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00:00:00The Battle of North Cape, December the 26th, 1943.
00:00:25The Royal Navy's fast cruiser, HMS Belfast, goes into action.
00:00:30Against one of Nazi Germany's most powerful warships, the battlecruiser Scharnhorst,
00:00:35armed with a battery of 11-inch caliber guns.
00:00:41Fought in the dark, in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean,
00:00:44this epic confrontation would be the Royal Navy's last great battle at sea.
00:00:49It would be a fight to the death.
00:00:54I was down below water level, and that's where I stayed for 12 hours.
00:00:58I didn't want to die, basically. I'm honest about it. I didn't want to die.
00:01:04On June the 6th, 1944, Belfast again makes history as she fires the opening shots of the D-Day invasion.
00:01:10We were about to embark on the biggest military operation the world had ever known.
00:01:22Using archive film and colour reenactment, Battle Stations goes on board HMS Belfast
00:01:28to reveal the inner workings of a big gun warship in World War II.
00:01:41For centuries, victory in a sea battle depended on a combination of big guns and heavy armour.
00:01:47In the days of sail, warships would pound each other to pieces at very close range
00:01:54with a steady barrage of cannon fire.
00:01:58Their massive wooden hulls were strong, but timber was no match for iron cannonballs.
00:02:03In the 20th century, everything changed.
00:02:09Wood and sailcloth were replaced by steel and steam.
00:02:14Cannonballs by armour-piercing shells fired from huge guns mounted in rotating turrets,
00:02:20giving a wide arc of destructive firepower at very long range.
00:02:24The battleships were fearsome weapons, but their size and weight limited their flexibility.
00:02:35Their chief role was to act as a deterrent, the ultimate expression of sea power.
00:02:48To protect Britain's vast empire, the Royal Navy relied on a large fleet of fast cruisers.
00:02:54They were much smaller and more agile in the great battleships,
00:02:59with lighter armour and smaller guns.
00:03:01But their speed meant that they could be deployed very quickly to remote trouble spots.
00:03:09But by the mid-1930s, tensions were growing closer to home in Europe,
00:03:14as Nazi Germany began to rearm.
00:03:16The German Navy began building a series of big-gun warships.
00:03:24Many of their names would go down in history.
00:03:27The Bismarck, the Terpiz, and the Scharnhorst.
00:03:34Great Britain responded with its own shipbuilding programme.
00:03:37In May 1936, the Admiralty ordered a new and improved cruiser to be named HMS Belfast.
00:03:46She carried 12 6-inch guns in four turrets, two at each end of the ship.
00:03:52They had a rapid rate of fire and a range of more than 14 miles.
00:03:56On each side of the main superstructure, there were three torpedo tubes and three smaller gun turrets,
00:04:04mounting the secondary armament of four-inch guns.
00:04:10The hull was protected by a four-inch thick belt of steel armour plating.
00:04:15Top speed was an impressive 32 knots, about 36 miles per hour.
00:04:20HMS Belfast entered service with the Royal Navy on the 5th of August, 1939.
00:04:27Now, she needed a crew.
00:04:29I was full of adventure. I wanted to do things, and the Navy seemed a good way to get in there.
00:04:33And also, I had a feeling that there was going to be a war.
00:04:38And if there was going to be a war, I wanted to decide where I was going to go.
00:04:41And I fancied the sea.
00:04:43Have you come to join the Navy?
00:04:44I have joined.
00:04:46Good for you.
00:04:47Well, it's not a bad sort of life.
00:04:48For her very first crew, joining the brand-new cruiser HMS Belfast was a memorable experience.
00:04:56When you get a new car, nobody's had their hands on it.
00:04:59It's yours.
00:05:01And that was the same thing with the Belfast.
00:05:03It was mine.
00:05:05John Harrison found himself in charge of A and B six-inch gun turrets.
00:05:11It was something to be on a ship of that size, so brand-new, with all these modern things.
00:05:16And I went along to the turrets.
00:05:18They were magnificent.
00:05:20It was a very thrilling experience to be presented with this power.
00:05:26I thought to myself, when you look at these turrets, there's three guns there.
00:05:30They're capable of firing 40 miles.
00:05:34I've got a powerful beast here.
00:05:35And those guns would soon need to be ready for action.
00:05:40Barely a month after HMS Belfast was commissioned, Britain was at war with Germany.
00:05:47The first action was at sea.
00:05:50The enemy sighted.
00:05:51This is what they've been waiting for.
00:05:54Action stations.
00:05:55HMS Belfast immediately joined the home fleet and began patrolling British waters in search of German ships.
00:06:13But on November the 21st, 1939, disaster struck.
00:06:17Suddenly, the lights went out.
00:06:23A terrific sound.
00:06:24I thought my head had shrunk in my shoulders.
00:06:27They were terrific uplifting.
00:06:29All of the ship was bouncing.
00:06:32Well, you don't do that with a ship of that size.
00:06:36And everything went dead quiet.
00:06:40And the crew said, Christ, chief, what was that?
00:06:43Belfast had become the first victim of a new German secret weapon, the magnetic mine.
00:06:53I could hear groans, creaks, shudders, proving that there was no keel left underneath A and B turrets.
00:07:03HMS Belfast was so badly damaged that the Navy even considered scrapping the brand new ship rather than attempting to repair her.
00:07:11It was finally decided that the cruiser should be saved, but major repairs would keep her out of the war for over three years.
00:07:24During Belfast's long refit, huge advances were made in the new science of electronics.
00:07:30A crucial new weapon was radar.
00:07:33It transmitted a powerful radio beam, which bounced off the target and back to a receiving aerial.
00:07:38The echo appeared on a screen, indicating the target's position and range.
00:07:46This electronic eye revolutionised warfare.
00:07:49Belfast was fitted with the latest radar equipment, linked to a highly sophisticated fire control system for the guns.
00:07:55Control towers, mounted high on the ship, located and tracked the target by radar.
00:08:07The information was fed to the transmitting station, seven decks below, protected deep inside the armoured hull.
00:08:13Here, the training and elevation settings for the guns were calculated, using a complex mechanical computer, the Admiralty Fire Control Table.
00:08:27In November 1942, with her complex refit finally completed, Belfast emerged as the Navy's largest and most powerful cruiser.
00:08:54And this time, luck would be on her side.
00:08:59Belfast was about to earn her place in history.
00:09:02What a gigantic job confronts the Royal Navy.
00:09:13Shipping to be convoyed against the ever-present threat of enemy raiders.
00:09:17Raiders themselves to be tracked down in vast expanses of trackless ocean, which presents the old problem of the needle in the haystack.
00:09:23Early in 1943, HMS Belfast became the flagship of the 10th cruiser squadron, led by Vice Admiral Robert Burnett.
00:09:35Burnett was an aggressive commander.
00:09:38His determined defence of Arctic supply convoys to Russia had made him a popular figure with his men, and with Britain's Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.
00:09:46The Prime Minister seized the opportunity to call in to see the boys.
00:09:52With the premier was Admiral Burnett, of the famous Great Convoy to Russia.
00:09:57The Arctic convoy was important, not only materially, but politically as well.
00:10:02Since the Soviet Union was holding down the bulk of the German army on the Eastern Front,
00:10:06the Allies knew they had to do something to show their sign of support.
00:10:11But sending through the convoys of vital supplies was an extremely dangerous operation.
00:10:17During the early war years, German surface raiders and U-boats had taken a disastrous toll on Allied shipping.
00:10:29On one Russian convoy, two out of every three ships were sunk.
00:10:34Many were lost with all hands.
00:10:36Yet, in spite of all the hardships, sailing this cold and unforgiving ocean could be an inspiring experience.
00:10:45It's the vastness of the ocean that gets you.
00:10:50And there are 45-foot waves.
00:10:53You see these great, huge, green hills coming towards you.
00:10:58Belfast's crew of almost a thousand men was packed into a space only 613 by 69 feet.
00:11:29Only the senior officers had the luxury of a cabin.
00:11:32The rest ate, worked and slept in the same space, known as the mess deck.
00:11:37You're all in the same boat, more or less, and you stuck together, and if you went ashore, you stuck together.
00:11:44And it was one for one and one for all.
00:11:47You, you don't exactly like everybody, but you put up with everybody.
00:11:52You've got to.
00:11:54They're dependent on you, you're dependent on them.
00:11:56Boy, you better be friendly if anything happens.
00:11:59Their beds were simply canvas hammocks, a British naval tradition dating back to the days of sailing ships.
00:12:06The awkward process of getting into a hammock was the first skill every British sailor had to master.
00:12:17Hands on a bar a bit higher than what your hammock was slung and just swing yourself in.
00:12:21You had to stay across both ends to keep the hammock from folding up.
00:12:28Once you get into it, you get the roll of the ship and it swings you up to sleep and it's such a comfortable sleep too.
00:12:34If your ship was at sea and you were swinging to and fro, you'd have to disturb the man in the hammock next to your own if you were about to get into it.
00:12:47Hammocks were only that much apart.
00:12:50The beating heart of the ship was its engine room, situated deep down below the water level and protected by the armour plating.
