All language subtitles for Historys.Greatest.Machines.with.Dolph.Lundgren.S01E02.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

[serious music]

[machinery whirring]

- When a mission
seems impossible,

you call on elite
warriors, special ops teams

that often need advanced
tech to get the job done.

Because when mission
failure's not an option,

these machines make
all the difference.

[intense music]

Tonight: a plane that transforms

to a helicopter mid-flight.

- Onboard computers
have to seamlessly

manage helicopter
mode, airplane mode,

and the critical
transition between the two.

- Plus: a surveillance drone

that fits in the
palm of your hand.

- It's basically this
tiny flying spy camera

that solves this
massive problem.

- How about a SEAL team
sub that's so stealthy,

all of its missions
are classified?

- Intelligence reports suggest

that SEALs used early SDVs
on reconnaissance missions.

Now what were those exactly?

[rifle clicking]

- And a long range rifle that
sounds as quiet as a whisper.

- It's as if they have no idea

that someone's shooting a
rifle right over their heads.

- I'm Dolph Lundgren.

On screen I'm all
about the action,

but off screen, I have
degrees in engineering.

I even studied at MIT.

I learned that machines
and the people behind them

can transform the world.

Join me as I explore the
gears, grit, and genius

behind history's
greatest machines.

[machinery whirring]

[subdued music]

When SEAL Team Six is
tasked with a mission

to take out America's
number-one enemy,

they need a machine so
advanced and so secret

almost nobody knows it exists.

Even inside the Pentagon.

- [Andrew] The spring of 2011,

U.S. intelligence
believes they have tracked

the architect of
9/11, Osama bin Laden,

to a compound outside
of Abottabad, Pakistan.

The plan is for a
detachment of Navy SEALs

to fly 160 miles into Pakistan

to hit a target
in a military town

crawling with Pakistani forces.

[serious music]

- [Jason] American forces need

to get past Pakistani radar
completely undetected,

otherwise Pakistani
military forces

may scramble fighter jets

to start shooting
at the helicopters

not knowing who's in them.

- The challenge is
they haven't informed

the Pakistani authorities
about the mission

because even though
they're allies in this,

they're worried
there could be a leak

and if Bin Laden
finds out, he'll run.

- [Dolph] The night of May 2nd,

two mystery helicopters slice
into Pakistan low and fast,

carrying 24 Navy
SEALs on a mission.

- Everything's going
according to plan.

No radar warnings, no alerts
to the Pakistani authorities.

They reach the compound.
It's like they're invisible.

- The helicopters hover silently

and the SEALs infiltrate the
compound expecting a gunfight.

They find Bin Laden, the
world's most wanted terrorist,

hiding on the third floor.

- In 38 minutes, the
operation is over.

Osama bin Laden is dead,

but as they evacuate, one

of the two helicopters

clips the compound
wall and crashes.

- This could have been a
disaster, but the SEALs adapt.

They squeeze into the
remaining helicopter together

and they blow up
the other helicopter

to hide whatever's
special about it.

- [Dolph] Hours later, President
Obama addresses the world.

- The United States has
conducted an operation

that killed Osama bin Laden,
the leader of Al-Qaeda.

- [Dolph] But as news breaks

and photos emerge
from the compound,

aviation experts notice
something very strange

in the wreckage.

- Turns out the SEAL team
was unable to completely

destroy the helicopter
with their explosives.

Now the world gets
an inside look

at secret U.S.
military technology.

- As the pictures
are made public,

regular people just see
a downed helicopter,

but aviation enthusiasts
see something different.

They recognize that the
tail section of the aircraft

doesn't look like
anything that exists

in the American
military inventory

or any other military inventory
anywhere in the world.

- [Austin] You've got this
angular, faceted tail rotor hub

that looks like it's
from a stealth fighter.

The rotor blades have
a strange design.

This is the wreckage from a
helicopter that doesn't exist.

- [Dolph] Soon enough,
expert eyes see the images

to decode the secret.

Guess what? The U.S. now
has stealth helicopters.

- The pictures show that
this is not just a Black Hawk

with some minor modifications.

It's a completely
redesigned aircraft.

