For educational purposes
Three miles beneath the Atlantic a feared Nazi warship stands proudly defiant.
On May 27, 1941, the German Navy's most powerful vessel, Bismarck, was sunk in waters nearly three miles deep taking with it more than 2,000 lives.
"Sink the Bismarck!" was the cry as British forces searched the Atlantic for the German battleship.
The pursuit ended in a battle that plunged the Bismarck into waters nearly three miles deep, taking with it more that 2,000 lives.
The vast stretch of water in the Atlantic Ocean was the final resting place for the mighty vessel, with most of its crew also plummeting to a watery grave.
Almost half a century later, explorer and scientist Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the sunken S.S.Titanic, searched the Atlantic for the infamous Bismarck.
Dr. Ballard, who previously led an exhaustive search and discovery mission for the Titanic, set his sights on The Bismarck after successfully pinpointing the location of the most famous sunken ship in history, 600 miles off the coast of France.
He found The Bismarck on June 8, 1989, and thanks to him, National Geographic is able to present some incredible undersea film of the wreck in this remarkabl program.
Here is the unforgettable story of Hitler's most famous battleship -- how she sailed, was sunk under fire, and then thrillingly rediscovered nearly fifty years later.
National Geographic looks back at the first--and last--mission of the Bismarck and talks with survivors of the notorious World War II battle, then, in its climactic chapter, the film reveals exclusive footage of this remarkable undersea exploration.
SEARCH FOR THE BATTLESHIP BISMARCK gives a gripping account of his exploration of the wreck of the Bismarck and sheds new light on many of the questions that surround the sinking -- or was it scuttling? -- of this mighty war machine.
Written by Patrick Prentice
Produced by Christine Weber and Peter Schnall
A National Geographic Society Production
Three miles beneath the Atlantic a feared Nazi warship stands proudly defiant.
On May 27, 1941, the German Navy's most powerful vessel, Bismarck, was sunk in waters nearly three miles deep taking with it more than 2,000 lives.
"Sink the Bismarck!" was the cry as British forces searched the Atlantic for the German battleship.
The pursuit ended in a battle that plunged the Bismarck into waters nearly three miles deep, taking with it more that 2,000 lives.
The vast stretch of water in the Atlantic Ocean was the final resting place for the mighty vessel, with most of its crew also plummeting to a watery grave.
Almost half a century later, explorer and scientist Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the sunken S.S.Titanic, searched the Atlantic for the infamous Bismarck.
Dr. Ballard, who previously led an exhaustive search and discovery mission for the Titanic, set his sights on The Bismarck after successfully pinpointing the location of the most famous sunken ship in history, 600 miles off the coast of France.
He found The Bismarck on June 8, 1989, and thanks to him, National Geographic is able to present some incredible undersea film of the wreck in this remarkabl program.
Here is the unforgettable story of Hitler's most famous battleship -- how she sailed, was sunk under fire, and then thrillingly rediscovered nearly fifty years later.
National Geographic looks back at the first--and last--mission of the Bismarck and talks with survivors of the notorious World War II battle, then, in its climactic chapter, the film reveals exclusive footage of this remarkable undersea exploration.
SEARCH FOR THE BATTLESHIP BISMARCK gives a gripping account of his exploration of the wreck of the Bismarck and sheds new light on many of the questions that surround the sinking -- or was it scuttling? -- of this mighty war machine.
Written by Patrick Prentice
Produced by Christine Weber and Peter Schnall
A National Geographic Society Production
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00On February 14, 1939, the massive hull of an unfinished German warship slid into the
00:26water at Hambur. For the Nazi party, it was a day to celebrate the country's resurgent
00:35military power, a moment to be savored by the Führer himself.
00:49Two years later, the ship was finally ready for action.
00:56When she left port in the spring of 1941, she was widely regarded as the most elegant
01:03and the most dangerous battleship ever built. She would never return. Her name was the Bismarck,
01:15and she was about to become a legend.
01:18A legend.
01:19A legend.
01:20A legend.
01:21A legend.
01:22A legend.
01:25A legend.
01:26A legend.
01:27A legend.
01:28A legend.
01:59Summer, 1988. A converted trawler named Starella leaves Spain, bound for the North Atlantic, where the Bismarck sank nearly half a century ago.
02:12The story of what happened to the battleship during her brief moment on the world stage has captured the imagination of almost everyone who's heard it, including Bob Ballard, the man who found the Titanic.
02:24Now, he's looking for the Bismarck.
02:26Come around to 153.
02:29153.
02:31Bridge, man.
02:33I knew the story of the Bismarck as a child.
02:38It was an elegant ship, a warship. It was very much like the Titanic in a sense. It was on a maiden voyage. It had such a short life and a very exciting and violent life. I mean, it was alive for less than two weeks at sea.
02:53It's an exciting story. To find it gives you the opportunity to retell it to a new generation of people.
03:01Even before the search begins, Ballard is feeling the pressure.
03:07Well, I won't find it. I'll be disappointed, obviously. So will a lot of other people.
03:13But it was sort of interesting on this one. When I did the Titanic, no one believed I would find it. Now, no one believes I won't find the Bismarck. And I don't think I preferred when they didn't think I would find it.
03:26If the Bismarck is as elusive today as she was half a century ago, Ballard has his work cut out for him.
03:371941, Monday, May 19th. The Bismarck leaves German waters on her first mission.
