1 00:00:09,147 --> 00:00:12,012 NARRATOR: Under the seas off Northern Europe. 2 00:00:12,046 --> 00:00:15,084 A lost graveyard of mega warships. 3 00:00:15,118 --> 00:00:17,431 JURENS: They were the H-Bombs of the era. 4 00:00:17,465 --> 00:00:23,885 NARRATOR: In 1916 these are among the most powerful weapons ever built. 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:29,270 At the height of the Great War, they stage an epic showdown. 6 00:00:29,305 --> 00:00:33,516 DR. DELGADO: This is a fight to the death. 7 00:00:33,550 --> 00:00:41,834 NARRATOR: But with the evidence lost deep beneath the waves, the battle remains shrouded in mystery. 8 00:00:41,869 --> 00:00:46,874 Until Now. 9 00:00:46,908 --> 00:00:53,087 Imagine if we could empty the oceans, letting the water drain away to reveal the secrets 10 00:00:53,122 --> 00:00:55,262 of the sea floor. 11 00:00:55,296 --> 00:00:58,058 Now we can. 12 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:03,097 Using the latest underwater scanning technology... 13 00:01:03,132 --> 00:01:11,105 piercing the deep oceans and turning accurate data into three D images. 14 00:01:11,140 --> 00:01:17,215 The battle of Jutland is the greatest naval action of World War One 15 00:01:17,249 --> 00:01:21,046 But which side actually wins? 16 00:01:21,081 --> 00:01:28,916 After the war ends how does a fleet of gigantic battleships simply vanish? 17 00:01:28,950 --> 00:01:34,887 And in world war two, what sink one of the last great Jutland warships 18 00:01:34,922 --> 00:01:38,305 while it's anchored in a safe harbour? 19 00:01:52,077 --> 00:01:58,187 1916. Germany is at war with Britain and her allies. 20 00:01:58,221 --> 00:02:05,366 In the North Sea, two mighty fleets are set to clash in the biggest sea battle of World War One 21 00:02:05,401 --> 00:02:09,577 It will ultimately decide who wins the Great War. 22 00:02:09,612 --> 00:02:14,824 Yet astonishingly, both sides claim victory. 23 00:02:14,858 --> 00:02:19,794 DR. DELGADO: For such a climactic battle Jutland is one that is shrouded in mystery 24 00:02:19,829 --> 00:02:24,178 as well as controversy. 25 00:02:24,213 --> 00:02:30,978 NARRATOR: As the waters begin to drain away do they reveal who really wins the Battle of Jutland? 26 00:02:35,224 --> 00:02:42,231 Danish research vessel VINA is hunting for the ships destroyed in this titanic naval clash. 27 00:02:42,265 --> 00:02:47,063 JELLICOE: So this might be the beginning of a wreck field. 28 00:02:47,097 --> 00:02:54,001 NARRATOR: The crew are using high tech multi-beam sonar scans to do what no-one else has ever attempted. 29 00:02:54,035 --> 00:02:57,038 Uncover the entire Jutland Battlefield. 30 00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:08,395 Solving the mystery of the battle is a personal quest for Nick Jellicoe. 31 00:03:08,429 --> 00:03:15,781 He's the grandson of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, the commander of the British Fleet. 32 00:03:15,816 --> 00:03:21,131 Admiral Jellicoe's mission is to destroy the German Imperial Navy. 33 00:03:21,166 --> 00:03:23,444 And help win World War One. 34 00:03:26,827 --> 00:03:32,246 JELLICOE: The burden of command that sat on my Grandfather's shoulders that day was huge. 35 00:03:32,281 --> 00:03:35,042 All their lives depended on what he was going to do. 36 00:03:37,113 --> 00:03:46,053 NARRATOR: Jellicoe commands the most powerful fleet in history, and it's facing its biggest test. 37 00:03:46,087 --> 00:03:50,782 PROF. GROVE: Jutland is the ultimate clash of battleships and battle cruisers. 38 00:03:50,816 --> 00:03:55,821 Perhaps the sort of ultimate warships ever built in terms of their military sex appeal. 39 00:04:01,655 --> 00:04:07,868 NARRATOR: Before the First Worl War, Britain and Germany are locked in a dangerous arms race 40 00:04:07,902 --> 00:04:14,115 Spending billions on ever large and more powerful battleships. 41 00:04:14,150 --> 00:04:18,292 Each hopes to intimidate the other. 42 00:04:18,327 --> 00:04:21,330 But it only inflames the tensions between them. 43 00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:27,922 DR. DELGADO: Ultimately what this naval arms race leads to is war. 44 00:04:32,686 --> 00:04:41,695 NARRATOR: There is only one survivor from this age of naval giants The USS Texas. 45 00:04:43,075 --> 00:04:48,288 The length of this mega ship, is equivalent to the height of a fifty storey skyscraper. 46 00:04:52,292 --> 00:04:54,501 JURENS: These ships were the ultimate weapons. 47 00:04:54,535 --> 00:05:00,127 When you had one of these there was nothing that was more powerful. 48 00:05:00,161 --> 00:05:05,995 NARRATOR: Weighing in at twenty seven thousand tonnes, the USS Texas is a Dreadnought type 49 00:05:06,029 --> 00:05:09,964 battleship like many of the ships that fight at Jutland. 50 00:05:10,724 --> 00:05:17,455 JURENS: The thing that makes this so enormously impressive is the technology that went in to making it. 51 00:05:17,489 --> 00:05:23,184 The complicated engines, the hugely capable guns. 52 00:05:23,219 --> 00:05:26,187 All of this in an enormous hull. 53 00:05:26,222 --> 00:05:29,052 Much larger than any ship that had been built before. 54 00:05:32,711 --> 00:05:39,408 NARRATOR: These massive fourteen inch guns are among the biggest on the high seas. 55 00:05:39,442 --> 00:05:41,064 JURENS: Texas had ten of them. 56 00:05:45,241 --> 00:05:50,177 If you're within range it will punch through 12 inches of armour. 57 00:05:57,115 --> 00:06:02,327 NARRATOR: When war breaks out i nineteen fourteen, at first neither Britain nor Germany 58 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:09,127 dare risk losing their massivel expensive fleets in a head to head confrontation. 59 00:06:09,161 --> 00:06:14,304 They finally clash in a titanic battle at Jutland in 1916. 