1
00:00:08,242 --> 00:00:12,945
<i> Narrator: Cold war</i>
<i> killing machines and</i>
<i> lethal nuclear weapons,</i>

2
00:00:16,550 --> 00:00:19,368
<i> Abandoned under our oceans.</i>

3
00:00:20,571 --> 00:00:22,838
James: The thought that
these doomsday weapons lie

4
00:00:22,873 --> 00:00:25,674
Down there in the
depths is frightening.

5
00:00:26,744 --> 00:00:28,711
<i> Narrator: The terrifying</i>
<i> reality has been hidden,</i>

6
00:00:30,715 --> 00:00:33,115
<i> The keys to the truth</i>
<i> of the cold war</i>

7
00:00:33,501 --> 00:00:37,836
<i> Lost under icy waters</i>
<i> for over half a century.</i>

8
00:00:41,909 --> 00:00:44,476
<i> Imagine if we could</i>
<i> empty the oceans,</i>

9
00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:51,700
<i> Letting the water drain</i>
<i> away to reveal the</i>
<i> secrets of the sea floor.</i>

10
00:00:53,204 --> 00:00:54,737
<i> Now we can...</i>

11
00:00:56,073 --> 00:01:00,776
<i> Using accurate data and</i>
<i> astonishing technology,</i>

12
00:01:02,646 --> 00:01:06,181
<i> To bring light once</i>
<i> again to a lost world.</i>

13
00:01:09,904 --> 00:01:15,007
<i> How did the cold war's most</i>
<i> advanced submarine end up</i>
<i> shattered on the sea floor?</i>

14
00:01:16,343 --> 00:01:18,444
Robert: A giant hand
had just crushed it.

15
00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,315
<i> Narrator: How close</i>
<i> does america come to</i>
<i> accidentally nuking europe?</i>

16
00:01:23,350 --> 00:01:25,834
Joe: There was this
terrible explosion.

17
00:01:27,505 --> 00:01:29,104
Big ball of flame.

18
00:01:29,140 --> 00:01:33,575
<i> Narrator: And who stole parts</i>
<i> of a secret soviet submarine?</i>

19
00:01:50,244 --> 00:01:52,578
<i> October, 1962.</i>

20
00:01:54,014 --> 00:01:57,866
<i> The united states and the</i>
<i> soviet union hit crisis point.</i>

21
00:01:57,902 --> 00:02:00,435
<i> Man (over pa):</i>
<i> This is a red alert. Repeat.</i>

22
00:02:00,471 --> 00:02:04,173
<i> Narrator: Moscow installs</i>
<i> nuclear missiles in cuba.</i>

23
00:02:07,978 --> 00:02:10,279
<i> President kennedy</i>
<i> issues an ultimatum;</i>

24
00:02:11,482 --> 00:02:14,766
<i> Withdraw the missiles</i>
<i> or it's war.</i>

25
00:02:14,802 --> 00:02:18,971
Kennedy: A poor retaliatory
response upon the soviet union.

26
00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,908
Vladislav: 31,000
nuclear devices.

27
00:02:23,811 --> 00:02:26,712
If it starts, the world
would go up in smoke.

28
00:02:26,747 --> 00:02:29,515
That's it. Crazy.

29
00:02:31,836 --> 00:02:33,735
<i> Narrator: The soviets back off.</i>

30
00:02:35,739 --> 00:02:41,210
<i> But the world remains</i>
<i> just one mistake away</i>
<i> from nuclear apocalypse.</i>

31
00:02:43,747 --> 00:02:48,066
<i> Many flash points</i>
<i> are hidden from view,</i>
<i> shrouded in secrecy.</i>

32
00:02:54,008 --> 00:02:59,244
<i> Now we can reveal just how</i>
<i> close we came to disaster.</i>

33
00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,506
<i> In the waters of</i>
<i> northern california</i>

34
00:03:13,911 --> 00:03:17,145
<i> A mysterious wreck</i>
<i> could reveal the truth about</i>

35
00:03:17,181 --> 00:03:21,300
<i> Top secret experiments at</i>
<i> the dawn of the cold war.</i>

36
00:03:24,805 --> 00:03:27,940
<i> A giant object has been</i>
<i> detected under these waters.</i>

37
00:03:29,843 --> 00:03:34,046
<i> Maritime archaeologist</i>
<i> doctor james delgado</i>
<i> wants to know more.</i>

38
00:03:36,383 --> 00:03:40,102
James: Mapping the seabed
outside the golden gate,
they found a big target,

39
00:03:40,137 --> 00:03:41,970
A very big target.

40
00:03:42,072 --> 00:03:43,272
Was it a ship?

41
00:03:43,307 --> 00:03:44,840
Was it something more?

42
00:03:44,875 --> 00:03:46,275
What brought this here?

43
00:03:46,310 --> 00:03:48,210
Why is it on the bottom?

44
00:03:49,847 --> 00:03:53,548
<i> Narrator: James hopes</i>
<i> the new find could solve</i>
<i> a cold war mystery.</i>

45
00:03:56,770 --> 00:04:00,439
<i> The location of a ship</i>
<i> lost for over 60 years.</i>

46
00:04:02,443 --> 00:04:07,145
<i> Uss independence,</i>
<i> a giant aircraft carrier.</i>

47
00:04:08,816 --> 00:04:13,135
James: Imagine the wreck of
an aircraft carrier as big as
this sitting on the bottom,

48
00:04:13,170 --> 00:04:15,537
Just off the coast
of san francisco,

49
00:04:15,572 --> 00:04:18,173
Unrevealed for so many years.

50
00:04:18,742 --> 00:04:20,375
It's powerful,
it's compelling.

51
00:04:28,702 --> 00:04:32,838
<i> Narrator: He sets</i>
<i> out to explore the</i>
<i> site with his team,</i>

52
00:04:36,310 --> 00:04:40,345
<i> Sending a remotely</i>
<i> operated vehicle, or rov,</i>

53
00:04:42,116 --> 00:04:43,932
<i> 2,600 feet down.</i>

54
00:04:50,574 --> 00:04:52,975
<i> A submerged beast.</i>

55
00:04:56,180 --> 00:04:57,813
James: You got to go a
little further, brother.

56
00:04:57,848 --> 00:04:59,815
A little more to the left.

57
00:05:01,335 --> 00:05:04,336
This is an area where we would
have had the name painted.

58
00:05:05,706 --> 00:05:08,407
There's the independence.

59
00:05:08,442 --> 00:05:09,408
You can see it.

60
00:05:09,443 --> 00:05:10,409
E-n-c-e.

61
00:05:10,444 --> 00:05:12,577
Yes! Yes!

62
00:05:15,816 --> 00:05:18,667
<i> Narrator: This carrier is a</i>
<i> hero of the second world war.</i>

63
00:05:20,804 --> 00:05:24,306
<i> It battled to recapture pacific</i>
<i> islands from the japanese.</i>

64
00:05:26,844 --> 00:05:28,410
<i> It survived all that,</i>

65
00:05:30,881 --> 00:05:33,548
<i> But it hasn't been seen</i>
<i> for over half a century.</i>

66
00:05:36,470 --> 00:05:39,404
<i> Why is it now sitting in</i>
<i> an unmarked location</i>

67
00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,341
<i> At the bottom of these</i>
<i> cool coastal waters?</i>

68
00:05:52,636 --> 00:05:54,870
<i> Using precision scan data,</i>

69
00:05:56,006 --> 00:06:01,977
<i> The waters roll back to</i>
<i> reveal a staggering sight.</i>

70
00:06:08,652 --> 00:06:11,503
<i> A world war ii colossus.</i>

71
00:06:28,105 --> 00:06:33,975
<i> It looks almost new,</i>
<i> but on the flight deck</i>
<i> there's evidence of damage,</i>

72
00:06:34,478 --> 00:06:37,412
<i> The surface torn,</i>
<i> buckled and bent,</i>

73
00:06:38,582 --> 00:06:41,633
<i> And one giant corner</i>
<i> punched in completely.</i>

74
00:06:44,104 --> 00:06:46,671
<i> On the hull, strange scars.</i>

75
00:06:49,109 --> 00:06:51,710
<i> Steel plate creased</i>
<i> like tin foil.</i>

76
00:06:57,734 --> 00:07:00,735
<i> On the control tower,</i>
<i> eerie details.</i>

77
00:07:02,539 --> 00:07:07,375
<i> Japanese flags were</i>
<i> painted on this kill board,</i>
<i> for every enemy unit destroyed.</i>

78
00:07:08,112 --> 00:07:11,213
<i> But now only white</i>
<i> paint remains.</i>

79
00:07:12,683 --> 00:07:15,100
James: Now this should be
painted in different colors.

