All language subtitles for Expedition Files S3E1 Shark Files

On this episode of Expedition File.

In 1975, union leader Jimmy Hoffa
vanishes from a parking lot without a

Was it a mob hit? If so, where's the
body?

A new theory may finally solve one of
the FBI's longest running

Then, the Holy Grail, the cup of Jesus
Christ.

has been hunted by kings and crusaders.

This biblical relic was said to be lost.

Has it now been found?

And, groundbreaking engineer Rudolf
Diesel disappears on an ocean liner

transporting secret plans that could
change the course of World War I.

We reveal what may have been one of the
greatest espionage operations in

history.

In the corridors of time are mysteries
that defy explanation.

Now, I'm traveling through history
itself on

a search for the truth.

New evidence.

Shocking answers.

I'm Josh Gates.

And these...

are my expedition file.

One of my first jobs out of college was
working as a waiter at a Hollywood

institution called the Magic Castle, a
private club for magicians. I learned

things working there. One, magicians are
lousy tippers. And two, there's nothing

an audience loves more than watching
something disappear.

So tonight, prepare to be amazed as we
take vanishing at... to their most

shocking extreme.

I promise, no top hats, rabbits, or $1
tips in sight.

We examine three of history's most
extraordinary disappearances, people and

things that were suddenly gone without a
trace, leaving the rest of the world

guessing. That is, until now.

We begin on July 30th, 1975.

It's a muggy afternoon just after 2 .30
p .m.

I'm standing outside the Moccas Red Fox
restaurant, about 20 miles northwest of

Detroit. The guy on the payphone here,
he isn't just your average angry diner.

In fact, he's one of the most powerful
men in America.

This is Jimmy Hoffa. At 62, Hoffa is the
former president of the Teamsters, the

most formidable labor union in America.

Right now, he's on the phone with his
wife, Josephine, upset that he's been

stood up for a crucial meeting.

He tells her to throw some steaks on the
grill and expect him back by 4 o

'clock. But those steaks, well, they're
going to go cold. And Jimmy Hoffa isn't

coming home for dinner.

Because just minutes from now, he'll
disappear, setting off one of the most

extraordinary missing persons cases in
history.

For over 50 years, the world will ask
the same question. What really happened

Jimmy Hoffa? And why has his body never
been found?

In the middle of the last century,
pretty much everyone knows the name

Hoffa. To millions, he's a hero.

As Teamster president, he stands up
against big business to secure better

and benefits for the blue -collar
workers who depend on it.

You've heard of the supply chain?

The vast network that moves goods from
factories to stores.

Well, in the 20th century, the Teamsters
control it. The organization of truck

drivers and warehouse workers literally
keeps the American economy moving.

Hoffa rises through the ranks as a
street -fighting labor organizer.

He becomes union president in 1957.

His influence is undeniable, but his
methods are often controversial, even

illegal.

You see, in the 50s, organized crime has
its hooks in a lot of local unions. In

return for their loyalty and occasional
muscle, Hoffa lets mob -connected

businessmen borrow massive chunks of
money from the Teamsters pension fund.

That money helps build glitzy Vegas
hotels and casinos.

The mob gets low -interest loans, and in
exchange, they give union jobs to

Teamsters, everyone from bellhops to
cabbies.

Workers adore Hoffa. The government? Not
so much. Especially Attorney General

Robert F. Kennedy.

See, it's not just Hoffa's mob buddies
who are breaking the law. Hoffa plays

dirty himself.

Extortion, wiretapping, embezzlement.

In 1967, after years of attempts, the
feds, led by Kennedy, finally nailed

for jury tampering and misusing union
pension funds.

He gets 13 years behind bars.

With his raincoat covering handcuffs,
Hoffa arrives at federal prison in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

It seems the street -fighting labor boss
has finally met his match. But don't

count Hoffa out just yet. He's about to
get help from a very unlikely friend,

President Richard Nixon.

On December 23, 1971, Nixon commutes
Hoffa's sentence.

And Jimmy gets out after serving less
than five years.

Nixon thinks that freeing him will earn
him support from Hoffa's loyal

followers.