60 00:06:16,548 --> 00:06:22,140 Using the data collected by the Vina it's now possible to do something that no historian 61 00:06:22,174 --> 00:06:30,079 or archaeologist has been able to attempt before. Drain away the waters of the North Sea 62 00:06:30,113 --> 00:06:34,946 to reveal the remains of the greatest sea battle of World War One. 63 00:06:40,296 --> 00:06:45,405 As the seawater flows away, a haunted world slowly emerges. 64 00:06:47,303 --> 00:06:50,858 The smashed wrecks of the Ultimate Battleships. 65 00:06:53,482 --> 00:06:58,314 Broken twisted debris from not one but dozens of warships. 66 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,149 Across a huge area, five thousand square miles. 67 00:07:13,536 --> 00:07:16,677 May 31st, 1916. 68 00:07:16,712 --> 00:07:20,440 The German fleet sets out on a secret mission. 69 00:07:20,474 --> 00:07:28,240 Their plan is to locate, attack and destroy a small part of the British Grand Fleet. 70 00:07:28,275 --> 00:07:32,590 PROF. GROVE: The British Grand Fleet is vastly superior to the German High Sea Fleet, 71 00:07:32,624 --> 00:07:36,559 both numerically, and also in terms of gun power. 72 00:07:36,594 --> 00:07:41,219 NARRATOR: The Germans under Admiral Scheer have less than a hundred warships compared 73 00:07:41,253 --> 00:07:44,912 to the Royal Navy's one hundred and fifty. 74 00:07:44,947 --> 00:07:47,881 PROF. GROVE: Scheer's original plan was to come out with his fleet, 75 00:07:47,915 --> 00:07:54,681 run parallel to the Danish coast, Jutland, and hopefully come across some British ships 76 00:07:54,715 --> 00:07:57,580 in the numbers that he can deal with. 77 00:07:57,615 --> 00:08:02,861 NARRATOR: By heading out, the Germans are setting a trap for the British. 78 00:08:08,142 --> 00:08:10,420 Only then will they attack. 79 00:08:11,629 --> 00:08:16,634 PROF. GROVE: All they can do is hope to wear down the British Grand Fleet in a series of 80 00:08:16,668 --> 00:08:23,192 engagements, to a point where perhaps the two sides might be more even in numbers. 81 00:08:23,226 --> 00:08:28,646 NARRATOR: The German's have been preparing their strategy in secret. 82 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:33,098 DR. DELGADO: For the Germans this battle is "der Tag" - it's 'The Day'. 83 00:08:33,133 --> 00:08:35,653 NARRATOR: But the British have a trap of their own. 84 00:08:35,687 --> 00:08:40,485 They've cracked the secret radio codes ordering the Germans into action. 85 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:47,285 The Royal Navy mobilise one hundred and fifty one ships in two battle groups. 86 00:08:47,319 --> 00:08:53,222 DR. DELGADO: For the British this is an opportunity to crush the Kaiser's fleet and win the war at sea. 87 00:08:56,536 --> 00:09:01,886 NARRATOR: The Germans don't kno it yet but their ninety nine ships are heading exactly 88 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:03,266 where the British want them. 89 00:09:09,549 --> 00:09:16,107 It should be an easy victory for the Royal Navy. 90 00:09:16,141 --> 00:09:25,081 Around four thirty pm on May 31st, the two fleets sight each other and the Germans open fire 91 00:09:25,116 --> 00:09:30,984 Over the next twelve hours Jutland becomes the biggest sea battle of world war one. 92 00:09:31,018 --> 00:09:34,919 But what exactly happens is still shrouded in mystery. 93 00:09:36,092 --> 00:09:41,684 Even on the day itself, neither side knows the precise movements of the other. 94 00:09:41,719 --> 00:09:47,103 In the days before modern satellite Navigation, no-one knows their exact positions. 95 00:09:47,138 --> 00:09:50,037 Both sides are running blind. 96 00:09:50,072 --> 00:09:57,079 To send and receive orders, the use flags, but that doesn't wor when the visibility is poor. 97 00:09:57,113 --> 00:09:58,494 JELLICOE: There are thick fog banks. 98 00:09:58,528 --> 00:10:00,876 There's funnel smoke all over the battlefield. 99 00:10:00,910 --> 00:10:03,499 There's even chemical smoke screens being laid down. 100 00:10:07,952 --> 00:10:12,232 NARRATOR: VINA is using the sonar scans to pinpoint the exact position of one 101 00:10:12,266 --> 00:10:17,651 of the early casualties of the battle the ironically named HMS Invincible. 102 00:10:17,686 --> 00:10:19,757 JELLICOE: Goodness me what are these? 103 00:10:19,791 --> 00:10:23,070 Could this be a gun? MAN: Yeah you can see the gun. 104 00:10:23,105 --> 00:10:27,385 JELLICOE: One of the barrels. MAN: It's upside down. 105 00:10:27,419 --> 00:10:30,664 NARRATOR: First they locate two gun turrets. 106 00:10:30,699 --> 00:10:34,047 But where is the ship they come from? 107 00:10:34,081 --> 00:10:35,876 JELLICOE: Look at this! Look at this! 108 00:10:35,911 --> 00:10:37,360 I think we've found something here. 109 00:10:42,124 --> 00:10:49,234 NARRATOR: It's now possible to drain the waters of the North Sea, 110 00:10:49,269 --> 00:10:58,036 not only revealing the wreck of invincible, but also evidence o the explosive violence of its final moments. 111 00:11:00,729 --> 00:11:05,837 Over seventeen thousand tons of high grade steel. 112 00:11:05,872 --> 00:11:13,017 Armour plating six inches thick has simply been shattered by a huge explosion. 113 00:11:14,294 --> 00:11:18,850 The hull of Invincible is literally blasted in two. 114 00:11:19,817 --> 00:11:27,031 Such is the explosive force tha wrecks the ship that its gun turrets lie almost four hundred feet away. 115 00:11:27,065 --> 00:11:33,175 The power of the blast must have blown them clean out of the ship. 116 00:11:33,209 --> 00:11:34,970 JELLICOE: You know how much these things weigh? 117 00:11:35,004 --> 00:11:37,110 These are about sort of 200 tons. 118 00:11:37,144 --> 00:11:41,631 Can you imagine the violence and the force of this explosion? SURVEYOR: Amazing, isn't it? 119 00:11:41,666 --> 00:11:45,049 JELLICOE: It's, it's extraordinary. 120 00:11:45,083 --> 00:11:49,191 NARRATOR: The hull is broken at the spot where Invincible's two central gun turrets 121 00:11:49,225 --> 00:11:54,265 are connected to the ammunition stores below. 