80
00:07:15,135 --> 00:07:19,604
It should be red, for example,
but it's not here and that's
not age or sea water.

81
00:07:22,109 --> 00:07:24,976
<i> Narrator: What could have</i>
<i> caused such bizarre damage?</i>

82
00:07:27,848 --> 00:07:32,634
<i> James picks up on a trail of</i>
<i> evidence that leads him all</i>
<i> the way to the fiery dawn of</i>

83
00:07:32,669 --> 00:07:34,669
<i> The cold war.</i>

84
00:07:38,575 --> 00:07:42,344
<i> Bikini atoll, July 1946.</i>

85
00:07:43,747 --> 00:07:48,200
<i> Behind a ring of low</i>
<i> rise islands, nearly</i>
<i> 100 obsolete war ships</i>

86
00:07:48,235 --> 00:07:50,502
<i> Lie empty and abandoned.</i>

87
00:07:52,072 --> 00:07:55,006
<i> One of them is the</i>
<i> uss independence.</i>

88
00:07:57,211 --> 00:08:02,380
<i> This remote pacific</i>
<i> lagoon is america's</i>
<i> new atomic test arena.</i>

89
00:08:05,335 --> 00:08:10,138
<i> It's less than a year since</i>
<i> the first ever atom bomb</i>
<i> attacks on japan ended the</i>

90
00:08:10,174 --> 00:08:15,410
<i> Second world war,</i>
<i> and the us needs to</i>
<i> know more about what</i>

91
00:08:15,445 --> 00:08:18,046
<i> These terrifying</i>
<i> new weapons can do.</i>

92
00:08:19,516 --> 00:08:22,601
<i> On July 25th, at 8:35 am,</i>

93
00:08:28,642 --> 00:08:32,444
<i> The first ever test of an</i>
<i> atom bomb underwater.</i>

94
00:08:34,448 --> 00:08:38,567
<i> Two million tons of radioactive</i>
<i> seawater blasted into the air.</i>

95
00:08:40,871 --> 00:08:45,674
James: The bomb punches out of
the lagoon, with a heated core
hotter than the sun shooting

96
00:08:45,709 --> 00:08:47,242
Up through the heart of it.

97
00:08:47,911 --> 00:08:53,815
<i> Narrator: Also an airborne</i>
<i> detonation as big as the</i>
<i> bomb at nagasaki.</i>

98
00:08:56,103 --> 00:09:00,338
<i> A mile and a half</i>
<i> from the epicenter is</i>
<i> the uss independence.</i>

99
00:09:03,477 --> 00:09:09,714
<i> A blinding flash eradicates</i>
<i> her, instantly vaporizing the</i>
<i> red paint on the kill board.</i>

100
00:09:10,968 --> 00:09:13,101
James: The bursts not
only of light, but heat.

101
00:09:13,136 --> 00:09:16,771
Took away all the other
colors, leaving only
the white base coat.

102
00:09:17,608 --> 00:09:20,175
<i> Narrator: Then blast</i>
<i> waves rock the carrier,</i>

103
00:09:23,981 --> 00:09:25,880
<i> Shredding her flight deck,</i>

104
00:09:30,103 --> 00:09:32,470
<i> And washboarding the</i>
<i> steel around her hull.</i>

105
00:09:35,075 --> 00:09:39,311
James: This is all of those
thousands of pounds of air
or water coming right up

106
00:09:39,346 --> 00:09:45,300
Alongside the ship and
slamming into it, bending,
denting, rippling it.

107
00:09:46,503 --> 00:09:48,770
This is what an atomic
bomb does to a ship.

108
00:09:52,776 --> 00:09:56,611
<i> Narrator: The many</i>
<i> war ships destroyed at</i>
<i> bikini carry a message.</i>

109
00:09:57,247 --> 00:09:59,981
<i> This is the ture of warfare.</i>

110
00:10:02,369 --> 00:10:06,254
<i> With the soviet union</i>
<i> working around the clock</i>
<i> on an atom bomb of its own,</i>

111
00:10:10,444 --> 00:10:14,512
<i> An arms race like no</i>
<i> other will dominate</i>
<i> the decades to come.</i>

112
00:10:18,535 --> 00:10:21,903
<i> The drained wreck</i>
<i> of uss independence</i>
<i> can tell us more</i>

113
00:10:21,938 --> 00:10:24,472
<i> Of this shadowy confrontation,</i>

114
00:10:25,676 --> 00:10:29,010
<i> But first we need to</i>
<i> know why does she lie</i>

115
00:10:29,146 --> 00:10:32,414
<i> Not close to bikini,</i>
<i> but california?</i>

116
00:10:41,942 --> 00:10:44,943
Rthern california,

117
00:10:44,978 --> 00:10:47,512
<i> The wreck of the</i>
<i> uss independence.</i>

118
00:10:49,416 --> 00:10:55,070
<i> 4,500 miles away from</i>
<i> where she smashed by atomic</i>
<i> blasts at bikini atoll.</i>

119
00:10:58,141 --> 00:11:01,743
<i> How did she get here, and why?</i>

120
00:11:03,113 --> 00:11:06,281
<i> Can our immense drained</i>
<i> wreck provide a clue?</i>

121
00:11:07,668 --> 00:11:10,368
James: When you look at
all the damage brought
by the atomic bomb,

122
00:11:10,404 --> 00:11:13,605
While grievous for the most
part is above the water line,

123
00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,074
It wasn't enough
to sink the ship.

124
00:11:20,247 --> 00:11:24,466
<i> Narrator: The independence</i>
<i> survives the atomic blasts,</i>

125
00:11:26,036 --> 00:11:28,536
<i> But she is ravaged</i>
<i> by radiation.</i>

126
00:11:30,507 --> 00:11:33,041
James: It had been
coated in radioactive steam.

127
00:11:33,076 --> 00:11:37,579
There's a near panic that
the radiation levels have
not subsided much at all.

128
00:11:40,517 --> 00:11:45,270
<i> Narrator: In the summer</i>
<i> of 1947, the independence</i>
<i> is towed to california.</i>

129
00:11:48,942 --> 00:11:52,377
<i> James delgo and his</i>
<i> team want to know why.</i>

130
00:11:52,913 --> 00:11:54,646
Man: This was here
for a couple of years.

131
00:11:54,681 --> 00:11:59,567
<i> Narrator: They discover</i>
<i> a link to a top secret</i>
<i> naval research facility</i>

132
00:11:59,603 --> 00:12:01,970
<i> On the fringes of san francisc.</i>

133
00:12:05,041 --> 00:12:06,941
<i> Hunter's point.</i>

134
00:12:10,814 --> 00:12:15,533
<i> Inside the high security port,</i>
<i> a specialist team studies the</i>

135
00:12:15,569 --> 00:12:19,304
<i> Radioactive fallout</i>
<i> on board independence.</i>

136
00:12:20,574 --> 00:12:25,210
<i> Their mission; design a defense</i>
<i> against nuclear weapons.</i>

137
00:12:26,947 --> 00:12:30,048
James: The key
lessons underscored by
study of independence

138
00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:33,501
Is to just get scarier,
to build more weapons,

139
00:12:33,537 --> 00:12:35,403
To bring more of
them into play.