[intense music]

- [Dolph] Aviation experts
give it an unofficial name.

The Stealth Black Hawk.

It's classified,
but, best guess,

it's roughly the size
of a normal Black Hawk.

How does a machine
that's so loud

with so many moving
parts disappear?

It starts with these
flat angular panels

that make it nearly
invisible to enemy radar.

- [MJ] And this is how radar
works.

Waves are sent out
towards an object

and the object itself

bounces those waves
back to the receiver.

It's like shouting into a canyon
and hearing your own echo.

But if you angle those
surfaces just right,

you can bounce that echo in a
totally different direction.

The signal never makes it
back to the radar dish.

- Those weird angular surfaces

are also covered in
radar-absorbing materials.

Basically, a high-tech coating

that soaks up radar
waves like a sponge.

- The rotor system is
completely redesigned too.

These rotors have swept tips

and special blade shapes that
break up the radar signature.

- Even the rotor hub is shrouded

in that angular housing.

On a regular Black Hawk,

that hub spins like a disco
ball on a radar screen.

This stealth version
hides it completely

behind those faceted panels.

- Sound suppression is another
big piece of the puzzle.

Regular Black Hawks announce
themselves from miles away.

With that distinctive
[imitates Black Hawk] sound.

Now the stealth version
has modified rotors

and sound dampening that
make it whisper quiet.

All the assumed tech is amazing,

but what's really impressive
is how they're able

to keep this program secret
for probably over a decade.

Building stealth helicopters
require serious money,

serious facilities,
and serious security.

-[David] If you ask anyone
in the military

about the stealth Black
Hawk, all you'll get is...

- Intelligence
analysts speculate

that there are only a handful

of these aircraft in existence.

Maybe 6, maybe 12.

No one outside the black
budget world knows for sure.

- [Andrew] Think about what
this airframe could do.

It could deliver special
forces into North Korea.

It could extract intelligence
assets out of Iran.

It could do it without
ever being caught

or ever being detected.

With an aircraft like this

you could be anywhere in
the world you wanna be

without anyone knowing
you are even there.

-[Austin] It's the ultimate
ghost aircraft.

- Stealth missions
don't always happen

on land or in the air.

Sometimes soldiers need a way
to reach the enemy underwater,

quietly, and in secret.

[serious music]

- [John] The Navy SEALs got
their start during World War II

as underwater demolition teams.

These were frog men

who eliminated beach obstacles
for amphibious operations.

By the 1960s, President
Kennedy turns them

into the elite unit that
we know them as today.

- [Jason] SEAL stands for
sea, air, and land.

They're trained to operate
in all three environments,

but their roots are in the water

and that's where their most
secretive missions take place.

- [Dolph] During the
Cold War, the Navy wants

to sneak SEALs
into Soviet harbors

to spy on nuclear submarines.

They need to understand up
close how these subs operate

so they can track
them and stop them

if a nuclear war breaks out.

It's a critical mission,

but getting the SEALs
in is a problem.

- [Jason] SEALs usually
infiltrate from submarines

out in the water
when they need to get to land.

Traditional submarines
are huge, over 1,500 tons.

They can't operate in water
shallower than 60 feet

or they'll be sitting ducks.

- In most coastlines
around the world

shallow depths extend
for miles offshore

making it very difficult
to insert your team.

- [Jason] Swimming from a
submarine miles away from shore

isn't always the best
option For the SEALs,

they would be exhausted.

Plus, they're limited
on the amount of gear

and explosives they can
carry when swimming that far.

- [Dolph] The Navy
needs something small,

something that can
slip past enemy sonar.

[intense music]

In 1972, they roll out

the Mark VII SEAL Delivery
Vehicle or SDV for short,

a 22-foot mini sub
that carries four SEALs

straight to the target
underwater, undetected.

- Picture this.

It's basically a tiny submarine
that's exposed to the water.

The SEALs inside are
wearing scuba gear,

breathing compressed air

as they ride this thing
into enemy waters.

- [Tony] The SDV is flooded with
water

because if you wanted a
pressurized submarine,

it would have to be a lot bigger

and that negates the purpose

of trying to get
in close to land.

