructure,

337
00:34:05,944 --> 00:34:10,013
She was given a large
number of radars and
communications equipment,

338
00:34:10,049 --> 00:34:12,415
And she was converted into a
very significant command ship.

339
00:34:16,705 --> 00:34:22,709
<i> Narrator: In the quiet of</i>
<i> the morning, hms lawford</i>
<i> is already hard at work.</i>

340
00:34:22,745 --> 00:34:28,081
<i> The allies have secured</i>
<i> the coast, the enemy</i>
<i> is nowhere in sight.</i>

341
00:34:28,117 --> 00:34:30,967
<i> When suddenly, there's</i>
<i> a huge explosion.</i>

342
00:34:38,210 --> 00:34:42,612
<i> And a short time later,</i>
<i> hms lawford is gone.</i>

343
00:34:44,316 --> 00:34:46,233
<i> The allies are dumb-struck.</i>

344
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:05,235
<i> The mystery of the lawford</i>
<i> makes her a priority</i>
<i> for the survey team.</i>

345
00:35:05,270 --> 00:35:10,140
<i> When she's located, in</i>
<i> 70 feet of water,</i>

346
00:35:10,175 --> 00:35:14,010
<i> Divers go in,</i>

347
00:35:14,046 --> 00:35:15,645
<i> Looking for clues.</i>

348
00:35:17,883 --> 00:35:20,333
<i> James delgado runs the</i>
<i> dive from the bridge.</i>

349
00:35:26,809 --> 00:35:28,775
Dr delgado: Dan, dan, this
is topside. Do you read us?

350
00:35:35,634 --> 00:35:37,367
Dr delgado: And you're
able to look inside?

351
00:35:43,142 --> 00:35:46,042
<i> Narrator: The divers</i>
<i> inch their way through</i>
<i> the lawford's stern.</i>

352
00:35:57,573 --> 00:36:01,441
<i> Narrator: Exploring evidence</i>
<i> untouched for 75 years.</i>

353
00:36:17,576 --> 00:36:20,277
<i> Narrator: They discover</i>
<i> an unusual clue.</i>

354
00:36:20,312 --> 00:36:26,900
<i> A set of tubes, or narrow</i>
<i> gun barrels, their purpose</i>
<i> is another mystery.</i>

355
00:36:28,303 --> 00:36:30,904
<i> It's time to look</i>
<i> more closely.</i>

356
00:36:30,939 --> 00:36:35,909
<i> Combining the dive team's</i>
<i> findings with the latest</i>
<i> multi-beam scan data,</i>

357
00:36:35,944 --> 00:36:39,913
<i> We can start to remove the</i>
<i> waters off juno beach.</i>

358
00:36:48,273 --> 00:36:52,008
<i> As the bay of the</i>
<i> seine slowly empties.</i>

359
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,881
<i> It reveals a</i>
<i> shocking crime scene.</i>

360
00:37:03,705 --> 00:37:07,073
<i> The lawford is</i>
<i> in three pieces.</i>

361
00:37:07,109 --> 00:37:13,346
<i> The bow and the stern</i>
<i> are over 300 feet apart.</i>

362
00:37:13,382 --> 00:37:18,635
<i> A sea mine is unlikely</i>
<i> to cause this type of</i>
<i> shattering damage.</i>

363
00:37:20,272 --> 00:37:22,405
<i> So what could have?</i>

364
00:37:24,509 --> 00:37:32,332
<i> At the bow, the set of</i>
<i> tubes found by the divers is</i>
<i> revealed to be a hedgehog.</i>

365
00:37:32,367 --> 00:37:37,704
<i> A weapon system that can</i>
<i> fire 24 mortars at a time,</i>
<i> over attacking u-boats.</i>

366
00:37:50,769 --> 00:37:56,139
<i> But the hedgehog is not</i>
<i> loaded, it could be that the</i>
<i> mortars were fired too late</i>

367
00:37:56,174 --> 00:37:58,708
<i> To avert a sneak</i>
<i> torpedo attack.</i>

368
00:38:00,379 --> 00:38:03,513
<i> Or that is was never</i>
<i> loaded in the first place.</i>

369
00:38:04,883 --> 00:38:07,767
<i> But a torpedo seems unlikely.</i>

370
00:38:10,305 --> 00:38:15,408
<i> The allies had blocked</i>
<i> all u-boats from</i>
<i> the area since d-day.</i>

371
00:38:16,745 --> 00:38:21,081
<i> And the damage on the</i>
<i> wreck suggests something</i>
<i> more powerful than even</i>

372
00:38:21,116 --> 00:38:23,533
<i> The biggest german torpedo</i>

373
00:38:25,037 --> 00:38:29,973
<i> It's the kind of</i>
<i> damage expected from</i>
<i> a thousand pound bomb.</i>

374
00:38:30,008 --> 00:38:33,209
<i> A deadly payload delivered</i>
<i> by the luftwaffe.</i>