But for Hoffa, freedom comes with a
caveat. Nixon bars him from any union

activity until 1980, effectively
minimizing his power and influence.

In 1974, Hoffa sues the government to
lift the ban.

With an appeal underway, Hoffa tries to
shore up support for a run at the union

presidency at the next election.

Which brings us back to the restaurant
parking lot on that muggy day in July of

1975.

When Hoffa fails to arrive home, his
family calls the police.

The next morning, investigators find
Hoffa's car in the Moccas Red Fox

lot. There's no sign of a struggle and
no sign of Jimmy.

Several people report seeing the famous
labor leader at the restaurant the day

before. One witness claims she saw Hoffa
get into a maroon Mercury sedan with

three other men. It is the last time
anyone will report seeing Hoffa alive.

A nationwide manhunt is launched.

As it heats up, rumors circulate that
the mafia is involved in Hoffa's

disappearance.

Hoffa's family finds his date book and
it makes the mob the prime suspect.

It reveals the names of two men he
intended to meet that day at the

Tony Giacalone, aka Tony Jack, a senior
figure in the Detroit mob.

And Tony Provenzano, aka Tony Pro, a
capo or captain for the Genovese crime

family.

Investigators track down both Tonys.

Each has a strong alibi and deny that a
meeting with Hoffa was even scheduled.

But there is a thread for the
investigators to pull on.

Tony Giacalone's son happens to own a
Mercury sedan, just like the one the

eyewitness described.

And there's another interesting wrinkle.
A man called Chucky O 'Brien borrowed

the car that morning to supposedly run
some errands. Chucky was a known Hoffa

union associate.

Jimmy treated him like a stepson.

When authorities process the car, they
find bloodstains on the seat. And that's

not all.

A few strands of hair matching Hoffa's
color also go into evidence bags.

Police dogs hit on Hoffa's scent,
suggesting Jimmy was in the back seat

even more disturbingly, the trunk.

But O 'Brien claims he didn't pick Jimmy
up at the Moccas Red Fox that day.

And the blood on the seat?

Chucky says that comes from a salmon he
delivered to a teamster's house that

morning.

If this all sounds very fishy to you,
you're not alone.

However, tests on the blood reveal O
'Brien is telling the truth, at least

the salmon. It's fish blood, not human.

As to the hair, well, it's the mid -70s,
and we're more than a decade away from

DNA technology that could confirm
whether it belonged to Hoffa.

Days turn to weeks, and there's still no
sign of Jimmy.

In November of 1975, nearly four months
after the disappearance, investigators

catch a break.

Ralph Picardo, a mob -connected convict
serving time for murder, claims he knows

the truth of Hoffa's disappearance and
gives up the details to the feds in

exchange for a reduced sentence.

Ralph points the finger at the two
Tonys, saying they sent four wise guys

kidnap Hoffa from the Moccas Red Fox and
that they took him to a second location

where he was shot and killed.

Then, according to Picardo, the body was
packed into a 55 -gallon drum, loaded

on a truck, and driven to a mob
-controlled landfill in New Jersey,

buried.

However, several days of searching at
the dump turns up little more than toxic

waste and animal bones, likely discarded
from nearby meat processing plants.

In late 1975, a grand jury grills Tony
Pro, Tony Jack, and several of the other

alleged mob co -conspirators. But nobody
talks.

They all plead the fifth.

With scant evidence and no body, the
case of the missing union leader goes

colder than the Detroit River in
February.

In 1982, authorities declare Jimmy Hoffa
legally dead.

despite never in any way answering what
happened to him. The world is left

mystified as to his final fate. But
then, 19 years later, a game -changing

revelation will crack the case wide
open.

In 2001, 19 years after Jimmy Hoffa went
missing, a shocking discovery jolts the

case back into the national spotlight.

DNA testing confirms the hair found in
the car is Hoffa's. There's no longer

doubt. The infamous union boss was
inside that vehicle.

But where was he taken and what was done
to him?

For over two decades, mafia historian
Christian Cipollini has dug into the

-soaked theories surrounding what
happened to Hoffa and his body.

The Hoffa case fascinates me because
this is something that doesn't have

closure. It's like the JFK
assassination.