140
00:12:35,439 --> 00:12:37,739
In short, proliferation.

141
00:12:43,180 --> 00:12:45,313
<i> Narrator: But a</i>
<i> question remains.</i>

142
00:12:47,467 --> 00:12:52,937
<i> After almost four years at</i>
<i> hunter's point, the us navy</i>
<i> scuttles independence.</i>

143
00:12:55,542 --> 00:13:00,278
<i> And the wreck is nowhere</i>
<i> near where contemporary</i>
<i> news stories claim she is.</i>

144
00:13:01,748 --> 00:13:05,099
James: We found it
only 30 miles offshore,

145
00:13:05,135 --> 00:13:07,302
More than 100 miles away
from where reports said

146
00:13:07,337 --> 00:13:13,741
Independence had gone down,
which stunned us and we
began to think, "why?"

147
00:13:16,346 --> 00:13:21,232
<i> Narrator: Off the waters of</i>
<i> northern california, james goes</i>
<i> deep inside the independence</i>

148
00:13:21,268 --> 00:13:23,067
<i> To look for answers.</i>

149
00:13:26,606 --> 00:13:30,275
James: As the robot
drops down, I have it
zoom in again, and again,

150
00:13:30,310 --> 00:13:33,945
Until finally I see
exactly what they're hiding.

151
00:13:35,916 --> 00:13:42,270
<i> Narrator: Now, using</i>
<i> precision data, we can</i>
<i> reveal what he finds there.</i>

152
00:13:45,275 --> 00:13:48,710
<i> In the hangar, tucked behind</i>
<i> a hellcat fighter plane,</i>

153
00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,714
<i> A stack of large</i>
<i> sealed barrels.</i>

154
00:13:53,984 --> 00:13:56,901
<i> On one barrel, a side</i>
<i> panel has rusted away,</i>

155
00:13:59,005 --> 00:14:01,306
<i> And when james</i>
<i> inspects it up close,</i>

156
00:14:02,042 --> 00:14:04,209
<i> Something catches his eye.</i>

157
00:14:07,747 --> 00:14:09,514
James: Those are
rubber gloves.

158
00:14:10,517 --> 00:14:13,968
Looking at it, everything
from the labs is getting
packed in barrels,

159
00:14:14,004 --> 00:14:15,336
Sealed in concrete.

160
00:14:16,873 --> 00:14:20,308
Not only from hunters point,
but from the labs in and
around the bay area.

161
00:14:22,412 --> 00:14:25,013
They wanted to put
these away, out of the
sight of prying eyes,

162
00:14:25,048 --> 00:14:27,348
Beyond the reach
of soviet spies.

163
00:14:28,401 --> 00:14:31,202
They were afraid of espionage.

164
00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,875
<i> Narrator: The us navy</i>
<i> decides to take no chances,</i>

165
00:14:36,910 --> 00:14:41,713
<i> Whether soviet spies are</i>
<i> operating in california or not.</i>

166
00:14:49,506 --> 00:14:54,642
James: What better thing to do
then with your atomic secrets,
than to put them inside this

167
00:14:54,678 --> 00:15:00,882
Big carrier in a location
with all these nuclear
secrets entombed within it?

168
00:15:06,406 --> 00:15:11,042
<i> Narrator: The battered wreck</i>
<i> of the independence still lies</i>
<i> off the california coast.</i>

169
00:15:14,714 --> 00:15:17,865
<i> A chilling reminder of</i>
<i> the dawn of the cold war.</i>

170
00:15:23,940 --> 00:15:28,977
<i> In the years that follow,</i>
<i> the two super powers build</i>
<i> huge nuclear arsenals,</i>

171
00:15:32,949 --> 00:15:35,733
<i> And sometimes</i>
<i> accidents happen.</i>

172
00:15:40,407 --> 00:15:43,841
<i> The coast of almeria,</i>
<i> southern Spain.</i>

173
00:15:46,513 --> 00:15:49,414
<i> Draining these waters</i>
<i> reveals a shocking site.</i>

174
00:15:52,936 --> 00:15:57,772
<i> A nuclear war head,</i>
<i> more powerful than a</i>
<i> million tons of tnt.</i>

175
00:15:59,743 --> 00:16:01,476
<i> How does it get here?</i>

176
00:16:03,763 --> 00:16:07,699
<i> And how close is Spain</i>
<i> to a nuclear disaster?</i>

177
00:16:10,270 --> 00:16:14,339
<i> Joe ramirez is serving</i>
<i> with american forces</i>
<i> here in the 1960's.</i>

178
00:16:17,077 --> 00:16:21,012
<i> It's the height of the cold wa,</i>
<i> and the us is flying nuclear am</i>

179
00:16:21,047 --> 00:16:23,715
<i> Patrols over europe</i>
<i> around the clock.</i>

180
00:16:25,735 --> 00:16:28,403
Joe: Operation chrome dome
as it was called.

181
00:16:28,872 --> 00:16:34,409
B52 bombers, each carrying
four hydrogen bombs, in
flight 24 hours a day.

182
00:16:36,713 --> 00:16:39,647
<i> Narrator: Chrome dome maintains</i>
<i> a constant nuclear threat</i>

183
00:16:39,683 --> 00:16:41,366
<i> Against the soviet bloc.</i>

184
00:16:43,937 --> 00:16:47,071
<i> But to keep the bombers airbore</i>
<i> for as long as possible,</i>

185
00:16:47,107 --> 00:16:49,974
<i> Crews must refuel in mid-air.</i>

186
00:16:51,277 --> 00:16:53,945
<i> A delicate and</i>
<i> dangerous procedure.</i>

187
00:16:55,648 --> 00:17:00,301
<i> On January 17th, 1966,</i>
<i> in the skies over Spain,</i>

188
00:17:04,874 --> 00:17:07,241
<i> Something sparks an explosion.</i>

189
00:17:08,044 --> 00:17:12,613
<i> Four bombs complete</i>
<i> with nuclear war heads</i>
<i> hurtle towards the ground,</i>

190
00:17:12,849 --> 00:17:14,665
<i> Two without their parachutes.</i>

191
00:17:16,036 --> 00:17:21,406
<i> The nuclear components are</i>
<i> unarmed, but the conventional</i>
<i> explosives do detonate,</i>

192
00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:25,510
<i> Spreading radioactive</i>
<i> plutonium over a square mile.</i>

193
00:17:28,181 --> 00:17:32,300
<i> Hundreds of american</i>
<i> and spanish personnel</i>
<i> scour the countryside</i>

194
00:17:32,335 --> 00:17:34,702
<i> And find three of the bombs.</i>

195
00:17:36,940 --> 00:17:38,139
<i> But that's all.</i>

196
00:17:39,175 --> 00:17:41,175
Joe: We couldn't
find the fourth one.

197
00:17:43,012 --> 00:17:46,314
<i> Narrator: The us military needs</i>
<i> to locate their lost nuke,</i>

198
00:17:46,349 --> 00:17:50,768
<i> Before it leaks dangerous</i>
<i> radiation or falls into</i>
<i> the hands of the soviets.</i>

199
00:17:54,441 --> 00:17:58,676
<i> After more than a week</i>
<i> of searching, the team</i>
<i> still can't find the bomb.</i>

200
00:18:01,381 --> 00:18:04,015
<i> Then ramirez meets</i>
<i> a local fisherman.</i>

201
00:18:05,101 --> 00:18:09,337
<i> He reports seeing a</i>
<i> parachute fall into the sea</i>
<i> on the day of the accident.</i>

202
00:18:12,375 --> 00:18:14,442
Joe: It hit me, we're
looking in the wrong place.

