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Narrator: A desert canyon
where fortunes were made
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and fates were sealed.
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00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:11,440
There's not much here
besides desert and rock,
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00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,240
what would draw people here?
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Well, in these remote
inhospitable locations
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the answer is usually the same.
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Money.
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A mighty cliff top complex
on the island of Malta.
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It was damp, it was dark,
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it was like being in
a cell in many ways.
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But things would have
been much worse in battle.
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A rural area in Poland that
once connected the world.
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A lot of the electronics
are still here,
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this two megawatt transmitter
it's, I mean it's just unheard of.
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That's enough to
power a small town.
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00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,560
And an island fortress in
Scotland with a dramatic back story.
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It was armed to the teeth with
guns, canon and anti-air defence.
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But all these guns were useless
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against the main
threat of that time.
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Decaying relics.
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Ruins of lost worlds.
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Sites haunted by the past.
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Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.
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The wilds of Nevada usa,
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in a hostile desert
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are the haunting
remains of a settlement.
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This place is only a 45
minute drive from Las Vegas
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but it feels like a million
miles away from the casinos,
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the bright lights
and the glamour.
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00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,440
I mean you can see
that there are a number
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of man made structures
around, there's some large tanks,
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there's bits of machinery.
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Old wooden buildings are
echoes of the 19th century.
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But scattered around
are remnants of the 20th.
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There's this rusting
old abandoned truck,
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a crashed plane.
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This place looks like it's
trapped in some type of time warp.
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This is a wild place.
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If the climate doesn't
get you then nature will.
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Humans were never designed
to live in a place like this.
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The place is filled with
decaying machinery.
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But what was it all for?
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If you're gonna go to
somewhere so extreme,
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you have to be
drawn by something
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and usually in places like this
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it's something to do
with what's in the ground.
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This entrance had been
covered up for 80 years
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but when we
popped into this thing,
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there's a half a
mile of tunnel in here
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00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:14,720
that nobody had been
in for years and years.
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People came here
to make their fortunes
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but for some life would
turn out very differently.
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There's nine
different levels in here,
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there's three miles of tunnels
and it goes 600 feet deep.
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00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,480
Tony werly first came to
the tunnels 25 years ago.
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They were dug as part of a
search for a precious mineral.
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This is an extremely hard rock,
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this is like a number
seven hard from one to ten,
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this is a seven which
is stronger than cement.
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00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,160
To come here, you
need a pretty good reason
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and in the most
extreme locations like this
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that's usually to make money.
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What they were looking for
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was not only hard
but glistening white.
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This is a vein, you can
see it runs from here
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all the way over into here
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and you see it's
running up the mountain.
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The white rock here would
be the source of untold wealth.
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The first person to
recognise it's value
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00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:29,760
was a man called John moss.
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00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,920
John moss was your
classic frontiersman,
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they really should be
making movies about this guy.
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00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:38,960
He was the first non-native
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to descend the Colorado
river rapids by raft.
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He spent three-and-a-half
days being drenched,
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ducked and pounded by the river
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as he travelled through
the Grand Canyon.
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Originally from utica New York,
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moss was on an expedition
into western america.
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He apparently had a
real gift for languages
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and he spent a lot of
time travelling around
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with almost two dozen
different native American tribes
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which allowed him to
immerse himself in their culture.
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00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,400
Moss was drawn to
Nevada by rumours
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about that strange white
rock in the mountains.
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He suspected it was quartz,
a mineral that forms in veins
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00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,680
when hot magma
interacts with ground water.
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Quartz is sio2, it's silica,
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00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,040
it's one of the most abundant
minerals on the planet,
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00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,520
it can occur in
certain different ways
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00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:38,840
as these veins, rich in silica
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00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:41,160
but rich in other
minerals like lead,
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zinc, silver and sometimes gold.
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Moss analysed the mineral
and his hunch was confirmed.
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This is El dorado canyon,
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home to the richest gold
deposits in southern Nevada.
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Once the miners found
this white coarse vein,
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00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,560
they never left track of
it, they just keep it in sight,
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00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:11,520
and so they'll chase
it wherever it goes.
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As you go into the mountain,
the geology changes,
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maybe your vein suddenly
goes off on a different angle.
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So you'd follow that
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if that's where the
potential resource was.
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However, following
the trail of quartz
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was only the first part
of a complicated process.
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It's important to note here,
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they're not finding
big gold nuggets,
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in this situation a lot of the gold
is small particles in the veins.
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Carts filled with quartz
were pulled out of the tunnels.
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But extracting gold from
it was not only expensive
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but potentially deadly.
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You have to crush this
rock up as fine as you can,
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all the way down to
the texture of flour.