03:44Water commanders hope will be a three-month reign of terror on British shipping in the North Atlantic.
03:49She is a monumental weapon. A sixth of a mile long, displacing 53,000 tons.
04:00Her 15-inch guns are aimed with the help of stereoscopic rangefinders and can hurl a one-ton shell 20 miles with ease.
04:10Her crew of over 2,000 men has been hand-picked for duty on a ship rumored to be unsinkable.
04:16Many are 18 or 19 years old, about to see combat for the first time.
04:23The Bismarck is like a huge cat, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting prey.
04:28But first, she must prowl into enemy territory without being seen.
04:36Two days out of port, the Sterella approaches the Bismarck's last known position, 600 miles west of France.
04:43Because no one knows exactly where she sank, the search could cover nearly 100 square miles.
04:50As far as the location of where the Bismarck was lost, we have four separate positions.
04:56One was by the Dorchester, which was the ship that dogged the Bismarck and then actually dealt the final blow when it torpedoed it from both sides.
05:04It gives its position over here in the eastern search area.
05:08Then there's the position of one of the destroyers, which is over in the western area.
05:13A published report also puts it in the same area.
05:16And then we have a secret document that puts it even yet a fourth area.
05:22Ballard is a pioneer in the use of sophisticated technology to explore the deep sea.
05:27These transponders will sink to the seabed and begin to emit powerful acoustic signals, allowing Ballard to pinpoint his position on the surface.
05:47Sonar provides his first glimpse of the terrain lying three miles beneath the ship.
06:06I should pick up bottom right here.
06:09Got a hell of a long ways to go.
06:11That's pretty gruesome.
06:14That's real gruesome.
06:16I don't know.
06:18The worst is looking like it's with us.
06:21It's horrible topography.
06:23Huge mountains.
06:25Solid rock.
06:28Hand-to-hand combat.
06:30Where we dropped the first transponder was nice and flat.
06:34But the second transponder went in near a mountain and trying to get to the third were in solid mountains.
06:43Which is just, you know, horrible.
06:49Ballard is worried that the rugged topography below will make it dangerous to maneuver Argo, an underwater sled carrying video cameras, lights, and sonar equipment.
06:59Argo is designed to photograph the bottom while skimming just above the pitch-dark seabed at the end of miles of cable.
07:07My biggest fear is losing the vehicle, because that's the biggest fear you've got, hanging up on a cliff and cutting your cable, and then losing it.
07:18I've come close before.
07:20I don't want to do that again.
07:23Ballard decides to avoid the mountains and focus his search on the flat mud plains to the west.
07:28For the men who operate Argo, like Ballard's son, Todd, the long watch is just beginning.
07:371941, Tuesday, May 20th.
07:49The Bismarck steams north and west through Danish waters.
07:54With her is a heavy cruiser, the Prince Eugen.
08:01For the men aboard the Bismarck, the times couldn't be better.
08:04The war in Europe is nearly two years old, and Germany still hasn't suffered a significant military defeat.
08:14Hitler's troops occupy most of Europe.
08:17The German Luftwaffe is carrying out bombing raids against Britain, which stands alone against the Nazi advance.
08:25Only England and her legendary sea power stands between Germany and victory.
08:30But even the Royal Navy has never done battle with a ship quite like the Bismarck.
08:36And the idea was that the Bismarck would break out into the Atlantic with the cruiser Prince Eugen,
08:41and she would spend a three-month cruise going up and down the Atlantic,
08:45sinking all the ships, bringing from America the food, the petrol, the ammunition,
08:50that was keeping us going, keeping the war going.
08:52Although the United States won't enter the war for another six months,
09:02supply convoys from America are already being hit hard by the German Navy.
09:08If the Bismarck had got out onto the Atlantic sea routes,
09:11she could have done an enormous amount of damage.
09:13I think that if she had done that, she could have altered the course of the war,
09:16so it was very, very critical she had to be sunk.
09:19But first, she has to be found.
09:24As far as British intelligence knows,
09:27the Bismarck is still safely in German waters, finishing her sea trials.
09:31In fact, she is already making her escape from the confined waters of the Baltic.
09:38The German plan is simple, bold, and risky.
09:43First, they hope to slip through the narrow waters off Sweden and Norway
09:46and break through to the North Sea.
09:49If the Bismarck hasn't been detected,
09:51it should be no problem to sail into the Atlantic,
09:54perhaps through the Denmark Strait.
09:58But the Bismarck is detected.
10:00On a sunny Wednesday afternoon,
10:02a British Spitfire snaps this photograph,
10:05showing the Bismarck nestled in a Norwegian fjord.
10:08The report that Bismarck is trying to break out is confirmed.
10:15Now, all the Royal Navy has to do is catch her.
10:26Summer, 1988.
10:28Aboard the Starella,
10:29only two days have passed since the hunt for Bismarck began,
10:33and already Ballard believes he's picked up the scent.
10:39Argo is sending back images of a debris trail left by a sinking ship.
10:43That trail should lead Ballard to the wreck.
10:46Coming in.
10:52Come up, Todd.
10:54To 20 meters.
10:5620 meters.
10:58Something is buried here.
10:59There's something right there.
11:03Going down.
11:05Down.
11:06Keep going down.
11:08On the downswing.
11:10On the down.
11:11Now.
11:12Bang.
11:14The sinking should have been up in here.
11:17I mean, that's the best guess.
11:19That's where we're here.