203
00:18:14,477 --> 00:18:15,843
We're looking for
the bomb on land.

204
00:18:15,879 --> 00:18:17,411
This bomb may be under water.

205
00:18:20,416 --> 00:18:26,337
<i> Narrator: But if the nuke is</i>
<i> under the ocean, where is it,</i>
<i> and what condition is it in?</i>

206
00:18:30,610 --> 00:18:35,880
<i> In the last few years, spanish</i>
<i> oceanographers have mapped the</i>
<i> mediterranean sea floor.</i>

207
00:18:37,550 --> 00:18:41,903
Jesus: The bottom of the
ocean is dark, but thanks
to acoustical techniques,

208
00:18:41,938 --> 00:18:45,606
We can see all the particular
features with them,

209
00:18:45,642 --> 00:18:49,944
In great, high resolution of
the sea bed of the oceans.

210
00:18:51,848 --> 00:18:56,567
<i> Narrator: Now, with access</i>
<i> to doctor rivera's data,</i>
<i> we can drain the waters of</i>

211
00:18:56,603 --> 00:19:01,139
<i> Southern Spain, exactly</i>
<i> as it looked in 1966,</i>

212
00:19:04,244 --> 00:19:07,678
<i> And remove the sea from an</i>
<i> american nuclear calamity.</i>

213
00:19:17,540 --> 00:19:21,843
<i> The lost nuke, 2,500 feet down,</i>

214
00:19:24,814 --> 00:19:27,865
<i> Teetering on a cliff edge.</i>

215
00:19:30,036 --> 00:19:34,906
<i> A state of the art hydrogen</i>
<i> bomb, 100 times more powerful</i>
<i> than the one that destroyed</i>

216
00:19:34,941 --> 00:19:40,845
<i> Hiroshima, the nose</i>
<i> cone dented, but the</i>
<i> bomb itself still intact.</i>

217
00:19:42,448 --> 00:19:44,665
<i> The americans need</i>
<i> to find it first,</i>

218
00:19:44,701 --> 00:19:48,069
<i> To get it away from this</i>
<i> densely populated coast line,</i>

219
00:19:48,104 --> 00:19:52,139
<i> And to stop the soviets from</i>
<i> salvaging it for themselves.</i>

220
00:20:04,737 --> 00:20:08,506
<i> Narrator: American ships</i>
<i> and divers scour the</i>
<i> spanish mediterranean,</i>

221
00:20:10,443 --> 00:20:12,310
<i> Looking for a lost nuke.</i>

222
00:20:14,447 --> 00:20:17,848
<i> They search miles</i>
<i> of dark seabed for</i>
<i> almost two months...</i>

223
00:20:22,071 --> 00:20:23,537
<i> But find nothing.</i>

224
00:20:25,875 --> 00:20:28,542
Joe: You can imagine
what it's like, feeling
your way around there,

225
00:20:28,578 --> 00:20:30,378
Trying to find an atomic bomb.

226
00:20:32,115 --> 00:20:37,068
<i> Narrator: Then, on</i>
<i> March 15th, 1966,</i>
<i> a remotely controlled</i>

227
00:20:37,103 --> 00:20:40,871
<i> Submersible finally</i>
<i> spots something.</i>

228
00:20:41,741 --> 00:20:44,542
Joe: When the announcement
came through, I said, "phew."

229
00:20:50,516 --> 00:20:52,266
<i> Narrator: The submersible</i>
<i> attaches a rope,</i>

230
00:20:52,702 --> 00:20:55,703
<i> But as they carefully</i>
<i> attempt to winch the</i>
<i> bomb to the surface</i>

231
00:21:00,610 --> 00:21:02,310
<i> The rope suddenly snaps.</i>

232
00:21:08,801 --> 00:21:12,670
<i> All the us navy can do is</i>
<i> wait for it to hit the bottom.</i>

233
00:21:19,178 --> 00:21:24,548
<i> The fail-safe system</i>
<i> holds, and there's no</i>
<i> chance of a detonation.</i>

234
00:21:28,037 --> 00:21:32,840
<i> But a nuclear weapon, full of</i>
<i> plutonium, is lost once again.</i>

235
00:21:39,615 --> 00:21:45,536
<i> Now, using the latest</i>
<i> data, we can drain the</i>
<i> mediterranean completely</i>

236
00:21:45,571 --> 00:21:47,972
<i> To reveal where it falls.</i>

237
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,414
<i> A huge sea canyon opens up,</i>

238
00:21:57,717 --> 00:21:59,767
<i> Nearly 3,000 feet deep.</i>

239
00:22:01,671 --> 00:22:04,505
<i> And right at the bottom,</i>
<i> the nuclear bomb.</i>

240
00:22:07,744 --> 00:22:11,812
<i> The difficult rescue</i>
<i> attempt has just</i>
<i> become near impossible.</i>

241
00:22:12,348 --> 00:22:16,400
Barbara: One of the air force
colonels said if somebody had
sat down and thought about a

242
00:22:16,436 --> 00:22:20,271
Way to lose a hydrogen bomb,
they couldn't of thought of
anything more devilish.

243
00:22:22,241 --> 00:22:26,610
<i> Narrator: Finally, the navy</i>
<i> sends a cable controlled robot</i>
<i> down into the canyon,</i>

244
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,046
<i> And use it to grab the nuke.</i>

245
00:22:32,902 --> 00:22:35,369
<i> But it snags on the</i>
<i> bomb's parachute.</i>

246
00:22:38,674 --> 00:22:42,176
<i> It's now completely stuck</i>
<i> half a mile under the sea.</i>

247
00:22:46,716 --> 00:22:50,501
<i> The only way to retrieve the</i>
<i> nuke is to haul the robot up,</i>

248
00:22:51,003 --> 00:22:53,738
<i> And drag the parachute</i>
<i> and bomb along with it.</i>

249
00:22:57,210 --> 00:23:01,145
<i> A delicate daisy chain for</i>
<i> a two ton nuclear weapon.</i>

250
00:23:03,116 --> 00:23:06,300
Barbara: The man leading
the mission actually
fainted from the tension.

251
00:23:08,104 --> 00:23:10,771
<i> Narrator: Miraculously,</i>
<i> the chain holds.</i>

252
00:23:17,747 --> 00:23:21,599
<i> These are two of the</i>
<i> four thermonuclear</i>
<i> bombs dropped on Spain.</i>

253
00:23:23,736 --> 00:23:30,107
<i> On the left, the nuke</i>
<i> that journeyed to the</i>
<i> bottom of the sea,</i>

254
00:23:30,376 --> 00:23:32,877
<i> Now safely stored</i>
<i> in new mexico.</i>

255
00:23:35,148 --> 00:23:41,469
Barbara: To just see it lying
there, this item contained the
power to destroy a city.

256
00:23:42,672 --> 00:23:44,672
It's scary, you know?