It's like the disappearance of Amelia
Earhart.

We want some answers.

One of the first major...

theory that really stuck in the American
psyche came to light when a former

mobster named Tony the Greek, he said
Hoffa was killed and then transported to

New Jersey and buried under the giant
stadium which they were building at the

time. The problem with that theory is
that the mafia likes to do things in a

practical way.

Keep it simple. What the mob Probably
didn't do was pack the body

of the most famous missing man in
America on a truck, taking it across

lines to bury it in such a extravagant
way.

Rumors swelled into an urban legend that
Jimmy Hoffa was buried in the stadium's

foundations. But when it was demolished
in 2010, no trace of him was found.

Which leads us to popular theory number
two, the Irishman. In 2003, Frank

Sheeran, a former Teamster official and
alleged mob hitman, is dying of cancer.

On his deathbed, he gives a jaw
-dropping confession to his lawyer.

He claims Hoffa was abducted and
murdered by the mob.

Sheeran says he was not only there that
day, but he was the one who actually

pulled the trigger.

Sheeran's confession becomes a best
-selling book.

later adapted into Martin Scorsese's
movie The Irishman, in which he's played

Robert De Niro.

Sheeran gives the exact address of a
house in Detroit where he claims Hoffa

murdered.

In 2004, investigators tear up the
floorboards, and they do discover blood.

Unfortunately, it's not a match for
Hoffa.

The only evidence of Frank Sheeran being
involved in the Hoffa hit and

disappearance were his own claims. And
his own story changed many times over

years. The Irishman theory is great pop
culture Americana, but it

doesn't rest on solid evidence.

So what really happened to Hoffa's body?
Why hasn't it been found?

Over the years... Dozens of theories
have been put forward, mostly by former

wise guys looking for 15 minutes of fame
and a quick buck.

One claims Hoffa was dumped in the
Florida Everglades. Another swears he

dropped out of an airplane into the
Great Lakes. Yet another says he buried

Hoffa beneath a swimming pool.

It's estimated the FBI has spent tens of
millions of dollars chasing bogus

leads. In 2022, they even reinvestigated
the dump in New Jersey. But once again,

they came up empty -handed.

50 years of searching for the body of
Jimmy Hoffa.

What they did right in this hit, we
assume, is they destroyed the body.

So if it is the mob, how did they make
Hoffa disappear permanently?

In 2025, it's revealed that the FBI
caught a major break when Detroit

Anthony Palazzolo, a .k .a. Tony Powell,
confesses to the hit.

saying he turned Hoffa into literal
mincemeat at his place of business, the

Detroit Sausage Company.

Supposedly, the remains are then
cremated at a mob -owned dump called

Sanitation, and Christian believes the
evidence was then further erased.

From the Moccas Red Fox to the Central
Sanitation is just a short drive.

This entire crime could have been
carried out in less than an hour.

A year or so later, central sanitation
burned to the ground, and you wouldn't

able to find any evidence, even if it
was there.

The key to pulling off this perfect
crime was leave no

body.

Run through a sausage grinder and
cremated not once, but twice.

Tony Powell's confession suggests a
logical and grisly conclusion to the

mystery. Jimmy Hoffa was a titan of his
age. But in death, his remains will

never be found. Because there's nothing
to find.

Hoffa's final resting place has gone up
in smoke.

Literally.

From a missing man who helped shape a
century.

to a missing object that shaped the last
two millennia. It's the year 33 AD,

just outside the city walls of
Jerusalem.

This group of men here, they're guests
at history's most famous dinner party.

That one there is Peter. And over in the
shadows, brooding and restless, Judas.

And then there's our host, Jesus of
Nazareth.

According to Christian scripture, by
this time tomorrow, Jesus will be

on a Roman cross, and the simple cup he
now lifts is about to become

Christendom's most sacred and most
controversial relic, the Holy Grail.

Many will come to believe the Grail
grants divine power or even eternal

but soon it will vanish. Will it be lost
forever, or will it end up hiding in

plain sight?

The story of the Grail is one of
mystery.