122 00:11:54,299 --> 00:11:59,201 What does this reveal about how the ship explodes? 123 00:11:59,235 --> 00:12:06,208 Like the USS Texas, Invincible has fire proof blast doors 124 00:12:06,242 --> 00:12:12,421 that stop fires spreading preventing the entire vessel from exploding. 125 00:12:12,455 --> 00:12:14,078 So what goes wrong? 126 00:12:14,112 --> 00:12:17,944 [explosions] 127 00:12:20,084 --> 00:12:23,604 [music] 128 00:12:23,639 --> 00:12:29,990 Draining the water of the North Sea is uncovering secrets about the Battle of Jutland. 129 00:12:30,025 --> 00:12:35,478 And helping solve a controversial question is it the Germans or the British 130 00:12:35,513 --> 00:12:38,171 who win the battle? 131 00:12:38,205 --> 00:12:43,210 The drained wreck of HMS Invincible reveals extraordinary damage. 132 00:12:43,245 --> 00:12:50,045 Can the shattered remains offer clues about how the explosion snaps the ship clean in half. 133 00:12:50,079 --> 00:12:53,738 PROF. GROVE: This is a tremendous shock and it produces very heavy casualties. 134 00:12:53,773 --> 00:12:58,639 A ship of this size going up is going to kill a thousand people. 135 00:12:58,674 --> 00:13:04,059 NARRATOR: There is one substanc explosive enough to blow up a warship a type of Gunpowder, 136 00:13:04,093 --> 00:13:12,101 known as Cordite and battleships like Invincible and the USS TEXAS are packed with tons of it. 137 00:13:12,136 --> 00:13:16,071 It's what allows them to fire their deadly payload. 138 00:13:21,662 --> 00:13:27,220 JURENS: The whole purpose of this enormous ship is to take this projectile, 139 00:13:27,254 --> 00:13:33,019 which weighs half as much as a Toyota, and push it out ten or fifteen miles to hit an enemy. 140 00:13:38,127 --> 00:13:45,169 Some Husky Sailors would lift up 4 of these big propellant bags. 141 00:13:45,203 --> 00:13:47,723 Inside was Cordite. 142 00:13:47,757 --> 00:13:54,626 Central station fires the gun, ignites the cordite, pushing this shell out about four times 143 00:13:54,661 --> 00:13:58,216 the speed that an airliner flies. 144 00:13:59,424 --> 00:14:06,707 About 25 seconds later and ten miles away, this thing comes down and we hope hits the enemy. 145 00:14:06,742 --> 00:14:10,090 [explosion] 146 00:14:10,125 --> 00:14:15,302 NARRATOR: But the danger for al battleships is that if their ow cordite store is ignited 147 00:14:15,337 --> 00:14:21,412 by an enemy shell, the entire vessel explodes. 148 00:14:21,446 --> 00:14:26,900 So extraordinary safety feature to keep fires from spreading ar built into the design 149 00:14:26,935 --> 00:14:30,421 of battleships like the USS Texas. 150 00:14:30,455 --> 00:14:35,805 Cordite is stored in magazines deep inside the ship. 151 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:42,019 The metal blast doors seal the magazines preventing fire spreading down from the guns above. 152 00:14:44,090 --> 00:14:50,406 And the highly flammable bags of cordite are passed up to the guns through secure hatches. 153 00:14:51,683 --> 00:14:58,828 So with all these elaborate safety precautions in place wha goes wrong on the Invincible? 154 00:14:58,863 --> 00:15:03,247 VINA deploys a submersible camera to search for evidence around the turrets 155 00:15:11,255 --> 00:15:15,190 JELLICOE: My gosh, look at that, we're right underneath. 156 00:15:15,224 --> 00:15:17,778 There's something here. 157 00:15:17,813 --> 00:15:23,370 It does look more like a shell doesn't it? 158 00:15:23,405 --> 00:15:30,067 So just below the shell one can see the top of a cordite container and strands of 159 00:15:30,101 --> 00:15:32,414 Cordite. 160 00:15:32,448 --> 00:15:38,213 Because in these long stick like strands all bundled together. 161 00:15:38,247 --> 00:15:44,253 Quick burning, very unstable. 162 00:15:44,288 --> 00:15:48,188 NARRATOR: The cordite and shells piled together in the wrecked turret, 163 00:15:48,223 --> 00:15:51,605 expose a fatal vulnerability. 164 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,196 The Royal Navy is playing with fire literally. 165 00:15:56,231 --> 00:16:02,202 JURENS: They could be ignited if something went wrong inside the turret itself. 166 00:16:02,237 --> 00:16:06,103 NARRATOR: The drained wreck, shows the force of the blast goes through the ship 167 00:16:06,137 --> 00:16:09,520 from top to bottom. 168 00:16:09,554 --> 00:16:13,282 There's only one possible explanation. 169 00:16:13,317 --> 00:16:18,184 The blast doors are left open. 170 00:16:18,218 --> 00:16:20,117 This solves the mystery. 171 00:16:22,015 --> 00:16:27,400 A German shell hits the gun turret amidships and ignites the cordite. 172 00:16:27,434 --> 00:16:35,063 Fire spreads in seconds through the open doors to the main ammunition store below. 173 00:16:35,097 --> 00:16:43,657 The result - Invincible is torn in half, and the two gun turrets blown sky high. 174 00:16:43,692 --> 00:16:48,869 JURENS: The impact of a hundred tons of cordite going off is enormous. 175 00:16:48,904 --> 00:16:53,219 It'll tear a ship in half, it tore invincible in two. 176 00:16:53,253 --> 00:16:58,534 NARRATOR: But why would Invincible's crew risk leaving the fire proof blast doors wide open? 177 00:17:01,882 --> 00:17:05,300 DR. DELGADO: In naval warfare there are different approaches to fighting. 178 00:17:05,334 --> 00:17:12,100 For the British it's rapidity of fire, it's getting as many shells off as fast as you can. 179 00:17:12,134 --> 00:17:17,208 PROF. GROVE: To increase the rate of fire, magazine doors are left open. 180 00:17:17,243 --> 00:17:20,315 The propellants are piled up. 181 00:17:20,349 --> 00:17:26,079 You hit anywhere in that system, and you have a trail of destruction going down 182 00:17:26,114 --> 00:17:27,839 into the magazines. 183 00:17:27,874 --> 00:17:30,152 Some magazine doors were actually taken off. 184 00:17:30,187 --> 00:17:33,017 This is suicidal. 