11:19So we're going to head up there,
11:21but stay visual.
11:22And try to stay in debris,
11:25so it'll smell our way up.
11:27For the next three days,
11:30Ballard follows the meandering trail of wood and metal.
11:34On the fourth day,
11:35Argo finds something larger.
11:37Got a good object coming.
11:40Look at that brightness of that sucker.
11:43Wow, that's awesome.
11:44Whatever it is, it's a big thing.
11:46Hold on this altitude.
11:48It should be coming right up.
11:49Well, what's this?
11:50Look at this.
11:51This is what we come for.
11:52Look at that strike.
11:53There's some hull section right here.
11:55All right, down to about seven meters.
12:03Yeah.
12:06Kaboom.
12:07What Ballard has found is an impact crater
12:10where some large object appears to lie buried.
12:13But what kind of object?
12:15You can see the debris trail.
12:18So you have very light stuff getting bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger,
12:21bigger, smlack.
12:22So I think it went down to the bottom and went right in.
12:28I'm pretty confident that it's the Bismarck.
12:36We have total coverage of the area.
12:39And I think as we produce our data and process it,
12:41our case will get stronger, not weaker.
12:47Believing that he has found the Bismarck,
12:49Ballard has Argo hoisted from the water
12:51and the Storella turns for home.
12:57What we've got to do now is to go home
12:59and take a closer look at the photographs
13:00and see if we can spot something that says,
13:03yes, this is the Bismarck, or no, it's not.
13:09The photographs give Ballard the definitive answer he's been looking for,
13:13but not the one he wanted.
13:15It's a rudder.
13:17And then there was a teak rudder.
13:21I mean, a brand new, beautifully preserved teak rudder.
13:26Now, I know the Bismarck was hit in the rudder.
13:29Maybe that's a teak rudder,
13:31but obviously it wasn't the Bismarck.
13:33And that image was sort of like a stake in your heart.
13:37I mean, I just looked at that,
13:38and there was no way I could rationalize around that.
13:42It was clearly belonged to a sailing ship.
13:45Instead of the Bismarck,
13:47Ballard has stumbled upon the wreck of a 19th century schooner.
13:51Round one to the Bismarck.
13:57Fifty years ago,
13:58the Bismarck was proving to be just as elusive to the Royal Navy.
14:05On Friday, May 23rd,
14:07the battleship is spotted by a patrolling British cruiser
14:10as she prepares to pass through the narrow strait
14:13between Greenland and Iceland.
14:15250 miles away,
14:17the British warships Prince of Wales and Hood are alerted.
14:24They begin steering a course to intercept Bismarck
14:27before she reaches open water.
14:28Leading the attack will be the largest ship in the British fleet.
14:35Now, the Hood was the epitome of everything that was marvelous
14:40about the Royal Navy before the war.
14:42She was a wonderful ship.
14:44She was built during the First World War,
14:47and unfortunately, she had very poor armor,
14:50very lightly covered armor on her decks,
14:53and she shouldn't have been there unarmored as she was.
14:56Now, the Hood was a name all of us knew and hated.
15:02Our commanders tried to scare us with the name
15:04when we were on maneuvers.
15:06In every exercise, they'd say,
15:07our ship is in a battle with the battleship Hood.
15:10They end up in a battle with the battle with the battle.
15:12The Hood is in a battle with the battle.
15:14Saturday morning, May 24th,
15:20the two Titans spot each other.
15:23At a distance of about 14 miles,
15:25the Hood opens fire.
15:38Bismarck responds with a series of salvos.
15:44One of Bismarck's shells penetrates the Hood's thinly armored decks
15:51and ignites her aft powder magazines.
15:54The resulting firestorm rips the Hood in half.
15:58All I saw was a gigantic sheet of flame
16:01which shot around the front of the compass platform,
16:04and the ship started to list to starboard.
16:08We were all thrown off our feet.
16:11There was no order given to abandon ship.
16:13It wasn't necessary.
16:14The news spread immediately
16:16and was passed on to everybody in the ship,
16:18however deep somewhere,
16:20posted inside the ship.
16:22The jubilation was almost indescribable,
16:24and it was difficult to get the men really back to their stations
16:29because of all that elation.
16:31I managed to get on one of these routes,
16:33and I turned and looked around again.
16:34And she'd gone,
16:37and there was a fire on the water where she'd been.
16:39As I say, the water was about five inches thick with her,
16:41and again I panicked.
16:43I turned and swam away again as fast as I could.
16:47And when I looked round again,
16:48the fire had gone out,
16:49and over on the other side were the other two.
16:53There was no one else came up,
16:55just the three of us.
16:56In less than ten minutes of battle,
17:00the Hood is gone.
17:02Only three men from a crew of 1,400 survive.
17:05When this news was received in England,
17:09it was received with the greatest shock.
17:11It was as much of a shock to us in England
17:13as Pearl Harbor was to America.
17:15We couldn't believe that a ship
17:17which epitomized the Royal Navy
17:18and all our successes in the past
17:20could end within a few minutes.
17:22It could end her life.
17:23And people said, well, what next?
17:25I mean, if the Bismarck can sink the Hood in six minutes,
17:27what else can she do?
17:31Summer, 1989.
17:33A year after coming up empty-handed,
17:36Ballard prepares to renew his search
17:38aboard the star Hercules.
17:42Well, we learned a lot last year,
17:44mostly where the Bismarck wasn't.