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The crushed quartz was then
mixed with a very toxic chemical.
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You would mix it in these
big cyanide tanks here
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and the cyanide would pull
the microscopic pieces of gold
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and silver out of the ore.
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But with high risk
came big rewards.
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El dorado was making
money hand over fist.
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The gold mining that took place in
El dorado canyon is phenomenal.
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About $200 million worth of gold
and silver came out of that mine.
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For every tonne of quartz,
28g of gold was extracted.
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But the greater challenge
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was getting the
gold out of El dorado.
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Everything has to be
shipped in by water,
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00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,800
trucked up the canyon
through the Colorado river.
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In the mid 1800s,
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there was only one
port in the canyon.
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A small dock on the river
called Nelson's landing.
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00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,200
But despite the
harshness of the conditions,
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despite the difficulty in
getting the supplies there,
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what's being
produced is so valuable
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that you actually get
pretty heavy traffic
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00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:17,440
in and out of the canyon
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00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:22,120
and Nelson's landing turns out to
be one of the busiest transition points
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for supplies in
the whole region.
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Cut off from law
abiding society,
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El dorado eventually became
a hotbed for criminal activity.
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00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,760
At a time when much of
the us was under prohibition,
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here there was a
thriving black market.
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It's said that the alcohol
produced there for you know,
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pennies was actually sold
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for up to $1 a gallon
just across state lines.
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Nelson's landing had
turned into a pirates bay.
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Back in the late 1800s,
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El dorado canyon was
one of the most violent
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and lawless places in america.
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Yeah it's a bad place to be,
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in the 1880s not even a
killing is a good enough reason
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to bring the sheriff out here.
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200 miles away,
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he tells them they have to
fend for themselves out here.
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Local miner, John
riggs, later wrote,
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"I never think there
was another place
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"in proportion to the population
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"where so many
murders were committed.
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"And the perpetrators never bought
to justice or even apprehended."
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Greed, vice and murder
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made El dorado
Nevada's first sin city.
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00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:53,000
But it wasn't the arrival of the
law that eventually bought it down.
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When world war ii started,
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all the miners that worked
at the mine went to war.
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This mine right here is
where they were when they left,
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00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,800
when they came
back from world war ii,
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they never opened
this mine again.
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It's said that $1 million in gold
was left in the El dorado mine
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but nowadays it would
cost 2 million to dig it out.
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The mine has been
silent for 80 years.
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But the wrecks
of military vehicles
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00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,840
are signs that the drama here
continued in a different way.
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00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:39,400
Hollywood came to El dorado
to film '3,000 miles to Graceland'.
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Big names, a big budget, car
chases and a crashed plane.
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But it was a bomb.
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But good film or bad film,
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the legacy remains and
we see it before us now.
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Hidden in plain sight on
the south east coast of Malta,
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a great complex stands
guard over the shore.
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Got these azure seas,
rocky Sandy beaches,
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you've got these tall
cliffs rising out of the sea.
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And as your eye
follows these rocky cliffs,
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your eye suddenly realises
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00:11:29,560 --> 00:11:31,840
that you're not looking
at a cliff anymore.
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00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,480
Look at those bars
on the windows.
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If I didn't know any better,
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I'd think this was a
place designed to lock up
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the most desperate criminals.
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It has a almost
prison like quality
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and yet given it's placement
right on this important coastline
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that argues that
this is probably a fort.
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Viewed from above, the
distinctive features confirm
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00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:02,560
that this place was
built for defence.
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00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,360
Here we can see
elements of a fortress
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00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:09,880
that date back years
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00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,880
but we also see elements
that are clearly modern.
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00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:19,480
That are clearly meant to
withstand 20th century weapons.
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When you think about
all the Greek, Italian,
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00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:25,800
Spanish islands
that aren't fortified,
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00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:27,280
why is this island fortified?
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00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:30,920
It must have some real
strategic importance.
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00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,080
It was once preparing to
face a colossal naval assault
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00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,760
but who was the enemy
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00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,720
and did those inside
live to tell the tale?
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00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,360
The story here dates
back to the 19th century
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00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,640
when Malta was
under British rule.
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00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:57,360
Matthew balzan
is a local historian
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00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,840
who has made detailed
studies of the complex.
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00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:02,920
Here we are in tunnels
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00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:06,600
below the main sites
which run all the way across.
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00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,000
From outside, one would not
realise what lies beneath here.
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00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,800
Although most of what remains
above ground was built later,
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00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,640
the original defences
here were hidden from view.
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00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:25,680
Here we are seeing an example
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00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,680
of a 12.5 inch 38 tonne
rifle muzzle loading gun.