185 00:17:33,052 --> 00:17:39,679 NARRATOR: This tactical error causes the Royal Navy to lose four of its best ships in less than three hours. 186 00:17:39,713 --> 00:17:43,303 And the battle is yet to reach its climax. 187 00:17:45,409 --> 00:17:49,654 Emptying the North Sea reveals the extent of the battlefield. 188 00:17:49,689 --> 00:17:56,178 This extraordinary drained landscape helps decipher the course of the action. 189 00:17:56,213 --> 00:18:00,458 DR. DELGADO: When you look at the entire battlefield, if you were to take all the water away 190 00:18:00,493 --> 00:18:03,565 what you see is each warrior where they fell. 191 00:18:03,599 --> 00:18:08,190 The position in which they lie, the type of damage that they took. 192 00:18:08,225 --> 00:18:16,095 In a larger forensic sense, helps you re-create the Battle of Jutland. 193 00:18:16,129 --> 00:18:21,100 NARRATOR: About four hours into the battle, the Germans still believe they are facing a small 194 00:18:21,134 --> 00:18:23,516 part of the British fleet. 195 00:18:23,550 --> 00:18:26,415 Until the sea fog lifts. 196 00:18:26,450 --> 00:18:31,731 PROF. GROVE: Suddenly Admiral Scheer the German commander sees the whole northern horizon 197 00:18:31,765 --> 00:18:35,700 light up with the gunfire of a long line of British battleships. 198 00:18:35,735 --> 00:18:38,565 This is his worst nightmare. 199 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:45,089 NARRATOR: Scheer is staring down the awesome firepower of the main British battle fleet. 200 00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:51,647 With fifty more ships than his enemy, Admiral Jellicoe has an extraordinary opportunity. 201 00:18:51,682 --> 00:18:56,687 JELLICOE: The British didn't just want victory they wanted total annihilation of the German fleet. 202 00:19:08,319 --> 00:19:12,254 PROF. GROVE: The classic naval tactic is to cross the enemy's T. 203 00:19:12,289 --> 00:19:17,052 Have your fleet sail across the front of the enemy fleet, so that you concentrate 204 00:19:17,086 --> 00:19:22,091 your firepower and the enemy doesn't have as many guns brought to bear. 205 00:19:22,126 --> 00:19:25,060 JELLICOE: It's a moment of potential annihilation. 206 00:19:25,094 --> 00:19:29,720 This is the critical point of the battle in many ways. 207 00:19:29,754 --> 00:19:37,037 NARRATOR: By Crossing the T, the British bring the full force of their weapons to bear. 208 00:19:37,072 --> 00:19:39,143 They open fire. 209 00:19:39,178 --> 00:19:43,043 The German reaction is astonishing. 210 00:19:43,078 --> 00:19:49,257 They launch a daring escape bid, under heavy fire, risking collisions between their ships. 211 00:19:49,291 --> 00:19:55,124 DR. DELGADO: As the British cross the T, the Germans execute an incredible feat 212 00:19:55,159 --> 00:19:58,438 of seamanship they turn 180. 213 00:19:58,473 --> 00:20:05,238 The British aren't even expecting this and so the Germans get out of the trap. 214 00:20:11,313 --> 00:20:15,697 JELLICOE: One moment Jellicoe has all the German fleet in his sights. 215 00:20:15,731 --> 00:20:17,699 Four minutes later nothing. 216 00:20:21,254 --> 00:20:29,158 The Royal navy misses a golden opportunity to destroy the German fleet and change the course of the war. 217 00:20:30,712 --> 00:20:34,440 Draining the whole Jutland battlefield uncovers more wrecks, 218 00:20:34,474 --> 00:20:39,755 revealing how the Germans try to get away, and the British try to catch them. 219 00:20:41,274 --> 00:20:46,693 VINA heads south, hunting for the remains of a warship that reveals the lengths the Germans 220 00:20:46,728 --> 00:20:51,042 are willing to go to avoid capture 221 00:20:51,077 --> 00:20:53,562 Lutzow. 222 00:20:53,597 --> 00:20:56,565 PROF. GROVE: Lutzow was the newest of the German battle cruisers, 223 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,017 only just been commissioned and she was a very fine ship. 224 00:21:00,051 --> 00:21:03,848 She had 8 12 inch guns, very heavily protected. 225 00:21:09,233 --> 00:21:12,029 NARRATOR: The waters of the North Sea drain away 226 00:21:15,722 --> 00:21:23,005 and Lutzow appears for the firs time in over a hundred years. 227 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:29,702 This reveals astonishing new evidence of the ship's extraordinary fate. 228 00:21:29,736 --> 00:21:32,118 Lutzow lies face down. 229 00:21:32,152 --> 00:21:39,815 There's damage to the hull but unlike Invincible the ship hasn't been blown in half. 230 00:21:39,850 --> 00:21:43,440 So what sinks Lutzow? 231 00:21:50,481 --> 00:21:57,108 Draining away the cold dark waters of the North Sea, reveal one of the most powerful German 232 00:21:57,143 --> 00:22:03,183 warships at Jutland Lutzow. 233 00:22:03,218 --> 00:22:08,050 DR. DELGADO: Luützow was heavily mauled in the Battle, so much so that it's almost 234 00:22:08,085 --> 00:22:13,193 like target practice for the Royal Navy. 235 00:22:13,228 --> 00:22:18,302 NARRATOR: Lutzow is heavily damaged, but the wreck reveals a surprise. 236 00:22:19,234 --> 00:22:25,896 The hull is not blown into separate pieces. 237 00:22:25,930 --> 00:22:28,795 JELLICOE: It actually looks like quite a complete hull. 238 00:22:28,830 --> 00:22:31,039 So not battle damage? SURVEYOR: Not battle damage. 239 00:22:33,075 --> 00:22:39,116 NARRATOR: Lutzow's intact hull is evidence it doesn't blow up, and Vina's cameras now suggest 240 00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:41,843 a possible reason why. 241 00:22:41,877 --> 00:22:48,228 The ship's highly explosive cordite is stored in these protective metal canisters. 242 00:22:48,263 --> 00:22:53,648 JURENS: The German systems used brass cartridge cases to carry the propellant 243 00:22:53,682 --> 00:23:01,103 from place to place so it was enclosed and less likely to ignite. 244 00:23:01,138 --> 00:23:08,214 NARRATOR: The drained seabed also shows the wreck lies nowhere near where the British fleet is operating. 