17:47We got a better ship,
17:48a better wind system,
17:49and we can finally take on the mountains.
17:51It was just too dangerous last year.
17:54I'm not too excited about going into the mountains,
17:56even now,
17:57but I've run out of choices.
18:00This is one of the reported positions.
18:03Here,
18:03another one here,
18:05and then here.
18:05So the new search area for this year
18:07is roughly six miles
18:09east-west by five miles.
18:11Now, the transponder's cath here.
18:12Where are we?
18:13We've got A here,
18:14we've got B out here,
18:16and C up here.
18:17So running throughout this area
18:19is a tremendous wall
18:21that we have to worry about.
18:22In fact,
18:23this shows the wall,
18:25and it's fairly dramatic.
18:27It rises a thousand feet from here
18:29all the way up to the top,
18:31and so we have to worry about
18:33coming in and crashing
18:34into that wall.
18:37The winch we have
18:38is very powerful,
18:39and it's capable
18:39of breaking the cable.
18:42If you get it up
18:42and you get it trapped,
18:44think of it as a 20-pound trout
18:47on a five-pound test line.
18:48Do not try to reel it in,
18:50because the trout
18:52will just break that five-pound test
18:53and the winch
18:54will just break the cable.
18:56So pay it out.
18:57Give it line.
19:00It takes Argo over two hours
19:02to reach the ocean floor,
19:04three miles down.
19:08Its only connection
19:09to the surface ship
19:10is a length of cable
19:11less than an inch thick.
19:12Once in position,
19:18Argo can search the bottom
19:19for days,
19:20but first it must drop
19:21through realms
19:22of unimaginable darkness
19:24under the full weight
19:25of the sea.
19:31Although the sled
19:32performs flawlessly,
19:34the first week ends
19:35without Ballard finding
19:36any trace of the Bismarck.
19:38Well, the good news
19:45is the area
19:46we were so terrified of
19:47last year to the east
19:49isn't so bad.
19:50The bad news is
19:51we haven't found it.
19:52We've covered
19:53over 40 miles now
19:57along the bottom
19:57in an area of 30 square miles
20:00and we haven't picked up
20:03any other than mud
20:06and rocks
20:07I mean,
20:08it's an interesting
20:09geologic feature
20:10but that's not why I'm here.
20:19You guys are really
20:20milking this one, huh?
20:21Why don't you guys
20:21find this thing?
20:23Nothing yet.
20:24God?
20:25See anything?
20:26Nah, nothing out of the door.
20:28You almost want to
20:30throw trash over
20:30just to have something
20:31to look at.
20:33Anything's more fruitful
20:34than this.
20:35This is boring.
20:36Blood watching?
20:37I don't think
20:38the world realizes
20:39that most of the planet
20:40is mud
20:41and I think
20:42I've looked at
20:43more mud
20:43than anyone else.
20:46Yeah, I think
20:46that's the worst part
20:47of any search
20:48is just the boredom
20:49and hours and hours
20:51and hours of mud.
20:54And that's what I'm
20:55worried about
20:55is fatigue setting in
20:57and people just
20:58going right by it
20:59and not seeing it.
21:00the watch is maintained
21:10day and night
21:11by shifts
21:12that change
21:12every four hours.
21:14So far,
21:15there's been nothing
21:15of interest to report.
21:18Ready for some mud crawling?
21:20Good.
21:21Well, we saw nothing.
21:21You want to be prepared
21:22to let out.
21:23Right.
21:24You want to be 200 meters
21:25south of that position.
21:26Which is going to be
21:27200 meters
21:27south of that position.
21:29I'll relieve you.
21:31I'm relieved.
21:33Have fun.
21:33The area we're searching
21:44is quickly exceeding
21:46the size of the area
21:47we searched for the Titanic.
21:49So,
21:50they were really
21:52evidently very busy
21:53shooting at one another
21:54and not very busy
21:55at being navigators
21:56because the positions
21:58that have been issued
21:58so far,
21:59there's nothing there.
22:03Saturday,
22:18May 24th,
22:191941.
22:20One hour after
22:22sinking the hood,
22:23the Bismarck's commanders
22:24decide to return the ship
22:25to occupied France
22:26to repair damage
22:28suffered in the battle.
22:32But Bismarck is being
22:33shadowed by three
22:34British warships
22:35while another battle group
22:37moves into position
22:37for an ambush.
22:40Aboard the Bismarck,
22:42the officers decide
22:43the time is ripe
22:44to lose their pursuers.
22:48And then
22:49came this dramatic
22:50event
22:51in the middle of the night
22:53when the
22:55captain of the Bismarck
22:57put the wheel
22:57harder starboard
22:58and did a tremendous
23:01loop right out
23:02to the west
23:03and right back,
23:04crossed his own track,
23:06crossed the track
23:06of the Prince of Wales
23:07and the cruisers
23:08that were following him
23:09and disappeared.
23:12Bismarck's maneuver
23:12takes the British
23:13completely by surprise.
23:15While they search
23:16a hundred miles
23:17to the north,
23:18the Bismarck sails
23:19closer and closer
23:20to safety.
23:21Thirty-one hours pass
23:25as the distance
23:26between Bismarck
23:26and the ships
23:27frantically looking
23:28for her
23:28widens.
23:33Then,
23:34on Monday morning,
23:35there is a sudden change
23:36in the fortunes of war.