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00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,680
The time when it was
put in place here in 1880
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00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,080
was the largest example of
rifle muzzle loading technology
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00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,840
the British army
had at it's disposal.
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00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:41,920
Comparing it to the
size of a human being,
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00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,200
one can immediately realise
the sheer size of such artillery.
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00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,400
What's more interesting
about this example,
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00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:53,280
is that these are the last remaining
examples in the whole world
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00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,800
where we still see
the original gun
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00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,440
on it's original carriage
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00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,840
and platform in their
original locations.
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00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,360
This represents the alchemy
of gun technology at the time.
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00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,560
It's rifled, meaning
it can fire accurately
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00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:08,800
at a much longer range,
227
00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:10,680
more penetrating power,
228
00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,640
fires a bigger shell with
far greater accuracy.
229
00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,200
It's purpose is to kind of spar
and jab with assaulting fleets.
230
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,320
But one of these guns alone
would not have been enough.
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00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,680
As the many openings
in the cliff suggest
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00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:31,320
half a dozen of them were
once trained upon the horizon.
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00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,920
One can just imagine the
sound which would be created
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00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,640
when a gun of this
size would be fired.
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00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,160
To give just a small example, a
gun powder cartridge when fired
236
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:47,880
inside the chamber of this gun
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00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,520
would expand in
volume 20,000 times.
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00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,880
And all of that has to go
out in smoke and noise.
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00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,960
Located just a few miles south
of the capital city of Valletta
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00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:02,680
is fort delimara.
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00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,400
The British, they learned
some valuable lessons
242
00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:08,800
from Malta's past,
243
00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:10,800
they learned for example
that it's not enough
244
00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:13,560
to fortify the grand
harbour around Valletta,
245
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:16,200
you have to always fortify
the secondary harbour,
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00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,600
marsaxlokk at the
end of the island.
247
00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:20,080
What had happened previously
248
00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,120
is everybody had left
marsaxlokk undefended
249
00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:25,760
and powers like the French
had just sailed in there,
250
00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:27,840
off loaded their
amphibious forces
251
00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,520
and taken the island
essentially through the back door.
252
00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:33,240
So what you see the
British do in the 19th century
253
00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,720
is pouring millions into
these new fortifications
254
00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,640
in this secondary harbour,
the marsaxlokk harbour.
255
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:45,080
Once again, it was the French
who were threatening to attack
256
00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:47,600
but now the fort
was ready for them.
257
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,800
These massive guns were put here
258
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:57,480
because this was a
desperately sensitive spot
259
00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,480
for the royal Navy to defend.
260
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,200
Moats on the landward
sides protected it to the rear.
261
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,320
But the real key to
defeating an invasion force
262
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,880
was the invaluable
element of surprise.
263
00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,640
The fortifications
are deliberately small
264
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,280
and almost invisible
from the sea.
265
00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:22,400
They're low profile,
they're pushed up,
266
00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:23,920
they're built out of the bedrock
267
00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:26,240
so they blend into
the actual hill itself,
268
00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:28,240
into the cliffs.
269
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:32,160
In the olden days,
you'd build tall walls
270
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,200
to keep people out but
in the gun powder age,
271
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,800
you've got to build low
walls that are hard to see
272
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,040
and that are thick and
backed up with earth.
273
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:48,120
This is a fortress designed to be
effective against modern assault.
274
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:54,400
This is the very model of
modern military architecture.
275
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,840
In the end, the invasion
force didn't come
276
00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:02,800
and the guns were never
fired at French ships.
277
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,600
But the threat remained
278
00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,760
and in time a new enemy
and a new threat emerged.
279
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:15,680
From the 1870s when the
British start building this fort
280
00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,640
and start adding artillery,
281
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:20,720
they are continually
upgrading the artillery
282
00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:23,240
as there's changes
in casting techniques,
283
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,200
metallurgy, shell construction.
284
00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,720
Here it was the final
upgrade to the forts artillery.
285
00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:37,840
The six inch breach loading gun
which was installed here in 1938
286
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,720
in preparation for what
would become world war ii.
287
00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,560
The British had spent decades
288
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,680
preparing for an attack on Malta
and now it seemed imminent.
289
00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:50,800
The main target
was this harbour.
290
00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:53,840
The British military
had to be prepared
291
00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:55,800
in case of enemy action,
292
00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,240
in fact this gun would
go on to be fired in anger
293
00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:00,920
during the same conflict.
294
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:02,720
In June 1940,
295
00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:06,640
Italy joined the war on
the side of the axis powers
296
00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:10,560
but she had ambitions that
spread well beyond Europe.