The Bible doesn't even provide a
physical description of it.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
written more than a half a century after

Jesus' death, refer simply to a cup.

The cup is used ceremonially to
represent Christ's sacrifice.

The scripture also has nothing to say
about where this cup went after the

fateful supper, nor any of the
subsequent claims of its magical

For centuries, it seems to have simply
vanished.

Then, in the Middle Ages, tales emerge
of the grail as an artifact imbued with

incredible power.

Mostly set in the mystical realm of King
Arthur, these are stories of heroic

knights and sacred mysteries.

Think of them as the Star Wars saga,
only set a long time ago in a castle far

far away.

But here's where things get really
interesting, because at the same time

get these medieval myths about the
chivalrous knights of the round table,

there's also a real -life group of God's
warriors, the Knights Templar, an order

of military monks, equal parts holy and
badass. They roam the Christian world

with one foot in the church and the
other on the battlefield.

After the First Crusade, they're charged
with protecting wealthy Christian

pilgrims on their travels to the Holy
Land.

The Templars' home base is in the heart
of Jerusalem, and it's said to contain

vast wealth and holy relics.

Rumors begin to spread.

Did they discover Jesus' chalice and
keep it for themselves?

If so, where did they put it?

The Holy Grail could be anywhere across
the vast Templar network, stretching

from England to Syria.

But in 1312, the Templars are forcibly
disbanded, without ever revealing if

did indeed get the Grail.

In the centuries that follow, the legend
and lore of Christ's cup only grows,

with many vessels emerging that people
claim are the real deal.

There's the silver Antioch chalice found
in the ruins of a church in Turkey.

The onyx chalice of Dona Arauca, housed
in a basilica in Spain.

And who could forget the Nantios cup, a
humble wooden bowl from a monastery in

Wales. At least that one looks like the
cup of a carpenter.

In fact, over 200 vessels across Europe
have at one time or another been

presented as the possible Holy Grail.
Most of them, well, let's just say they

don't hold water.

But a couple seem real enough to cause
even skeptical Grail seekers to take a

second look.

Behold the Sacro Cattino, a .k .a. the
Genoa Chalice. Sure, it looks like a

satellite dish from the Emerald City,
but according to the medieval chronicle

the Italian city of Genoa, crusaders
seized this mysterious green vessel

the capture of the biblical city of
Caesarea in the year 1101.

Now, according to the Chronicle, the
chalice is said to be crafted out of

emerald and is associated with the Last
Supper, fueling the belief that it could

possess extraordinary powers.

The cup even appears to glow from
within, radiating what some have said is

divine light. But can the Genoa chalice
be proven to be the true Holy Grail?

In the Middle Ages, the emerald Genoa
chalice is considered by many to be the

Holy Grail. In the 1800s, when Napoleon
annexes Genoa, the French emperor

personally demands that the prized
chalice is shipped to the Paris Academy

Sciences to verify its authenticity.

But while in transit from Genoa to
France, the cup fractures.

Upon examination, Parisian scientists
determined the dish is not an emerald at

all, but Byzantine glass.

That's a big problem, because this
particular style of glass was not in use

until hundreds of years after Jesus'
death.

And so it becomes another failed
contender in the enduring quest for the

Grail.

And as it turns out, Napoleon isn't the
only power -hungry authoritarian to seek

the Grail.

A century later, Adolf Hitler becomes
fascinated with the Grail and its

powers. His most lethal enforcer,
Heinrich Himmler, reportedly dispatches

Nazi SS on expeditions across Europe in
search of the relic.

For more on this, please see Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade.

And Indy's adventure is just one of many
modern spins on the Grail legend.

If you look around, Grail mythology is
everywhere in pop culture.

From Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, to Monty
Python, to gaming's Assassin's Creed

franchise.

To the faithful, the Holy Grail remains
not a thing of fiction, but a divine

relic that could still be found.

Despite centuries of pursuit, though, it
has remained elusive. But now,

professor of history and folklore Dr.
Lynn McNeil claims there may be

new evidence for the Grail's existence.

Within the context of Christianity, the
Grail is one of the most sacred

objects on this planet today.