245 00:23:08,248 --> 00:23:15,117 Suggesting it isn't sunk by the Royal Navy. 246 00:23:15,152 --> 00:23:20,191 The wreck reveals extensive damage below the waterline. 247 00:23:20,226 --> 00:23:28,786 Evidence that Lutzow is struck by weapons feared by all the ultimate battle ships 248 00:23:28,821 --> 00:23:31,030 Torpedoes. 249 00:23:31,064 --> 00:23:39,072 Unleashed not by the Royal Navy but by the Germans. 250 00:23:39,107 --> 00:23:43,698 DR. DELGADO: Lutzow gets away from the British and Limping home, 251 00:23:43,732 --> 00:23:47,080 the crew realizes that the ship's not going to make it. 252 00:23:47,115 --> 00:23:51,844 Rather than leave it afloat for the British to capture and make a trophy of, 253 00:23:51,878 --> 00:23:53,673 they decide to sink it. 254 00:23:53,708 --> 00:24:00,577 [explosion] 255 00:24:00,611 --> 00:24:07,825 NARRATOR: Packed with advanced military technology, it's vital Lutzow doesn't fall into enemy hands. 256 00:24:07,860 --> 00:24:10,310 But that's not all. 257 00:24:10,345 --> 00:24:15,108 DR. DELGADO: There's honour at stake here and so they scuttle it and they see nothing wrong with that 258 00:24:15,143 --> 00:24:19,009 in fact it's the type of action that will get you a medal. 259 00:24:19,043 --> 00:24:23,496 NARRATOR: But the pride that drives the Germans to sink one of their best ships, 260 00:24:23,531 --> 00:24:26,465 comes at a terrible price. 261 00:24:26,499 --> 00:24:29,191 JELLICOE: There were men trapped in the dynamo room. 262 00:24:29,226 --> 00:24:34,473 They had stayed on board to keep the light running so that their comrades could get off. 263 00:24:34,507 --> 00:24:38,097 They were the ones who were told they're not going to get off, the ship is going to be 264 00:24:38,131 --> 00:24:42,481 torpedoed by their own torpedo boats. 265 00:24:42,515 --> 00:24:45,276 They knew they were gonna die. 266 00:24:53,215 --> 00:24:56,805 NARRATOR: Eight hours into the battle night has fallen. 267 00:24:56,840 --> 00:25:02,293 The battered German fleet is running south to its base at Wilhemshaven. 268 00:25:02,328 --> 00:25:09,680 Draining the wrecks lying close to Germany reveals what happens when the British catch up to th Germans. 269 00:25:09,715 --> 00:25:13,753 Will they prevent their escape, destroy their fleet, and win the battle? 270 00:25:18,068 --> 00:25:24,074 VINA is following the course th British take as they pursue the Germans south in the darkness. 271 00:25:24,108 --> 00:25:27,180 Scans pick up another wreck. 272 00:25:27,215 --> 00:25:34,256 It's a British armoured cruiser a type of warship completely outgunned by German battleships 273 00:25:34,291 --> 00:25:41,160 JELLICOE: We can see the propeller shaft here and some extensive damage in the stern section. 274 00:25:42,748 --> 00:25:47,684 NARRATOR: VINA has found the wreck of HMS Black Prince. 275 00:25:56,796 --> 00:26:04,217 Draining away the sea water reveals that the hull is broken clean in two. 276 00:26:04,252 --> 00:26:09,878 A gun turret lies exactly in th position where the hull splits. 277 00:26:09,913 --> 00:26:16,091 It's taken a direct hit and the magazines have blown up. 278 00:26:18,128 --> 00:26:22,650 From the drained wreck we can start to piece together what happens. 279 00:26:26,308 --> 00:26:32,038 While looking to re-join the main British fleet, Black Princ runs into a formation of twelve 280 00:26:32,073 --> 00:26:39,667 German battle ships and in the darkness mistakes them for the Royal Navy. 281 00:26:43,153 --> 00:26:50,816 The wreck lies pointing to the North East, confirming Black Prince is trying desperately to steer away from the Germans. 282 00:26:52,093 --> 00:26:57,098 PROF. GROVE: We know from the archaeology now that the ship appears to have turned, 283 00:26:57,132 --> 00:26:59,203 so they knew what danger they were in. 284 00:26:59,238 --> 00:27:01,102 They didn't, they didn't just sail into it. 285 00:27:01,136 --> 00:27:04,795 But they turned too little, too late. 286 00:27:04,830 --> 00:27:09,628 [explosions] 287 00:27:09,662 --> 00:27:14,633 NARRATOR: All eight hundred and fifty seven men on board are lost. 288 00:27:18,637 --> 00:27:23,538 Black Prince is not the only ship the British lose as they pursue the enemy. 289 00:27:23,572 --> 00:27:26,541 At least four more warships are sunk. 290 00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:34,307 The German rear guard action uses torpedo attacks to keep Jellicoe's force at bay. 291 00:27:34,342 --> 00:27:38,898 Knowing his fleet isn't well equipped for night fighting he disengages. 292 00:27:43,144 --> 00:27:48,597 The following day the Germans make it safely back to base. 293 00:27:48,632 --> 00:27:55,397 The Royal Navy fails to stop their escape, after just twelve hours, 294 00:27:55,432 --> 00:27:58,090 the battle of Jutland is over. 295 00:28:00,989 --> 00:28:06,270 Ten thousand sailors are dead. 296 00:28:06,305 --> 00:28:13,484 As dawn breaks over the North Sea, bodies from each side, start to wash up along the Danish Coast. 297 00:28:16,142 --> 00:28:23,978 Even though they have retreated the Germans claim victory because they have fewer losses. 298 00:28:24,012 --> 00:28:27,498 The British have lost fourteen ships. 299 00:28:27,533 --> 00:28:32,020 Admiral Scheer's German fleet, just eleven. 300 00:28:32,055 --> 00:28:35,023 JAMES DELGADO: He has inflicted incredible losses on the Royal Navy, 301 00:28:35,058 --> 00:28:40,788 he has sunk more British tonnage and killed more British sailors than he has lost, 302 00:28:40,822 --> 00:28:44,999 so to his mind and for the Kaiser and for Germany this is a victory. 303 00:28:49,624 --> 00:28:55,181 NARRATOR: But despite losing more ships and men, Admiral Jellicoe's fleet ultimately win 304 00:28:55,216 --> 00:29:00,773 the battle because they now have complete command of the North Sea. 305 00:29:00,808 --> 00:29:08,194 For the rest of the war, German battleships never dare challeng the full might of the Royal Nav again. 