23:38A Catalina flying boat
23:40cruising just below
23:41the low-hanging clouds
23:42spots a dull black shape
23:45on the choppy seas.
23:47It is the Bismarck.
23:48Bismarck.
23:48Bismarck.
23:48Bismarck.
23:48Bismarck.
23:49Bismarck.
23:49Bismarck.
23:50Bismarck.
23:51She is less than
23:52a day's sail
23:52from the protection
23:53of Luftwaffe bombers
23:54stationed in France.
23:58Most of the British
23:59ships are well
24:00to the northwest
24:01while others lie south,
24:03all too far away
24:04to catch up.
24:06Only one ship
24:07has a chance
24:07to slow the Bismarck down
24:09before she reaches port,
24:10the aircraft carrier
24:12Ark Royal.
24:18But the Ark Royal
24:19is less than an idea.
24:21of an ideal weapon
24:21to pit against the Bismarck.
24:23Her aging swordfish
24:25torpedo planes
24:26have wings made of fabric,
24:28an attack speed
24:28of less than 100 miles an hour
24:30and carry only one torpedo apiece.
24:33Yet they are the only weapon
24:35the British have left.
24:38If the swordfish
24:39can't slow the Bismarck down,
24:40she'll be in friendly waters
24:42by morning.
24:42with night closing in,
24:50the tiny swordfish
24:51race across
24:52the darkening skies.
24:58At 8.53 p.m.
24:59they spot the Bismarck
25:01and attack.
25:02They came in the evening,
25:10in the twilight.
25:14The sea was rough
25:15when we opened fire.
25:16We shot and shot,
25:20but what good did it do?
25:22We fired so much
25:23our gun barrels
25:23had to be cooled down.
25:24One of the swordfish torpedoes
25:32hits Bismarck
25:33amid ships,
25:34causing minor damage.
25:35But another
25:36strikes the battleship
25:37in the only place
25:38she is vulnerable,
25:40her rudders.
25:43Bismarck's steering gear
25:44jams.
25:45Now she can only move
25:46in one direction,
25:48northwest,
25:48directly toward
25:50the onrushing
25:51British fleet.
25:52We couldn't understand it
25:53when we got a signal
25:54from the Ark Royal
25:56and the Sheffield
25:56saying course of Bismarck
25:58is now due north,
25:59when up to that point
26:00it had been due south,
26:01or at least southeast.
26:02And we thought
26:03they made a mistake.
26:04It's very easy
26:05when you see a ship
26:06in the distance,
26:06in the haze.
26:07It's awfully uncertain
26:08whether it's going
26:09from left to right
26:09or right to left.
26:10And we thought,
26:11oh, they made a mistake,
26:12silly old thing.
26:12They should know
26:13better than that.
26:14And then when it was
26:15repeated two or three times,
26:16we suddenly realized
26:17that the Bismarck
26:18had been delivered
26:19into our hands.
26:21Summer, 1989.
26:27The star Hercules
26:28has been crisscrossing
26:29the seabed
26:30for over 200 hours
26:31without finding
26:32a trace of wreckage.
26:36On the ninth day
26:37of the hunt,
26:37that begins to change.
26:42This whole area
26:43is like someone
26:43really disrupted it.
26:45It's flat.
26:48They're just getting
26:49little snippets.
26:51There's some little stuff.
26:53Forward.
26:54Oops.
26:54Look at that.
26:55Look at that right there.
26:57Forward.
26:59That's obviously man-made.
27:00No doubt about that.
27:02Light stuff.
27:03What did that one
27:04off to the right
27:04look like on your guy?
27:06It wasn't a show.
27:07Yeah, but could be
27:08an impact crater.
27:08Could be.
27:09We came in on the debris
27:14about 17 hours ago
27:16and we found
27:18a big section
27:19of wreckage
27:20and we got burnt
27:22last year
27:23and we don't want
27:24to repeat that.
27:24We want a definitive,
27:26you know,
27:27Bismarck, okay?
27:28We're not getting it.
27:30Man, it's frustrating.
27:32It takes hours
27:33and hours
27:34and hours
27:34and I haven't slept
27:35for 17 hours
27:36and I'm getting tired.
27:37The trail of clues
27:40on the ocean floor
27:40is tantalizingly human.
27:43A boot.
27:45A lantern
27:46torn from a sinking ship.
27:48But was it the Bismarck?
27:49Good morning.
28:07Good morning.
28:09It's just junk.
28:11It's a nice piece.
28:13I'm junk.
28:15You ready?
28:16Fire.
28:17Fire.
28:18Each hour
28:19brings new discoveries
28:20and a renewed sense
28:21that they're closing in
28:22on the quarry.
28:23These are circles.
28:28Get down.
28:35Yet nothing they have found
28:41can positively be linked
28:42to the Bismarck
28:43until just before midnight
28:46when Argo passes over
28:47what appears to be
28:48part of a turret
28:49that once housed
28:51Bismarck's 15-inch guns.
28:53Here.
28:53There.
28:54Back up.
28:54No, no.
28:55Back, back.
28:56Reverse it.
28:56Back, back, back.
28:58Right there.
28:59All right, now.
28:59Run.
29:00That's just the line.
29:01That's it.
29:02We got it.
29:02Close.
29:04They didn't have those
29:05on 18th century sailing ships.
29:06No, they did not have those
29:07on 18th century sailing ships.
29:08They didn't.
29:08Just like the boiler.
