1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:03,680 [beeping] 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:07,520 [dramatic music] 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:09,880 [David] Tonight on "Secrets Declassified," 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,440 weapons so big, so deadly, and so strange 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,400 that governments stop at nothing to keep them secret, 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,280 from the 511-foot super gun 7 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,120 with a target that's out of this world... 8 00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:26,240 - Big Babylon will be the biggest gun in history. 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,160 - To an armed battalion of bats. 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,880 - Bats go into the attics, and the burning commences. 11 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,960 - And a KGB weapon designed to kill without a trace. 12 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:41,040 - There's no bang to draw attention. 13 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:44,240 There's no bullet to become forensic evidence. 14 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,480 It is the perfect weapon. 15 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,760 - These are the astonishing and sometimes terrible weapons 16 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:52,320 created by governments 17 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,360 and the people who work for them. 18 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:56,280 It's time to bring them to life. 19 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,280 [dramatic music] 20 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,080 ♪ ♪ 21 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:03,920 [beeping] 22 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:05,840 It's 1956. 23 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:08,640 The USSR now has nuclear missiles, 24 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,520 and the U.S. faces the prospect of widespread destruction. 25 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,920 So when a former elevator repairman suggests 26 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,320 the only way to defend against the Soviet attack 27 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,000 is by blowing up the Great Lakes, 28 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:22,880 no one laughs. 29 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,320 Why? 30 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:26,520 Because the nation's top scientists realize 31 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:29,920 it's so crazy, it just might work. 32 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,920 [suspenseful music] 33 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,720 ♪ ♪ 34 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,360 [Hakeem] America is learning that the Soviets have 35 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:39,880 developed intercontinental ballistic missiles 36 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,200 that are armed with nuclear warheads 37 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:45,680 that can reach any part of America in a half hour. 38 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:46,720 [dramatic music] 39 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,320 Our missile interceptors 40 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,040 are not yet reliable enough, 41 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:53,200 so this is a real problem. 42 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:54,880 ♪ ♪ 43 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,120 [David] To defend the U.S. from Armageddon, 44 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,200 military planners turn to an unlikely hero. 45 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:01,800 ♪ ♪ 46 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,520 [Amy] Nicholas Christofilos is not 47 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:05,600 typical Pentagon material. 48 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:07,280 Born in Boston but raised in Greece, 49 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:08,960 he was a trained electrical engineer 50 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:11,040 who worked as an elevator repairman. 51 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:12,880 But he was always obsessed with physics, 52 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,000 and specifically, nuclear physics. 53 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:16,680 ♪ ♪ 54 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,160 [Sami] In the early 1950s, 55 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:19,840 Christofilos returns to the U.S., 56 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,520 where he lucks out and is recruited to the lab 57 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:24,880 that created the U.S. hydrogen bomb. 58 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,320 Now, his bosses see that behind all that eccentricity 59 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,200 is in fact a brilliant mind. 60 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,120 So Christofilos starts helping to solve 61 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,880 the Soviet missile threat. 62 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:37,600 [David] His unconventional mind 63 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,400 soon conjures up a bizarre solution. 64 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,280 - Christofilos comes up with the idea 65 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:44,760 of using high energy electron beams 66 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:46,360 to shoot down these missiles 67 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,680 before they reach American soil. 68 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:51,360 [David] It sounds simple. 69 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,160 Focus fast-moving electrons into a beam, 70 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,480 train it on an incoming missile, 71 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:58,560 and when they hit it, the shock wave of energy 72 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,200 will destroy the missile in an instant. 73 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:02,440 - There will be no bang, 74 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:04,880 no explosion, no falling debris. 75 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,120 One second, it's here, the next second, it's vapor. 76 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:09,880 ♪ ♪ 77 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,720 [David] The U.S. government is intrigued. 78 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,360 Christofilos gets the green light to investigate 79 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:19,120 under the code name Operation Seesaw. 80 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:20,840 But accelerating electrons 81 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,520 to the speeds required for this beam 82 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:25,120 brings its own unique challenge. 83 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,120 [Hakeem] Christofilos needs to construct 84 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,560 a super long tunnel with magnets 85 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:31,400 that can accelerate these electrons 86 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:33,120 to these high energies. 87 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,440 This tunnel needs to be massive. 88 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:37,640 I'm talking hundreds of miles long. 89 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:39,480 How does he plan to achieve that? 90 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,400 A nuclear-powered underground borer. 91 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,960 The problem is, that hasn't been invented. 92 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,080 [David] Even by Cold War standards, 93 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,640 this is a wild idea. 94 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:52,440 But designing a nuclear-powered 95 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,800 boring machine isn't even the craziest part. 96 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,040 The real challenge is power. 97 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,280 - Christofilos's particle beam requires 98 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,040 an unimaginable amount of electricity, 99 00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:07,280 literally more than the entire U.S. grid can provide. 100 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,480 And listen, this electricity can't be generated in advance 101 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:11,880 and stored in a battery. 102 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,400 It needs to be generated all at once 103 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:18,920 in the very same instant that the weapon is discharged. 104 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:20,680 [David] Christofilos decides 105 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,120 the only way to run his particle beam gun 106 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,080 is with water power. 107 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,840 He comes up with an idea: 108 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,520 blow up the Great Lakes. 109 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:33,800 - Christofilos wants to place giant trap doors 110 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:34,880 on the lake bed. 111 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,520 But beneath those trap doors, 112 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:38,280 he'll place giant turbines, 113 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:39,720 and beneath those turbines, 114 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:41,320 giant nuclear bombs. 115 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:43,880 So as soon as the Soviet missile is detected, 116 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,840 he'll explode the bombs and release the trap doors. 117 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:48,600 [dramatic music] 118 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,080 [Dan] All the water in the lakes, 119 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:52,240 6 quadrillion gallons, 120 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:53,600 rushes from the lakes 121 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:55,800 into the cavities created by the bombs, 122 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,040 turning the turbines on the way, 123 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,400 creating an epic amount of power. 124 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,720 ♪ ♪ 125 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,120 - According to Christofilos's calculations, 126 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,040 his plan will achieve more energy 127 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,000 than even the entire U.S. electrical grid, 128 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:12,840 and in only minutes. 