297
00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,760
Malta emerges
early on in world war ii
298
00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:15,800
as a place of, you know,
great strategic importance, why?
299
00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:20,560
Because Italy and then Germany
are trying to conquer north Africa.
300
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:24,320
Under the leadership
of irwin rammel
301
00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:27,120
known famously
as the desert fox,
302
00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:29,800
the axis powers
invaded north Africa
303
00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,400
as part of a plan to seize
the valuable oil fields there.
304
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,920
The fighting was
fierce and bloody
305
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,440
and the allied bases on Malta
were to be a vital importance.
306
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,120
If rammel, the great
German tank general
307
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:48,600
had been able to blast
through from north Africa
308
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,320
to take the caucuses to
meet up with German forces
309
00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,080
in the caucuses
310
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:56,600
then the Nazi's
would have had the oil,
311
00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,680
the resources they
needed to keep on fighting
312
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:05,200
and maybe to keep the
war going a long time,
313
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,240
maybe even to win world war ii.
314
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:13,640
But for the Italians and the Germans
to communicate with north Africa,
315
00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:15,320
to resupply their armies,
316
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,400
they have to be able to
freely cross the mediterranean
317
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,360
and they're attacked in this
by the raf and by the royal Navy
318
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:23,720
which are based in Malta.
319
00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,400
One of the most damaging
raids by the British
320
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:32,040
on axis communications
happens in September 1941
321
00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,080
when the British using their
code breaking at bletchley park,
322
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:36,760
they learn of this convoy,
323
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,320
they put submarines
right out in it's path,
324
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:42,800
they sink two of
these big luxury liners.
325
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:45,640
And German troops
are drowned at sea.
326
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:48,760
The threat posed by Malta
327
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,680
was simply to great
for the axis to ignore.
328
00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,760
An invasion plan
was quickly drawn up
329
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,840
and fort delimara was
suddenly in the firing line.
330
00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:02,960
Hitler sees that Malta is
really a burr under the saddle,
331
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,440
that needs to be removed
332
00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,720
and so he actually puts
together this thing for 1942
333
00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,560
called operation Hercules.
334
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,560
Marsaxlokk harbour
335
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,280
would have offered
a good place to land
336
00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:17,480
because it is a
very wide harbour,
337
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:21,160
therefore accommodating several
hundred of vessels at the same time,
338
00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:24,320
so it would allow an easy
landing of the enemy force.
339
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:29,560
The axis planned a combined
aerial and amphibious attack.
340
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,520
30,000 paratroopers
would drop inland.
341
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,040
While 70,000 more troops would
arrive to the south on Navy ships.
342
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,800
Once the defences here
had been overpowered,
343
00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:46,600
the plan was to march
north towards valetta.
344
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,480
The fort here sits at the tip,
345
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,400
at the entrance of
marsaxlokk harbour
346
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,600
therefore any attempt
at enemy invasion
347
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,600
would have to bypass this
location in order to gain access
348
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:00,640
therefore the fort was Paramount
349
00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,720
to the defences of
this side of Malta.
350
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:09,120
The invasion was scheduled
to begin in the summer of 1942,
351
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,720
all the troops stationed
here could do was wait.
352
00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:17,400
The British forces on Malta
353
00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,640
were always expecting that
German invasion to arrive.
354
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,440
And at one point, they
saw a vessel on the horizon.
355
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,440
Everybody was bracing themselves
356
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:36,040
for the bombardment that would
surely proceed this German fleet.
357
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,480
In August 1942,
358
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,336
search lights of the
fort captured the target
359
00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:42,000
just outside the harbour
360
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,640
and immediately guns in
place here fired against it.
361
00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,920
But the target they had sighted
was not the feared invasion fleet.
362
00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:56,160
It turned out it was an e-boat,
the equivalent of a pt-boat
363
00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:00,480
that was outlaying mines
in the sea off of Malta.
364
00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,640
And that gives you an idea
of how worried everyone was
365
00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:11,360
that any minute on Malta would
be the minute before Malta fell.
366
00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,440
But of course, Malta never fell.
367
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,600
Although Malta had been in the
sights of the axis for a long while,
368
00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:22,800
a turn of events
on a different front
369
00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,920
meant that they
would never capture it.
370
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,120
Because Hitler gets bogged
down in December 1941
371
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:30,840
at the gates of Moscow,
372
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,880
decides he's going to make a
turn into the caucuses in 1942
373
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:36,600
to try to take the oil fields.
374
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,520
Hitler simply doesn't have
enough force to deal with Malta,
375
00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:41,520
so he just has to let it go.
376
00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,720
With the invasion cancelled,
377
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,360
fort delimara continued to guard
the southern shores of Malta
378
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,480
until the very end of the war.