And we're left wondering what happens if
we still have it, if it is

findable, if it exists, if it is extant
in the world. This would be magnificent.

Recent research is starting to show that
the Chalice of Valencia is the historic

cup of Christ.

This may be more than just a local
belief. This could actually be possible.

The Holy Chalice of Valencia, also known
as the Santo Caliz, has been protected

in the Cathedral of Valencia, Spain, for
the last 600 years.

Although details are spotty, it is
believed the chalice came from the Holy

to Rome with St. Peter in the 1st
century AD.

Later, in the 3rd century, St. Lawrence
brought the cup to his native Spain,

where it has been safeguarded for
centuries.

Since arriving in Valencia, religious
pilgrims have traveled from all around

world to glimpse what they believe to be
the one true cup.

But others are unconvinced. After all,
it's kind of hard to imagine Jesus would

use something this ornate.

But in 1960, a Spanish archaeologist
discovers this chalice is actually three

separate pieces.

He claims the sand of the cup comes from
the medieval period, while the base

dates to the 9th century.

But here's the kicker. The cup itself
was crafted between the 2nd century BC

the 1st century AD, and the agate stone
it's made from is only found in the Holy

Land. This cup really could date from
the time and place of Jesus.

The entire cup itself is not what Jesus
would have drank out of. Just that top

part, that simple stone cup, that would
be the grail. The rest of it, would be

casing placed around it. And this is a
common practice of putting sacred

in an intentionally ornate container to
show their importance through the way we

display them.

Another interesting element is the idea
that this cup would have needed to

meet certain ritual requirements.

A lot of people forget that the Last
Supper wasn't just any meal. It was a

Seder. It was a Passover meal.

Any cup used in the Passover meal needs
to hold a minimum amount of liquid.

And this particular cup is just the
right size to hold the

required two revits, is the Talmudic
measurement, that's needed to be held

wine. And this holds 2 .5.

holy chalice, that it's dated to the
right time period, that it is ritually

correct for a Passover dinner.

For believers, these elements really
just become the final proof that this

is, not just in our hearts, but in
history, the Holy Grail.

To many, this case is far from closed.

After all, the chalice has many gaps in
its history before arriving in Spain.

Like many religious mysteries, this
ultimately comes down to a question of

faith. The grail's significance lies in
what it represents to those who seek it,

whether that means it's a physical cup
or not.

I'll raise a glass to that.

Nearly 2 ,000 years after the grail
vanishes, another disappearance sends

shockwaves through history.

It's September 29th, 1913. I'm about to
board the SS Dresden, a British

passenger liner sailing from Belgium
bound for England.

Checking in behind me, a brilliant
engineer named Rudolf Diesel.

The very name powers the world, engine
and fuel alike.

And in his suitcase are revolutionary
design, ideas that could challenge

empires, rattle industries, and maybe
even get a man killed.

And sure enough, by dawn, Diesel will
disappear. For over 100 years,

will spin their wheels asking what
really happened to him. That is, until a

theory fuels the search for answers.

In the late 19th century, the

world is racing toward the future.

But its steam -powered engines are stuck
in the past, burning through coal,

guzzling water, and constantly breaking
down.

Enter Rudolf Diesel, a German engineer
with a mind like a finely -tuned

precise, relentless, and absolutely
obsessed with efficiency.

In 1897, he unveils his masterwork.

The engine that bears his name.

The diesel engine's innovation?

Compression ignition.

That means air inside the engine's
cylinder gets squeezed really hard until

pressure makes it white hot.

Then, fuel is injected and spontaneously
combusts, creating a massive amount of

power.

It's cheaper than steam, and best of
all, no more coal shoveling.

Diesel's prototype is fueled with peanut
oil.

Almost overnight, Diesel's engine
becomes an economic and industrial game

changer around the world.

Soon, Diesel achieves incredible wealth
and fame.

But success comes with serious
headaches.

Rivals want his secrets.

Powerful industries feel threatened.

The German government wants greater
control of their favored son.

And over the next decade, Diesel's
fortune slips away.

lost to bad investments, legal battles,
and his own lavish lifestyle.