- [Jason] Plus, with the
flooded compartment,

SEALs can slip in
and out of the water

without requiring complex
airlocks or chambers.

- [Greg] It's like James
Bond's underwater car

from "The Spy Who Loved Me,"

except this is a convertible,

no roof, no windows,

just you and your fellow
SEALs cruising along

at about 20 feet
beneath the surface.

[subdued music]

- [Dolph] That means enemy
harbors, shallow beaches,

places where full-size
subs can't reach.

- [Tony] The SDV weighs
about 3,000 pounds

and it can be launched from
traditional submarines.

In the U.S. Navy
we launched them

from our fast attack submarines

or our guided missile
submarines.

In fact, most guided
missile submarines

carry two SDVs at once.

- [Greg] This thing's powered
by a small electric motor

and a battery pack.

It cruises at about
seven miles per hour.

- [John] The machine can
travel way farther

than any diver can swim,

carrying a SEAL team and
all of their equipment

and remaining completely
invisible to the enemy

while carrying out
their operation.

It's the perfect
infiltration vehicle.

- [Dolph] After they
launched the SDVs,

the SEALs pilot them
to the target area,

park on the ocean floor,

and wait for the perfect
moment to strike.

- [Jason] They ditch the sub and
swim the final distance to shore

counting fin kicks to
track their distance

so they can find the
sub after the mission.

- [Greg] Intelligence reports
suggest

that SEALs used early SDVs
on reconnaissance missions.

Now what were those
exactly? What did they do?

That's still classified.

- [Dolph] When the military
won't declassify missions

from decades ago, it
usually means one thing:

they worked and they don't want
anyone copying the machine.

So the Navy keeps
improving the SDV,

making it even more invisible.

- [John] The Mark VIII arrives
in the early 1980s

and it has longer range, more
power, and better reliability,

and it carries six
SEALs instead of four.

- [Jason] The Mark VIII is still
the SEAL's preferred choice

for underwater operations today.

It's been used in hundreds
of successful missions

over the last four decades.

The Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq,

and every one of those
missions remains classified.

- We'll probably never know

what these subs have
actually accomplished,

but we know it all starts
with the Mark VII SDV.

- The mission sounds
simple. It's not.

Create the machine that will
deliver your strike team

to any target on any terrain.

To do that, you have to
invent something new.

An aircraft that's
fast, can fly far,

and is able to land anywhere.

[serious music]

- [Austin] By the 1980s,
the U.S. military

is facing a serious issue
with troop transport.

- [Natalia] The Iran Hostage
rescue mission

really drives the
transportation situation home.

Operation Eagle Claw
is supposed to be

America's most daring
special ops rescue mission.

Send Delta Forces using
helicopters deep into Iran

to rescue 52 hostages.

[helicopter buffeting]

- [Austin] The plan requires
flying helicopters

over hundreds of miles
of Iranian desert,

staging at a secret
refueling area,

and continuing onto the target.

- [David] But the helicopters
are too slow

and they don't
have enough range.

Mechanical failures
start happening,

sandstorms blind the pilots,

and the whole thing
begins to fall apart.

- [Hakeem] The mission ends in
disaster at a refueling site

when a helicopter collides

with a troop transport plane
killing eight servicemen.

The remaining forces have to
abandon the mission and retreat

and American hostages
remain in captivity

for 444 days.

- [Dolph] One year later,

the Pentagon wants
something better.

An aircraft that takes
off like a helicopter

but flies twice as fast.

Sounds like science fiction
but special forces need it now.

- [Hakeem] The Pentagon is so
desperate for this technology,

they're willing to
bet everything on it.

We're talking about a
$60 billion investment.

That makes this one

of the most expensive
development efforts

in military aircraft history.

[intense music]

- [Dolph] So what does
$60 billion buy you?

A machine in a class
of its own, the Osprey.

It takes off and hovers
like a helicopter

and transforms midair
into a fast plane.

- The Osprey stands 22 feet
tall with a wingspan of 84 feet,

and at the end of those
wingspans are 2 38-foot rotors

that power the plane from
vertical to horizontal flight.

- [Kavitha] The Osprey can
transition between modes

in just 12 seconds.