379
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,480
Twice in it's lifetime it,
380
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,680
had faced the threat of invasion
and had lived to tell the tale.
381
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,960
In 1964, the British
handed over Malta
382
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,000
to the local government
and fort delimara went with it.
383
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,160
In the Polish countryside
are the remains of a place
384
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,320
that history has
largely forgotten.
385
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,400
We're in a place called Gavin,
386
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,880
pretty much in the
geographical centre of Poland.
387
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:35,800
Hidden amongst the trees
388
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,840
is a central building
and a lattice tower.
389
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,760
You get the feeling when all
this was built this was open land.
390
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,880
Now the trees have grown up,
391
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,120
a young forest has covered
a lot of this hidden (indistinct).
392
00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:54,920
In the tall grass are the
footprints of an engineering giant.
393
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,600
You can see other buildings,
394
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,320
you can see concrete
pads some distance away.
395
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,000
Clearly this was a big
operation at one time.
396
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:12,360
It's hard to believe now
but back in the 1970s,
397
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,360
this was a high
security location.
398
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,520
This was pretty
heavily trafficked,
399
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:20,160
pretty big site
400
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,640
and beside it all this
wreckage of this steel trusses
401
00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,160
and girders lying in a heap.
402
00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:33,040
These scattered elements
add up to a greater haul,
403
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,280
but one major piece
of the puzzle is missing.
404
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,600
Tomasz mis is part of a group
that protects and preserves the site.
405
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,880
We are in central
Poland in a restricted area
406
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:58,960
of high national and
military importance.
407
00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:01,640
We were allowed to get in,
408
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,600
never the less very few
people are able to do so.
409
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,520
Today the building is empty,
410
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:13,840
all that remains is mould, rust and
solemn reminders of the cold war.
411
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,000
Oh, yes.
412
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,640
Political documents.
413
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:24,920
But there are signs
414
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,320
that it once required an
enormous amount of power.
415
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:35,480
So this site we are currently
in was extremely powerful,
416
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,360
even for today's standards.
417
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,840
One thing that's fascinating
at this site and unusual
418
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:43,880
is that a lot of the
electronics are still here.
419
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,680
All this stuff looks kind
of old and decrepit today
420
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,480
but it was state of
the art back in the '80s.
421
00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:54,160
It consumed so
much electrical power
422
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:59,680
that a small city could be powered
using the thing which came in here.
423
00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:02,560
Outside the main building
424
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,840
is a clue to what that
much needed power was for.
425
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,400
A concrete anchor
designed for industrial cables
426
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,320
is a common site at the bottom
of these very tall structures.
427
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:24,280
So this is the foundation of
one of the first level guy ropes
428
00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:28,840
which held the mast
stem in vertical position.
429
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,320
15 of these anchor
points were scattered
430
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:34,920
across the countryside.
431
00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:42,320
They were used to hold
up the Warsaw radio mast.
432
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,880
What we're looking
at here is the site
433
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,680
of what was once the most
ambitious radio transmitting tower
434
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:54,160
in the world.
435
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,360
It's hard to wrap your mind
around how tall this thing was,
436
00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:00,400
2,100 feet,
437
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:04,840
this was once the tallest man
made structure in the world.
438
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,440
This tower was designed
at a time when Poles
439
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,760
were leaving Poland
in their thousands.
440
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,400
One thing that's
fascinating about Poland
441
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,680
is how many Polish
people don't live there.
442
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,480
They live in all of these
other places in the world.
443
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,600
By one estimate,
there are 20 million
444
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,040
people of Polish
descent around the world.
445
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,720
So after world war ii, when
the borders of Poland changed
446
00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,760
and many Poles actually
emigrated also to the United States,
447
00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:45,360
a way of communicating with
them was desperately needed.
448
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:51,920
With such a wide spread community
before the advent of the Internet,
449
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:56,000
reaching Poles around the
world was a massive challenge.
450
00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:02,040
So in fact the Poles were
looking to set up a radio station
451
00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,000
in the geographical
centre of Poland
452
00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,960
that could reach Poles
all around Poland equally
453
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,080
but that was also
big enough to transmit
454
00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:11,400
to these Polish communities
around the globe.
455
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:15,600
In 1970,
456
00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:19,280
construction of a new
transmission tower began.
457
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,680
Switchboards, transformers
458
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,080
and guardhouses were
all vital components.
459
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,800
And in 1974, Polish radio
was heard around the globe
460
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,720
through one of the words
most powerful transmitters.
461
00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:39,480
The engineer who designed
it was called yan polock,
462
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,920
he must have been brilliant.