By 1913, Europe is at a crossroads. The
storm clouds of World War I are

gathering. Desperate for cash to pay
down his debts, diesel makes a bold and

risky move, taking on a business partner
to open a diesel engine plant in

England. That's where he's headed on the
SS Dresden to cut the ribbon on his

brand -new English factory.

But with pre -war tensions rising
between Britain and Diesel's native

transferring cutting -edge technology is
a dangerous game.

The morning of September 30th, Diesel's
business partner expects to meet him for

breakfast.

When the famously punctual Diesel
doesn't show, his partner pays a visit

cabin.

Inside, Diesel's nightshirt lays neatly
atop the bed, which hasn't been slept

in. His gold watch, luggage, and his
wallet are in the room.

But neither Diesel nor the important
documents he's said to be traveling with

are anywhere to be found.

His diary is empty, save for the sign of
a cross penciled next to yesterday's

date. September 29th, the last time
anyone saw Rudolf Diesel.

Famous inventor Rudolf Diesel is on his
way to England on the SS Dresden when he

mysteriously vanishes.

The crew scours the decks for any sign
of the missing engineer.

At the stern of the ship, a curious
discovery.

Diesel's hat and jacket neatly folded
near the railing. The crew declares him

man overboard.

Almost immediately, news of Diesel's
disappearance makes international

headlines. And 11 days later, the story
takes a truly tragic turn.

Sailors aboard a Dutch steamer find a
body floating in the North Sea.

Given the state of decomposition, they
retrieve a few personal effects before

returning the dead man to a watery
grave.

Diesel's son later identifies a pillbox
and an eyeglasses case as belonging to

his father.

Diesel's family claims it must have been
an accident.

But the sea was calm that night, and the
Dresden's railings were too high for a

simple misstep.

If Diesel went overboard, it wasn't by
chance.

But could it have been by choice?

Perhaps Diesel's dire financial
situation prompted him to commit

For a man who revolutionized engines,
his bank account was running on fumes.

Before he set sail, he gave his wife a
sealed bag, instructing her not to open

it for a week.

After his presumed death, she looks
inside, finding documents revealing his

debt. and 20 ,000 marks, worth about
$120 ,000 today.

This final gesture would seem to frame
this as a suicide.

But is it?

Because here's the thing. No one who
knows Diesel believes he's capable of

-harm. Not his friends, not his family,
not his colleagues.

Yes, he was in debt, but he was also on
the verge of winning another fortune.

And for a man as meticulous as Diesel,
there was no note.

No will, just that enigmatic cross in
his diary. It all seems very out of

character. And then there's the missing
important documents Diesel was said to

be traveling with, which leads many to
believe that this isn't a suicide on the

high seas, but a maritime murder.

The approach of World War I makes the
Diesel mystery even murkier.

At the time, submarines are the hottest
thing in warfare, and Diesel's engine

could superpower them, making them
cheaper, faster, with more range, giving

whoever has Diesel's technology a deadly
advantage.

The Kaiser wants that tech locked down
in Germany. The government warns Diesel,

share it with foreign powers, and it's
treason.

But the engineer believes his invention
is for everyone, not just one military.

And there's more.

Diesel's journey has a double agenda.

Publicly, he was set to attend the
ribbon -cutting of his new factory, set

build engines for agricultural machines
and cargo ships.

But behind the scenes, he was meeting
with British military officials,

discussing how his engines, German
-designed engines, could power

British warships, including submarines.

Some believe German agents silenced
Diesel to keep his plans out of enemy

Possible, but as it turns out, the
Kaiser isn't the only one with the

means to do diesel in.

His engine doesn't just threaten
military power, it threatens big oil.

Unlike gasoline, diesel's engine runs on
peanut oil or coal tar, cheap fuels

that don't require massive oil empires.

Empires like that of the world's richest
man, J .D. Rockefeller, who has a

reputation for protecting his riches by
any means necessary.

As intriguing as the murder theory may
be, there is a glaring problem.

Not a shred of evidence has surfaced in
over a century to prove Diesel was

assassinated by the German government or
Big Oil, operations that would surely

have left witnesses and some sort of
paper trail. So if he wasn't murdered

he didn't commit suicide, then what
happened to Rudolf Diesel?