00:12:58For the engine room crew, the deafening roar of the engines and the ever-present reek of fuel oil made this one of the most uncomfortable and claustrophobic places to work on the whole ship.
00:13:12One of the things all personnel do when they join the engine room department is to make sure they know the precise position of every valve,
00:13:23every means of shutting off a source of power in the dark and with the ship sinking possibly.
00:13:36Most personnel in the boiler rooms didn't expect to survive if the ship was badly damaged.
00:13:45Up on deck, the greatest enemy was the cold.
00:13:48In heavy weather, the flying spray hitting the steelwork could instantly freeze into a sheet of ice, encrusting the whole ship.
00:13:58It turned the rolling and pitching deck into a deadly skating rink.
00:14:03It seized winches, sealed up doors, and jammed guns.
00:14:09If allowed to build up, the weight of ice could unbalance the whole ship.
00:14:13Deckhands spent long hours in sub-zero temperatures, hacking away the sheets of ice.
00:14:18It was awful.
00:14:25That was the worst thing imaginable.
00:14:26You can't really describe this excessive cold.
00:14:30If you hadn't worn gloves, if you touched anything metal, you'd lost your finger ends, your fingertips.
00:14:36Absolutely dreadful.
00:14:40There's no other word for it.
00:14:42If you can imagine a ship ploughing through icy cold water in an arctic gale in the half-light that existed for quite a bit of the day,
00:14:57with the knowledge that if you fell over the side, you'd had it.
00:15:00There was absolutely no hope whatsoever of rescue.
00:15:04The arctic combo is where the worst possible conditions.
00:15:10But the greatest danger of all was the constant threat of enemy attack.
00:15:26Aircraft would be fought off with a mass of small-caliber weapons and the ship's secondary armament of four-inch guns.
00:15:31The shell just reached a certain point on the barrel and up would come the breach real quick.
00:15:42And you had to double your fist up and push it home because you'd have lost your finger ends if you pushed it flat.
00:15:48A hostile ship would be engaged by Belfast's main armament, packed inside each heavily armoured turret.
00:16:18A crew of twenty-six men manned the three six-inch calibre guns.
00:16:32Beneath each turret was a gigantic armoured cylinder called the barbette.
00:16:36It supported the 175-ton revolving structure and protected the system of hoists, which fed ammunition to the guns.
00:16:47At the very bottom of the ship, the magazine supplied the explosive charge,
00:16:52a bag of cordite that could hurl the shell some 14 miles.
00:16:55One deck up, the shells, each weighing 112 pounds, were loaded onto separate hoists,
00:17:04which delivered them to the turret, where a series of moving trays fed them to the guns.
00:17:09The seven-man gun crews practised the routine of loading and firing again and again until each man could do it in his sleep.
00:17:25Each crew member had a single task to perform, but all had to dovetail together at exactly the right moment.
00:17:31A good gun crew.
00:17:37Shell off the hoist and down to loading tray.
00:17:40Breach open.
00:17:42Swing shell to breach and ram home.
00:17:46Cordite charge off hoist, out of case and onto tray.
00:17:52Ram home charge, close breach and set fuse.
00:17:55Elevate gun to firing position
00:17:59A good gun crew could do all this in less than 8 seconds
00:18:04The gun crews, of course, were trained to perfection
00:18:19The rate of fire was quite intense
00:18:22You can imagine the pandemonium in there
00:18:24Organised chaos sums it up
00:18:27But they all knew exactly what they've got to do
00:18:30Where they've got to be and how they've got to do it
00:18:33By the end of 1943
00:18:41The Battle of the Atlantic had finally turned in favour of the Allies
00:18:44As the number of Allied merchant ships
00:18:48Safely crossing the Atlantic increased
00:18:50So did the pressure on Germany's naval commander-in-chief
00:18:53Grand Admiral Dönitz to stop them
00:18:56His U-boats were being hunted down and sunk in ever-increasing numbers
00:19:02But he still had one lethal weapon in his arsenal
00:19:10Which the Allies had learned to fear
00:19:13The battlecruiser Sarnhorst
00:19:15Based in Norway, she was well-positioned to launch a surprise attack on the Arctic convoys to Russia
00:19:22And she had the firepower to single-handedly wipe out an entire fleet of ships with her 11-inch guns
00:19:28The Royal Navy knew she had to be destroyed
00:19:36But any attack would need careful planning and a sufficiently attractive bait to lure her out of safe waters
00:19:43In December 1943
00:19:46As a fully loaded Allied convoy of merchant ships set sail from Scotland and headed for Russia
00:19:52Another was returning empty
00:19:54The two convoys would pass each other in the Berend Sea
00:19:59Between Bear Island and Norway's North Cape
00:20:03Admiral Dönitz was tracking their progress
00:20:06And decided to attack
00:20:08His weapon would be the Sarnhorst
00:20:11On the evening of Christmas Day 1943
00:20:14She set sail
00:20:16But British intelligence had decoded the German signals ordering her to see
00:20:20It was the break they had been waiting for
00:20:23The Royal Navy began to prepare a massive counter-attack
00:20:27But Sarnhorst was about to sail into a trap
00:20:31These are the ships taking from Britain
00:20:37The results of a million hours of labour in her great factories
00:20:41It was sent to aid the Red Army
00:20:43And it was sailed by the stoutest-hearted merchant seamen in the world
00:20:46Every Allied supply ship that reached Russia
00:20:51Helped to drive back the German armies in the east
00:20:53On Christmas Day 1943
00:20:55The Sarnhorst sets out to stop them
00:20:58But while the Sarnhorst closes in on the convoys
00:21:04The British Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet
00:21:07Admiral Fraser
00:21:08Has already prepared his two-pronged plan of attack
00:21:11Admiral Burnett would lead Force One
00:21:16Formed of his three cruisers
00:21:18Belfast, Norfolk and Sheffield
00:21:21As the Sarnhorst closes in to attack the convoys
00:21:25Burnett's cruisers will intercept her
00:21:27And drive her back into the path of Force Two
00:21:30Led by Admiral Fraser's own battleship
00:21:33The Duke of York
00:21:34At 44,000 tonnes, Duke of York was one of Britain's biggest and most powerful battleships
00:21:41She was armed with ten 14-inch guns
00:21:45But although bigger and better armed than the Sarnhorst
00:21:48She was slower by about four miles per hour
00:21:51A small but vital difference
00:21:55In any sort of sea battle, speed is important
00:21:57And manoeuvrability is important
00:21:59Because if you really can't get in the proper position
00:22:01To launch your torpedoes or fire your main batteries
00:22:04Then the ultimate outcome of the battle
00:22:06Will probably not be in your favour
00:22:08As he headed out into the open sea
00:22:15The Sarnhorst's commander, Admiral Bay
00:22:18Had no idea that the British had decoded his signals
00:22:20Or that news of Sarnhorst's departure
00:22:23Had been relayed to Admiral Burnett on HMS Belfast
00:22:26Admiral Bay was sailing straight into the trap
00:22:30It would be Christmas Day
00:22:34Admiral Burnett spoke on the tannoy
00:22:37To say there was 50-50 chance of meeting the Sarnhorst tomorrow
00:22:41It had put to sea
00:22:43And he wanted us all to say a few words of prayer
00:22:46So that for a start put a fairer God into us
00:22:50He apologised for not having a Christmas dinner
00:22:55He said, but either late today or early tomorrow morning
00:22:59We expect to bump into the Sarnhorst
00:23:01And if there's any action, I'll lead you straight in
00:23:04I felt like David and Goliath, you know
00:23:07In darkness on the morning of December the 26th
00:23:14Belfast's radar picks up a signal at 35,000 yards
00:23:17A large vessel is heading straight towards the convoys
00:23:22It is the Sarnhorst
00:23:25Belfast's crew are called to action stations
00:23:28Within two seconds, the Padre gave a short service