29:13The cylinder.
29:14The first thing we saw.
29:15That was decisive.
29:15A fingerprint of the ship.
29:17Yeah, that was decisive.
29:19Ballard knows he's getting closer
29:21but he's not there yet.
29:23We haven't found the ship.
29:24I don't think it was buried.
29:26I don't think it slid down that hill.
29:27I don't think it's there.
29:29I think it's somewhere else
29:30but nearby.
29:30Here's more debris coming in.
29:34And it's that debris.
29:36The debris trail
29:37is going to lead us to the ship.
29:38We just have to pick up
29:39the scent again.
29:42Tuesday, May 27th
29:44between midnight and dawn.
29:47Over a dozen British warships
29:49close on the crippled Bismarck
29:51waiting for first light
29:52to deliver the final blow.
29:57They know their quarry is wounded
29:58but no one can guess how badly.
30:01At about midnight or shortly after
30:07the conclusion had to be drawn.
30:09It was impossible to do a useful repair
30:13and it was just given up
30:14and next morning had to be awaited.
30:17We ate our meals at our guns.
30:24There was no more warm food,
30:27just bread with something on it.
30:30And once we had boiled potatoes
30:31and we stayed at our guns the whole time.
30:34And this was perhaps the most difficult,
30:38the most dreadful part of the entire operation as far as I remember the certainty.
30:43You could not escape anymore,
30:44you couldn't do anything
30:45and you could probably not do anything
30:54equal up to the battle
30:57that would be shaping up next morning.
30:59It was like a sentence of death.
31:06Tuesday, May 27th
31:07two hours after sunrise
31:09as the Rodney and King George V
31:11finally spot the Bismarck
31:13emerging from a rain squall.
31:15Battle stations are called.
31:17At 8.47 a.m.
31:19the British warships open fire.
31:34The only thing that struck me
31:36when the battle started
31:36was all the colour contrasts.
31:38The Bismarck was black,
31:41the British ships were grey,
31:43the seas were green
31:45with the wind creaming the tops,
31:47the creamy tops.
31:48There was the brown of the cordite
31:51when the guns fired on both sides.
31:53There was these brown puffs of cordite smoke.
31:55And then there was the flash,
31:56the orange flash of the guns.
31:58And then these enormous shell splashes,
32:01high as houses,
32:03white as shrouds.
32:05And it was majestic.
32:08It was a majestic scene.
32:09It was an awesome scene.
32:11And I can see it today
32:13as clearly as I saw it then.
32:17For one full hour,
32:19the relentless British salvos continue.
32:21She'd had a lot of damage on the folks
32:24on the forehead of Atar.
32:26And every time she plunged in the sea,
32:30the plates on her port bow,
32:33extending over a large area,
32:34were red hot as she came out.
32:36And then when she went into the sea,
32:38there was a cloud of steam.
32:39What I saw made me sick.
32:48There were mountains of dead people,
32:50in pieces.
32:52There was one crazy man still at his gun,
32:54still firing.
32:55Ammunition was exploding.
33:05The entire upper deck was on fire.
33:08It looked like a heap of rubble.
33:10The beauty of the ship was gone.
33:12From the beauty of the ship,
33:14there was nothing more.
33:15Then eventually,
33:17we saw men trickling down,
33:19running down the quarter deck,
33:21and then jumping into the sea,
33:23because it was all over.
33:24It was finished.
33:25It was a dreadful sight, you know.
33:27No sailor likes to see another ship sunk,
33:29even if it's an enemy.
33:31This piece of film,
33:33showing the Bismarck burning
33:34on the far horizon,
33:35is the last view of the battleship
33:38before she began to sink.
33:46I thought about what to do.
33:49I was no longer needed.
33:51What good is anti-aircraft in a sea battle?
33:54And we were almost out of ammunition.
34:00So I left with some others,
34:02and we drifted away from the Bismarck
34:03on a lifeboat.
34:08The Admiral decided
34:13the only way to sink her
34:15was to torpedo her.
34:17So we went in close
34:19and fired our torpedoes.
34:22And then we watched her sink.
34:25Thursday, June 8th, 1989.
34:39A rainy, overcast morning.
34:41Very much like Bismarck's
34:43last hours at sea.
34:46Once we've established that,
34:47we're going to turn around,
34:48come back west of that line,
34:50go again around the top.
34:51Looks like we have a big target
34:55coming up on the port side,
34:56about 45 meters out.
34:59Closing on the target,
35:00it's about 30 meters ahead.
35:04Still closing.
35:06Staying dark.
35:09Staying strong.
35:10A lot of debris, port starboard.
35:15Still closing, real strong.
35:16This is a strong one, guys.
35:21This could be it.
35:22Gun ducks.
35:24Incredible.
35:25Gun ducks, right across the bridge.
35:34Look at that, baby.
35:36Yeah, the bridge is gone.
35:37Again?
35:38We got it, huh?
35:41It was in that crater.
35:42And it just got right across the middle.
35:44You couldn't offer anything better.
35:46I tell you, it's absolutely amazing.
35:48So it's 100 meters, brother?
35:50Yeah.
35:52Well, I guess we're going to
35:53get in the track.
35:54Hell, man.
35:57All right.
36:10Our ship was at the very spot
36:12that the Bismarck must have been
36:14with all the rounds coming,
36:16the total chaos and confusion,
36:18splashes, the impacting rounds,
36:21explosions going off,
36:23the fire burning,
36:24just the tremendous carnage
36:25that took place.