257
00:23:48,544 --> 00:23:50,911
<i> Narrator: A cold war</i>
<i> catastrophe is avoided.</i>

258
00:23:53,716 --> 00:23:56,734
<i> But operation chrome dome is</i>
<i> suspended two years later.</i>

259
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,409
<i> Nuclear confrontation has</i>
<i> moved beneath the waves.</i>

260
00:24:09,315 --> 00:24:12,166
<i> 200 miles off the</i>
<i> coast of new England,</i>

261
00:24:14,804 --> 00:24:20,074
<i> Draining the waters of</i>
<i> the atlantic exposes the</i>
<i> horrors of a deep sea disaster.</i>

262
00:24:24,514 --> 00:24:28,365
<i> By the 1960s, the cold war</i>
<i> has a new front line.</i>

263
00:24:31,037 --> 00:24:36,140
<i> Submarines armed with</i>
<i> nuclear weapons try to</i>
<i> creep into enemy waters.</i>

264
00:24:40,379 --> 00:24:44,482
<i> America deploys hunter</i>
<i> killer subs to guard</i>
<i> against the threat.</i>

265
00:24:46,636 --> 00:24:52,573
<i> The very latest is the</i>
<i> uss thresher, powered</i>
<i> by a nuclear reactor.</i>

266
00:24:59,081 --> 00:25:03,467
<i> On April 9th, 1963,</i>
<i> thresher sets out from</i>

267
00:25:03,503 --> 00:25:06,437
<i> Portsmouth, new hampshire</i>
<i> for sea trials.</i>

268
00:25:11,544 --> 00:25:14,311
<i> Just over 200 miles out,</i>

269
00:25:16,249 --> 00:25:19,667
<i> It begins trialing extreme</i>
<i> deep water dives.</i>

270
00:25:24,006 --> 00:25:26,073
Kevin: Thresher was pushing
boundaries under the ocean.

271
00:25:26,509 --> 00:25:31,946
The men who served on
her are very similar
to space astronauts.

272
00:25:33,916 --> 00:25:37,268
<i> Narrator: A us navy</i>
<i> ship called skylark</i>
<i> is in attendance.</i>

273
00:25:38,671 --> 00:25:42,406
<i> A few hours into the trial,</i>
<i> the captain of thresher</i>
<i> sends out a call,</i>

274
00:25:43,009 --> 00:25:46,277
<i> Saying the sub is experiencing</i>
<i> minor difficulties.</i>

275
00:25:49,081 --> 00:25:51,865
<i> Then, fragments of</i>
<i> a garbled message,</i>

276
00:25:52,401 --> 00:25:56,237
<i> A loud hiss and silence.</i>

277
00:25:58,074 --> 00:26:01,208
Kevin: The staff aboard
skylark is not quite
sure what has happened,

278
00:26:02,278 --> 00:26:06,046
And continue to call to
them and ask them to respond.

279
00:26:06,349 --> 00:26:08,766
They continue to do
that for some period.

280
00:26:10,269 --> 00:26:15,339
<i> Narrator: Thresher never makes</i>
<i> contact and never resurfaces.</i>

281
00:26:19,645 --> 00:26:22,947
<i> Lori arsenault is eight years</i>
<i> old when the sub goes missing.</i>

282
00:26:24,183 --> 00:26:27,735
Lori: We were watching tv,
and there was a news flash.

283
00:26:28,771 --> 00:26:30,904
A navy ship was missing.

284
00:26:31,207 --> 00:26:33,073
My brother went running
out into the kitchen.

285
00:26:33,542 --> 00:26:36,977
By the time I got there,
everyone was crying and
I didn't know why,

286
00:26:38,114 --> 00:26:39,747
But I just started crying.

287
00:26:40,216 --> 00:26:41,932
And then little by little,

288
00:26:42,768 --> 00:26:46,770
I found out that my
dad was on that boat.

289
00:27:01,704 --> 00:27:05,572
<i> Narrator: In 1985, deep sea</i>
<i> explorer doctor bob ballard</i>

290
00:27:05,608 --> 00:27:08,575
<i> Sets out to find</i>
<i> the wreck of the titanic,</i>

291
00:27:13,749 --> 00:27:17,701
<i> But his famous expedition</i>
<i> is a cold war cover story.</i>

292
00:27:18,671 --> 00:27:24,675
<i> In fact, ballard is on a top</i>
<i> secret mission to investigate</i>
<i> the wreck of the uss thresher.</i>

293
00:27:28,180 --> 00:27:30,781
Robert: I was a trained
naval intelligence officer.

294
00:27:31,350 --> 00:27:36,737
The soviets could
track me with satellite,
so we needed a cover.

295
00:27:41,110 --> 00:27:44,778
<i> Narrator: Ballard deploys</i>
<i> a submersible equipped</i>
<i> with video cameras.</i>

296
00:27:53,406 --> 00:27:55,072
<i> The once classified footage</i>

297
00:27:59,245 --> 00:28:01,679
<i> Shows images of jagged metal.</i>

298
00:28:04,383 --> 00:28:08,335
<i> Ballard's first</i>
<i> glimpse of what's left</i>
<i> of the lost submarine.</i>

299
00:28:10,339 --> 00:28:16,243
<i> The only way to understand the</i>
<i> scale of the wreck is to see</i>
<i> it in the light of day.</i>

300
00:28:28,107 --> 00:28:30,407
<i> A traumatic scene.</i>

301
00:28:32,011 --> 00:28:37,081
<i> The sub is ripped into</i>
<i> mangled pieces and scattered</i>
<i> across the sea floor.</i>

302
00:28:40,236 --> 00:28:45,973
<i> Water drips off a torn rudder,</i>
<i> and laying behind it, the</i>
<i> conning tower on its side.</i>

303
00:28:49,378 --> 00:28:55,048
<i> There's a blasted air</i>
<i> canister, and finally</i>
<i> fragments of piping.</i>

304
00:28:56,435 --> 00:28:58,786
<i> Little else is identifiable.</i>

305
00:29:00,106 --> 00:29:04,908
Robert: So what we're
seeing here is the debris
field of the thresher,

306
00:29:05,311 --> 00:29:07,244
But it's completely shredded.

307
00:29:07,279 --> 00:29:09,613
This is carnage.

308
00:29:10,583 --> 00:29:15,702
The only big piece was a piece
of the tail, and even that
looked like a giant hand that

309
00:29:15,738 --> 00:29:17,137
Just crushed it.

310
00:29:17,173 --> 00:29:19,206
So it was everywhere.

311
00:29:22,344 --> 00:29:25,145
<i> Narrator: How did</i>
<i> the uss thresher</i>
<i> end up like this?</i>

312
00:29:27,583 --> 00:29:33,971
<i> It wasn't carrying</i>
<i> munitions, its nuclear</i>
<i> reactor isn't explosive,</i>

313
00:29:36,675 --> 00:29:39,109
<i> And there's no evidence</i>
<i> of a soviet attack.</i>

314
00:29:43,115 --> 00:29:47,868
<i> Ballard believes that</i>
<i> only a force of nature</i>
<i> can explain the damage.</i>

315
00:29:50,206 --> 00:29:52,573
Robert: Pressure is a deadly
force, so we have a lot of

316
00:29:52,608 --> 00:29:55,409
Experience with things
really blowing up.

317
00:29:57,346 --> 00:30:01,782
<i> Narrator: If a sub goes too</i>
<i> deep, the pressure of the</i>
<i> ocean becomes overwhelming.</i>

318
00:30:04,236 --> 00:30:08,705
<i> The whole structure will</i>
<i> suddenly fail and implode.</i>

319
00:30:10,109 --> 00:30:12,609
Robert: An implosion is
a gigantic explosion.

320
00:30:14,113 --> 00:30:16,346
<i> Narrator: It's known</i>
<i> as crush depth.</i>

321
00:30:19,001 --> 00:30:21,301
<i> But why would the</i>
<i> thresher be so deep?</i>

322
00:30:23,372 --> 00:30:25,839
<i> Ballard searches the</i>
<i> wreck looking for clues</i>

323
00:30:31,947 --> 00:30:34,348
<i> In the vast field of</i>
<i> scattered wreckage.</i>

324
00:30:38,704 --> 00:30:41,221
<i> Bent pieces of piping</i>
<i> litter the sea floor.</i>

325
00:30:44,210 --> 00:30:48,345
<i> Some of these pipes would</i>
<i> have carried water into the</i>
<i> sub from the sea outside,</i>

326
00:30:48,380 --> 00:30:50,981
<i> To cool the reactor.</i>

327
00:30:52,368 --> 00:30:55,936
<i> And during deep dives, they</i>
<i> become highly pressurized.</i>

328
00:30:59,475 --> 00:31:03,076
<i> Ballard knows a leak from any</i>
<i> of these pipes could trigger</i>

329
00:31:03,112 --> 00:31:05,512
<i> A shut down in the</i>
<i> nuclear reactor.</i>

330
00:31:07,616 --> 00:31:09,933
Robert: When it comes in,
it comes in like a jet.