375
00:38:39,868 --> 00:38:46,773
<i> And yet, the allies still</i>
<i> have complete air cover.</i>

376
00:38:46,808 --> 00:38:50,276
<i> Back at the stern,</i>
<i> there's another clue.</i>

377
00:38:50,312 --> 00:38:57,667
<i> The boxes the dive team thought</i>
<i> were batteries are actually</i>
<i> full of unused ammunition.</i>

378
00:38:57,703 --> 00:39:01,705
<i> The lawford hasn't</i>
<i> even fired her guns.</i>

379
00:39:01,740 --> 00:39:05,542
<i> So whatever got her</i>
<i> was a total surprise.</i>

380
00:39:06,545 --> 00:39:11,881
<i> And was not spotted</i>
<i> by the ship's advanced</i>
<i> early warning systems.</i>

381
00:39:16,338 --> 00:39:21,307
<i> The team believe that</i>
<i> leaves only one suspect.</i>

382
00:39:21,343 --> 00:39:25,311
<i> A hi-tech nazi</i>
<i> wonder weapon.</i>

383
00:39:25,347 --> 00:39:32,001
<i> Developed in secret by</i>
<i> german scientists for</i>
<i> the past four years.</i>

384
00:39:32,037 --> 00:39:36,806
<i> A henschel hs 293</i>
<i> glide bomb.</i>

385
00:39:36,842 --> 00:39:39,376
Nicholas: It's what
in modern parlance is
called a stand-off bomb.

386
00:39:39,411 --> 00:39:44,214
They basically enable german
pilots to launch their weapon
out of range of anti-aircraft

387
00:39:44,249 --> 00:39:47,000
Gun fire, away from
marauding fighters,

388
00:39:47,035 --> 00:39:49,636
And they can launch these
bombs and guide them

389
00:39:49,671 --> 00:39:52,005
Into place through radio
control.

390
00:39:55,410 --> 00:40:00,613
<i> Narrator: Operated by</i>
<i> remote control, the</i>
<i> hs293 guided missile</i>

391
00:40:00,649 --> 00:40:03,133
<i> Is almost impossible to stop.</i>

392
00:40:04,302 --> 00:40:09,005
<i> And accurate enough to home in</i>
<i> on its target's weakest spot.</i>

393
00:40:17,816 --> 00:40:19,833
(explosion)

394
00:40:38,904 --> 00:40:45,909
<i> Aimed directly at the engine</i>
<i> room, the 1,100 pound bomb</i>

395
00:40:45,944 --> 00:40:51,047
<i> Causes a massive</i>
<i> internal explosion.</i>

396
00:40:51,082 --> 00:40:54,100
<i> Killing 37 men instantly.</i>

397
00:40:55,437 --> 00:40:58,872
<i> Hms lawford never</i>
<i> stood a chance.</i>

398
00:41:05,747 --> 00:41:10,800
<i> With the mystery solved,</i>
<i> it's clear that even</i>
<i> in the days after d-day,</i>

399
00:41:10,836 --> 00:41:15,405
<i> The fight for the normandy</i>
<i> coast is far from over.</i>

400
00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:20,777
<i> And even the most</i>
<i> powerful allied warships</i>
<i> remain at risk.</i>

401
00:41:22,781 --> 00:41:24,681
<i> Like this one.</i>

402
00:41:24,716 --> 00:41:29,736
<i> One of the titans of the</i>
<i> allied invasion force,</i>
<i> close to omaha beach.</i>

403
00:41:31,873 --> 00:41:35,875
<i> What sent this giant to</i>
<i> the bottom of the sea?</i>

404
00:41:50,942 --> 00:41:57,313
<i> The normandy coast is</i>
<i> under allied control.</i>

405
00:41:57,349 --> 00:42:02,435
<i> But driving hitler's</i>
<i> armies out of europe will</i>
<i> require millions of men</i>

406
00:42:02,470 --> 00:42:05,238
<i> And vast amounts</i>
<i> of supplies.</i>

407
00:42:08,677 --> 00:42:13,830
<i> Delivered by these, lsts</i>
<i> or landing ship tanks,</i>

408
00:42:13,865 --> 00:42:16,432
<i> The goliaths of the</i>
<i> invasion force,</i>

409
00:42:16,468 --> 00:42:20,436
<i> Each capable of carrying more</i>
<i> than 60 military vehicles.</i>

410
00:42:24,309 --> 00:42:32,015
<i> 75 years later, the survey</i>
<i> team is searching for evidence</i>
<i> of that supply operation.</i>

411
00:42:32,050 --> 00:42:38,004
<i> Six miles off omaha,</i>
<i> their scanner picks up</i>
<i> the large wreck of an lst.</i>

412
00:42:42,177 --> 00:42:49,632
<i> Cross-referencing its</i>
<i> location with navy records</i>
<i> gives it a number, 496.</i>

413
00:42:49,668 --> 00:42:53,503
<i> Now, they want to find</i>
<i> out what happened to it.</i>