00:23:34The next thing I knew was down in the Port D's compartment
00:23:38Down right down below water level
00:23:40And that's where I stayed for 12 hours
00:23:42When you go into action, you close all doors and skulls
00:23:48And they've got to be shut tight
00:23:50Because they've got to be watertight
00:23:52Because it would be danger to the whole ship
00:23:54They'd bung the doors left open and got flooded
00:23:57With each man at his battle station
00:24:03The crew of HMS Belfast prepared to go into action
00:24:06At any moment, the huge guns of the Sarnhorst
00:24:10Could be turned on the cruisers
00:24:11But her radar had failed to detect them
00:24:14Under cover of darkness, they closed to 13,000 yards
00:24:19And open fire
00:24:20On board the Sarnhorst, Admiral Bay is caught completely off guard
00:24:32His ship is rocked by an explosion
00:24:34As one of Norfolk's shells knocks out her forward radar
00:24:36The Sarnhorst turns away at full speed
00:24:41And vanishes into the darkness
00:24:43On Belfast, the radar plotters soon lose contact
00:24:47It looks as if the carefully laid plans might fail after all
00:24:53But Admiral Burnett is convinced that the Sarnhorst
00:24:56Will return for another attempt at attacking the eastbound convoy
00:24:59Rather than search for the Sarnhorst
00:25:05He orders his cruisers to continue screening the convoy
00:25:08And waits
00:25:10After almost two hours of nail-biting tension
00:25:16His gamble pays off
00:25:18Belfast again picks up the Sarnhorst on radar
00:25:22As she closes in once more to attack the convoy
00:25:26However remote you are from the bridge
00:25:29You share in the agonising that's going on there
00:25:33And you share in the excitement
00:25:36At 11,000 yards
00:25:40All three cruisers open fire
00:25:42Good
00:25:46I've started
00:25:51But this time the Sarnhorst did not turn and run
00:25:56For 20 minutes the battle raged
00:25:58For the sailors stationed deep down below the waterline
00:26:02The tension was almost unbearable
00:26:04As the sounds of battle reverberated through the ship
00:26:07They knew that if she went down
00:26:09Their fate would be sealed
00:26:11There was three decks down below
00:26:21And there was three escape hatches above
00:26:23All shut tight
00:26:24And it was a bit scary really
00:26:28When these armour-piercing shells came over
00:26:33Which were at 11 inch
00:26:34You could hear them hit the water
00:26:36And go ping right along the keel
00:26:38Any minute now
00:26:40At the very bottom of the ship
00:26:43Larry Fersland's lonely battle station
00:26:46Was at the diesel generator
00:26:47Which powered two of the six inch gun turrets
00:26:50The most worrying thing to me was
00:26:53I was isolated for 12 hours
00:26:56I was down there on my own
00:26:57I didn't want to die
00:26:59Basically I'm honest about it
00:27:00I didn't want to die
00:27:01Suddenly the engine's cooling pump failed
00:27:05And it began rapidly overheating
00:27:07At any second
00:27:08It too would fail
00:27:10Knocking the turrets out of action
00:27:11Luckily
00:27:14There was a fire main
00:27:16With a fire hose all rolled up
00:27:18So I eventually undone that
00:27:21Just long enough it was
00:27:23I got that hose
00:27:24Lies out
00:27:25Come down the hatch
00:27:26Down on the deck
00:27:27And up
00:27:28And I put it on the bypass
00:27:29Using a fire hose
00:27:33Larry fed cooling water to the engine
00:27:35At last
00:27:36The temperature began to drop
00:27:37I gradually opened up
00:27:40And opened up on the valves
00:27:41Until I got the temperature down
00:27:43And I run like that
00:27:44For 12 hours
00:27:45If that diesel generator
00:27:48Had gone off the board
00:27:49It had been one or two triple turrets
00:27:51Out of action
00:27:52Larry's quick thinking
00:27:56Kept the turrets working
00:27:57And would later earn him a medal
00:27:59One of many awarded that day
00:28:01During the 20 minute battle
00:28:04Belfast's gunners loaded and fired
00:28:06Hundreds of six inch shells
00:28:08The Scharnhorst continued to return fire
00:28:12And Norfolk was badly damaged
00:28:14Losing a gun turret
00:28:17And nine men killed
00:28:19Then
00:28:30Just as he seemed to be gaining the advantage
00:28:32Admiral Bay decided to break off the action
00:28:35And retreated
00:28:36Against all the odds
00:28:38The three cruisers had saved the convoy
00:28:40As Admiral Bay set off at full speed
00:28:51For the safety of his base in Norway
00:28:53With Admiral Burnett's cruisers in hot pursuit
00:28:55He didn't know that the battleship
00:28:57Duke of York
00:28:58With its 14 inch guns
00:29:00Now lay almost directly in his path
00:29:02The trap
00:29:03Was about to close
00:29:05As darkness fell on the afternoon
00:29:13Of December the 26th 1943
00:29:15The German battlecruiser Scharnhorst
00:29:18Was heading south at full speed
00:29:20For the safety of her base in Norway
00:29:22Shadowing her was Admiral Burnett
00:29:25And his flagship
00:29:26HMS Belfast
00:29:27For Belfast's crew
00:29:31It was a tense and nerve-wracking time
00:29:33They all knew how slim their chances would be
00:29:36If the Scharnhorst decided to turn
00:29:38Her massive guns against them
00:29:39Late in the afternoon
00:29:42The chase reached its climax
00:29:44As Scharnhorst was intercepted
00:29:46By the British battleship
00:29:47Duke of York
00:29:47At 4.40pm
00:29:50At a range of six miles
00:29:51She opened fire
00:29:53Scharnhorst turned north
00:29:55Away from her attacker
00:29:56But soon ran into fire
00:29:58From the cruisers Norfolk
00:29:59And Belfast
00:30:00The Scharnhorst swung round again
00:30:05And headed east
00:30:06In a desperate attempt
00:30:07To escape the two-pronged attack
00:30:09The British onslaught continued
00:30:11But the Scharnhorst
00:30:13Was just too fast
00:30:15For her pursuers
00:30:15And soon began to pull away
00:30:17Once again
00:30:18She was slipping through the net
00:30:20Then
00:30:25At extreme range
00:30:27One lucky shot exploded
00:30:29In the Scharnhorst's boiler rooms
00:30:31Her speed began to drop
00:30:35And the British commander-in-chief
00:30:37Admiral Fraser
00:30:38Ordered his fast destroyers
00:30:39To close in
00:30:40And launch a torpedo attack
00:30:42A series of devastating explosions
00:30:49Rocked the Scharnhorst
00:30:50As the torpedoes found their target
00:30:52Her progress slowed to a crawl
00:30:54Now there would be no escape
00:30:56The Scharnhorst's crew
00:30:58Would have to stand
00:30:59And fight
00:31:00At six miles range
00:31:05Belfast opened fire once more
00:31:07Aiming her guns by radar
00:31:09Into the blackness
00:31:10Within half an hour
00:31:16The Scharnhorst had been pounded
00:31:18Into a blazing inferno
00:31:19From his battle station
00:31:23High up in the radar plot
00:31:24George Burridge
00:31:25Was one of the few members
00:31:26Of Belfast's crew
00:31:27Who actually witnessed
00:31:29The final moments
00:31:30Of their enemy
00:31:30The legendary Scharnhorst
00:31:32We then saw the Scharnhorst
00:31:36Completely engulfed in flames
00:31:38A terrible sight
00:31:41When you think about it
00:31:42And, um, yeah
00:31:44Very memorable
00:31:45I can see it now
00:31:48It's a tremendous sight
00:31:51When you see a ship
00:31:52Of that size
00:31:53With that number of people on
00:31:54Go down
00:31:55It's unbelievable
00:31:57Quite frankly
00:31:58Now it was time
00:32:04For the final act
00:32:05In the drama
00:32:06As Belfast closed in
00:32:08To fire a last salvo
00:32:09Of torpedoes
00:32:10At the crippled Scharnhorst
00:32:11At 7.45pm
00:32:17On December the 26th
00:32:19Belfast's radar plotters
00:32:21Watched
00:32:21As the Scharnhorst's blip
00:32:23Dwindled away
00:32:24And vanished from the screen
00:32:26The message was broadcast
00:32:29Throughout the ship
00:32:29Scharnhorst
00:32:31Has sunk
00:32:32And when it was
00:32:36Actually
00:32:36Sunk
00:32:37A smell
00:32:39Came down
00:32:40The ventilation trunkings
00:32:41Of oil
00:32:43Fuel
00:32:43One of the
00:32:45Foulest smells
00:32:46In this world
00:32:48And my thought was
00:32:51Poor
00:32:52Devils
00:32:53That's how I felt
00:32:59Swimming in oil
00:33:03Can you imagine it?