331
00:31:11,570 --> 00:31:13,237
And it can atomize
and form a cloud,

332
00:31:13,272 --> 00:31:15,239
So it's just
really coming in.

333
00:31:16,008 --> 00:31:20,110
When that happens, the nuclear
reactor automatically scrams.

334
00:31:22,214 --> 00:31:24,448
<i> Narrator: He digs back</i>
<i> into us navy files,</i>

335
00:31:25,901 --> 00:31:28,835
<i> And uncovers a survey of the</i>
<i> thresher's cooling pipes.</i>

336
00:31:31,473 --> 00:31:36,577
<i> The report reveals that</i>
<i> some of the pipe joints</i>
<i> are weak and fail testing.</i>

337
00:31:38,881 --> 00:31:42,966
<i> The message from thresher</i>
<i> about difficulties now</i>
<i> makes sense.</i>

338
00:31:46,722 --> 00:31:51,608
<i> At 2,200 feet below,</i>
<i> the sub springs a super</i>
<i> high pressure leak.</i>

339
00:31:53,479 --> 00:31:57,014
Dave: Makes a really
nasty noise, sounds
really high pitched.

340
00:31:57,683 --> 00:31:59,800
It would just go
through you like a knife.

341
00:32:00,903 --> 00:32:02,736
<i> Narrator: The reactor</i>
<i> power cuts out.</i>

342
00:32:03,872 --> 00:32:06,173
<i> The sub begins to</i>
<i> fill with water.</i>

343
00:32:07,242 --> 00:32:08,742
Robert: They can't drive out.

344
00:32:08,777 --> 00:32:10,544
They're dead in the water.

345
00:32:12,114 --> 00:32:14,414
<i> Narrator: But thresher</i>
<i> should still survive.</i>

346
00:32:17,469 --> 00:32:21,838
<i> Studying the wreck, ballard</i>
<i> can see components of a</i>
<i> crucial buoyancy system.</i>

347
00:32:24,510 --> 00:32:26,576
<i> Compressed air canisters.</i>

348
00:32:28,414 --> 00:32:32,866
<i> If the sub needs to surface,</i>
<i> the canisters blow into</i>
<i> ballast chambers,</i>

349
00:32:33,469 --> 00:32:35,669
<i> And the buoyancy</i>
<i> propels it upwards.</i>

350
00:32:39,341 --> 00:32:41,908
<i> So why didn't the</i>
<i> thresher do that?</i>

351
00:32:47,583 --> 00:32:50,000
<i> The us navy conducts</i>
<i> an investigation.</i>

352
00:32:51,236 --> 00:32:54,004
<i> What they find is chilling.</i>

353
00:32:56,208 --> 00:33:02,212
<i> In the cold conditions of the</i>
<i> thresher's deep sea dive,</i>
<i> moisture in the compressed air</i>

354
00:33:02,247 --> 00:33:05,365
<i> Freezes and</i>
<i> blocks the ballast.</i>

355
00:33:07,136 --> 00:33:08,502
Robert: So it froze over.

356
00:33:08,537 --> 00:33:10,003
It couldn't blow.

357
00:33:11,907 --> 00:33:16,710
<i> Narrator: The hiss in the</i>
<i> captain's final message is the</i>
<i> crew trying and failing to</i>

358
00:33:16,745 --> 00:33:18,445
<i> Blow the ballast.</i>

359
00:33:20,649 --> 00:33:22,966
<i> The shocking discovery</i>
<i> completes the story of the</i>

360
00:33:23,002 --> 00:33:25,469
<i> Last moments of</i>
<i> the uss thresher.</i>

361
00:33:29,191 --> 00:33:34,311
<i> At the bottom of its</i>
<i> deep dive, a powerful</i>
<i> leak kills the engines,</i>

362
00:33:35,114 --> 00:33:38,999
<i> And the icy deep freezes</i>
<i> and blocks the ballast pipes.</i>

363
00:33:44,339 --> 00:33:48,709
<i> Without power and</i>
<i> buoyancy, and partially</i>
<i> full of sea water,</i>

364
00:33:49,344 --> 00:33:53,080
<i> The thresher is dragged</i>
<i> deeper and deeper.</i>

365
00:33:56,101 --> 00:34:00,037
Robert: And they are
now taking on water,
the ceiling collapsed in.

366
00:34:00,873 --> 00:34:02,272
They have no way out.

367
00:34:04,443 --> 00:34:06,710
<i> Narrator: The hull</i>
<i> creaks and groans.</i>

368
00:34:07,479 --> 00:34:10,247
<i> The crew know they are</i>
<i> reaching crush depth.</i>

369
00:34:10,649 --> 00:34:13,867
Dave: They're just going down,
they're getting deeper,
and they're crushing.

370
00:34:14,186 --> 00:34:17,671
And that is a tough way
to die, because there's
just nothing you can do.

371
00:34:19,007 --> 00:34:25,412
<i> Narrator: At 2,400 feet below,</i>
<i> the pressure is 70 times</i>
<i> greater than at the surface.</i>

372
00:34:33,372 --> 00:34:38,442
Robert: And when that went, it
just destroyed the submarine.

373
00:34:39,878 --> 00:34:41,711
Kevin: It'll just crush it
like you're not even there.

374
00:34:44,616 --> 00:34:49,703
<i> Narrator: From above, the</i>
<i> full terrifying power of that</i>
<i> monumental implosion is clear.</i>

375
00:34:50,873 --> 00:34:54,841
<i> The wreck has been</i>
<i> blasted across four</i>
<i> square miles of ocean.</i>

376
00:34:58,347 --> 00:35:01,615
Lori: The first time I ever
saw the pictures of the wreck,

377
00:35:01,650 --> 00:35:05,202
It was a profound and
powerful experience.

378
00:35:06,038 --> 00:35:09,306
The cold war was not a
war without casualties.

379
00:35:16,181 --> 00:35:19,232
<i> Narrator: Americans</i>
<i> are not the only ones</i>
<i> to lose their lives.</i>

380
00:35:20,302 --> 00:35:25,806
<i> Beneath the wild waters of the</i>
<i> northern pacific lie the</i>
<i> remains of another submarine.</i>

381
00:35:27,943 --> 00:35:33,346
<i> How does a soviet wonder</i>
<i> weapon fall victim to</i>
<i> cold war power games?</i>

382
00:35:49,948 --> 00:35:55,468
<i> K-129's mission is to</i>
<i> disappear beneath the waters</i>
<i> off america's west coast,</i>

383
00:35:55,504 --> 00:35:59,039
<i> Armed with three</i>
<i> state-of-the-art</i>
<i> nuclear missiles</i>

384
00:35:59,074 --> 00:36:01,675
<i> That can launch</i>
<i> from underwater.</i>

385
00:36:02,211 --> 00:36:05,846
<i> Once fired, the nukes are</i>
<i> almost unstoppable;</i>

386
00:36:06,448 --> 00:36:10,967
<i> Each one 65 times</i>
<i> more powerful than</i>
<i> the hiroshima bomb.</i>

387
00:36:12,004 --> 00:36:14,771
James: The ocean itself
has become weaponized.

388
00:36:15,807 --> 00:36:20,810
It is the ultimate cloak in
which you can hide, and wait,
and then deliver death.