Its rotors can go from
vertical to horizontal

while it's flying.

That's never been done before.

- [Dolph] The cargo Bay
holds 24 combat troops,

Jeeps, artillery, even
a Humvee on a sling.

And unlike a helicopter,

it delivers that payload
at twice the speed

and three times the range.

But flying one is not
for the faint of heart.

- Because pilots have to manage

two completely
different regimes,

onboard computers have to

seamlessly manage
helicopter mode,

airplane mode, and the critical
transition between the two.

- [David] The cockpit's
designed for two pilots

because flying this thing

requires some
serious coordination.

You're managing a machine

that's constantly changing

its fundamental flight
characteristics.

- [Dolph] With a
system this complex,

problems are inevitable,

and before the Osprey can be
deployed it faces setbacks.

[serious music]

-[Hakeem] April 8th, 2000,

an Osprey crashes on a night
training mission in Arizona,

killing all 19 Marines on board.

It's a catastrophic failure

that sends shock waves through
the Pentagon and Congress.

- Eight months later,

another Osprey goes
down in North Carolina

killing four more Marines

and suddenly everyone's asking
if this machine is cursed.

- [Hakeem] The media dubs it
"the widow maker".

Congressional hearings question

whether the entire program
should be scrapped.

After two decades and
billions of dollars

the Osprey is
fighting for its life.

- The military grounds the
entire fleet for months

while aviation experts scramble

to fix the software
that controls flight

and to figure out new rules
for how pilots can fly it.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] September, 2007,

after 26 years of
development and testing,

the Osprey's finally
cleared for combat in Iraq.

Time to see what this
machine can really do.

- The first combat deployments

are nerve wracking
for everyone involved.

This aircraft has had a
troubled development history

and now it's carrying real
Marines into real battle zones.

-[Austin] In Iraq and
Afghanistan,

the Osprey performs
spectacularly.

It's doing jobs

that would take helicopters
hours in minutes.

It's flying at
altitudes and speeds

over desert and mountains

that a conventional helicopter
just cannot perform.

- [Dolph] And then the Osprey
really shows what it can do.

- One of the Osprey's most
famous missions comes in 2011

during the Libya intervention.

An F-15 is shot down
and Major Kenneth Harney

is stranded near Benghazi.

- [Natalia] This is an extremely
volatile civil war in Libya

that Major Harney has
parachuted into the middle of.

He has no idea if the locals
are pro-American or not.

If he's found, this
could get ugly.

- [Austin] The pilot is stranded
about 150 miles inland

from the nearest U.S. ship.

That distance is far too great

for a traditional helicopter
to fly out, loiter,

conduct a
search-and-rescue mission

and fly back again safely.

[serious music]

- [David] But the Osprey can
make that flight.

It launches from the USS
Kearsarge in the Mediterranean

with a Marine rescue team.

- [Dolph] The Osprey flies the
first leg in airplane mode,

fast and far.

Then as it approaches the
crash site, the rotors tilt up.

Now it's a helicopter in
precision rescue mode.

- The Osprey swoops in,

hovers just long enough for
the Marines to rescue 'em,

then it switches back
in the airplane mode

and hightails it
back to the coast.

- Total mission time?
Under three hours.

- In 1943, world War
II is in full swing

and American forces are island
hopping across the Pacific.

Problem is the Japanese have
turned islands into fortresses

with tunnels and cave systems

that make each
landing a nightmare.

The Marines need
something to clear the way

and they get a game changer.

[grim music]

- [Greg] With a dug-in enemy you
can't use traditional weapons.

You can fire a machine
gun all day long

and it's just gonna
ricochet right off.

You've gotta get in close,

but chances are if you do that,

you're gonna get
yourself killed.

- [Dolph] The Allies turn to
an updated version

of the World War I
weapon, the flamethrower

- Germans pioneered portable
flamethrowers in World War I,

using them to clear Allied
trenches on the Western Front,

but those early versions

were massive,
unreliable contraptions

and made their
operators easy targets.

- The United States
military realizes

it needs its own
flamethrower capability

and they develop what is
called the M1 flamethrower,

but it has a lot of
teething problems.