00:33:12Of a crew
00:33:13Of almost 2,000 men
00:33:14Only 36 survivors
00:33:17Were pulled
00:33:17From the freezing waters
00:33:18I thought we should have
00:33:25Picked more survivors
00:33:26I saw a signal
00:33:30In the signals office
00:33:31Shortly afterwards
00:33:32And it just said
00:33:33Take a small sample
00:33:35Well to me
00:33:36That meant
00:33:37Leave them
00:33:38For Belfast's crew
00:33:43Victory was tempered
00:33:44By an understanding
00:33:45Of what those final moments
00:33:46Must have been like
00:33:47For the German sailors
00:33:48He's only a sailor
00:33:52Just like you
00:33:53So
00:33:54You don't feel any hatred
00:33:56Well at least
00:33:57I don't believe sailors do
00:33:59They're seasick
00:34:01Just the same
00:34:02Of the Sharnhorst crew
00:34:07Of officers and men
00:34:0736 were rescued
00:34:09These are the only survivors
00:34:11A bitter defeat
00:34:15And a superb victory
00:34:16For these men
00:34:17Of the British Navy
00:34:18It's a matter of survival
00:34:20It is either
00:34:22They go down
00:34:24Or you go down
00:34:25Because naval tradition
00:34:26Being what it is
00:34:27The ships fight
00:34:28Until it goes down
00:34:29There's no question
00:34:30Of surrendering
00:34:31Or giving in
00:34:33Or turning away
00:34:34You fight until the end
00:34:35Not a very clever situation
00:34:38You might think
00:34:39But that's the way
00:34:40The Navy does it
00:34:40So we achieved
00:34:42What we went after
00:34:43And no regrets
00:34:46For those that got killed
00:34:47Of course
00:34:47None at all
00:34:49No
00:34:51It's just another enemy ship
00:34:53Sunk
00:34:53Good-o
00:34:54It wasn't me
00:34:56That's the theory
00:34:58It was him
00:34:59Heartless
00:35:00That's what we're trying for
00:35:02It had been a Christmas
00:35:05The men of HMS Belfast
00:35:07Would never forget
00:35:08Their ship had played
00:35:09A key role
00:35:10In the first
00:35:11Modern sea battle
00:35:12A battle fought
00:35:13Mostly in complete darkness
00:35:15Depending entirely
00:35:16On the new science
00:35:17Of electronics
00:35:18But the first
00:35:22Was also the last
00:35:23As centuries
00:35:25Of naval tradition
00:35:25Were swept away
00:35:26The battle of North Cape
00:35:30Represented really
00:35:31A changing of the guard
00:35:32As far as the Royal Navy
00:35:33Was concerned
00:35:33I mean the Royal Navy
00:35:34Had been built
00:35:35On the tradition
00:35:36Of Nelson
00:35:36And Trafalgar
00:35:37And HMS Victory
00:35:38It was the big gun battle
00:35:39The gunnery duel
00:35:40The broadsides
00:35:41Against the enemy
00:35:42Yet North Cape
00:35:43Represented really
00:35:44And the North Cape
00:35:44Represented really a passing
00:35:45Of those traditions
00:35:46It was the last
00:35:46Big gun engagement
00:35:48In which the Royal Navy
00:35:49Was involved
00:35:49Britannia ruled the waves
00:35:54Once more
00:35:54Germany had lost
00:35:56The war at sea
00:35:57Now she had to be
00:35:58Beaten on land
00:35:59As the new year dawned
00:36:03Plans for the invasion
00:36:04Of mainland Europe
00:36:05Were already being finalized
00:36:07And HMS Belfast
00:36:09Would be at the very heart
00:36:10Of the greatest military
00:36:12Offensive in world history
00:36:14Early 1944
00:36:23At sea
00:36:24The German battle fleet
00:36:25Has been defeated
00:36:26It looks as though
00:36:27The big gun battleships
00:36:28And cruisers
00:36:29Of the Allied navies
00:36:30Are no longer needed
00:36:32But one final task
00:36:34Remains
00:36:34Their massive firepower
00:36:37Will now play a crucial role
00:36:38Bombarding German forces
00:36:40On land
00:36:41By late spring of 1944
00:36:46Plans for the D-Day invasion
00:36:48Of mainland Europe
00:36:49Were in place
00:36:50Warships like HMS Belfast
00:36:52Would protect Allied troops
00:36:53During the critical
00:36:54Early stages of the invasion
00:36:56The first few hours
00:36:59Of any invasion
00:37:00Against a beachhead
00:37:02Are pivotal
00:37:02Because if the enemy
00:37:03Is able to bring
00:37:04Reinforcements up
00:37:05It can really
00:37:06Turn back in the assault troops
00:37:07Or really throw them
00:37:08Back into the sea
00:37:09German troops
00:37:10That may have been able
00:37:11To influence the battle
00:37:12On the beaches
00:37:13Were just prevented
00:37:15From getting there
00:37:15Because of the big gun
00:37:17Ships like Belfast
00:37:18On the evening of
00:37:21June the 5th 1944
00:37:23A vast armada
00:37:24Began crossing
00:37:25The English Channel
00:37:26To the Normandy coast
00:37:27Among the leading ships
00:37:29Was the cruiser
00:37:30HMS Belfast
00:37:32The Admiral told us
00:37:35That we were about to embark
00:37:37On the biggest
00:37:39On the biggest military operation
00:37:41The world had ever known
00:37:44The success of this
00:37:47Tremendous undertaking
00:37:48Depended vitally
00:37:49Upon the naval bombardment
00:37:51That would precede
00:37:52The assault of ground forces
00:37:53General Eisenhower said
00:37:56Of these men
00:37:56There is no question at all
00:37:58As to the readiness
00:37:59Of the troops
00:38:00They are well trained
00:38:01Fit
00:38:02And impatient
00:38:03To get the job started
00:38:04And completed
00:38:05Going up the English Channel
00:38:08We were actually
00:38:09Threading through
00:38:11In daylight
00:38:11These hundreds
00:38:14And hundreds
00:38:15Of vessels
00:38:16All in straight lines
00:38:18And these silent soldiers
00:38:21One or two sailors
00:38:24Tried to cheer
00:38:25But they soon gave it up
00:38:28The soldiers
00:38:29Were absolutely quiet
00:38:31And we went on and on
00:38:33Through these ranks
00:38:35Until it got dark
00:38:37Incredible
00:38:39So
00:38:40With the knowledge
00:38:42That these were the
00:38:43These were the human beings
00:38:45Who were going to
00:38:46Go ashore
00:38:47At 5.30am
00:38:50On June the 6th
00:38:521944
00:38:52HMS Belfast
00:38:54Fied the opening shots
00:38:55That launched
00:38:56The D-Day invasion
00:38:57Shattering the dawn
00:39:0990 minutes
00:39:10Before H-hour
00:39:11The naval bombardment
00:39:12Opened up
00:39:13Rapid firing cruisers
00:39:20Like Belfast
00:39:21Were the ideal weapon
00:39:22For coastal bombardment
00:39:23With a battery
00:39:24Of 12 heavy guns
00:39:26And a range
00:39:26Of roughly 14 miles
00:39:28Belfast
00:39:29Could saturate a target
00:39:30And inflict enormous damage
00:39:32Within minutes
00:39:33Each gun turret
00:39:34Could fire more than
00:39:35A tonne of shells
00:39:36Every 60 seconds
00:39:37A broadside
00:39:42Of all four turrets
00:39:43Pulverised the German positions
00:39:45With a tonne of shells
00:39:46Every 15 seconds
00:39:47My action station
00:39:56Was the after
00:39:57Engine room
00:39:57And realising that
00:40:00History
00:40:01Was being made
00:40:02I gathered the
00:40:04Stokers
00:40:05And the petty officers
00:40:06And that's the actual
00:40:08Expression
00:40:09I used
00:40:10History is being made up there
00:40:13And I said
00:40:15If you are willing
00:40:16To risk your lives
00:40:17And want to see
00:40:19What's going on
00:40:21It's up to you
00:40:22You can go up the ladder
00:40:23Two minutes up the ladder
00:40:25And back
00:40:25And every single
00:40:28Man
00:40:30Went up the ladder
00:40:32To have a look
00:40:33And I waited
00:40:35Till last
00:40:36And went up
00:40:37And there was
00:40:39D-Day
00:40:40Every picture I see
00:40:47Reminds me
00:40:48Of that two minutes
00:40:49Looking at these
00:40:51Hundreds of vessels
00:40:52And the men
00:40:54Jumping into waves
00:40:55Five feet high
00:40:56The bodies on the beach
00:40:59The confusion on the beach
00:41:01Yes
00:41:03We saw D-Day