389
00:36:22,147 --> 00:36:26,700
Vladislav: The whole aura
about the nuclear submarines
is to disappear from the radar

390
00:36:26,735 --> 00:36:28,401
Of the opposite side.

391
00:36:32,975 --> 00:36:35,809
<i> Narrator: Two weeks into its</i>
<i> patrol in the north pacific,</i>

392
00:36:35,844 --> 00:36:39,646
<i> K-129 misses a scheduled</i>
<i> transmission home.</i>

393
00:36:42,301 --> 00:36:44,467
<i> Something has</i>
<i> gone badly wrong.</i>

394
00:36:49,942 --> 00:36:56,079
<i> A soviet navy flotilla scours</i>
<i> the pacific looking for k-129.</i>

395
00:36:57,716 --> 00:37:02,068
<i> But it could be</i>
<i> anywhere in a 1,000 mile</i>
<i> sector of deep ocean.</i>

396
00:37:03,906 --> 00:37:05,505
Josh: I mean, it's beyond
needle in a haystack;

397
00:37:05,540 --> 00:37:07,674
It's like needle
in 1,000 haystacks.

398
00:37:08,410 --> 00:37:12,112
There was a submarine out
there that had been sunk and
the russians had lost it;

399
00:37:12,147 --> 00:37:14,114
Literally lost a submarine.

400
00:37:16,168 --> 00:37:19,569
<i> Narrator: After months of</i>
<i> searching, the soviets are</i>
<i> forced to accept that their</i>

401
00:37:19,605 --> 00:37:24,774
<i> Submarine, and their</i>
<i> nuclear weapons, are lost.</i>

402
00:37:25,844 --> 00:37:28,311
<i> So what does happen to k-129?</i>

403
00:37:30,215 --> 00:37:36,136
<i> Today, a new investigation</i>
<i> is uncovering a story of</i>
<i> spycraft and subterfuge.</i>

404
00:37:37,673 --> 00:37:43,476
<i> Journalist josh dean has</i>
<i> recently acquired images from</i>
<i> a source in america that show</i>

405
00:37:43,512 --> 00:37:46,713
<i> Parts of the wreck of</i>
<i> the lost soviet sub.</i>

406
00:37:53,238 --> 00:37:56,439
<i> The remarkable black and white</i>
<i> pictures are hard to decipher,</i>

407
00:37:58,343 --> 00:38:02,912
<i> But using expert</i>
<i> analysis to enhance</i>
<i> the images means it is</i>

408
00:38:02,948 --> 00:38:07,400
<i> Now possible to reveal</i>
<i> what remains of k-129</i>

409
00:38:07,769 --> 00:38:10,437
<i> Three miles under</i>
<i> the pacific ocean.</i>

410
00:38:15,644 --> 00:38:17,744
<i> The black steel of</i>
<i> a conning tower.</i>

411
00:38:19,581 --> 00:38:23,300
<i> And a fractured silo still</i>
<i> loaded with a nuclear missile.</i>

412
00:38:27,072 --> 00:38:30,373
<i> Only some sections of the sub</i>
<i> have ever been identified,</i>

413
00:38:31,910 --> 00:38:36,546
<i> And a clue as to why</i>
<i> lies here at the stern:</i>

414
00:38:36,748 --> 00:38:39,299
<i> Jagged edges of</i>
<i> peeled back metal;</i>

415
00:38:39,334 --> 00:38:44,070
<i> The telltale sign of a</i>
<i> powerful internal explosion.</i>

416
00:38:44,773 --> 00:38:49,175
James: This is an image
I never thought we'd be
seeing, k-129.

417
00:38:50,078 --> 00:38:52,245
It's heavily damaged.

418
00:38:52,814 --> 00:38:56,933
Whatever forces were at
play, and I don't know if
we'll ever really know,

419
00:38:57,602 --> 00:39:01,204
This is an amazing
and tragic image.

420
00:39:03,809 --> 00:39:07,477
Josh: It's hard to
think of anything more
mysterious than k-129.

421
00:39:08,647 --> 00:39:10,613
It's an unprecedented wreck.

422
00:39:14,636 --> 00:39:18,905
<i> Narrator: Searching for an</i>
<i> explanation, dean digs back</i>
<i> into cold war history.</i>

423
00:39:23,278 --> 00:39:26,513
<i> His research leads him to</i>
<i> the tropical shores of hawaii.</i>

424
00:39:31,036 --> 00:39:37,374
<i> In the 1960's, this row of</i>
<i> innocuous-looking buildings is</i>
<i> a listening post for a top</i>

425
00:39:37,509 --> 00:39:41,444
<i> Secret us facility</i>
<i> called sosus.</i>

426
00:39:44,182 --> 00:39:47,767
<i> Sosus is a vast network of</i>
<i> underwater microphones that</i>

427
00:39:47,803 --> 00:39:52,605
<i> Stretches across the oceans of</i>
<i> the world listening for the</i>

428
00:39:53,041 --> 00:39:56,776
<i> Sound of soviet submarines</i>
<i> and tracking their movement.</i>

429
00:39:59,081 --> 00:40:04,300
<i> Marine acoustics professor</i>
<i> bruce howe has access to</i>
<i> the cold war data.</i>

430
00:40:06,071 --> 00:40:09,839
Bruce: The russians were
building submarines that were
coming uncomfortably close to

431
00:40:09,875 --> 00:40:15,345
The united states and so
that motivated putting out
these listening arrays.

432
00:40:17,315 --> 00:40:21,468
<i> Narrator: In 1968,</i>
<i> the americans use</i>
<i> acoustic technology</i>

433
00:40:21,503 --> 00:40:24,104
<i> To try and find k-129.</i>

434
00:40:27,776 --> 00:40:30,176
<i> Noticing the soviet's</i>
<i> frantic search,</i>

435
00:40:31,146 --> 00:40:33,413
<i> They scanned back</i>
<i> over their data</i>

436
00:40:33,448 --> 00:40:34,714
<i> Looking for a marker</i>

437
00:40:39,838 --> 00:40:42,906
<i> And identify something</i>
<i> far out in the pacific.</i>

438
00:40:46,945 --> 00:40:50,747
<i> Analysis suggests it could</i>
<i> be an underwater detonation.</i>

439
00:40:55,270 --> 00:41:01,307
<i> Have they found the sound</i>
<i> of the explosion that</i>
<i> blasts k-129 into pieces?</i>

440
00:41:02,711 --> 00:41:06,679
Bruce: Sound can travel
underwater literally
halfway around the world,

441
00:41:06,715 --> 00:41:11,835
So in the case of a submarine
explosion, that would be a
pretty obvious signal.

442
00:41:14,639 --> 00:41:18,908
<i> Narrator: If there was an</i>
<i> explosion, to this day no</i>
<i> one knows what caused it.</i>

443
00:41:20,078 --> 00:41:22,879
<i> But by triangulating the</i>
<i> noise across the network,</i>

444
00:41:23,315 --> 00:41:26,933
<i> The us navy can pinpoint</i>
<i> where the sound mes from.</i>

445
00:41:29,604 --> 00:41:32,839
<i> Here, one and a half</i>
<i> thousand miles</i>
<i> northwest of hawaii.</i>

446
00:41:37,179 --> 00:41:41,948
<i> For the us military,</i>
<i> a soviet sub loaded</i>
<i> with nuclear missiles</i>

447
00:41:41,983 --> 00:41:44,167
<i> Is a priceless bounty.</i>

448
00:41:46,838 --> 00:41:50,707
<i> But attempting to seize</i>
<i> k-129 would be an act of war.</i>

449
00:41:53,111 --> 00:41:56,446
Josh: You can't just
take stuff that belongsto a.

450
00:41:56,481 --> 00:42:01,167
There was real risk
that going after this
thing could start a war.