463
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:45,600
It was designed in 86
sections all joined together
464
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:50,120
and then anchored to
the earth with 15 steel,
465
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:51,440
they call them ropes,
466
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:56,440
cables that would anchor it
in any kind of wind conditions.
467
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,560
So when the wind blew they
would correct for each other,
468
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,520
they would stabilise it.
469
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:07,440
The tower stood
precisely 2,120 feet tall,
470
00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,240
it's great height was the key
471
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:11,960
to reaching the most
far away listeners.
472
00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,600
They were long
wave radio signals
473
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,560
and when I say long
each, each wave,
474
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,000
I mean a literal wave
in the atmosphere
475
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,160
of electromagnetic
radiation was over 1,000m.
476
00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:30,160
So why would someone want to
use those very long wavelengths
477
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,560
because they tend to follow
the curvature of the earth
478
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:37,160
and they can travel
very, very long distance
479
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:38,520
and still be received.
480
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,240
So in the right conditions
signals from this tower
481
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:48,520
could reach Africa and North
America really just about anywhere.
482
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:54,320
The broadcasts were produced in
a studio 60 miles away in Warsaw
483
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,040
before being sent via
an intermediary tower
484
00:29:57,080 --> 00:29:59,640
to this radio
transmitter station.
485
00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:04,040
They would transmit locally
to a radio receiving tower here
486
00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,000
near the base of the transmitter
487
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,120
and that's the big metal structure
we see that's still standing,
488
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,920
I mean, it looks big but it's
puny compared to the transmitter.
489
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:21,240
This tower is approximately
nine times smaller
490
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,520
than the mast that was
located on the other field.
491
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,680
On the top,
there is still a dish
492
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,560
which received and
transmitted signals
493
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,680
between the intermediary
tower and Warsaw.
494
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,040
The main purpose of this
tower was to collect the signal
495
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:41,640
from the Polish radio
studios so anything music
496
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,760
and speech and all of it
497
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,160
so that it could be later
encoded and broadcasted.
498
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,240
Then they would take that signal
and then amplify it dramatically,
499
00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:56,200
change the wavelength
to this long-wave system
500
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:58,880
and then that's the signal
that would go around the world.
501
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,720
This engineering giant
was Poland's crown Jewel.
502
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,320
But on 8 August 1991
503
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,840
the tallest structure in the
world came crashing down.
504
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,280
The mast broke down, twisted
505
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,840
and collapsed onto
the antenna field,
506
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,120
including the exact place
where we are standing.
507
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:25,280
This tower would have been
the tallest structure in the world
508
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,280
until the construction of
the burj khalifa in 2009.
509
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:34,760
It was 17 years old so
it wasn't that old actually
510
00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,400
but in fact, it needed
a desperate renovation
511
00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:42,920
after these 15, 16, 17
years of constant operation.
512
00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,800
Building the tallest structure
in the communist bloc
513
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,480
in Eastern Europe was
a pretty dodgy proposition
514
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,000
considering how just poorly
things were maintained.
515
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,760
They were just known for
their shoddy architecture,
516
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:58,280
shoddy maintenance.
517
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:04,840
So in 1991, an attempt was
made to renovate the mast
518
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,320
as it was getting
older, however,
519
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,040
the entire process was done
with a couple of major mistakes.
520
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,120
A technician was
hired to carry out repairs
521
00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,720
but he was
unqualified for the job,
522
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,640
he detached a major guy
rope without adequate support.
523
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:28,360
The lowest part of the mast
fell towards the helix house
524
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,440
destroying it as
we can see it here.
525
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,600
Gas lights designed
to warn off air traffic
526
00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:41,160
smashed onto the
ground starting a fierce fire.
527
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,000
Some of the bottles
with gases exploded
528
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,520
as the mast fell on them
529
00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:52,240
and a couple of fire brigades
needed to extinguish all of this.
530
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:57,480
All that was left of the tower
was a mass of twisted steel
531
00:32:57,520 --> 00:32:58,880
and broken glass.
532
00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,080
It was nearly impossible
to walk through this area
533
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:06,640
because it was all
covered with the material
534
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:07,920
coming from the masts.
535
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,120
Nobody's hurt and yet
it is a national scandal,
536
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:13,440
a couple of engineers
are jailed for it.
537
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:18,960
This place where we are
here now was left largely intact
538
00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,080
after the catastrophe
took place so, yes,
539
00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:25,840
all around we can still find
many elements of the mast.
540
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:31,920
For Poles across the world,
Polish radio had fallen silent.
541
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:36,960
An engineering masterpiece
gone before its time.
542
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,680
Today it is closed to visitors.