00:41:06German resistance
00:41:14Remained firmly entrenched
00:41:16For more than a month
00:41:17Belfast continued
00:41:18To pound the German lines
00:41:20Firing thousands of shells
00:41:22At last
00:41:25The Allies began
00:41:26The breakout to the east
00:41:28Within two days
00:41:29The Germans had retreated
00:41:30Beyond the range
00:41:31Of Belfast's guns
00:41:32And on July the 8th
00:41:34She fired her last shot
00:41:36She returned to England
00:41:45With her gun barrels
00:41:46Worn out
00:41:47But her task
00:41:48Was finished
00:41:49After World War II
00:41:59There would be no more
00:42:00Epic battles at sea
00:42:02In the atomic age
00:42:04The armoured warship
00:42:05With its big guns
00:42:07Soon became a relic
00:42:08Of the past
00:42:09Today
00:42:10HMS Belfast is moored
00:42:12On the river Thames
00:42:13Opposite the Tower of London
00:42:14She is preserved
00:42:16As part of Britain's
00:42:17Imperial War Museum
00:42:18The very last survivor
00:42:20Of the Royal Navy's
00:42:22Big gun armoured warships
00:42:24They are no more
00:42:28The dear old Belfast remains
00:42:33And may she float
00:42:35Alongside the jetty
00:42:37On the Thames
00:42:38For the next 50 years
00:42:40The Battle of North Cape
00:43:09December the 26th
00:43:10December the 26th
00:43:111943
00:43:12The Royal Navy's
00:43:14Fast cruiser
00:43:14HMS Belfast
00:43:15Goes into action
00:43:16Against one of
00:43:17Nazi Germany's
00:43:18Most powerful warships
00:43:20The battle cruiser
00:43:21Sharnhorst
00:43:22Armed with a battery
00:43:23Of 11 inch calibre guns
00:43:25Fought in the dark
00:43:29In the icy waters
00:43:30Of the Arctic Ocean
00:43:31This epic confrontation
00:43:33Would be the Royal Navy's
00:43:34Last great battle at sea
00:43:36It would be a fight
00:43:38To the death
00:43:39Down below water level
00:43:43And there's where I stayed
00:43:44For 12 hours
00:43:45I didn't want to die
00:43:47Basically I'm honest about
00:43:48I didn't want to die
00:43:49On June the 6th 1944
00:43:53Belfast again makes history
00:43:55As she fires the opening shots
00:43:56Of the D-Day invasion
00:43:58We were about to embark
00:44:01On the biggest military operation
00:44:04The world had ever known
00:44:07Using archive film
00:44:11And colour reenactment
00:44:12Battle stations
00:44:13Goes on board
00:44:14HMS Belfast
00:44:15To reveal the inner workings
00:44:17Of a big gun warship
00:44:18In World War II
00:44:19For centuries
00:44:30Victory in a sea battle
00:44:31Depended on a combination
00:44:32Of big guns
00:44:33And heavy armour
00:44:34In the days of sail
00:44:37Warships would pound each other
00:44:39To pieces
00:44:39At very close range
00:44:41With a steady barrage
00:44:42Of cannon fire
00:44:43Their massive wooden hulls
00:44:46Were strong
00:44:47But timber was no match
00:44:49For iron cannonballs
00:44:50In the 20th century
00:44:54Everything changed
00:44:56Wood and sailcloth
00:44:57Were replaced by steel
00:44:59And steam
00:45:00Cannonballs
00:45:02By armour-piercing shells
00:45:03Fired from huge guns
00:45:05Mounted in rotating turrets
00:45:07Giving a wide arc
00:45:08Of destructive firepower
00:45:09At very long range
00:45:11The battleships
00:45:17Were fearsome weapons
00:45:18But their size and weight
00:45:20Limited their flexibility
00:45:21Their chief role
00:45:23Was to act as a deterrent
00:45:24The ultimate expression
00:45:25Of sea power
00:45:26To protect Britain's vast empire
00:45:37The Royal Navy
00:45:38Relied on a large fleet
00:45:40Of fast cruisers
00:45:41They were much smaller
00:45:43And more agile
00:45:44Than the great battleships
00:45:45With lighter armour
00:45:47And smaller guns
00:45:48But their speed
00:45:49Meant that they could be deployed
00:45:51Very quickly
00:45:51To remote trouble spots
00:45:52But by the mid-1930s
00:45:58Tensions were growing
00:45:59Closer to home
00:46:00In Europe
00:46:01As Nazi Germany
00:46:02Began to rearm
00:46:03The German Navy
00:46:08Began building
00:46:09A series of big gun warships
00:46:11Many of their names
00:46:12Would go down in history
00:46:13The Bismarck
00:46:15The Terpiz
00:46:16And the Scharnhorst
00:46:18Great Britain responded
00:46:23With its own
00:46:23Shipbuilding programme
00:46:24In May 1936
00:46:26The Admiralty ordered
00:46:27A new and improved cruiser
00:46:29To be named
00:46:30HMS Belfast
00:46:32She carried 12
00:46:35Six-inch guns
00:46:35In four turrets
00:46:36Two at each end
00:46:38Of the ship
00:46:38They had a rapid rate
00:46:40Of fire
00:46:40And a range
00:46:41Of more than
00:46:42Fourteen miles
00:46:43On each side
00:46:46Of the main superstructure
00:46:47There were three
00:46:48Torpedo tubes
00:46:49And three smaller
00:46:50Gun turrets
00:46:51Mounting the secondary
00:46:52Armament of
00:46:53Four-inch guns
00:46:54The hull
00:46:58Was protected
00:46:58By a four-inch
00:46:59Thick belt
00:47:00Of steel armour
00:47:01Plating
00:47:01Top speed
00:47:03Top speed
00:47:03Was an impressive
00:47:0432 knots
00:47:05About 36 miles
00:47:07Per hour
00:47:07HMS Belfast
00:47:10Entered service
00:47:10With the Royal Navy
00:47:11On the 5th of August
00:47:121939
00:47:13Now
00:47:14She needed a crew
00:47:15I was full of adventure
00:47:17I wanted to do things
00:47:18And the Navy
00:47:19Seemed a good way
00:47:20To get in there
00:47:20And also
00:47:21I had a feeling
00:47:23That there was
00:47:24Going to be a war
00:47:24And if there was
00:47:25Going to be a war
00:47:26I wanted to decide
00:47:26Where I was going to go
00:47:27And the fence
00:47:28Is the sea
00:47:29Have you come to join
00:47:30The Navy
00:47:31I have joined
00:47:33Good for you
00:47:34Well it's not a bad
00:47:35Sort of life
00:47:35For her very first crew
00:47:38Joining the brand new
00:47:39Cruiser HMS Belfast
00:47:41Was a memorable experience
00:47:42When you get a new car
00:47:44Nobody's had their hands on it
00:47:46It's yours
00:47:47And that was the same thing
00:47:49With the Belfast
00:47:50It was mine
00:47:50John Harrison
00:47:52Found himself in charge
00:47:54Of A and B
00:47:55Six inch gun turrets
00:47:56It was something
00:47:59To be on a ship
00:47:59Of that size
00:48:00So brand new
00:48:01With all these
00:48:02Modern things
00:48:03And I went along
00:48:04To the turrets
00:48:05They were magnificent
00:48:06It was a very
00:48:09Thrilling experience
00:48:10To be presented
00:48:11With this power
00:48:12I thought to myself
00:48:14When you look at
00:48:15These turrets
00:48:15There's three guns there
00:48:16They're capable
00:48:18Of firing
00:48:18Forty miles
00:48:19I've got a powerful
00:48:22Beast here
00:48:22And those guns
00:48:25Would soon need
00:48:25To be ready
00:48:26For action
00:48:26Barely a month
00:48:28After HMS Belfast
00:48:29Was commissioned
00:48:30Britain was at war
00:48:31With Germany
00:48:32The first action
00:48:35Was at sea
00:48:35Enemy sighted
00:48:38This is what
00:48:39They've been waiting for
00:48:40Action stations
00:48:42Open fire
00:48:47HMS Belfast
00:48:53Immediately joined
00:48:54The home fleet
00:48:55And began patrolling
00:48:56British waters
00:48:57In search of
00:48:58German ships
00:48:59But on November
00:49:00November 21st
00:49:011939
00:49:02Disaster struck
00:49:04Suddenly
00:49:07The lights went out
00:49:08A terrific sound
00:49:11I thought my head
00:49:12Had shrunk in my shoulders
00:49:13They were terrific
00:49:15Activity
00:49:15All of the ship
00:49:17All of the ship was bouncing
00:49:18Well you don't do that
00:49:20With a ship of that size
00:49:21And everything went
00:49:24Dead quiet
00:49:25And the QO said
00:49:28Christ chief
00:49:29What was that?