129 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:15,640 ♪ ♪ 130 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,240 [Sami] When Christofilos presents the idea 131 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,480 to his colleagues, the room is stunned. 132 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:22,840 One of them actually says, 133 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,720 "My God, Nick, that might actually work." 134 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,120 So I guess if you had to pick between 135 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:30,360 saving the Great Lakes and saving the lives 136 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:33,320 of millions from nuclear Armageddon, 137 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:35,200 bye-bye, lakes. 138 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:37,120 [David] A serious plan is drawn up 139 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,440 to drain the Great Lakes. 140 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:41,320 But the problem for the government isn't 141 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,920 the ambition or the science. 142 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,480 It's the budget. 143 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,520 [Sami] By the late 1960s, 144 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:52,040 Project Seesaw has consumed $27 million. 145 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:55,800 But it remains little more than a collection 146 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,360 of lab experiments and theories. 147 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,080 Christofilos asks for another $300 million 148 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:05,600 to scale the project, but the Vietnam War is 149 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,280 eating up defense spending, so he doesn't get his funding. 150 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,640 [Dan] Project Seesaw is quietly shelved. 151 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,040 Its files are stamped classified, 152 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:16,120 and the Great Lakes live to see another day. 153 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:17,480 [dramatic music] 154 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,040 [David] Despite its failure, 155 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,640 Project Seesaw's theoretical work 156 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,440 paves the way for Reagan's Star Wars initiative 157 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:26,680 in 1983. 158 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,920 And only in 2010 is this remarkable project 159 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,120 declassified. 160 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,040 - Ideas like draining the Great Lakes 161 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:35,640 to power the particle beam-- 162 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:40,200 it all sounds so ridiculous and so Hollywood. 163 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,240 But during the Cold War, 164 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,840 conventional thinking could only carry them so far, 165 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,880 and they needed people that came up with outrageous ideas. 166 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,760 - In the Cold War, the U.S. thinks about 167 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,920 blowing up the Great Lakes, 168 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,160 but in Vietnam, American military planners ask, 169 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:59,560 what if you could weaponize water in a different way, 170 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:03,200 by creating the mother of all monsoons? 171 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,200 [dramatic music] 172 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,880 ♪ ♪ 173 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:10,240 [Sami] In 1965, 174 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,240 the Vietnam War is intensifying, 175 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:14,280 and the U.S. military is desperate 176 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,440 to find a way to gain an upper hand. 177 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,320 Now, one way they try to do this 178 00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,200 is to disrupt the Viet Cong's key supply route, 179 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:22,880 the Ho Chi Minh Trail. 180 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:24,280 [Hakeem] The Ho Chi Minh Trail 181 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:26,640 snakes through Cambodia and Laos 182 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,040 and is used to move all sorts of men and weapons 183 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:32,040 and supplies to the Viet Cong. 184 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,280 The problem is, no matter what the U.S. throws at it-- 185 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,240 bombs, mines, chemical defoliants-- 186 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,360 the supplies just keep on flowing. 187 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:43,920 - So the Pentagon gets desperate, 188 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:45,600 and they wonder, 189 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,280 what if they can flood the Ho Chi Minh Trail? 190 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:52,840 If they can somehow make it rain heavily above the trail, 191 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,000 then the jungle roads will be swamped 192 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,200 until they're impassable. 193 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:00,760 [David] Weaponizing the weather is a wild idea, 194 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:03,360 but the Pentagon knows who to turn to. 195 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,480 ♪ ♪ 196 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,160 [Amy] The Naval Weapons Center is 197 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,880 a military research organization in California. 198 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:11,240 It has been looking at ways 199 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,080 to promote rainfall from clouds, 200 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,160 partially to ease the drought in California, 201 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,840 but this is also something that could be useful in warfare. 202 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:19,200 [tense music] 203 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:20,560 [Hakeem] They've refined a technique 204 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,040 known as cloud seeding, 205 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,040 where they spray silver iodide into clouds 206 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,920 to make it rain, and it seems to work. 207 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:29,880 ♪ ♪ 208 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,240 - Watering farmland in California is one thing. 209 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,320 Using this tech to wipe out a supply route 210 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,760 halfway around the world, 211 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,280 that could cause a diplomatic disaster. 212 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,040 ♪ ♪ 213 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:43,240 [Amy] The Ho Chi Minh Trail runs through 214 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:44,840 Laos and Cambodia. 215 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,160 But because these countries are neutral in the conflict, 216 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:49,040 nobody wants the U.S. to be seen 217 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:51,080 messing with their weather. 218 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,760 [David] Military planners decide to go ahead anyway. 219 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,600 The operation is code-named Popeye. 220 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,800 - Operation Popeye is so secret 221 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:02,640 that even Congress is not briefed on this. 222 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,040 [David] In total secrecy, the U.S. Air Force 223 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,360 prepares to cloud seed on a scale 224 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,080 never before attempted. 225 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:11,960 - Now, the engineers have to figure out 226 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,040 how to actually get the silver iodide 227 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:15,640 into the clouds. 228 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,280 And the solution that they come up with 229 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,920 is to fill 40 millimeter cartridges with the material. 230 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:22,920 They put these cartridges into racks 231 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:25,240 that can hold 104 each. 232 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,040 And these racks are loaded onto planes. 233 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:29,960 And as they fly through the clouds, 234 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:31,680 they release the cartridges. 235 00:09:31,800 --> 00:09:34,080 [dramatic music] 236 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:38,840 [David] In March 1967, the first flight takes off. 237 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,920 [Sami] A C-130 slips quietly up over Laos, 238 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:44,600 releases its canisters, 239 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,520 and the clouds open up, and rain pours. 240 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:48,960 ♪ ♪ 241 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:50,520 [David] More flights are sent up 242 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,280 and more clouds seeded with silver iodide. 243 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,640 - The Defense Intelligence Agency estimates 244 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,000 that it increases the rainfall by up to 30%. 245 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:03,320 - Roads wash out, and convoys are delayed. 246 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,960 Now, it doesn't shut down the trail completely, 247 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,200 but it does slow the flow. 248 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,560 And in war, that can be just as valuable. 