36:27And then to realize
36:29that the ship sank
36:29and then there were all these people
36:31in the water around you.
36:32You could almost see them swimming
36:34in this churning sea full of oil.
36:36and I relate to that
36:37as to see how awful that would be.
36:51We swam for a little while
36:53just to keep moving
36:55so we wouldn't freeze.
36:56the water was about
36:5810 degrees Celsius.
37:00It was so difficult to swim
37:03in the oil that had
37:04assembled on the surface
37:06of the ocean
37:07from the sunken ship.
37:08It penetrated on faces
37:10and years that was terrible
37:11and made everything
37:13most difficult.
37:14We were ordered
37:14to go and rescue them
37:16in the ship I was in.
37:19So we came up slowly to them
37:21and tried to pull them up
37:22the ship's side on ropes.
37:27I remember a story
37:29that spread right away
37:30on the Dorsetshire.
37:32A British seaman
37:33saw a German sailor
37:34who had no arms
37:35trying to swim.
37:37So he climbed down
37:38into the sea
37:39and fastened a rope
37:40around the man's body.
37:42I reached one of the ropes
37:44to help them
37:48pull the survivor up
37:49and then we noticed
37:50that he had both his arms
37:52shot off
37:52and was holding the rope
37:53with his teeth
37:54and he fell off
37:57just as we got him
37:59to the upper deck.
38:00and I went over the side
38:03to tie a bowline
38:04around him
38:04so I did that.
38:06Then I lost him.
38:09For those of us
38:10on the Dorsetshire
38:11the name Joe Brooks
38:12means something.
38:13Our government
38:14should give that man
38:15a medal for humaneness.
38:30in the days following
38:35the discovery
38:36of the Bismarck
38:37Argo maneuvers
38:38slowly around
38:39the half-buried hull
38:40trying to determine
38:42the extent of the damage.
38:43Well, I think any time
38:53you retell a story
38:56particularly World War II
38:58people aren't from it.
39:00I mean,
39:01the futileness of it
39:02the stupidity of it
39:03the wastefulness of it
39:04I think we need
39:05to be reminded of that
39:06and I think one needs
39:07to be reminded of
39:08all that happened
39:10during World War II
39:11and I think it's
39:12very critical
39:12that people reflect back
39:14so we don't repeat
39:15these things.
39:16All right.
39:23All right, Martin.
39:24Sequence through.
39:26Okay, what's it?
39:27Stop.
39:27What's that?
39:29It looks like a...
39:29Down look.
39:31It's a swastika.
39:32Look at it.
39:33Is it a swastika?
39:34It's a swastika.
39:36A cross?
39:37No, it's not a cross.
39:38Oh, you can see
39:39the lower leg.
39:40It is a swastika.
39:40That's a swastika.
39:41It's a swastika.
39:41That's a swastika, yeah.
39:43Some of the part
39:43of it's covered up
39:44by the sediment
39:45and the other part
39:46is chopped off.
39:47All right, down look.
39:48Now the ship that Hitler
40:16called this majestic giant
40:18of the sea
40:18can only be glimpsed
40:20in fragments.
40:24A ghostly section
40:26of the bow
40:26with decks
40:28of polished teak.
40:38Bismarck's 15-inch guns,
40:40once held in place
40:41by their own weight,
40:42fell free when she rolled
40:44under water.
40:45Only empty holes remain.
40:51Across one of the four turret holes,
40:53a crane lies toppled.
41:01Much of the forward superstructure
41:03was destroyed,
41:04but the open bridge
41:06which in conning tower
41:07still remain.
41:13A moment's glory
41:14and 50 years
41:16of darkness.
41:25We got it all.
41:26I mean, it's absolutely not,
41:27the whole ship is here.
41:28We're missing, it looks like,
41:31all the big turrets,
41:34but almost all the other armament
41:36is present on the ship.
41:38We're only missing the big guns.
41:39Although the four main turrets
41:40are gone,
41:41Bismarck's smaller guns
41:42remain in place,
41:43as if still menacing the sea.
41:46That's gone.
41:52I'm sure the stack's gone,
41:53but...
41:54Okay, we need to...
41:59This gun
42:00has lost
42:01that.
42:05Little
42:06anti-aircraft guns
42:08should be down.
42:10Zoom down.
42:12There's an anti-aircraft gun.
42:13See him?
42:16That guy's pointed.
42:19The fact that the ship
42:20is in one piece
42:21seems to confirm
42:22German reports
42:23that it was scuttled,
42:25though the issue
42:25is still being debated.
42:28I'm sure that it was
42:29a combination of scuttling
42:30and all the damage
42:31it took,
42:32and I just find it
42:34difficult to understand
42:35why they're so concerned
42:37about it,
42:38and I guess it boils down
42:39to pride.
42:40Germans wanting to be proud
42:42that the British
42:43couldn't sink it,
42:44and the British wanting
42:45to be proud
42:46that they could.
42:50I'm just shocked
42:51that there's hardly
42:52that much apparent damage
42:53other than the loss
42:54of those four turrets
42:55and the loss
42:56of some of the superstructure.
42:57I thought it was going
42:58to be an awful sight,
42:59and it's strangely
43:01beautiful.
43:02It pertains, yes.
43:03Sitting upright, proud.