00:49:32Belfast had become
00:49:33The first victim
00:49:34Of a new
00:49:34German secret weapon
00:49:35The magnetic mine
00:49:37I could hear groans
00:49:42Creaks
00:49:43Shudders
00:49:44Proving
00:49:46That there was no keel
00:49:47Left underneath
00:49:48A and B turrets
00:49:49HMS Belfast
00:49:51Was so badly damaged
00:49:53That the navy
00:49:53Even considered
00:49:54Scrapping the brand
00:49:55New ship
00:49:56Rather than
00:49:57Attempting to repair
00:49:58It was finally decided
00:50:00That the cruiser
00:50:01Should be saved
00:50:02But major repairs
00:50:03Would keep her out
00:50:04Of the war
00:50:05For over three years
00:50:06During Belfast's long refit
00:50:13Huge advances were made
00:50:15In the new science
00:50:15Of electronics
00:50:16A crucial new weapon
00:50:18Was radar
00:50:19It transmitted
00:50:21A powerful radio beam
00:50:22Which bounced off the target
00:50:24And back to a receiving aerial
00:50:25The echo appeared
00:50:29On a screen
00:50:29Indicating the target's
00:50:31Position and range
00:50:32This electronic eye
00:50:34Revolutionised warfare
00:50:36Belfast was fitted
00:50:37With the latest radar equipment
00:50:39Linked to a highly sophisticated
00:50:40Fire control system
00:50:42For the guns
00:50:42Control towers
00:50:50Mounted high on the ship
00:50:51Located and tracked
00:50:52The target by radar
00:50:53The information was fed
00:50:55To the transmitting station
00:50:56Seven decks below
00:50:58Protected deep inside
00:50:59The armoured hull
00:51:00Here the training
00:51:06And elevation settings
00:51:07For the guns
00:51:08Were calculated
00:51:09Using a complex
00:51:10Mechanical computer
00:51:11The Admiralty fire control table
00:51:14When the calculations
00:51:20Were complete
00:51:20They were relayed
00:51:21Electrically to the guns
00:51:23When all was ready
00:51:24The guns were fired
00:51:26Remotely from the control towers
00:51:27In November 1942
00:51:34With her complex refit
00:51:35Finally completed
00:51:36Belfast emerged
00:51:38As the Navy's largest
00:51:39And most powerful cruiser
00:51:41And this time
00:51:42Luck would be on her side
00:51:44Belfast was about to earn
00:51:48Her place in history
00:51:49What a gigantic job
00:51:58Confronts the Royal Navy
00:51:59Shipping to be convoyed
00:52:01Against the ever-present
00:52:02Threat of enemy raiders
00:52:03Raiders themselves
00:52:05To be tracked down
00:52:06In vast expanses
00:52:07Of trackless ocean
00:52:07Which presents the old problem
00:52:09Of the needle in the haystack
00:52:10Early in 1943
00:52:15HMS Belfast
00:52:16Became the flagship
00:52:17Of the 10th cruiser squadron
00:52:19Led by Vice Admiral
00:52:20Robert Burnett
00:52:21Burnett was an aggressive commander
00:52:24His determined defence
00:52:26Of Arctic supply convoys
00:52:27To Russia
00:52:28Had made him a popular figure
00:52:29With his men
00:52:30And with Britain's prime minister
00:52:32Winston Churchill
00:52:33The prime minister
00:52:36Seized the opportunity
00:52:37To call in
00:52:38To see the boys
00:52:39With the premier
00:52:40Was Admiral Burnett
00:52:41Of the famous
00:52:42Great convoy
00:52:43To Russia
00:52:43The Arctic convoy
00:52:46Was important
00:52:46Not only materially
00:52:48But politically as well
00:52:49Since the Soviet Union
00:52:50Was holding down
00:52:51The bulk of the German army
00:52:52On the eastern front
00:52:53The Allies knew
00:52:54They had to do something
00:52:56To show their sign of support
00:52:57But sending through
00:53:00The convoys
00:53:00Of vital supplies
00:53:01Was an extremely dangerous operation
00:53:03During the early war years
00:53:05German surface raiders
00:53:07And U-boats
00:53:08Had taken a disastrous toll
00:53:09On Allied shipping
00:53:10On one Russian convoy
00:53:17Two out of every three ships
00:53:19Were sunk
00:53:20Many were lost
00:53:22With all hands
00:53:23Yet in spite of all the hardships
00:53:26Sailing this cold
00:53:27And unforgiving ocean
00:53:29Could be an inspiring experience
00:53:31It's the vastness
00:53:34Of the ocean
00:53:35That gets you
00:53:36And there are
00:53:38Forty-five foot waves
00:53:39You see these
00:53:41Great huge
00:53:42Green hills
00:53:44Coming towards you
00:53:46You know
00:53:52And you glory
00:53:54In the fact
00:53:54That the ship
00:53:55Goes up
00:53:56And over this wave
00:53:57And dead
00:53:58And you're dependent
00:54:02Entirely upon yourselves
00:54:04Belfast's crew
00:54:10Of almost a thousand men
00:54:11Was packed into a space
00:54:12Only 613 by 69 feet
00:54:15Only the senior officers
00:54:17Had the luxury of a cabin
00:54:18The rest ate
00:54:20Worked
00:54:21And slept
00:54:22In the same space
00:54:23Known as the mess deck
00:54:24You're all in the same boat
00:54:27Or less
00:54:28And you stuck together
00:54:29And if you went ashore
00:54:30You stuck together
00:54:31And it was one for one
00:54:33And one for all
00:54:34You don't exactly like everybody
00:54:38But you put up with everybody
00:54:39You've got to
00:54:40They're dependent on you
00:54:42You're dependent on them
00:54:42Boy
00:54:43You better be friendly
00:54:45If anything happens
00:54:46Their beds
00:54:48Were simply canvas hammocks
00:54:49A British naval tradition
00:54:51Dating back to the days
00:54:52Of sailing ships
00:54:53The awkward process
00:54:56Of getting into a hammock
00:54:57Was the first skill
00:54:58Every British sailor
00:54:59Had to master
00:55:00Hands on a bar
00:55:05A bit higher
00:55:05Than what your hammock
00:55:06Was slung
00:55:07And just swing yourself in
00:55:08You had to stay
00:55:09Across both ends
00:55:10To keep the hammock
00:55:12From folding up
00:55:13Once you get into it
00:55:16You get the
00:55:17Roll of the ship
00:55:18And it swings you up
00:55:19To sleep
00:55:19And it's such
00:55:20A comfortable sleep too
00:55:21If your ship
00:55:23Was at sea
00:55:23And you were
00:55:24Swinging to and fro
00:55:26You would have to
00:55:27Disturb the man
00:55:29In the hammock
00:55:30Next to your own
00:55:31If you were about
00:55:32To get into it
00:55:34Hammocks were only
00:55:35That much apart
00:55:36The beating heart
00:55:39Of the ship
00:55:39Was its engine room
00:55:40Situated deep down
00:55:42Below the water level
00:55:43And protected
00:55:44By the armour plating
00:55:45For the engine room crew
00:55:48The deafening roar
00:55:49Of the engines
00:55:50And the ever present
00:55:51Reek of fuel oil
00:55:52Made this one
00:55:53Of the most uncomfortable
00:55:54And claustrophobic
00:55:55Places to work
00:55:56On the whole ship
00:55:57One of the things
00:56:01All personnel do
00:56:03When they join
00:56:03The engine room department
00:56:05Is to make sure
00:56:06They know
00:56:07The precise position
00:56:09Of every valve
00:56:10Every means
00:56:13Of shutting off
00:56:14A source of power
00:56:16In the dark
00:56:18And with the ship
00:56:20Sinking possibly
00:56:21Most personnel
00:56:24In the boiler rooms
00:56:25Didn't expect to survive
00:56:28If the ship
00:56:29Was badly damaged
00:56:31Up on deck
00:56:33The greatest enemy
00:56:34Was the cold
00:56:35In heavy weather
00:56:36The flying spray
00:56:38Hitting the steelwork
00:56:39Could instantly freeze
00:56:40Into a sheet of ice
00:56:41Encrusting the whole ship
00:56:42It turned the rolling
00:56:46And pitching deck
00:56:47Into a deadly skating rink
00:56:49It seized winches
00:56:51Sealed up doors
00:56:52And jammed guns
00:56:54If allowed to build up
00:56:57The weight of ice
00:56:58Could unbalance the whole ship
00:56:59Deck hands spent long hours
00:57:01In sub-zero temperatures
00:57:03Hacking away the sheets of ice
00:57:05It was awful
00:57:12That was the worst thing imaginable
00:57:13You can't really describe
00:57:15This excessive cold
00:57:16If you hadn't worn gloves
00:57:18If you touched anything metal
00:57:20You'd lost your finger ends
00:57:21Your fingertips
00:57:22Absolutely
00:57:24Dreadful
00:57:26There's no other word for it
00:57:29If you can imagine
00:57:30A ship ploughing through
00:57:32Icy cold water
00:57:34In an arctic gale
00:57:36In the half-light
00:57:40That existed
00:57:41For quite a bit of the day
00:57:43With the knowledge
00:57:45That if you fell over the side
00:57:46You'd had it
00:57:47There was absolutely
00:57:49No hope whatsoever
00:57:50Of rescue
00:57:51The arctic combo
00:57:55Is where the worst
00:57:56Possible conditions
00:57:57But the greatest danger of all
00:58:10Was the constant threat
00:58:11Of enemy attack
00:58:12Aircraft would be fought off
00:58:14With a mass of small calibre weapons
00:58:15And the ship's secondary armament
00:58:17Of four-inch guns
00:58:18The shell just reached
00:58:25A certain point on the barrel
00:58:27And up would come the breach
00:58:29Real quick
00:58:29And you had to double your fist up
00:58:32And push it home
00:58:32Because you'd have lost your finger ends
00:58:34If you pushed it flat
00:58:35Made a hell of a crack
00:58:39Those guns
00:58:39It deafened me
00:58:40There was no thought of getting rid
00:58:46Of the old shells
00:58:47After the gun had discharged
00:58:49Two big brush shells
00:58:50You were rolling all over the floor
00:58:53And treading on them
00:58:54And falling
00:58:55And...