- The M1's biggest flaw is
its fuel delivery system.

It uses gas mixed with oil,

but the pressure is so weak

that half the time you
get this pitiful dribble

instead of a proper
flame stream.

In that 25-foot range, well,
you might as well just get up

and knock on the bunker door.

- In addition, the
M1 has this clunky

and overly complicated
ignition system

that takes multiple
steps in order to light.

That takes time and it's time
that the soldiers don't have.

- [Greg] By 1943, the U.S.
military scraps the M1.

There are just way too
many Marines getting killed

using a machine
that barely works.

- [Dolph] The Marines need
something more reliable

that hits harder.

[intense music]

The solution? the
M2 flamethrower.

Where the M1 barely
hits 25 feet,

this one blasts
150 feet of fire.

That's six times the range

- At 150 feet, Marines are
much safer from enemy fire.

This allows them to
hit enemy bunkers

without being sitting ducks.

-[Greg] It works on a
simple principle.

Pressurized napalm gets
shot through the nozzle

and it ignites.

-[David] Napalm is essentially
gasoline

with a thickening agent put in,

and what it does is
it turns the gasoline

into more of a jelly.

And when the jelly is fired,

not only can it be
fired at longer ranges,

it also has more accuracy.

But when it hits, it sticks.

- [Greg] The M2 weighs 68 pounds
and it has shoulder straps.

It's basically a backpack
designed to be worn

by exactly one Marine
who's going to operate it.

- [Dolph] In 1944, the
M2 makes its combat debut

in Guam and dominates.

Then it proves itself
island by island

in Saipan, Tinian,
in the Philippines.

But its most important
mission is yet to come.

[subdued music]
[fighters buzz]

- In 1945, the American
forces are gonna come up

against one of the
toughest nuts to crack

in the entire Pacific Theater.

That's the island of Iwo Jima.

- [Dolph] Iwo Jima is critical

because the Allies want to
establish an air base there

to aid bombers striking Japan.

But the Japanese have 21,000 men

who are dug in on this
incredibly mountainous island.

- [Jason] The Japanese have
built pill boxes,

concrete bunkers with
small firing slits.

Machine gunners inside can
mow down attacking Marines

while staying almost completely
protected from return fire.

- [John] That's where Corporal
Hershel "Woody" Williams,

a 21-year-old Marine
corporal from West Virginia,

comes onto the scene.

He shows just how effective
an M2 flamethrower can be.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] February 23rd, 1945,
Corporal Williams volunteers

for one of the most
dangerous jobs in Iwo Jima,

taking out a series of
seven Japanese pill boxes

that are pinning
down his entire unit.

- [Greg] Williams straps on
his M2 flamethrower

and moves out with four
Marines providing cover.

They're going into a battle

where Marines have
been at it for hours

fighting with the Japanese
who are firing at them

from positions that
they can't even see.

They don't even know where
the bullets are coming from.

- [John] The first pill box
Williams approaches

looks just like another
piece of volcanic rock,

but he looks closely

and he sees a machine gun barrel

sticking out of a small slit

no greater than six inches wide.

- Williams crawls to within
75 feet of the position.

As he does, Japanese
fire's coming in at him.

Bullets are ricocheting
off of his flamethrower.

All it takes is one
of those bullets

to hit the wrong place
at the right time,

and he becomes a human fireball.

[subdued music]

-[Dolph] Corporal Williams
aims the M2 flamethrower

at the firing slit
and pulls the trigger.

A stream of burning napalm
shoots into the bunker

and the machine guns go silent.

One down, six to go.

- For the next four hours
Williams systematically

takes out Japanese
position after position,

all the while running back
to refuel this flamethrower,

and then going back into action.

-[Dolph] By the end of the day,
Williams and his M2 flamethrower

have single handedly decimated
all seven enemy pill boxes

and broken the Japanese
defensive line.

[subdued music]

- [Greg] Williams receives
the Medal of Honor

for his actions at Iwo Jima.

He's one of 27 Marines

so honored in this
incredible gruesome battle.

-[Jason] But Williams wasn't
alone.