451
00:42:03,271 --> 00:42:07,840
<i> Narrator: The us navy</i>
<i> closes the file and</i>
<i> leaves the wreck untouched.</i>

452
00:42:12,948 --> 00:42:17,500
<i> But someone does tamper</i>
<i> with k-129 and its</i>
<i> nuclear missiles.</i>

453
00:42:18,637 --> 00:42:21,638
<i> And the evidence</i>
<i> is in the wreck.</i>

454
00:42:33,184 --> 00:42:38,304
<i> Explosion deep under the</i>
<i> pacific ocean and there's</i>
<i> evidence for this theory</i>

455
00:42:38,340 --> 00:42:40,173
<i> On the drained wreck.</i>

456
00:42:40,942 --> 00:42:42,642
<i> But there's something else too,</i>

457
00:42:42,677 --> 00:42:46,879
<i> Signs that something more</i>
<i> than an explosion happens here.</i>

458
00:42:47,649 --> 00:42:50,800
<i> At the front, there's no</i>
<i> trace of the jagged remains</i>

459
00:42:50,835 --> 00:42:53,202
<i> Typically produced</i>
<i> by an explosion,</i>

460
00:42:53,838 --> 00:42:57,740
<i> And the nose itself is</i>
<i> missing, cleanly sliced off.</i>

461
00:42:59,344 --> 00:43:01,110
<i> How could that have happened?</i>

462
00:43:03,348 --> 00:43:07,033
<i> Investigative journalist</i>
<i> josh dean is determined</i>
<i> to find out.</i>

463
00:43:09,337 --> 00:43:11,804
Josh: I think there
are pieces of the k-129
out there somewhere.

464
00:43:12,974 --> 00:43:15,608
It's been lost for some
reason and lost is never good.

465
00:43:19,214 --> 00:43:20,880
<i> Narrator: Dean has</i>
<i> been passed video,</i>

466
00:43:20,915 --> 00:43:25,868
<i> Shot in 1974 on-board a</i>
<i> ship called the glomar explore.</i>

467
00:43:29,541 --> 00:43:32,542
<i> Owned by eccentric american</i>
<i> billionaire howard hughes,</i>

468
00:43:33,178 --> 00:43:36,346
<i> The glomar claims to be a</i>
<i> deep-sea mining vessel.</i>

469
00:43:40,468 --> 00:43:45,038
<i> But the video reveals</i>
<i> something straight out</i>
<i> of a james bond movie.</i>

470
00:43:47,942 --> 00:43:50,610
Josh: It's mind-boggling.
It's remarkable to see today.

471
00:43:50,945 --> 00:43:52,845
That's footage that's
never been released before.

472
00:43:54,716 --> 00:44:01,170
<i> Narrator: Hidden within the</i>
<i> glomar explorer is a giant</i>
<i> cavity and a hydraulic claw.</i>

473
00:44:03,074 --> 00:44:05,808
<i> The men on board</i>
<i> are cia operatives.</i>

474
00:44:07,278 --> 00:44:10,346
<i> Operation codename:</i>
<i> Project azorian.</i>

475
00:44:11,716 --> 00:44:14,934
<i> Their mission is to</i>
<i> recover sections of k-129,</i>

476
00:44:14,969 --> 00:44:17,704
<i> And especially</i>
<i> its nuclear missiles,</i>

477
00:44:17,739 --> 00:44:20,406
<i> Six years</i>
<i> after the sub went down.</i>

478
00:44:24,245 --> 00:44:27,680
Josh: Even most people within
the cia were not aware of the
existence of this program.

479
00:44:28,717 --> 00:44:30,700
The stakes could not
be higher, essentially.

480
00:44:33,471 --> 00:44:38,274
<i> Narrator: The claw is designed</i>
<i> to drop down through three</i>
<i> miles of ocean and retrieve</i>

481
00:44:38,309 --> 00:44:41,010
<i> The sub and its</i>
<i> nuclear missiles.</i>

482
00:44:45,483 --> 00:44:51,204
<i> In the murky 45-year-old</i>
<i> video, it's possible to</i>
<i> see it down in the deep,</i>

483
00:44:51,239 --> 00:44:55,174
<i> Preparing to grasp</i>
<i> a part of k-129.</i>

484
00:44:58,747 --> 00:45:02,348
<i> It pulls a 2,000 ton section</i>
<i> away from the seabed,</i>

485
00:45:04,269 --> 00:45:08,571
<i> And begins an agonizing</i>
<i> three-day-long ascent</i>
<i> to the ship.</i>

486
00:45:11,643 --> 00:45:13,142
<i> Two days into winching,</i>

487
00:45:14,345 --> 00:45:18,915
<i> On the surface there's</i>
<i> a sudden jolt.</i>

488
00:45:21,970 --> 00:45:24,570
Josh: Those engineers who
had spent a lot of time on
boats thought like,

489
00:45:24,606 --> 00:45:27,039
"we definitely just
dropped some weight.
Something happened."

490
00:45:28,977 --> 00:45:32,011
<i> Narrator: Stressed from</i>
<i> digging into seafloor,</i>

491
00:45:32,046 --> 00:45:34,080
<i> One of the claws</i>
<i> has cracked open.</i>

492
00:45:35,917 --> 00:45:37,934
<i> Only the tip of</i>
<i> the nose remains.</i>

493
00:45:40,972 --> 00:45:45,274
<i> Most of what was in</i>
<i> the claw, including</i>
<i> the nuclear missiles,</i>

494
00:45:45,310 --> 00:45:48,711
<i> Plunges back</i>
<i> into the darkness.</i>

495
00:45:50,315 --> 00:45:52,115
Josh: The guys on the ship
have to sit there and say,

496
00:45:52,150 --> 00:45:54,500
"we can't try again,
the claw is broken!"

497
00:45:57,439 --> 00:46:00,706
<i> Narrator: The cia is forced</i>
<i> to abandon the operation.</i>

498
00:46:05,814 --> 00:46:09,632
<i> The dropped sub is</i>
<i> still on the floor</i>
<i> of the pacific today,</i>

499
00:46:09,667 --> 00:46:11,634
<i> Along with its</i>
<i> nuclear weapons.</i>

500
00:46:14,973 --> 00:46:19,008
<i> Nobody knows how many</i>
<i> more soviet warheads</i>
<i> are lost in our oceans.</i>

501
00:46:21,346 --> 00:46:25,448
<i> The us admits that six</i>
<i> of its nuclear weapons</i>
<i> are unrecovered,</i>

502
00:46:26,417 --> 00:46:30,803
<i> Left behind by a conflict</i>
<i> that abruptly ends in 1989.</i>

503
00:46:40,315 --> 00:46:43,399
Dave: Gorbachev said, "we have
tried to kill your submarines.

504
00:46:43,434 --> 00:46:46,185
We have failed. We quit."

505
00:46:46,871 --> 00:46:48,638
(crowd cheering).

506
00:46:49,908 --> 00:46:52,074
<i> Narrator: The soviet</i>
<i> regime collapses.</i>

507
00:46:54,379 --> 00:46:58,381
<i> But the scars of the cold war</i>
<i> remain beneath our oceans.</i>

508
00:47:00,435 --> 00:47:03,803
<i> Nuclear weapons and</i>
<i> radioactive waste</i>
<i> litter the sea.</i>

509
00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:08,140
<i> Now, the super</i>
<i> powers are re-arming,</i>

510
00:47:09,010 --> 00:47:13,713
<i> With thousands of</i>
<i> new missiles that can</i>
<i> strike across the globe.</i>

511
00:47:15,149 --> 00:47:18,801
<i> Secret nuclear power</i>
<i> games continue day and night.</i>

512
00:47:18,837 --> 00:47:20,236
Captioned by cotter
captioning services