00:58:56Oh dear
00:58:57A hostile ship
00:59:00Would be engaged
00:59:01By Belfast's main armament
00:59:03Packed inside each heavily armoured turret
00:59:05A crew of 26 men
00:59:07Manned the three 6-inch calibre guns
00:59:09Beneath each turret
00:59:20Was a gigantic armoured cylinder
00:59:22Called the barbette
00:59:23It supported the 175 ton revolving structure
00:59:27And protected the system of hoists
00:59:29Which fed ammunition to the guns
00:59:31At the very bottom of the ship
00:59:36The magazine supplied the explosive charge
00:59:38A bag of cordite
00:59:40That could hurl the shell
00:59:41Some 14 miles
00:59:42One deck up
00:59:47The shells
00:59:47Each weighing 112 pounds
00:59:49Were loaded onto separate hoists
00:59:51Which delivered them to the turret
00:59:53Where a series of moving trays
00:59:55Fed them to the guns
00:59:56The seven-man gun crews
01:00:05Practised the routine
01:00:06Of loading and firing
01:00:07Again and again
01:00:09Until each man could do it
01:00:10In his sleep
01:00:11Each crew member
01:00:12Had a single task to perform
01:00:14But all had to dovetail together
01:00:16At exactly the right moment
01:00:18Shell off the hoist
01:00:25And down to loading tray
01:00:26Breach open
01:00:28Swing shell to breach
01:00:30And ram home
01:00:31Cordite charge off hoist
01:00:35Out of case
01:00:36And onto tray
01:00:37Ram home charge
01:00:40Close breach
01:00:41And set fuse
01:00:42Elevate gun
01:00:44To firing position
01:00:46A good gun crew
01:00:48Could do all this
01:00:49In less than eight seconds
01:00:51The gun crews
01:01:04Of course were trained
01:01:05To perfection
01:01:06The rate of fire
01:01:08Was quite intense
01:01:09Now you can imagine
01:01:10The pandemonium in there
01:01:11Organised chaos
01:01:13Sums it up
01:01:14But they all knew
01:01:16Exactly what they've got to do
01:01:17Where they've got to be
01:01:19And how they've got to do it
01:01:20By the end of 1943
01:01:28The Battle of the Atlantic
01:01:29Had finally turned in favour
01:01:31Of the Allies
01:01:31As the number of Allied merchant ships
01:01:35Safely crossing the Atlantic
01:01:36Increased
01:01:37So did the pressure
01:01:38On Germany's
01:01:39Naval commander-in-chief
01:01:40Grand Admiral Dönitz
01:01:42To stop them
01:01:43His U-boats
01:01:46Were being hunted down
01:01:47And sunk
01:01:47In ever-increasing numbers
01:01:49But he still had one
01:01:55Lethal weapon
01:01:56In his arsenal
01:01:57Which the Allies
01:01:58Had learned to fear
01:01:59The battlecruiser
01:02:01Sarnhorst
01:02:02Based in Norway
01:02:04She was well positioned
01:02:06To launch a surprise attack
01:02:07On the Arctic convoys
01:02:08To Russia
01:02:09And she had the firepower
01:02:11To single-handedly
01:02:12Wipe out an entire fleet
01:02:13Of ships
01:02:14With her 11-inch guns
01:02:15The Royal Navy
01:02:22Knew she had to be destroyed
01:02:23But any attack
01:02:24Would need careful planning
01:02:26And a sufficiently attractive
01:02:27Bait
01:02:28To lure her out
01:02:29Of safe waters
01:02:30In December 1943
01:02:33As a fully loaded
01:02:35Allied convoy
01:02:35Of merchant ships
01:02:36Set sail
01:02:37From Scotland
01:02:38And headed for Russia
01:02:39Another was returning
01:02:40Empty
01:02:41The two convoys
01:02:44Would pass each other
01:02:45In the Barent Sea
01:02:46Between Bear Island
01:02:48And Norway's North Cape
01:02:50Admiral Dönitz
01:02:52Was tracking their progress
01:02:53And decided to attack
01:02:55And decided to attack
01:02:55His weapon
01:02:57Would be the Sarnhorst
01:02:58On the evening of Christmas Day
01:03:011943
01:03:01She set sail
01:03:03But British intelligence
01:03:05Had decoded the German signals
01:03:06Ordering her to see
01:03:07It was the break
01:03:09They had been waiting for
01:03:10The Royal Navy
01:03:12Began to prepare
01:03:12A massive counter-attack
01:03:14The Sarnhorst
01:03:16Was about to sail
01:03:17Into a trap
01:03:18These are the ships
01:03:23Taking from Britain
01:03:24The results of a million
01:03:26Hours of labour
01:03:26In her great factories
01:03:28It was sent to aid
01:03:29The Red Army
01:03:30And it was sailed
01:03:31By the stoutest hearted
01:03:32Merchant seamen
01:03:33In the world
01:03:33Every Allied supply ship
01:03:37That reached Russia
01:03:38Helped to drive back
01:03:39The German armies
01:03:40In the east
01:03:40On Christmas Day
01:03:421943
01:03:42The Sarnhorst
01:03:44Sets out to stop them
01:03:45But while the Sarnhorst
01:03:50Closes in on the convoys
01:03:51The British Commander-in-Chief
01:03:53Home Fleet
01:03:54Admiral Fraser
01:03:55Has already prepared
01:03:56His two-pronged
01:03:57Plan of attack
01:03:58Admiral Burnett
01:04:02Would lead Force One
01:04:03Formed of his three cruisers
01:04:05Belfast
01:04:06Norfolk
01:04:07And Sheffield
01:04:08As the Sarnhorst
01:04:10Closes in
01:04:11To attack the convoys
01:04:12Burnett's cruisers
01:04:13Will intercept her
01:04:14And drive her back
01:04:15Into the path
01:04:16Of Force Two
01:04:17Led by Admiral Fraser's
01:04:19Own battleship
01:04:20The Duke of York
01:04:21At 44,000 tons
01:04:24Duke of York
01:04:25Was one of Britain's
01:04:26Biggest
01:04:27And most powerful
01:04:28Battleships
01:04:28She was armed
01:04:30With ten
01:04:3114-inch guns
01:04:32But although bigger
01:04:34And better armed
01:04:35Than the Sarnhorst
01:04:35She was slower
01:04:36By about four miles per hour
01:04:38A small
01:04:39But vital difference
01:04:41In any sort of sea battle
01:04:43Speed is important
01:04:44And maneuverability
01:04:46Is important
01:04:46Because if you really
01:04:47Can't get in the proper position
01:04:48To launch your torpedoes
01:04:50Or fire your main batteries
01:04:51Then the ultimate
01:04:52Outcome of the battle
01:04:53Will probably not do you
01:04:54Your thing
01:04:55As he headed out
01:05:01Into the open sea
01:05:02The Sarnhorst's commander
01:05:04Admiral Bay
01:05:05Had no idea
01:05:06That the British
01:05:06Had decoded his signals
01:05:07Or that news
01:05:09Of Sarnhorst's departure
01:05:10Had been relayed
01:05:11To Admiral Burnett
01:05:12On HMS Belfast
01:05:13Admiral Bay
01:05:15Was sailing straight
01:05:16Into the trap
01:05:17It would be Christmas day
01:05:21Admiral Burnett
01:05:22Spoke on the tannoy
01:05:24To say there was
01:05:2550-50 chance
01:05:26Of meeting the Sarnhorst
01:05:27Tomorrow
01:05:28It had put to sea
01:05:30And he wanted us all
01:05:31To say a few words
01:05:32Of prayer
01:05:33So
01:05:34That for a start
01:05:36Put a fairer God
01:05:37Into us
01:05:38He apologised
01:05:40For not having
01:05:41A Christmas dinner
01:05:42He said
01:05:44But either late today
01:05:45Or early tomorrow morning
01:05:46We expect to bump
01:05:48Into the Sarnhorst
01:05:48And if there's any action
01:05:50I'll lead you straight in
01:05:51I felt like
01:05:53David and Goliath
01:05:54You know
01:05:54In darkness
01:05:58On the morning
01:05:59Of December the 26th
01:06:01Belfast's radar
01:06:02Picks up a signal
01:06:03At 35,000 yards
01:06:04A large vessel
01:06:07Is heading straight
01:06:08Towards the convoys
01:06:09It is the Sarnhorst
01:06:12Belfast's crew
01:06:14Are called
01:06:14To action stations
01:06:16Within two seconds
01:06:20The Padre
01:06:20Gives a short service
01:06:21The next thing I knew
01:06:23Is down in the
01:06:24Port diesel compartment
01:06:25Down right down
01:06:26Below water level
01:06:27And that's where
01:06:28I stayed for 12 hours
01:06:29When you go into actions
01:06:32It's
01:06:32You close all doors
01:06:34And skulls
01:06:35And you've got to be
01:06:36Shut
01:06:36Tight
01:06:37Because they're
01:06:38Going to be watertight
01:06:39Because it'd be danger
01:06:41To the whole ship
01:06:41They'd hung doors
01:06:42Left open
01:06:43And it got flooded
01:06:44With each man
01:06:49At his battle station
01:06:50The crew of HMS Belfast
01:06:52Prepared to go into action
01:06:53At any moment
01:06:55The huge guns
01:06:56Of the Sarnhorst
01:06:57Could be turned
01:06:57On the cruisers
01:06:58But her radar
01:06:59Had failed to detect them
01:07:01Under cover of darkness
01:07:04They close to 13,000 yards
01:07:06And open fire
01:07:07On board the Sarnhorst
01:07:16Admiral Bay is caught
01:07:17Completely off guard
01:07:19His ship is rocked