The Marines deployed
over 100 M2 flamethrowers

during the Iwo Jima campaign

and stories like this were
happening all across the island.

- [David] By the end of the war,
the M2 proves itself.

Over 14,000 of these
units are produced

and now they become
standard issue

in all Marine
assault battalions.

- Imagine a rifle that
can strike without warning

from more than a mile away.

It turns a single soldier
into a one-man army.

Today's sniper rifle,
it's an incredible weapon,

but little known fact,

the first one used in combat

dates all the way back to
the American Civil War.

[serious music]
[text thudding]

- May 9th, 1864, Major
General John Sedgwick

is standing in the crosshairs

of a rifle that shouldn't exist.

- General Sedgwick is
about a thousand yards away

from Confederate positions

during the Battle of
Spotsylvania Courthouse.

His men are ducking for cover

because they're under accurate
Confederate rifle fire.

- [Greg] Sedgwick is
utterly unconcerned.

He knows that the Confederate
firearms are, at best,

accurate up to 400 yards.

He is a thousand yards out,

so it's perfectly logical.

In his mind, he's
completely safe.

- [Jason] The general wants
to show his troops

that they're being
overly cautious.

So he stands up points
toward the Confederate lines

and shouts, "They
couldn't hit an elephant

at this distance."

- Those become his last words.

Seconds later, a bullet strikes
him beneath his left eye

[gunshot cracks]

and he falls dead instantly.

The Union Army is stunned.

They've never seen
someone shot by a rifle

at such a great distance before.

How could this happen?

[serious music]
[text thudding]

- [Dolph] To understand
how General Sedgwick dies,

we need to rewind a few
years back to 1850s Britain,

where engineer Sir
Joseph Whitworth

is about to make the
impossible shot possible.

- The standard rifle
musket at the time period

is the 1853 Enfield.

The '53 Enfield is reliable

and accurate out to
ranges of about 600 yards.

Beyond that, you are
shooting toward a target

and hoping you'll
connect with it.

- The Crimean War really
exposes these limitations.

The British Army finds
himself completely outgunned

by enemy artillery.

The War Department realizes
that they need something

that can eliminate targets
from long distance.

- [Dolph] Whitworth
is commissioned

by the British War Department

to create a rifle
that can shoot farther

and more accurately than
anything in existence.

- Whitworth is a perfectionist.

When the government asks him
to design a better rifle,

he doesn't just improve
the existing design,

he creates something
altogether new.

[intense music]

- [Dolph] He creates
the Whitworth rifle.

It looks like any
other rifle of the era,

but hidden inside the barrel

is a revolutionary design
that makes it deadly accurate.

- Most rifles have round
barrels with spiral grooves

that spin the bullet as it
passes through the barrel.

Think of it like throwing
a football with a spiral.

The tighter the spin, the
straighter the bullet flies.

- Whitworth takes this
concept and supercharges it.

He creates a hexagonal
barrel with a faster twist.

- [Dolph] This faster
twist makes the bullet spin

twice as fast as the standard
Enfield, keeping it on target.

- To match the barrel,

he also designs these
special hexagonal bullets.

The bullet fits the
barrel perfectly,

creating an airtight seal.

So when the gun is fired
and the bullet spins,

it's locked in tight
with zero wobble,

meaning the bullet
flies much further

and with pinpoint accuracy.

- [Dolph] Whitworth
doesn't stop there.

He also adds a telescopic
scope for even more accuracy.

- A few hunters
and target shooters

have experimented
with putting a scope

and a firearm together, but
Whitworth is the first one

to do this with
a military rifle.

- [MJ] We're talking about 3X
magnification in 1857.

And we need to remember
that during this time,

99% of soldiers had
basic iron sights

with no magnification at all.

With that 3X scope, it
allowed them to zoom in,

see greater detail,

and pick their target before
squeezing the trigger.

- The standard military
rifle, the Enfield,

has an effective range
of around 600 yards.

The Whitworth is effective
to over 1,000 yards.

- This isn't just a minor
improvement in technology.

This is a quantum leap.

- [MJ] Here's the problem:
It's expensive.

It costs about four times
more to manufacture it

than the Enfield rifle.