249 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:14,480 U.S. pilots involved start using a new phrase, 250 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,720 "Make mud, not war." 251 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,240 [David] The deluge is only just beginning, 252 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,760 but Congress still hasn't been informed. 253 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:25,600 - When the monsoons return, they target 254 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:30,080 larger areas of Laos, North Vietnam, and Cambodia. 255 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,440 [David] By 1972, $21.6 million 256 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:35,840 has been spent on Operation Popeye. 257 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,040 [tense music] 258 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,520 And 47,000 seeding units have been dropped. 259 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,480 ♪ ♪ 260 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:45,280 All the while, the U.S. military has 261 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,200 kept this weapon concealed from the world. 262 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:49,840 But then a disgruntled official 263 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:52,080 reveals all to a journalist. 264 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:53,800 ♪ ♪ 265 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,680 - In 1972, "The New York Times" breaks 266 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:58,640 the story of Operation Popeye. 267 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,320 They report that the United States government 268 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,600 has been trying to modify the weather in Vietnam. 269 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,640 - The reaction in the U.S. Congress is outrage. 270 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:10,720 [Martin] We're dumping chemicals into the air 271 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,160 above nations that we're not at war with, 272 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:15,800 and this is a very provocative move. 273 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,200 [David] The political pushback is immediate. 274 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,720 - Popeye is shut down within 48 hours. 275 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:24,400 [Hakeem] The mission's planners are brought 276 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:25,920 to Congress for a hearing. 277 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,840 The hearing ends with a new law advanced 278 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,600 that strictly forbids 279 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,600 the modification of the environment 280 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,880 without first receiving permission from Congress. 281 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:39,040 [David] Operation Popeye remains the only time 282 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,800 the weather has ever been weaponized 283 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,920 on a live battlefield-- 284 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,680 at least that we know of. 285 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,520 - Moscow often turns to poison to take out its enemies. 286 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,400 In 2006, a Russian defector dies 287 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,200 after drinking a cup of tea laced with a radioactive toxin. 288 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,040 In 1978, a Bulgarian dissident 289 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,360 is stabbed with a poison-tipped umbrella. 290 00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:08,160 But before all that, one Ukrainian nationalist 291 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:11,400 falls victim to something even more sinister-- 292 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,200 a cyanide gun hidden inside a newspaper. 293 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,200 [tense music] 294 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:19,840 ♪ ♪ 295 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,760 [Andrew] It's 1957, and Moscow has a problem. 296 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:24,760 There are Ukrainian nationalists 297 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,200 in West Germany who are talking about revolution 298 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,840 and hell bent on independence. 299 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:33,960 [David] At the time, Ukraine is part of the USSR. 300 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,720 But these nationalists want an independent nation 301 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,200 not controlled by Russia. 302 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,960 One of their most important leaders is Stepan Bandera. 303 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:45,880 - He's essentially enemy number one, 304 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,480 as far as Moscow is concerned. 305 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,480 - Moscow wants him gone-- 306 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:52,480 permanently gone. 307 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,480 [Greg] For Moscow to want to take out Bandera, 308 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:55,960 having to do so in West Germany, 309 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,560 this would be a violation of the highest order. 310 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:03,320 That could possibly kick the Cold War into a hot one. 311 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:05,520 - So they're looking for a way to get rid of him 312 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,000 that's untraceable. 313 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:08,320 ♪ ♪ 314 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:10,320 [David] KGB engineers are tasked 315 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,280 with creating the perfect weapon for the job. 316 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:14,520 - Killing people is easy. 317 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:15,880 Anybody can do that. 318 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,800 The challenge is to kill someone 319 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,000 and make it look like you didn't kill them. 320 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:21,840 - Shooting? Too noisy. 321 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,800 Bombs? Too messy. 322 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,200 So the KGB engineers decide to abandon 323 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,560 bullets and bombs for chemistry. 324 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:32,640 [David] Soon, they have their ideal solution: 325 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:34,720 a poison spray. 326 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,400 [Dan] They vaporize a killer compound 327 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:40,880 called hydrogen cyanide into a lethal mist. 328 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,240 If you inhale just a fraction of a gram, 329 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:46,760 you'll be dead in a matter of seconds. 330 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,280 [Sami] Hydrogen cyanide blocks the cell's 331 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,040 ability to use oxygen. 332 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:53,800 So to a pathologist conducting any regular autopsy, 333 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,560 the tiny dose is untraceable, and the cause of death 334 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,280 would easily look the same 335 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,800 as, like, a massive coronary failure. 336 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,880 [David] Creating the lethal spray isn't hard. 337 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,840 Creating a weapon to deliver it, 338 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:08,640 that's the real challenge. 339 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:10,280 ♪ ♪ 340 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:12,920 - An assassin needs to be right up close to the victim 341 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,440 to deliver it, or else any change in the wind 342 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:17,600 risks it blowing back in your face 343 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:19,160 or taking out an innocent bystander. 344 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:20,960 So to direct the poison, 345 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:23,240 Soviet engineers build a small metal tube 346 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:26,000 about 8 inches long, less than an inch wide. 347 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:28,160 And this tube needs to be positioned 348 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:30,400 as close to the victim as possible. 349 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:31,800 [dramatic music] 350 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:33,440 [Dan] You shoot it out 351 00:14:33,560 --> 00:14:36,400 by pressing a spring-loaded metal bar. 352 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,320 That smashes the vial and causes the poison 353 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:41,120 to shoot out the end of the tube. 354 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:42,880 There's no bang to draw attention. 355 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,440 There's no bullet to become forensic evidence. 356 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,560 It is the perfect weapon. 357 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,440 ♪ ♪ 358 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,920 - The only problem is how to conceal the weapon 359 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:54,760 so an assassin can get close enough 360 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,040 to use it without drawing attention. 361 00:14:57,160 --> 00:14:59,280 To do that, the Soviets reach for 362 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,920 the most ordinary cover imaginable-- 363 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:03,760 a rolled up newspaper. 364 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:05,000 ♪ ♪ 365 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:06,160 - In 1950s Europe, 366 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:07,480 newspapers are ubiquitous, 367 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:09,760 so this makes them a perfect object 368 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:11,640 to hide weapons inside. 369 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:13,640 [Hakeem] The designers slot the weapon 370 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,360 inside of a rolled up newspaper. 371 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,600 They cut a slit into the newspaper 372 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:21,320 near the trigger for fingertip access 373 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:25,280 so the assassin can fire it without being noticed. 