414
00:43:02,380 --> 00:43:10,136
<i> Using the team's</i>
<i> precise 3d data, we can</i>
<i> drain away the water.</i>

415
00:43:10,171 --> 00:43:14,407
<i> To reveal the smashed remains</i>
<i> of a d-day heavyweight.</i>

416
00:43:18,046 --> 00:43:21,648
<i> It's an astonishing scene.</i>

417
00:43:21,683 --> 00:43:22,932
<i> Packed with clues.</i>

418
00:43:27,472 --> 00:43:29,072
<i> The bow is obliterated.</i>

419
00:43:33,178 --> 00:43:39,248
<i> Scattered all around,</i>
<i> the tanks and trucks it was</i>
<i> carrying towards omaha beach.</i>

420
00:43:46,541 --> 00:43:50,243
<i> The whole sight is</i>
<i> a catastrophic mass</i>
<i> of twisted metal.</i>

421
00:43:53,782 --> 00:43:56,299
<i> The ship is lying</i>
<i> upside down.</i>

422
00:43:56,334 --> 00:43:59,502
<i> A 40 foot hole ripped</i>
<i> through the hull.</i>

423
00:44:01,106 --> 00:44:06,743
<i> Likely too large for a</i>
<i> torpedo and too low</i>
<i> for a glide bomb.</i>

424
00:44:12,317 --> 00:44:15,134
<i> Piecing together the</i>
<i> evidence at the wreck site,</i>

425
00:44:15,170 --> 00:44:18,137
<i> Nick hewitt thinks he</i>
<i> knows what happened,</i>

426
00:44:18,173 --> 00:44:25,044
<i> An encounter with an</i>
<i> ingenious, but deadly weapon,</i>
<i> called an oyster mine.</i>

427
00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:28,681
Nicholas: So this is a sea
mine that responds to changes

428
00:44:28,717 --> 00:44:32,435
In water pressure caused by
passing ship and that is

429
00:44:32,470 --> 00:44:35,505
A weapon for which there is
absolutely no antidote.

430
00:44:38,877 --> 00:44:42,412
<i> Narrator: In a nighttime</i>
<i> stealth attack, fast</i>
<i> german vessels</i>

431
00:44:42,447 --> 00:44:48,234
<i> Called e-boats drop</i>
<i> oyster mines in allied</i>
<i> shipping lanes.</i>

432
00:44:48,269 --> 00:44:54,774
<i> Each one is packed</i>
<i> with around 1,500</i>
<i> pounds of explosive.</i>

433
00:44:54,809 --> 00:45:01,764
<i> They are set to detonate,</i>
<i> only when ships heavier than</i>
<i> minesweepers pass overhead,</i>

434
00:45:01,816 --> 00:45:04,467
<i> Making them near</i>
<i> impossible to detect.</i>

435
00:45:09,107 --> 00:45:18,147
<i> Lst 496, carrying over 60</i>
<i> tanks and trucks is heading</i>
<i> straight into danger.</i>

436
00:45:20,001 --> 00:45:25,071
<i> As it approaches omaha</i>
<i> beach, the downward pressure</i>
<i> of the hull triggers a mine.</i>

437
00:45:28,309 --> 00:45:32,945
<i> A huge explosion blows a hole</i>
<i> in midships on the port side.</i>

438
00:45:35,483 --> 00:45:42,271
<i> The power of the blast</i>
<i> is so great, it detonates</i>
<i> a second oyster mine.</i>

439
00:45:43,308 --> 00:45:47,710
<i> This time, the explosion</i>
<i> rips right through her hull.</i>

440
00:45:49,013 --> 00:45:51,013
<i> In just 40 minutes,</i>

441
00:45:51,049 --> 00:45:58,638
<i> Lst496 sinks to the sea</i>
<i> floor, taking her war</i>
<i> fighting cargo with her.</i>

442
00:46:01,242 --> 00:46:07,146
<i> And more american soldiers</i>
<i> and sailors join the list</i>
<i> of those who sacrificed</i>

443
00:46:07,182 --> 00:46:10,800
<i> Their lives to</i>
<i> liberate europe.</i>

444
00:46:18,042 --> 00:46:21,344
Dr delgado: Here
in the american cemetery
overlooking omaha beach,

445
00:46:21,379 --> 00:46:25,615
In the midst of these graves
of more than 9,000 men,

446
00:46:25,650 --> 00:46:30,203
75 years on, if the
question were to be asked,

447
00:46:30,238 --> 00:46:32,605
Was this sacrifice worth it?

448
00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:35,842
The answer would still
be a resounding yes.

449
00:46:35,877 --> 00:46:40,313
Because of what they did,
the new world arose,

450
00:46:40,348 --> 00:46:44,534
Embodying the ideals for which
these men fought and died.

451
00:46:44,569 --> 00:46:54,610
<i> (music)</i>

452
00:46:54,612 --> 00:47:21,671
<i> (music)</i>

453
00:47:21,706 --> 00:47:22,505
Captioned by subtitlepro llc