543
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,800
It's probably the biggest and
tallest structure on the planet
544
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:53,760
that most people
have never heard of.
545
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,160
A landmark in the
truest sense of the word
546
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,960
now hidden from view in
anonymous Polish countryside.
547
00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,280
In Scotland near the
ancient city of Edinburgh
548
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:18,280
is a rock that helped
to defend a nation.
549
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,160
We're in northern climes here
550
00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:29,200
and it's a island surrounded
by dark cold water
551
00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:31,240
at the entrance
of a great estuary.
552
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,960
It's wet, it's cold,
553
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,080
it's not a place you want to be
spending your summer vacation.
554
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,600
Empty concrete buildings
provide reminders
555
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:43,920
of the former residents.
556
00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,000
Clearly, a lot of people
used to live here,
557
00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:50,840
perhaps some kind of commune
but now it's all overgrown,
558
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,600
the only sign of civilisation
are some chickens.
559
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,600
Today this island is deserted
560
00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:03,680
but less than 100 years ago it
was vital for Scotland's defences.
561
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,160
It's heading into Edinburgh
562
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,560
and any place like that
has a defensive role to play.
563
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,440
Two miles out of Edinburgh
564
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:27,680
a ferry will take you to a place
where few people dare to tread.
565
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:31,880
The journey crosses
the firth of forth,
566
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:35,160
an estuary that leads
into the heart of Scotland.
567
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,080
Gordon barclay is an
expert on the island history
568
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,240
which involves a
wartime tragedy.
569
00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:51,400
This is the northernmost
9.2-inch gun emplacement.
570
00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,080
There are three of them
down the spine of the island
571
00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,400
and this is the one that
covers the north channel.
572
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:05,320
This is inchkeith the
gatekeeper to Scotland's waters,
573
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,160
during world war I
574
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,040
the island was issued
with nine new Cannon.
575
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:18,640
Most of these fortifications
are built in the early 1900s,
576
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,920
1903, 1904, '05, '06, '07
577
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,320
as they're responding to
these fears of German invasion.
578
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,040
To defend the firth of forth
579
00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:30,720
it was made into an
impregnable fortress.
580
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,400
But that firepower wasn't
enough to prevent a disaster.
581
00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,600
On 4 September out
near the main island,
582
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:47,920
'hms pathfinder' was sunk,
went down in a few minutes
583
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:52,320
and only a handful of men
survived out of over 200 crew.
584
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:56,280
When these guns
were put in place
585
00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,760
they were designed to
fire on surface vessels,
586
00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:00,760
dreadnought and destroyers.
587
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,880
They weren't built to defend
against anything beneath the waves.
588
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,280
The firth of forth
had been breached.
589
00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:11,680
Two days before the attack
590
00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:14,040
there had been an
opportunity to prevent it,
591
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,200
but inchkeith was found wanting.
592
00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,080
On 2 September 1914,
593
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:24,760
a u-boat submerged,
594
00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:28,560
managed to get all the
way up to the forth rail bridge
595
00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:30,480
by about 10:30 in the evening.
596
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,400
For ages, it was undetected
597
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,960
and then suddenly
someone spotted a periscope
598
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,880
sticking up out of the waves
and the u-boat left the area.
599
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:47,040
Two days later, that
same submarine surfaced
600
00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:49,520
just outside of
the firth of forth
601
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,880
and took a shot and
sunk 'hms pathfinder'.
602
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:58,400
It was the first sinking by
a submarine in world war I
603
00:37:58,440 --> 00:37:59,520
of a ship.
604
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:06,760
The Germans then rely
all in world war I on u-boats,
605
00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,000
submarines that can get
past the British blockade
606
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,200
and they can attack
British warships,
607
00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:13,920
British shipping covertly.
608
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:18,280
This island fortress had failed.
609
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:24,640
In 1914 there was only one
way to detect enemy submarines.
610
00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,160
The only way to detect a
submarine was the human eye,
611
00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:32,440
binoculars looking
out at the sea,
612
00:38:32,480 --> 00:38:36,360
this grey featureless
surface, hour after hour
613
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,840
and if one spotted the
wake of a periscope
614
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,000
going through the
water you were lucky.
615
00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:46,240
Other than that there
was no technology
616
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:48,280
to detect a submarine
617
00:38:48,320 --> 00:38:52,400
or indeed to prevent a
submarine penetrating a base.
618
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:56,080
At that time there
was a lot of hysteria
619
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:58,480
about new German weapons,
620
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:02,560
the public were reporting sightings
of u-boats left, right and centre,
621
00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:06,120
99% of them ended
up being false reports.
622
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:10,920
Everybody saw a periscope,
everybody saw a submarine
623
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,280
so they were just overwhelmed
with warnings of German submarines
624
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,040
and so the British
came to disregard them.