374 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,000 [David] Now the KGB just needs the right person 375 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,640 to use this new weapon to take out Stepan Bandera. 376 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:33,200 [tense music] 377 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,440 They pick Bohdan Stashynsky. 378 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:38,000 [Hakeem] Bohdan Stashynsky has been working undercover 379 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,480 for the Soviets since the early 1950s. 380 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,840 He's young, expendable, 381 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,160 and the KGB think that he's loyal. 382 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:48,680 So in September 1957, 383 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,560 his handlers give him the poison gun. 384 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,320 [David] When Stashynsky begins to surveil Bandera, 385 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,840 however, he hits a problem. 386 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,240 Bandera is always accompanied by a bodyguard. 387 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,520 - The original newspaper gun gives you one shot. 388 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,240 But if Bandera has a bodyguard, 389 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,200 the KGB is going to need two shots. 390 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:09,360 And they can't be walking around 391 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:10,560 with two rolled up newspapers. 392 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:11,720 That would be ridiculous. 393 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,080 So instead, 394 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,240 the KGB develops a double-barreled version 395 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,040 to take out two people. 396 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:18,280 The engineers get to work, 397 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,000 and they produce a twin pipe gun-- 398 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,080 two barrels, two triggers, 399 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:23,360 and two capsules-- 400 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,440 and Stashynsky is handed the new weapon. 401 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:27,640 ♪ ♪ 402 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,800 [Sami] Stashynsky spends months tracking Bandera. 403 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,120 One night, he waits outside of Bandera's apartment. 404 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,000 Miraculously, Bandera is alone. 405 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,080 His bodyguard is nowhere to be seen. 406 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,160 [Hakeem] As Bandera fumbles with his keys 407 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:44,840 outside of his apartment, 408 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,480 Stashynsky approaches. 409 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:50,480 He raises his newspaper weapon and fires. 410 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,240 [dramatic music] 411 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,120 However, he accidentally shoots 412 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:57,160 both streams of poison at once 413 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,320 instead of the one that he was supposed to. 414 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:01,360 ♪ ♪ 415 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,640 Bandera instantly collapses. 416 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:04,920 ♪ ♪ 417 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,800 [David] Bandera is dead. 418 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,600 But doubling the lethal dose of hydrogen cyanide 419 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,320 means it is no longer untraceable. 420 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,480 - Because Stashynsky fired both barrels, 421 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:18,480 the cyanide has left a more permanent residue 422 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:19,880 in his victim's organs, 423 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,280 and this is traceable in the autopsy. 424 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,160 It's clearly not a natural death. 425 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,440 - The authorities in West Germany 426 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:26,680 don't have any witnesses. 427 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:28,240 They don't have evidence of a weapon. 428 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:31,440 But that poison residue is enough to convince them 429 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,240 that this could be an assassination. 430 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:35,960 [dramatic music] 431 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,320 [David] The West German authorities 432 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:39,640 start to look for an assassin. 433 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,640 For two years, Stashynsky stays silent. 434 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:46,000 Then, the pressure becomes too much. 435 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:47,800 [Sami] Stashynsky cracks. 436 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:49,400 He surrenders to West German police 437 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,720 and confesses everything 438 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,520 in return for asylum and information. 439 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,200 Stashynsky is tried a year later, 440 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:56,800 and during this trial, he describes 441 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,000 the newspaper-wrapped poison gun in great detail. 442 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:02,920 ♪ ♪ 443 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,240 Suddenly, this strange and very unique weapon 444 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:11,760 is front page news all across the world. 445 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,120 [David] Stashynsky is found guilty. 446 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,640 In exchange for exposing the KGB's lethal tactics, 447 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,600 he is released after just five years in jail. 448 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,040 ♪ ♪ 449 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:23,400 Then he vanishes, 450 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:25,040 reportedly given a new identity 451 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,520 to escape the KGB's revenge. 452 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:33,920 - Some of the wildest weapons are dreamed up 453 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:35,520 in war rooms or secret labs. 454 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,200 Others come straight from the top. 455 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,880 In 1940, Winston Churchill floats 456 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:45,200 a wartime idea that remains classified for 30 years: 457 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:50,040 knock out German cities with a barrage of balloons. 458 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,040 [dramatic music] 459 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,520 ♪ ♪ 460 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:56,720 [James] During World War II, 461 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:58,280 the skies above Britain's cities 462 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,560 are filled with hundreds and hundreds 463 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,600 of huge hydrogen balloons 464 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,880 tethered to the ground by massive steel cables. 465 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,840 ♪ ♪ 466 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,320 They're known as blimps and are a key part 467 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,960 of the UK's defense against the German bombers, 468 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:15,400 forcing enemy planes to fly higher, 469 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,760 making bombing less accurate. 470 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,440 ♪ ♪ 471 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,200 - One night in September in 1940, 472 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,800 you have a huge storm that sets in, 473 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,720 with winds of upwards of 40 miles an hour. 474 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,800 And these gusts rip dozens of these blimps free. 475 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,200 ♪ ♪ 476 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:34,400 [Hakeem] The balloons float 477 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:36,160 out across the North Sea, 478 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:37,480 and they begin to descend 479 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:38,960 once they're over Sweden. 480 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,680 And the cables that are hanging from the balloons 481 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,040 begin to bump into electrical components 482 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,840 in the Swedish power grid. 483 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:50,680 - They hit power lines, causing massive short circuits 484 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:53,640 and blackouts that plunge towns into darkness. 485 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,280 ♪ ♪ 486 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,080 - Where everyone else sees a diplomatic disaster, 487 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:01,360 Britain's prime minister, Winston Churchill, 488 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:03,800 spies an opportunity. 489 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:06,760 If a few stray balloons can wreak havoc in Sweden, 490 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,880 what might thousands do over Germany? 491 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:10,880 ♪ ♪ 492 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:12,520 [Sami] Churchill orders 493 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:16,120 the construction of thousands of free-floating balloons 494 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:17,960 with dangling conductive wires. 495 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:19,920 These are to be launched across the English Channel 496 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,360 and ride the jet stream 497 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,120 straight into the heart of the Third Reich. 498 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,640 [David] Churchill's idea is code-named Operation Outward. 499 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,120 Design begins in extreme secrecy. 