43:04The Bismarck survivors
43:11have been in the water
43:12over an hour
43:13when the British cruiser
43:14Dorsetshire arrives
43:15to pull them
43:16from the sea.
43:18The rescue effort
43:19has hardly begun
43:20when the Dorsetshire's
43:21captain gets a report
43:22that a German U-boat
43:23has been spotted.
43:25In an action
43:25that remains controversial
43:27to this day,
43:28he orders a retreat.
43:29The question runs
43:34through my head
43:34all the time.
43:38Why did Captain Martin
43:39stop the rescue
43:40while so many hundreds
43:42of men were still
43:43in the water?
43:44I can only interpret it
43:45as an act of revenge
43:46for what happened
43:47to the Hood,
43:49which sank
43:49with all her crew
43:50except for the three
43:51men who were rescued.
43:55Hardy had I been
43:56taken underneath
43:57on board the Dorsetshire
43:59that I felt
44:00by the vibrations
44:00of the ship
44:01that she had gotten
44:02with utmost speed
44:03and I had been
44:04one of the last
44:05to be rescued
44:05without ever
44:06having a notion
44:08of it so far.
44:09It was a terrible thing.
44:11The water
44:11around Dorsetshire's
44:12stern foamed
44:13and bubbled
44:13with a sudden
44:14exertion of the screws.
44:16Slowly,
44:16then faster,
44:17the ship moved ahead.
44:19Bismarck survivors
44:20who were almost
44:20on board
44:21were bundled
44:21over the guardrails
44:22onto the deck.
44:24Those halfway up
44:24the ropes
44:25found themselves
44:25trailing astern,
44:27hung on as long
44:28as they could
44:28against the forward
44:29movement of the ship,
44:30dropped off
44:31one by one.
44:32Others in the water
44:33clawed frantically
44:34at the paintwork
44:34as the sides
44:35slipped by.
44:37In Dorsetshire
44:38they heard
44:38the thin cries
44:39of hundreds of Germans
44:40who had come
44:41within an inch of rescue,
44:43had believed
44:43that their long ordeal
44:44was at last over,
44:46cries that the British sailors
44:47no less than survivors
44:48already on board
44:49would always remember.
44:51From the water
44:51Bismarck's men
44:52watched appalled
44:53as the cruiser's
44:54grey sides
44:55swept past them,
44:56believed then
44:57that tales they'd heard
44:58about the British
44:59not caring much
45:00about survivors
45:00were true after all,
45:02presently found themselves
45:03alone in the sunshine
45:04on the empty,
45:06tossing sea.
45:07And during the day,
45:09as they floated
45:09about the Atlantic
45:10with only life belts
45:11between them
45:12and eternity,
45:13the cold came
45:14to their testicles
45:15and hands
45:15and feet
45:16and heads
45:16and one by one
45:18they lost consciousness
45:19and one by one
45:20they died.
45:32One of the German sailors
45:34rescued by the Dorsetshire
45:36dies the following day
45:38and is buried at sea.
45:42The chaplain was there
45:44with some British crewmen
45:45and we stood across
45:47from them
45:47face to face
45:48just staring at each other
45:50not sure what was happening.
45:51Then we heard
46:05a military signal
46:06and I realized
46:08it was a funeral
46:09for my friend.
46:19One of us borrowed
46:20a harmonica
46:20and played
46:21Ich hatte einen Kamerad.
46:24I once had a comrade.
46:27The British had tears
46:28in their eyes
46:28just like us.
46:31He had stood next to me.
46:33He had marched
46:34by my side.
46:36Er stand an meiner Seite.
46:38Er stand an meiner Seite.
46:40Er ging an meiner Seite.
46:50Er stand an meiner Seite.
47:05It is sometimes difficult
47:06to be reminded all the time.
47:16it's hard to explain
47:22on one hand you're glad you survived
47:33but then you're pulled back into the past again
47:46it's inevitable that all great ships in the sea
47:55will be found someday
47:57I think the key thing is how do we treat it
48:00what's our reaction to it
48:03do we treat it respectfully
48:04do we not touch it, not disturb it
48:07do it with respect
48:09to me the Bismarck's the war grave
48:11the chase and sinking of the Bismarck
48:20was without doubt one of the great sea epics of all time
48:22and it was because of the changing fortunes of either side
48:28there's this great, vast, huge monster come out of its lair
48:32and then in a flash it sinks the big British monster
48:36disappears, we look for it, we can't find it
48:38a little tiny aeroplane suddenly finds it
48:41reports where it is
48:43another little tiny aeroplane
48:44sends a torpedo which cripples it
48:46and then the big British ships can come up and sink it
48:50it's an extraordinary story
48:52I mean it's full of heroism
48:54and it's full of
48:56it's full of heroism
48:58and it's full of pride
49:00on both sides
49:02I mean these were wonderful ships
49:04and the impersonality of it all
49:06you see we all fired at each other
49:08without seeing the enemy
49:09we never saw the enemy at all
49:10the only time I ever saw the enemy
49:12was when this little trickle of men
49:14ran down on the Bismarck's quarterdeck
49:15and jumped into the sea
49:16apart from that I could have been firing
49:18or we could have been
49:19we weren't firing ourselves
49:21but the British could have been firing at
49:22castles
49:24sea battle is a very impersonal thing
49:27it won't happen again
49:29not like that
49:31so
49:46it won't happen again
49:48ORGAN PLAYS
50:18ORGAN PLAYS