306 00:29:08,229 --> 00:29:12,440 PROF. GROVE: The crucial strategic fact is that the British Grand Fleet is acting 307 00:29:12,474 --> 00:29:17,065 as the stopper in the bottle, to stop German surface ships getting out. 308 00:29:17,100 --> 00:29:23,037 NARRATOR: Taking control of the sea after this battle is decisive in winning World War One. 309 00:29:23,071 --> 00:29:27,731 For two years after Jutland, Britain blockades German ports. 310 00:29:27,766 --> 00:29:32,736 Slowly starving the country into submission. 311 00:29:32,771 --> 00:29:39,501 In 1918 Britain and her allies are victorious. 312 00:29:39,536 --> 00:29:46,232 Germany is forced to give up its navy without another shot being fired. 313 00:29:46,267 --> 00:29:54,309 But if the conflict is over, wh does the entire German fleet no lie on the bottom of the sea? 314 00:29:59,245 --> 00:30:03,111 [music] 315 00:30:03,146 --> 00:30:08,047 When World War One ends on November the eleventh nineteen eighteen, 316 00:30:08,082 --> 00:30:14,467 the German high seas fleet is anchored in its main base. 317 00:30:14,502 --> 00:30:21,958 But a little over six months later, it's on the sea bed five hundred miles away here, 318 00:30:21,992 --> 00:30:24,029 off the northern tip of Scotland. 319 00:30:27,895 --> 00:30:34,867 The Orkney Islands cluster around a gigantic natural harbour called Scapa Flow. 320 00:30:40,252 --> 00:30:44,256 Using the latest data from detailed underwater scanning, 321 00:30:44,290 --> 00:30:47,673 it's possible to drain away the waters here. 322 00:30:49,433 --> 00:30:54,059 The sea pushes back to expose narrow passages between the islands. 323 00:30:58,097 --> 00:31:06,209 This ancient submerged landscap makes Scapa Flow one of the largest natural deep water harbours in the world. 324 00:31:10,006 --> 00:31:13,009 The perfect place to imprison a battle fleet. 325 00:31:20,326 --> 00:31:25,055 Skipper John Thornton knows these waters better than most. 326 00:31:26,332 --> 00:31:31,475 THORNTON: Scapa's a very special and unique place, in that the waters are sheltered, 327 00:31:31,510 --> 00:31:34,237 it's the reason why it was used as a British naval harbour. 328 00:31:34,271 --> 00:31:37,412 Also its position geographically is very strategic. 329 00:31:43,039 --> 00:31:50,632 NARRATOR: November 1918 the defeated German fleet is ordere to set sail into captivity. 330 00:31:51,495 --> 00:31:57,985 DR. DELGADO: The Germans with flags flying steam out, and come into Scapa Flow, 331 00:31:58,019 --> 00:32:01,989 and there they're to be interned. 332 00:32:02,023 --> 00:32:07,028 NARRATOR: They are anchored at Scapa while politicians from th Victorious allies decide 333 00:32:07,063 --> 00:32:12,171 how they'll divide up these spoils of war worth billions. 334 00:32:12,206 --> 00:32:14,449 PROF. GROVE: It must have given the Germans terrible feelings of, 335 00:32:14,484 --> 00:32:17,418 of disgrace and humiliation and a determination 336 00:32:17,452 --> 00:32:22,906 not to allow these ships to fall into the hands of Allies. 337 00:32:22,941 --> 00:32:26,565 NARRATOR: The political wrangling over which of the allies will get which 338 00:32:26,599 --> 00:32:30,155 of the German ships continues. 339 00:32:30,189 --> 00:32:32,226 June 1919. 340 00:32:32,260 --> 00:32:37,231 Nearly Seven months after their capture, the seventy four Germa ships remain at anchor 341 00:32:37,265 --> 00:32:39,819 under Royal Navy Guard. 342 00:32:39,854 --> 00:32:44,100 Their skeleton crews prisoners on their own vessels. 343 00:32:44,134 --> 00:32:49,691 THORNTON: They had to be fed and supplied from Germany the British refused to supply them locally. 344 00:32:51,728 --> 00:32:54,938 They're on the ships with no entertainment, no heating. 345 00:32:54,973 --> 00:32:58,114 So these poor people would have had a grim time. 346 00:33:01,220 --> 00:33:07,123 NARRATOR: Using the latest sonar data, draining Scapa Flow reveals the fate of the German fleet. 347 00:33:12,887 --> 00:33:21,309 As the water recedes, it uncovers the wreck of one of the most advanced ships in the entire German navy. 348 00:33:21,344 --> 00:33:25,003 Packing no fewer than ten twelve inch guns. 349 00:33:25,037 --> 00:33:32,148 Markgraf is brand new when the war starts in 1914. 350 00:33:32,182 --> 00:33:38,464 The drained wreck now reveals huge chunks cut out of the hull more recently by salvagers, 351 00:33:38,499 --> 00:33:41,812 searching for valuable scrap metals. 352 00:33:41,847 --> 00:33:46,058 The ship capsizes as it goes down. 353 00:33:46,093 --> 00:33:53,617 There are no signs of battle damage along the giant hull So what sinks the Markgraf? 354 00:33:53,652 --> 00:33:58,381 These portholes are clearly visible close to what was the waterline. 355 00:33:58,415 --> 00:34:01,625 And they appear to be open. 356 00:34:08,218 --> 00:34:12,774 From the Dive Boat Karin, a team sets out to investigate the wreck. 357 00:34:12,809 --> 00:34:22,819 [music] 358 00:34:22,853 --> 00:34:28,100 [music] 359 00:34:28,135 --> 00:34:33,243 They want to find out if the portholes were opened before or after the ship sinks. 360 00:34:39,836 --> 00:34:44,461 STEVENSON: It's a huge ship, your only impression is just scale. 361 00:34:44,496 --> 00:34:46,601 Minute after minute just slowly moving along it. 362 00:34:46,636 --> 00:34:51,813 It just keeps going and keeps going, she's a massive ship. 363 00:34:51,848 --> 00:34:56,128 NARRATOR: Dan's picture clearly shows an open porthole. 364 00:34:56,163 --> 00:34:59,407 STEVENSON: Here's one with the actual glass portal still in place. 365 00:34:59,442 --> 00:35:02,169 JELLICOE: But it's open STEVENSON: It's wide open. 366 00:35:02,203 --> 00:35:08,175 There was no way a diver could have got on the inside to have unbolted that porthole so 367 00:35:08,209 --> 00:35:13,283 it had to have been sunk with the with the port hole wide open. 368 00:35:13,318 --> 00:35:18,875 NARRATOR: It's a vital clue revealing an amazing event. 