500 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:31,240 [tense music] 501 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:32,760 - Naval engineers design 502 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,080 a latex balloon 8 feet wide. 503 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:36,440 ♪ ♪ 504 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,480 And trailing below each balloon, 505 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,600 they add 1,000-foot-long conductive wire. 506 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,320 ♪ ♪ 507 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,560 - If you launch enough balloons trailing enough wires, 508 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,480 some of them will hit some very valuable targets. 509 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,040 [dramatic music] 510 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:54,960 [Sami] The task of assembling these balloons 511 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:56,280 is given to the WRNS, 512 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,200 the Women's Royal Naval Service. 513 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:00,600 [David] In makeshift tents, 514 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,520 they construct these huge balloons, 515 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,960 fit them with their destructive trails, 516 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,280 and ready them for launch. 517 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:08,960 [Amy] The Women's Royal Naval Service 518 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:10,200 took advantage of the opportunity 519 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,600 to send a little bit of a message 520 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:13,640 to the Nazis as well, writing things like, 521 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,840 "Take this, you bastards," on the actual balloons. 522 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,320 [David] What this barrage of balloons needs now 523 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:20,440 is a launch site. 524 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:22,040 ♪ ♪ 525 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,440 - The perfect place to launch these balloons 526 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,800 happens to be at a golf club 527 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,440 in a town called Felixstowe. 528 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,160 It's very close to the English Channel 529 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:34,640 and continental Europe. 530 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,560 There's also a prevailing westerly wind 531 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,960 that will carry the balloons into Germany. 532 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:41,480 [dramatic music] 533 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:47,080 - On March 20, 1942, Operation Outward lifts off. 534 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:50,960 The balloons are set free to float eastward on the wind. 535 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:54,360 Now there's nothing Churchill can do but wait. 536 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:55,480 ♪ ♪ 537 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:56,800 [Hakeem] It's not long after 538 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,120 that British intelligence agents in Germany 539 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,720 report that the plan is working. 540 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:06,120 The balloons and their cables are striking the power grid. 541 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,400 They're starting fires, they're knocking out power, 542 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:13,080 and they are creating complete chaos. 543 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,600 The balloons are also infuriating Adolf Hitler, 544 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,560 something that Churchill is always excited to do. 545 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,080 ♪ ♪ 546 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:22,840 [David] Buoyed by success, 547 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:26,760 Britain's balloon factories go full tilt. 548 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:31,560 That summer, the British are launching nearly 1,000 a day. 549 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,240 Then the operation has its biggest success yet. 550 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:36,600 ♪ ♪ 551 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:38,760 [Sami] On July 12, 1942, 552 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,000 an Operation Outward balloon creeps towards Leipzig, 553 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,840 the fifth largest city in Germany. 554 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:46,640 The wind puts it on a collision course 555 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,400 with Leipzig's main power station. 556 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,400 The trailing wire hits a 110,000-volt 557 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:55,640 transmission line, and in an instant, 558 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,320 electricity leaps from the cable to the wire. 559 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,640 [dramatic music] 560 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,440 [Hakeem] Immediately, the site is up in flames, 561 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,480 and a chunk of Germany is plunged into darkness. 562 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,760 [Sami] It's estimated that this one balloon causes damage 563 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,000 that's worth at least $60 million in today's money, 564 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:14,680 so not bad for a balloon 565 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,480 that just costs around the equivalent of 100 bucks. 566 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,120 ♪ ♪ 567 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,120 [David] Launches continue until 1944, 568 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,880 when the D-day landings increase Allied air traffic 569 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,160 over Europe, and Operation Outward 570 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:28,680 is scaled back. 571 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,080 ♪ ♪ 572 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,160 - The final balloon is let loose 573 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,960 on September 4, 1944. 574 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:39,440 It's balloon number 99,142. 575 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,160 [David] The war ends in 1945, 576 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,040 but the technology is so cheap, 577 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,520 the Brits fear if they release the details, 578 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:49,400 someone could easily use it against them, 579 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,360 so Operation Outward remains buried 580 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:54,040 in government archives. 581 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:55,440 ♪ ♪ 582 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,240 It's quietly declassified 583 00:23:57,360 --> 00:23:59,600 by the British government decades later. 584 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,120 ♪ ♪ 585 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:02,640 Then in 2016, 586 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,120 a British journalist tells the story. 587 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:07,880 - The British media goes wild for this story 588 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,920 of how this stroke of genius from Churchill 589 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,680 just wrought havoc on the German war machine. 590 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,960 - By 1988, eight countries on Earth 591 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,880 have managed to put a satellite in space. 592 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000 Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein 593 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,520 decides he wants to join the club. 594 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,360 To get there, he's not going to use a rocket. 595 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,080 He'll build the biggest gun on the planet. 596 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:37,080 [dramatic music] 597 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:38,440 ♪ ♪ 598 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,160 [Sami] It's 1988, 599 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:42,960 and Saddam Hussein is in trouble, 600 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:44,840 because Iraq's enemy, Israel, 601 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,600 is about to launch its first satellite into space. 602 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,240 To level the playing field, Saddam wants 603 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:52,000 his own spy satellite in space. 604 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:53,000 ♪ ♪ 605 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:54,520 [David] The problem is, 606 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:56,960 Saddam doesn't have a space program at all, 607 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,120 and building one from scratch will take years. 608 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,400 So he turns to a quick fix shortcut. 609 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:04,800 - Gerald Bull is 610 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,680 a Canadian-born ballistics expert. 611 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:09,920 [Hakeem] This guy has been obsessed 612 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,280 with one idea throughout his career, 613 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,720 and that is building a gun so large, 614 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,560 it can fire a satellite into space. 615 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,600 He's peddling his ideas to anyone who will pay. 616 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,640 [David] It sounds like the perfect solution 617 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,240 for getting Saddam to space fast. 618 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:29,920 - Saddam gives him $25 million to work with. 619 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:31,960 But what Bull doesn't know 620 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,240 is that Saddam has a second secret plan. 621 00:25:35,360 --> 00:25:38,400 Saddam imagines a gun so powerful, 622 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,280 it could fire a shell filled with chemical glue, 623 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,880 that, detonating near an enemy satellite, 624 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,840 would coat its lenses and blind it completely. 