625
00:39:16,080 --> 00:39:20,080
So when a boy actually saw
clearly a submarine and reported it
626
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:21,320
they ignored him.
627
00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:26,960
Three months after
the first u-boat attack
628
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,680
the firth of forth
began a major upgrade.
629
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:39,200
A network of new defences
between the islands were built.
630
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:45,040
Inchkeith is so important
631
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:47,400
in this anti-submarine
war for the British
632
00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:50,480
they begin first of all by
defending the firth of forth
633
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,280
with anti-submarine nets
634
00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:55,120
that will trap a German
submarine trying to come in.
635
00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,240
Or will attach a buoy to
the German submarine
636
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,200
so it will drag this
buoy along the surface
637
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:02,800
and we'll be able
to know where it is.
638
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,160
But Cannon and nets weren't
the key to defending Scotland.
639
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,720
The most powerful defences
were a collection of small huts
640
00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:15,480
built to the rear of inchkeith.
641
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:19,200
Places like this were vital
642
00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:20,920
to the protection
of the firth of forth.
643
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:25,080
The men in the gun crews at
least were out in the fresh air
644
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:27,240
but here you were
stuck hour in, hour out,
645
00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:30,040
day in, day out,
watching the instruments.
646
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:33,920
These huts were
built on the island
647
00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:37,400
as part of a powerful new
anti-submarine weapon,
648
00:40:37,440 --> 00:40:38,800
the detector loop.
649
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:46,040
A submarine produces a magnetic
field from its large steel hull.
650
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,720
By laying three cables
in a loop on the river bed
651
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:52,200
its magnetic signature
could be detected
652
00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:55,040
and a warning signal
sent to the guard huts.
653
00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:02,280
The men listening out
for an enemy submarine
654
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:04,760
had to be somewhere quiet
where they could concentrate,
655
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:08,680
where there would be no noise
to drown out or to distract them.
656
00:41:11,120 --> 00:41:13,480
Here at my feet,
you see the outlet
657
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:17,200
of one bundle of cables
from detector loops
658
00:41:17,240 --> 00:41:19,640
under the river still there.
659
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,160
For six long years
during world war ii
660
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,280
these huts were never empty,
661
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:28,920
an officer was always on station
662
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,720
waiting for a signal
that might never come.
663
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:36,880
There were multiple
layers of defence,
664
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:40,560
a submarine would first be
detected passing the isle of may
665
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:44,280
and again by the detector
loops just east of inchkeith.
666
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:47,480
Parallel with inchkeith
were the minefields
667
00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:51,480
which if a submarine was detected
entering them could be exploded,
668
00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:54,400
it was pretty impregnable.
669
00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:55,840
As far as we're aware,
670
00:41:55,880 --> 00:41:59,040
no submarine ever
penetrated the defences...
671
00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,840
..Until the final
hours of world war ii.
672
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,080
On 2 may 1945,
673
00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:13,160
the first German regiments in
Europe laid down their weapons,
674
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:18,440
they agreed to a total surrender
to take place six days later.
675
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:23,560
But on the morning of 8 may,
a u-boat crept into the forth.
676
00:42:27,600 --> 00:42:30,080
Two hours before
the end of the war,
677
00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:35,240
one u-boat captain attacked
a convoy leaving the river
678
00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:37,280
out towards the isle of may,
679
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:41,360
and sank two ships,
killing a number of men.
680
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:45,000
It was another
tragedy for inchkeith.
681
00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,640
German u-boat gets in
682
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:51,176
mainly because the
British are napping,
683
00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:52,240
they think the war's over,
684
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:53,920
it's the last day
of the war, literally.
685
00:42:55,040 --> 00:42:58,120
He claimed that he had
not received the order
686
00:42:58,160 --> 00:42:59,200
to stand down.
687
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:04,960
He had, however, been
one of the officers responsible
688
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,520
for developing the
new type of submarine
689
00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:09,200
that he was commanding.
690
00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:12,680
And to my mind,
he ignored his orders
691
00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:15,240
and decided to
try out his new toy,
692
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:17,400
his murderous new toy.
693
00:43:19,520 --> 00:43:22,920
Fort inchkeith saw the
first submarine sinking
694
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:24,320
in world war I
695
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:28,720
and ended its watch with
the final sinking world war ii.
696
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,480
Now few people cross
the forth to visit the island,
697
00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:49,040
what was once on the front
line in the defence of Scotland
698
00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,760
is now a safe
haven for the wildlife
699
00:43:51,800 --> 00:43:53,200
that has reclaimed it.
700
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:56,240
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