369 00:35:18,909 --> 00:35:21,740 DR. DELGADO: One of the most incredible acts in the history of any Navy. 370 00:35:26,089 --> 00:35:32,060 NARRATOR: There are more German Battleships lying on the bottom of Scapa Flow. 371 00:35:32,095 --> 00:35:40,448 These wrecks are undamaged no sign of explosions, no holes made by torpedoes. 372 00:35:40,483 --> 00:35:43,486 It can only mean one thing. 373 00:35:45,143 --> 00:35:51,287 DR. DELGADO: What the Germans do under the noses of their captors is to simultaneously scuttle 374 00:35:51,321 --> 00:35:54,013 their fleet that is send it to the bottom. 375 00:35:56,499 --> 00:36:01,055 NARRATOR: Shocked witnesses take pictures of the ships actually sinking. 376 00:36:06,302 --> 00:36:09,719 It's June twenty first, 1919. 377 00:36:09,753 --> 00:36:16,277 The decision on how the German fleet is to be divided up is due to be announced. 378 00:36:16,312 --> 00:36:21,248 Under secret orders from Germany, Fleet commander Von Reuter has been quietly 379 00:36:21,282 --> 00:36:26,011 preparing this moment for months. 380 00:36:26,045 --> 00:36:30,084 PROF. GROVE: The Germans saw scuttling the fleet as actually a way at getting back at their captors. 381 00:36:30,118 --> 00:36:32,259 It was actually an aggressive move. 382 00:36:32,293 --> 00:36:37,919 The Germans had got their revenge at last, three years after the battle of Jutland. 383 00:36:37,954 --> 00:36:43,304 NARRATOR: Sinking their entire fleet, prevents the allies from getting their hands on the German ships. 384 00:36:43,339 --> 00:36:49,207 [music] 385 00:36:49,241 --> 00:36:57,905 But sinking seventy four warships at the same time, requires more than just leaving portholes open. 386 00:36:57,939 --> 00:37:03,600 How did they do it? 387 00:37:03,635 --> 00:37:07,880 David Manley is a naval architect with an unusual skill 388 00:37:07,915 --> 00:37:12,782 His job is testing ships by trying to sink them. 389 00:37:12,816 --> 00:37:15,854 HMS Belfast is a typical warship. 390 00:37:15,888 --> 00:37:21,204 It has weak spots if you know what to look for and have the right tools. 391 00:37:21,239 --> 00:37:25,967 MANLEY: We're well below the waterline here, and this pipe is one of the ways in which you 392 00:37:26,002 --> 00:37:33,112 would very easily uh sink a ship of this size and all you need is just a sledgehammer like this. 393 00:37:33,147 --> 00:37:37,220 Hit the pipe hard, give it a good whack, split it apart. 394 00:37:37,255 --> 00:37:39,809 The force of the water coming out of here well I mean if, 395 00:37:39,843 --> 00:37:41,845 if you were standing near it, it would take your head off. 396 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,608 It would enough to fill this compartment in just a few minutes. 397 00:37:45,642 --> 00:37:47,644 And then everybody is just heading for the upper deck. 398 00:37:51,130 --> 00:37:57,965 NARRATOR: With their ships flooding, the German crews have to evacuate from deep within th hull. 399 00:37:57,999 --> 00:38:01,175 MANLEY: The amount of coordination, is just fantastic. 400 00:38:01,209 --> 00:38:07,077 To do that under the eyes of the British who are guarding the fleet is a feat of amazing skill, amazing ingenuity. 401 00:38:16,155 --> 00:38:18,123 Right so it's taken me a few minutes to get up here from the engine room, 402 00:38:18,157 --> 00:38:21,091 but at least I'm on the upper deck, I'm safe and I can escape. 403 00:38:25,026 --> 00:38:29,893 NARRATOR: But in Scapa Flow whe the Germans reach the decks of their sinking ships 404 00:38:29,928 --> 00:38:33,172 they are far from safe. 405 00:38:33,207 --> 00:38:39,903 This cemetery bears witness to the tragic consequences when British guards realize what is happening. 406 00:38:46,220 --> 00:38:51,605 JELLICOE: Here is the last resting place of the nine or so German sailors who were killed 407 00:38:51,639 --> 00:38:53,469 during the scuttle. 408 00:38:53,503 --> 00:38:56,851 Walter Schumann, was the commander of the SMS Markgraf. 409 00:38:56,886 --> 00:39:02,201 He was shot after he had surrendered. 410 00:39:02,236 --> 00:39:08,587 They were effectively the last casualties of the First World War. 411 00:39:08,622 --> 00:39:12,280 NARRATOR: German sailors make the supreme sacrifice. 412 00:39:12,315 --> 00:39:17,562 Shot while surrendering after preventing the capture of their ships. 413 00:39:17,596 --> 00:39:21,462 [music] 414 00:39:21,497 --> 00:39:28,020 In 1919 Seventy four German warships are scuttled in Scapa Flow. 415 00:39:28,055 --> 00:39:34,302 But draining the water reveals only seven actual shipwrecks. 416 00:39:34,337 --> 00:39:42,759 And ghostly imprints left behin by the others, what happens to the missing warships? 417 00:39:46,142 --> 00:39:49,766 [music] 418 00:39:49,801 --> 00:39:54,046 As a boy Ian Murray Taylor lived on the shores of Scapa. 419 00:39:54,081 --> 00:39:59,845 He's the last man alive who went inside one of the scuttled German warships. 420 00:39:59,880 --> 00:40:05,092 TAYLOR: I went right down through the ship, it was very duh dirty and dusty 421 00:40:05,126 --> 00:40:10,408 and the air was a bit whiffy and you could look down on to the seabed below. 422 00:40:12,306 --> 00:40:19,796 NARRATOR: In 1924 Ian's grandfather Thomas MacKenzie starts recovering the sunken wrecks. 423 00:40:19,831 --> 00:40:24,560 His family films the extraordinary work that brings them back to surface 424 00:40:24,594 --> 00:40:28,771 so the valuable steel can be sold for scrap. 425 00:40:28,805 --> 00:40:31,808 Divers seal holes in the hull. 426 00:40:31,843 --> 00:40:38,608 Compressed air is pumped in until the ship is buoyant like filling a balloon with air. 427 00:40:38,643 --> 00:40:43,164 Then the massive battle ships explode back to the surface. 428 00:40:46,789 --> 00:40:54,555 In this way, during the 1920s and 30s all but seven of the German wrecks are raised. 429 00:40:54,590 --> 00:40:59,318 Their hulls are towed away and broken into pieces. 