625 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,600 If his enemies can no longer spy on Iraq, 626 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:51,520 then Saddam believes he will also be able 627 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,800 to build whatever weapons he wants on the ground 628 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,480 without them knowing. 629 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,560 [David] Soon, Bull has a design for the gun. 630 00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,480 It's called Big Babylon. 631 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:00,680 [tense music] 632 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,880 - Big Babylon is going to be massive, 633 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,440 the biggest gun in history. 634 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:07,360 [Sami] It'll weigh over 2,00 tons, 635 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,880 and its bore will be a meter wide. 636 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,520 So if it works, it'll hurl a 440-pound satellite 637 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,880 600 miles into the sky. 638 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,160 [David] 600 miles isn't high enough. 639 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,080 To be launched permanently into orbit, 640 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,200 it needs to reach a height of tens of thousands 641 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,120 of miles into the sky. 642 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:28,520 ♪ ♪ 643 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:32,040 - Even though Bull's cannon is big and large, 644 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:33,520 it's not quite enough. 645 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:35,600 So he comes up with a clever solution. 646 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,680 He attaches a three-stage rocket to the payload. 647 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,280 Each one kicks in at a particular altitude 648 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,880 that makes the projectile go faster and faster 649 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,200 until it reaches orbit. 650 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,080 [David] To put this innovative design to the test, 651 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:51,480 Bull's team construct a miniature prototype. 652 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:52,840 ♪ ♪ 653 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:54,880 [Sami] It's no normal prototype. 654 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,120 It's 150 feet long with a 350-millimeter bore. 655 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:00,680 It's a monster within its own right. 656 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,680 [David] They begin testing the prototype 657 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,200 with lead slugs bigger than basketballs. 658 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:07,000 ♪ ♪ 659 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:09,200 - The recoil on this thing is insane. 660 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:12,160 If you've ever fired a gun and felt that kick back at you, 661 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:14,080 you know that alone can leave a bruise. 662 00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:19,320 This thing's kicking back several meters with every fire. 663 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,240 But as it does so, these slugs go sailing out-- 664 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:25,880 they're flying at 2 miles per single second. 665 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,360 And it shows that this gun does, in fact, work. 666 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,720 [David] Saddam greenlights the full scale build, 667 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:33,240 but there's a catch. 668 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,680 Iraq is subject to international sanctions 669 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:36,960 designed to prevent the production 670 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,560 of this kind of weapon. 671 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,600 - Big Babylon requires specialized components 672 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,120 and composite materials 673 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,280 that the Iraqi engineers on their own cannot create. 674 00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:50,800 - To get around sanctions, Bull creates a network 675 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,560 of secretive shell companies across Europe. 676 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:55,800 - Despite all of Bull's clever planning, 677 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,720 his work starts to come to the attention 678 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,160 of rival intelligence services. 679 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,200 [David] Israel, Iraq's military rival, 680 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,120 pays close attention. 681 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:06,120 [tense music] 682 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:07,800 By 1989, 683 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:09,800 its Security Agency, Mossad, 684 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:13,440 is reportedly tracking Bull's every move. 685 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,720 Fast forward to March 22, 1990. 686 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:22,040 ♪ ♪ 687 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,640 [Greg] Bull's visiting home in Belgium, 688 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,040 and one day, he walks up to his front door. 689 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:28,400 ♪ ♪ 690 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:29,760 A man emerges from behind him. 691 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:30,960 ♪ ♪ 692 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:32,920 The man pulls a gun 693 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:34,600 and shoots Bull five times. 694 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,040 [gunshots] 695 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,200 Twice in the head, three times in the back. 696 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:39,560 ♪ ♪ 697 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,080 - Gerald Bull is dead. 698 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:44,160 [dramatic music] 699 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,280 No witnesses, no suspects. 700 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:51,400 - Bull had $20,000 in cash on him. 701 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:52,640 And whoever killed him, 702 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,440 whoever fired five shots into the guy, 703 00:28:54,560 --> 00:28:55,480 left that behind. 704 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,320 So it's clearly not a robbery. 705 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,000 This is undoubtedly a hit. 706 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:02,000 To this day, we don't know who killed Bull. 707 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:04,120 ♪ ♪ 708 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:05,800 [David] After Bull's death, 709 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,480 the weapon might have remained hidden forever. 710 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:12,280 But the Gulf War in 1991 changes all that. 711 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:15,040 - Soon after Bull is killed, the Gulf War begins, 712 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:16,920 and Saddam Hussein never has time 713 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,520 to get back to the project again. 714 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:20,200 ♪ ♪ 715 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,840 [David] After the war, UN inspectors in Iraq 716 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:24,880 find the remains of Big Babylon 717 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,200 and its baby sister... 718 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,760 ♪ ♪ 719 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:32,560 And the world discovers just how close 720 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,280 Saddam came to creating a super gun to reach space. 721 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:37,720 ♪ ♪ 722 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,000 In 1999, the full details 723 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,960 of Gerald Bull's involvement in Project Babylon 724 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,160 are released by the CIA. 725 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,520 ♪ ♪ 726 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,920 - Little Boy, The Cookie, Bouncing Betty. 727 00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:56,440 It's like a rule with bombs. 728 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,280 The nicer they sound, the more you should worry. 729 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,480 In 1962, another weapon joins this deadly list. 730 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,840 The U.S. calls it the Atomic Watermelon. 731 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:09,640 [tense music] 732 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:12,320 ♪ ♪ 733 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,640 [Sami] In the late 1950s in Europe, 734 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:18,160 Soviet forces outnumber NATO forces 10 to 1. 735 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:19,600 And as a result, the United States are 736 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,680 terrified of a Soviet invasion. 737 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,480 They especially fear the Soviets sending 738 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,160 thousands of tanks across what is known as the Fulda Gap. 739 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,040 [Martin] The Fulda Gap is a geographical feature 740 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:33,440 right along the border in Germany, 741 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,200 two open plain areas 742 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,200 that would make it easy for Communist bloc nations 743 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:42,200 to stream from east toward the west. 744 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:44,920 [Hakeem] If Russian tanks roll through the Fulda Gap, 745 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:47,960 there won't be enough time for America to scramble 746 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,560 its strategic nuclear bombers. 747 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:52,960 [David] U.S. military planners know, 748 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,000 if they want to protect the free world, 749 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,200 they need to find a way to defend the Fulda Gap. 750 00:30:58,320 --> 00:30:59,560 [tense music] 751 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:00,920 For that, they decide 752 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:02,760 they need a brand-new weapon. 