Could it be that he didn't die at all?

While Jimmy Hoffa vanished without a
trace, leaving only rumors of his fate,

other mob hits unfolded in broad
daylight designed to stun the public.

In 1957, Albert Anastasia, once head of
Murder, Inc., was gunned down in a New

York barbershop.

A towel over his face as bullets tore
him apart.

In 1979, Carmine Galante was murdered
mid -meal in Brooklyn, a cigar clenched

between his teeth.

Then, in 1985, Gambino boss Paul
Castellano was brazenly executed outside

Steakhouse in Manhattan, ambushed in the
street as crowds looked on.

These assassinations were more than
power plays.

They were spectacle.

Unlike Hoffa's vanishing act, they left
indelible, gruesome evidence, reminders

that the mafia often preferred its
messages written in blood.

Rudolf Diesel was one of the greatest
engineering minds our world has ever

known. Now, a bold new theory shakes up
everything we thought we knew about what

happened to him.

Author and historian Douglas Brunt
claims that there's a shocking truth

Diesel's disappearance, something you'd
never expect.

Rudolf Diesel is the most
underappreciated inventor of his time.

sort of liberal approach to the sharing
of information around the technology.

and Diesel abhorred the nationalism and
the more aggressive foreign policy of

the Germans.

There was also evidence that he had very
high contact with the British Royal

Navy, which was at that time run by
Winston Churchill.

And so the most likely conclusion of the
Diesel mystery, looking at all the

evidence, is that he did not slip and
fall overboard, he did not commit

he was not murdered, but with the
assistance of British naval

staged his own disappearance.

Brunt believes the British government
orchestrated one of history's greatest

cover -ups, faking Rudolf Diesel's death
to secretly harness his genius while

protecting him from deadly German
retribution.

My belief is that Rudolf Diesel got on
the Dresden and then got right back

off.

And then the Dresden left without him.

This is supported by the steward's cabin
list saying he was not aboard when the

Dresden set sail.

In the very first days after Diesel's
disappearance, the mysterious details of

his financial position start to show up
in the media to try to get the suicide

theory some traction.

They wanted to get it to look like
Diesel was sad and depressed and

bankrupt. It would be very easy to plant
those kinds of stories and get it

printed. Spinning a tale of Diesel's
despair may have fueled the suicide

but what about the body found at sea,
the one bearing his belongings, yet

strangely never recovered for autopsy?

It's possible there may have been a
corpse as part of this deception.

Perhaps British intelligence felt they
needed to float a corpse out there, some

happenstance steamer would come upon.

But then, strangely, there are no
interviews with the fishermen on record.

There's no record of their names.

And they return the corpse to the water,
which is not the custom of the day.

Okay, so we've got young Winston
Churchill and the British Royal Navy

a plan to drop a dead body into the
ocean, one that isn't diesel, to mislead

German government.

Sounds a little out there, but what if I
told you that Churchill pulled exactly

the same stunt 30 years later during
World War II in something known as

Operation Mincemeat?

Operation Mincemeat was a World War II
deception operation using a corpse.

They handcuffed a briefcase with fake
battle plans to a corpse and floated it

into the coast of Spain where they knew
Nazi agents would find it.

And Hitler took the bait. He thought we
were going one way, we went the other.

could be a precursor to Operation
Mincemeat.

And then there's the bizarrely
exceptional performance of the

British Navy in the war.

And they're all diesel -powered.

So it seems like diesel might actually
have been alive in the service of

Churchill's Royal Navy building
submarine diesels in Canada for the war

There's an interesting final twist to
this theory. In 1914, a newspaper ran a

story claiming Rudolf Diesel was alive
and living in Canada. Maybe the story

a hoax, or maybe British intelligence
had it buried.

Coincidentally, around that time,
Vickers Shipyard in Montreal suddenly

much more successful at churning out
diesel engines for submarines.

Today, a century after his
disappearance, Rudolph Diesel's engines

running all over the world, proving, if
nothing else, his legacy is alive and

well. I'm Josh Gates, and I'll see you
on the next expedition.