430 00:40:59,353 --> 00:41:02,908 There are willing buyers for the salvaged metal. 431 00:41:02,943 --> 00:41:08,396 Among them, Adolf Hitler. He's building a powerful new navy. 432 00:41:08,431 --> 00:41:15,265 Scrap metal from The German fleet returns home to be melted down and re-used for a new 433 00:41:15,300 --> 00:41:18,027 and deadly purpose. 434 00:41:18,061 --> 00:41:24,171 DR. DELGADO: What also happened in the aftermath of Scapa Flow is for the Germans in particular 435 00:41:24,205 --> 00:41:27,277 a sense of a War that really hadn't ended. 436 00:41:27,312 --> 00:41:32,731 What followed was a grim determination to come back and fight that War again. 437 00:41:35,423 --> 00:41:42,327 NARRATOR: 1939 The Nazis use th steel from the sunken German megaships to prepare 438 00:41:42,361 --> 00:41:46,987 a new generation of weapons. 439 00:41:47,021 --> 00:41:49,230 PROF. GROVE: There is something of a full circle here. 440 00:41:49,265 --> 00:41:51,819 The Germans are getting their own back 441 00:41:51,854 --> 00:41:54,857 NARRATOR: They've learned the bitter lessons of Jutland. 442 00:41:54,891 --> 00:42:00,310 This time they'll use submarines, not battleships to wage war. 443 00:42:00,345 --> 00:42:09,078 PROF. EPKENHANS: The era of the big battleships which dominated the seas, was over. 444 00:42:09,112 --> 00:42:16,119 NARRATOR: In Scapa Flow the sinking of one ship marks the dramatic end of this era. 445 00:42:16,154 --> 00:42:21,124 Investigators scanning this unique wreck for the British Ministry of Defence reveal 446 00:42:21,159 --> 00:42:25,715 a capsized hull resting on its twisted superstructure. 447 00:42:31,479 --> 00:42:37,589 But only by draining the water away, is it possible to see close up the evidence 448 00:42:37,624 --> 00:42:40,419 of what sinks this veteran of Jutland? 449 00:42:42,836 --> 00:42:44,665 HMS Royal Oak. 450 00:42:46,564 --> 00:42:52,397 One side appears undamaged, but the other displays gaping wounds. 451 00:42:52,431 --> 00:42:56,677 What sends Royal Oak to the bottom in this safe haven? 452 00:42:59,128 --> 00:43:02,959 LAWRENCE: The level of impact and the destruction, uh 453 00:43:02,994 --> 00:43:05,065 it was just, just mind-bending to see 454 00:43:08,102 --> 00:43:13,073 NARRATOR: October 1939. One month into World War Two. 455 00:43:13,107 --> 00:43:17,802 The Nazis want revenge on the British and are hunting for targets. 456 00:43:19,251 --> 00:43:25,982 PROF. EPKENHANS: It was of great symbolic value to hit the Royal Navy in its heart and Scapa Flow 457 00:43:26,017 --> 00:43:30,849 was of course the heart of the Royal Navy. 458 00:43:30,884 --> 00:43:35,958 NARRATOR: Royal Oak lies safely at anchor. 459 00:43:35,992 --> 00:43:41,619 The crew, including over a hundred and fifty young saylors, under eighteen 460 00:43:41,653 --> 00:43:46,071 suspect nothing. 461 00:43:46,106 --> 00:43:52,837 The guns are trained on the skies in case of Nazi air raids... 462 00:43:52,871 --> 00:43:57,048 But the real threat lies below. 463 00:44:00,879 --> 00:44:07,023 At the time of Jutland, old ships are deliberately sunk to block Scapa's narrow entrances 464 00:44:07,058 --> 00:44:09,992 and defend against submarine attacks. 465 00:44:10,026 --> 00:44:15,031 But now they're falling apart and it's possible to sneak past them. 466 00:44:17,344 --> 00:44:20,692 PROF. GROVE: There were now passages for submarines to get through, 467 00:44:20,727 --> 00:44:25,421 where a daring submarine commander could actually get into the Flow. 468 00:44:30,426 --> 00:44:34,706 NARRATOR: October 14th 12:58 A.M. 469 00:44:34,741 --> 00:44:42,265 U-Boat Ace Gunther Prien stealthily navigates U47 throug the poorly defended channels of Scapa. 470 00:44:46,097 --> 00:44:51,827 The men and boys aboard Royal Oak have no idea of the danger they are in. 471 00:44:52,759 --> 00:44:59,248 Examining the drained wreck reveals Prien's first torpedo smashes clean through the bow. 472 00:45:06,358 --> 00:45:10,880 LAWRENCE: They all thought that it was an explosion in the paint store or of the aviation 473 00:45:10,915 --> 00:45:17,715 fuel store um and uh they, they didn't realise they were being attacked. 474 00:45:17,749 --> 00:45:23,306 NARRATOR: The wreck now reveals three more torpedo strikes along the hull. 475 00:45:23,341 --> 00:45:29,105 These are the deathblows, smashing huge holes in Royal Oak. 476 00:45:29,140 --> 00:45:37,838 [explosions] 477 00:45:37,873 --> 00:45:40,841 Fatally wounded below the waterline. 478 00:45:40,876 --> 00:45:43,050 Royal Oak begins to capsize. 479 00:45:44,534 --> 00:45:51,887 For most there's no escape. The ship sinks in minutes. 480 00:45:51,921 --> 00:45:55,304 833 sailors are lost. 481 00:45:57,306 --> 00:46:01,448 More than a 130 of them are just boys. 482 00:46:03,519 --> 00:46:07,109 PROF. EPKENHANS: It was received with enormous enthusiasm in Germany. 483 00:46:07,143 --> 00:46:12,804 Hitler sent his aeroplane to Kiel to pick up the crew and fly to Berlin where people hailed 484 00:46:12,839 --> 00:46:15,634 them and everybody was happy. 485 00:46:19,086 --> 00:46:23,573 DR. DELGADO: So it's one of the greatest ironies perhaps in naval warfare that out of the 486 00:46:23,608 --> 00:46:28,647 scuttling at Scapa Flow comes the steel that helps re-arm Germany and one of those ships, 487 00:46:28,682 --> 00:46:35,068 one of these U-Boats, sneaks in to Scapa Flow and sinks a veteran of Jutland. 488 00:46:35,102 --> 00:46:38,071 If that's not ironic I don't know what is. 489 00:46:38,105 --> 00:46:43,110 [music] 490 00:46:43,145 --> 00:46:45,975 NARRATOR: The wrecks of Jutland and Scapa Flow 491 00:46:46,010 --> 00:46:49,945 bear silent witness to a lost age of naval warfare. 492 00:46:49,979 --> 00:46:57,055 [explosions] 493 00:46:57,090 --> 00:47:05,857 But draining the Ultimate Battleships reveals the world changing impact of the day they fought to the death 494 00:47:05,892 --> 00:47:12,657 and the courage of the men and boys who served aboard them.