753 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,360 ♪ ♪ 754 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,000 - What the U.S. Army needs is a tactical 755 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:08,560 low yield nuclear weapon. 756 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,560 - It needs to be scary enough to make the Soviets 757 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,520 think twice about invading, but small enough 758 00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:15,680 to race along the West German front line 759 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:16,800 at a moment's notice. 760 00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:19,800 [dramatic music] 761 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,360 ♪ ♪ 762 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,080 [James] In 1959, Los Alamos National Laboratory 763 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:26,240 engineers begin work to design 764 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,000 the smallest ever nuclear weapon. 765 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:30,560 ♪ ♪ 766 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:32,640 [Hakeem] Engineers use a new form 767 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:35,440 of highly-enriched plutonium 239. 768 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,800 This new miniaturized device 769 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:39,680 has an explosive yield 770 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:42,760 equivalent to about 20 tons of TNT. 771 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,120 That's similar to the largest conventional bombs 772 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:50,920 ever constructed, and it weighs only around 50 pounds. 773 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,280 That's less than 1% the weight of the Hiroshima bomb. 774 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,680 And this is a device that's less than 11 inches in width. 775 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,360 [David] Its size and shape inspire a nickname, 776 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,360 the Atomic Watermelon. 777 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:05,800 Now the military needs to see if this melon 778 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,720 can deliver the destruction they're hoping for. 779 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,680 [tense music] 780 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,760 ♪ ♪ 781 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:17,320 [Martin] There's a test detonation of the warhead 782 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:20,680 at the Nevada test site in July 1962. 783 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:23,640 This is designed to prove that the weapon system 784 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:25,240 is capable of functioning. 785 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:28,000 There's a bit of theater associated with this test. 786 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:30,480 There are bleachers that are built. 787 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,640 Those who are invited to attend the test 788 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,560 and observe it, they're given special goggles 789 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,400 so that they won't be blinded by the blast once it occurs. 790 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:40,080 There's a VIP seating area. 791 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,240 Robert F. Kennedy is there. 792 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:44,000 ♪ ♪ 793 00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:45,520 [David] The target is a point 794 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,320 in the dry desert basin 795 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,760 nearly 3,000 meters away. 796 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,800 At 10:00 a.m., the weapon is fired... 797 00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:59,480 [booming] 798 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,280 [soft music] 799 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,800 [booming] 800 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:08,800 And it works. 801 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,240 [Reporter] The round was set for a low height of burst. 802 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:12,800 It detonated perfectly, 803 00:33:12,920 --> 00:33:15,920 releasing its lethal radiation. 804 00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:17,640 - The launcher, the delivery system, 805 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,400 the warhead all work flawlessly, 806 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,240 exactly as designed, 807 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:25,840 and tests at the delivery site show radiation levels 808 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,960 that confirm that anyone within 200 meters 809 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:31,800 would have been killed instantly. 810 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,120 [David] The Atomic Watermelon is a success. 811 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:37,960 It's loaded into jeeps across West Germany, 812 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,480 ready to race to the front line. 813 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,920 - Over 2,000 Atomic Watermelons are manufactured 814 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,760 and distributed across Europe to face the Soviet threat. 815 00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,680 Each weapon is handled by a five-man team, 816 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:52,240 who are only to use the weapon if they are faced 817 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,400 with an imminent threat of being overrun. 818 00:33:55,520 --> 00:33:56,720 [David] Shooting a nuke 819 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,480 from a short range rocket launcher 820 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,440 comes with one very real risk. 821 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:04,280 [Martin] That five-man team will move forward 822 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:06,040 at high speed using the vehicle. 823 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:07,560 They'll fire the weapon, 824 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:09,720 and then immediately upon releasing it, 825 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:11,640 they will move as fast as possible 826 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:13,480 out of the fallout range of the weapon 827 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:17,120 so that they themselves do not become irradiation casualties. 828 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:19,760 [David] Despite the danger, the Atomic Watermelon 829 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,480 is judged such an effective deterrent 830 00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:24,720 that it's deployed to other vulnerable outposts, 831 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:28,320 including Korea, Guam, and Hawaii. 832 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:29,960 - The Atomic Watermelon is a key part 833 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:32,080 of American defense for the better part of a decade. 834 00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:33,760 But by the late 1960s, 835 00:34:33,880 --> 00:34:35,880 it still hasn't been used in combat. 836 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,280 Plus, advances in missile guidance 837 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:39,000 have essentially rendered it obsolete. 838 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:42,480 So it's retired in 1971. 839 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:44,680 [David] The story of the Atomic Watermelon 840 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,360 remains buried in classified archives for decades. 841 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,000 [tense music] 842 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:52,520 Only after the end of the Cold War 843 00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:55,480 are the full details revealed to the world. 844 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:59,120 ♪ ♪ 845 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:04,360 - It's 1942. 846 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:05,800 The U.S. is trying to find a way 847 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:07,560 to win the war in the Pacific 848 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,160 when a dentist writes to Franklin Roosevelt 849 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,680 with a plan to attack Japan 850 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,680 with bombs strapped to live bats. 851 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:21,400 Even crazier than that, the president says yes. 852 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,400 [dramatic music] 853 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,400 ♪ ♪ 854 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,680 [Dan] Dr. Lytle S. Adams is on vacation 855 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,160 at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. 856 00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:33,920 He's a dentist, but he's desperate 857 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:36,040 to help the U.S.'s war effort against Japan, 858 00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:38,000 and he's willing to do some out-of-the-box thinking 859 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:39,760 to make that happen. 860 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:42,560 [Martin] With the closing of sunset one evening, 861 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,720 large formations of bats issue from the cave 862 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,040 out into the air. 863 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:49,720 And it's that inspiration that will lead us 864 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:50,960 to one of the wackiest moments 865 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,600 in World War II history. 866 00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:55,800 [Dan] Then he gets this great idea. 867 00:35:55,920 --> 00:36:00,040 What if each bat were carrying an incendiary bomb? 868 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:01,960 [dramatic music] 869 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:03,360 [David] A bat bomb. 870 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,800 It sounds incredible, but Adams thinks 871 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:08,600 it could target one of Japan's biggest weaknesses. 872 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:11,520 [Dan] Adams knows that Japanese cities at the time 873 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,560 are built mostly of wood and paper. 