01:07:20By an explosion
01:07:21As one of Norfolk's
01:07:22Shells knocks out
01:07:22Her forward radar
01:07:23The Sarnhorst
01:07:27Turns away at full speed
01:07:28And vanishes into the darkness
01:07:30On Belfast
01:07:31The radar plotters
01:07:33Soon lose contact
01:07:34It looks as if
01:07:38The carefully laid plans
01:07:39Might fail after all
01:07:40But Admiral Burnett
01:07:41Is convinced
01:07:42That the Sarnhorst
01:07:43Will return
01:07:43For another attempt
01:07:44At attacking
01:07:45The eastbound convoy
01:07:46Rather than search
01:07:51For the Sarnhorst
01:07:52He orders his cruisers
01:07:54To continue screening
01:07:55The convoy
01:07:55And waits
01:07:57After almost two hours
01:08:01Of nail-biting tension
01:08:03His gamble pays off
01:08:05Belfast again
01:08:08Picks up the Sarnhorst
01:08:09On radar
01:08:09As she closes in
01:08:11Once more
01:08:11To attack the convoy
01:08:13However remote you are
01:08:15From the bridge
01:08:16You share in the agonising
01:08:18That's going on
01:08:19There
01:08:20And you share
01:08:22In the excitement
01:08:23At 11,000 yards
01:08:27All three cruisers
01:08:29Open fire
01:08:29Good
01:08:33I've started
01:08:38But this time
01:08:41The Sarnhorst
01:08:42Did not turn and run
01:08:43For 20 minutes
01:08:44The battle raged
01:08:45For the sailors
01:08:47Stationed deep down
01:08:48Below the waterline
01:08:49The tension
01:08:50Was almost unbearable
01:08:51As the sounds of battle
01:08:53Reverberated through the ship
01:08:54They knew
01:08:55That if she went down
01:08:57Their fate
01:08:58Would be seen
01:08:58There was three decks down below
01:09:08And there was three escape hatches
01:09:10Above
01:09:10All shut to it
01:09:11And
01:09:12It was a bit scary really
01:09:15When these armour-piercing shells
01:09:19Came over
01:09:20Which were at 11 inch
01:09:21You could hear them
01:09:22Hit the water
01:09:23And go ping
01:09:24Right along the keel
01:09:25Any minute now
01:09:27At the very bottom
01:09:30Of the ship
01:09:30Larry Fursland's lonely
01:09:32Battle station
01:09:33Was at the diesel generator
01:09:34Which powered two
01:09:35Of the six inch gun turrets
01:09:37The most worrying thing
01:09:40To me was
01:09:40Was isolated
01:09:41For 12 hours
01:09:43I was down there
01:09:43On my own
01:09:44I didn't want to die
01:09:46Basically
01:09:46I'm honest about it
01:09:47I didn't want to die
01:09:48Suddenly
01:09:50The engine's cooling pump
01:09:52Failed
01:09:52And it began
01:09:53Rapidly overheating
01:09:54At any second
01:09:55It too would fail
01:09:57Knocking the turrets
01:09:58Out of action
01:09:58Luckily
01:10:01There was a fire main
01:10:03With a fire hose
01:10:04All rolled up
01:10:05So I eventually
01:10:07Undone that
01:10:08Just long enough
01:10:10It was
01:10:10I got that hose
01:10:11Lies out
01:10:12Come down the hatch
01:10:13Down on the deck
01:10:14And up
01:10:15And I put it on the bypass
01:10:16Using a fire hose
01:10:20Larry fed cooling water
01:10:21To the engine
01:10:22At last
01:10:23The temperature
01:10:24Began to drop
01:10:24I gradually
01:10:26Opened up
01:10:27And opened up
01:10:27On the valves
01:10:28Until I got the temperature
01:10:29Down
01:10:30And I run like that
01:10:31For 12 hours
01:10:32I bet
01:10:34Diesel generators
01:10:35Had gone off the board
01:10:36That it had been
01:10:37One or two triple turrets
01:10:38Out of action
01:10:39Larry's quick thinking
01:10:43Kept the turrets working
01:10:44And would later
01:10:45Earn him a medal
01:10:46One of many
01:10:47Awarded that day
01:10:48During the 20 minute battle
01:10:51Belfast's gunners
01:10:52Loaded and fired
01:10:53Hundreds of 6 inch shells
01:10:55The Sharnhorst
01:10:58Continued to return fire
01:10:59And Norfolk
01:11:00Was badly damaged
01:11:01Losing a gun turret
01:11:04And 9 men killed
01:11:06Then
01:11:17Just as he seemed
01:11:18To be gaining the advantage
01:11:19Admiral Bay
01:11:20Decided to break off
01:11:21The action
01:11:22And retreated
01:11:23Against all the odds
01:11:25The three cruisers
01:11:26Had saved the convoy
01:11:27As Admiral Bay
01:11:37Set off at full speed
01:11:38For the safety
01:11:39Of his base in Norway
01:11:40With Admiral Burnett's cruisers
01:11:42In hot pursuit
01:11:42He didn't know
01:11:44That the battleship
01:11:45Duke of York
01:11:45With its 14 inch guns
01:11:47Now lay almost directly
01:11:48In his path
01:11:49The trap
01:11:51Was about to close
01:11:52As darkness fell
01:12:00On the afternoon
01:12:00Of December the 26th
01:12:021943
01:12:02The German battlecruiser
01:12:04Sharnhorst
01:12:05Was heading south
01:12:06At full speed
01:12:07For the safety
01:12:08Of her base in Norway
01:12:09Shadowing her
01:12:11Was Admiral Burnett
01:12:12And his flagship
01:12:13HMS Belfast
01:12:14For Belfast's crew
01:12:18It was a tense
01:12:19And nerve-wracking time
01:12:20They all knew
01:12:21How slim their chances
01:12:22Would be
01:12:23If the Sharnhorst
01:12:24Decided to turn
01:12:25Her massive guns
01:12:26Against them
01:12:26Late in the afternoon
01:12:29The chase reached
01:12:30Its climax
01:12:31As Sharnhorst
01:12:32Was intercepted
01:12:33By the British
01:12:33Battleship
01:12:34Duke of York
01:12:34At 4.40pm
01:12:37At a range of six miles
01:12:38She opened fire
01:12:40Sharnhorst turned north
01:12:42Away from her attacker
01:12:43But soon ran into fire
01:12:45From the cruisers
01:12:45Norfolk
01:12:46And Belfast
01:12:47The Sharnhorst
01:12:51Swung round again
01:12:52And headed east
01:12:53In a desperate attempt
01:12:54To escape
01:12:54The two-pronged attack
01:12:56The British onslaught
01:12:57Continued
01:12:58But the Sharnhorst
01:13:00Was just too fast
01:13:02For her pursuers
01:13:02And soon began
01:13:03To pull away
01:13:04Once again
01:13:06She was slipping
01:13:07Through the net
01:13:07Then at extreme range
01:13:14One lucky shot
01:13:15Exploded
01:13:16In the Sharnhorst
01:13:17Spoiler rooms
01:13:18Her speed
01:13:21Began to drop
01:13:22And the British
01:13:23Commander-in-Chief
01:13:24Admiral Fraser
01:13:25Ordered his fast
01:13:26Destroyers
01:13:26To close in
01:13:27And launch
01:13:28A torpedo attack
01:13:29A series of
01:13:34Devastating explosions
01:13:36Rocked the Sharnhorst
01:13:37As the torpedoes
01:13:38Found their target
01:13:39Her progress
01:13:40Slowed to a crawl
01:13:41Now there would be
01:13:42No escape
01:13:43The Sharnhorst crew
01:13:45Would have to stand
01:13:46And fight
01:13:47At six miles range
01:13:52Belfast opened fire
01:13:53Once more
01:13:54Aiming her guns
01:13:55By radar
01:13:56Into the blackness
01:13:57Within half an hour
01:14:03The Sharnhorst
01:14:04Had been pounded
01:14:05Into a blazing inferno
01:14:06From his battle station
01:14:10High up in the radar plot
01:14:11George Burrage
01:14:12Was one of the few
01:14:13Members of Belfast's crew
01:14:14Who actually witnessed
01:14:16The final moments
01:14:17Of their enemy
01:14:17The legendary Sharnhorst
01:14:19He then saw the Sharnhorst
01:14:23Completely engulfed in flames
01:14:25Terrible sight
01:14:28When you think about it
01:14:29And
01:14:30Yeah
01:14:31Very memorable
01:14:32I can see it now
01:14:36It's a
01:14:36Tremendous sight
01:14:38When you see a ship
01:14:39Of that side
01:14:40With that number of people
01:14:41On
01:14:41Go down
01:14:42It's
01:14:42Unbelievable
01:14:45Quite frankly
01:14:45Now it was time
01:14:51For the final act
01:14:52In the drama
01:14:53As Belfast
01:14:54Closed in
01:14:55To fire a last
01:14:56Salvo of torpedoes
01:14:57At the crippled Sharnhorst
01:14:58At 7.45pm
01:15:04On December the 26th
01:15:06Belfast's radar plotters
01:15:08Watched
01:15:08As the Sharnhorst's blip
01:15:10Dwindled away
01:15:11And vanished
01:15:12From the screen
01:15:13The message was broadcast
01:15:16Throughout the ship
01:15:16Sharnhorst
01:15:18Has sunk
01:15:19And when it was
01:15:23Actually
01:15:23Sunk
01:15:24A smell
01:15:26Came down
01:15:27The ventilation trunkings
01:15:28Of
01:15:29Oil
01:15:30Fuel
01:15:30One of the
01:15:32Foulest smells
01:15:33In
01:15:34This world
01:15:35And my thought was
01:15:38Poor
01:15:39Devils
01:15:40That's how I felt
01:15:46That's how I felt
01:15:46That's how I felt
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