874 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:18,520 So if thousands of bats carrying miniature firebombs 875 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:22,200 could fly into a Japanese city and roost in its crevices 876 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:26,080 and then ignite, you would create 877 00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,560 an inferno that would level that city. 878 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:30,200 [flames crackling] 879 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:31,280 - Is it bizarre? 880 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:33,000 Absolutely, without a question. 881 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:35,240 But is it genius? 882 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:37,600 Maybe? 883 00:36:37,720 --> 00:36:39,840 [David] An idea like this wouldn't usually land 884 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,200 on the desk of the U.S. government, 885 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:45,480 but Adams knows just the right person. 886 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:47,480 - There are plenty of people during World War II 887 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,160 who have wacky but brilliant ideas. 888 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,840 Not all of them have a personal relationship 889 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:56,120 with Eleanor Roosevelt, but Lytle S. Adams did. 890 00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:58,080 [Sami] So he writes to President Roosevelt. 891 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,400 Amazingly, FDR is on board. 892 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:02,880 He actually says, "Sounds like a wild idea, 893 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,320 but worth looking into." 894 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,360 - Adams' bat bomb is fast tracked for testing. 895 00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,680 It's code-named Project X-ray, 896 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,680 and Adams gets a promotion. 897 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:17,160 [Amy] Dr. Adams leaves his day job, and within weeks, 898 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:20,000 has assembled this crack team of mammalogists, 899 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,560 engineers, pyrotechnicians, and military officers 900 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,360 to figure out how to turn bats into bombs. 901 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,880 [David] Their first task is to find the right bat. 902 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,800 [dramatic music] 903 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,880 [Dan] The team settles on the Mexican free-tailed bat. 904 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:38,040 Those bats weigh about 10-12 grams each. 905 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:39,920 That's only as much as two nickels, 906 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,200 but experiments have shown that they can fly 907 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:43,960 while they're carrying an incendiary device 908 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,160 that weighs slightly more than they do. 909 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:51,120 So with enough bats, this plan just might work. 910 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:53,600 [David] Now Adams has a bigger challenge-- 911 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:56,520 designing a bat-sized bomb. 912 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:59,440 - The team designs a small bomb about the width 913 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:03,360 of a golf ball that is ignited via a timer, 914 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:05,760 and it creates a 1-foot-wide 915 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,680 strip of napalm that can burn 916 00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:09,240 for about four minutes. 917 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:11,640 [dramatic music] 918 00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:13,480 [David] In June 1943, 919 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:16,480 they plan a test in the New Mexico desert 920 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:18,800 near Carlsbad Caverns. 921 00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:21,880 But as it turns out, unlike bomber pilots, 922 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,560 bats don't obey orders. 923 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:28,960 - In one test where bat bombs are released, 924 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,800 the animals then fly into a hangar, 925 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:34,440 a hangar that was very much being used. 926 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:36,080 The bats fly into it, 927 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:38,520 the incendiary devices on the bats go off, 928 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,240 and they set the hangar on fire. 929 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:41,880 They also do the same thing 930 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,920 by flying underneath a general's staff car, 931 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:46,920 and they set it on fire too. 932 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:48,440 ♪ ♪ 933 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:49,840 [David] Bats have proven they're capable 934 00:38:49,960 --> 00:38:51,520 of inflicting serious destruction 935 00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:53,280 on the wrong targets. 936 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:55,880 What happens if they hit the right ones? 937 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:57,960 ♪ ♪ 938 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,800 To find out, the U.S. military builds a town, 939 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,760 a mock Japanese village in the desert. 940 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,800 Then they let the bats loose. 941 00:39:06,920 --> 00:39:08,520 [plane engine roaring] 942 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:11,040 [Hakeem] The bats go into the attics and eaves 943 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:12,480 of this fake town. 944 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,760 The outcome is terrifying. 945 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:16,760 The napalm bombs go off, 946 00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:18,600 and the burning commences. 947 00:39:18,720 --> 00:39:20,280 [dramatic music] 948 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,680 Calculations show that this technique 949 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,560 is 2,000% more effective 950 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:29,480 than other incendiary bombs in use at the time. 951 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,840 [Sami] It seems that America is on the verge 952 00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:33,640 of a new kind of warfare. 953 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:34,920 ♪ ♪ 954 00:39:35,040 --> 00:39:36,440 [David] Plans are drawn up 955 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:38,800 to deploy the bat bombers in Japan. 956 00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,360 They're to be placed in 5-foot canisters 957 00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,240 and dropped from high-altitude planes. 958 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:48,000 But transporting the bats isn't easy. 959 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:49,560 - Adams comes up with a solution 960 00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:51,400 of basically putting them into a stupor 961 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:53,640 by making them very cold, 962 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,240 the idea being that as they fall and reach warmer air, 963 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,520 they'll naturally wake up and go into roost 964 00:39:58,640 --> 00:40:00,840 in eaves of houses and other buildings. 965 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:02,760 The problem is, the bats don't always wake up, 966 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:04,880 and those who don't just plummet to Earth 967 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,760 like little stones. 968 00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:08,560 [David] Problems transporting the bats 969 00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:11,400 means that by December 1943, 970 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:14,960 deployment still isn't expected for over a year. 971 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:19,600 In the meantime, the military develops napalm cluster bombs, 972 00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:21,320 a far simpler and cheaper way 973 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:24,480 to rain down fire on the enemy. 974 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,640 - In theory, it's a good idea. 975 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,480 But in practice, can't really compete long term. 976 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:33,560 [tense music] 977 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,040 [David] In 1944, Project X-ray 978 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,880 is quietly scrapped. 979 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,880 [Sami] Adams returns to civilian life 980 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:42,200 and to dreaming. 981 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:43,960 And eventually, he becomes famous 982 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:47,160 not for weapons, but for inventing 983 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:49,880 a fried chicken vending machine. 984 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,600 As for the bat bomb, it's entirely forgotten 985 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:54,360 once the atomic age dawns. 986 00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:55,960 [booming] 987 00:40:56,080 --> 00:40:57,320 [David] The story stays hidden 988 00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,080 for nearly half a century, 989 00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:01,520 until one of the original handlers 990 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,280 is granted access to Project X-ray's files 991 00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:06,120 to write his memoirs... 992 00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:09,120 [dramatic music] 993 00:41:09,240 --> 00:41:12,120 And the public finally learn about the time 994 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:16,280 a dentist tried to turn bats into bombers. 995 00:41:16,400 --> 00:41:18,600 From bat bombs to missile beams, 996 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:20,480 when it comes to taking out their enemies, 997 00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,240 no idea is too bizarre for a government to try. 998 00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:27,880 Luckily, most are found out in the end. 999 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,800 ♪ ♪