So the British look
at the price tag

and they say, "Thanks,
but no thanks."

[serious music]
[text thudding]

- [Dolph] But across the
Atlantic, the American Civil War

is about to give
this rifle its shot.

- [Austin] Confederate agents
break the Union blockade

and they bring the Whitworths
to the United States.

- [Martin] The Confederate Army
recognizes individuals

who demonstrate proficiency
with rifle marksmanship

and then present that
individual with the Whitworth,

and this had the effect

of creating the
world's first snipers.

- [Dolph] Then, the
Whitworth rifle claims

its most famous victim.

- [Greg] Major General Sedgwick

becomes one of the
highest ranking officers

who's killed in the
entire Civil War.

- The Whitworth rifle proves

that a new kind of soldier
armed with a new kind of rifle

can change the
outcome of a battle.

- [Austin] The Whitworth rifle
establishes the template

for every sniper
rifle to follow.

Today's Navy SEALs

and special operations snipers

owe their legacy to those
original Confederate marksmen.

[serious music]

- During World War
II, British commandos

penetrate deep into
Nazi-controlled Europe.

Their mission: eliminate
targets quietly

without blowing their cover.

For that, they need
something special.

[intense music]

- [Martin] By 1942, the
circumstances

of the Second
World War

have changed the way that the
British approach the fighting.

There are vast
occupied territories

and the British are beginning

to send commandos in
behind enemy lines

into these occupied territories

to function as
special operators.

-[Andrew] British SOEs, Special
Operation Executive agents,

are undercover and
behind enemy lines.

They're running raids
deep in Nazi territory.

- [John] These aren't regular
battlefield engagements

where noise doesn't matter.

These guys have to blend in,

move silently,
eliminate opposition

without anyone knowing
that they were there.

In that situation, even
the slightest noise

could result in an entire
resistance cell being wiped out.

[gunshot cracks]

- [Greg] Traditional rifles
are loud, really loud.

A Lee Enfield rifle
sounds like a cannon.

So if you're looking to
assassinate a Nazi officer

without waking the sentry
or the entire garrison,

you need a different weapon.

[gunshot pips]

-[John] The problem is, silenced
weapons barely exist in 1942.

The British have
the Welrod pistol,

but that's only effective
really at point blank range.

There are also crude
silent STEN guns.

The problem is
they're unreliable

and they're not
particularly quiet.

What special
operations really needs

is a proper silenced rifle
that can kill from a distance.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] Enter
William De Lisle,

a British engineer who's
been perfecting silencers

since he was a kid.

- [Martin] Earlier in life,

De Lisle is providing
food for the family table.

He's hunting, but he's
doing this on private land

where he's not
supposed to be hunting,

and that leads him then

rather than being
discouraged from doing this,

he thinks, "Well, I should
just figure out a way

to get the gun quiet so that
I will not attract attention."

-[Greg] De Lisle discovers
that when you fire a gun,

it makes a massive burst of gas,

and that burst is what
creates the sound.

So he realizes that by
putting a tin over it,

say a cocoa tin, you
can dampen the sound

as that gas has the
chance to cool off

before it really escapes.

Basically, it's the difference

between the sound you would
get in popping a balloon

versus letting the
air out slowly.

- He uses trial and error
in different tin sizes

until he lands on the
perfect combination.

[soldiers clamor]

- [Dolph] Fast forward
25 years to World War II.

De Lisle takes those
cocoa tin experiments

and builds a new
category of gun,

[intense music]

the De Lisle Commando Carbine.

He strips down a
Lee Enfield rifle

and rebuilds the
entire firing system

around one concept: silence.

- The real innovation is
the integrated suppressor.

It's not just attached to
the barrel. It is the barrel.

Basically, half of this rifle
is just one massive silencer.

[serious music]

- [Jason] Most silencers in 1942

are just simple metal tubes
with holes punched in them.

De Lisle's giant
integrated silencer

has 13 specially
designed chambers.

These slow down and cool
gases before they escape,

reducing the noise.

- De Lisle even
adds dampening pads

so that the rear travel of
the bolt as you cycle it

will not produce
a clacking sound.

That's often the loudest sound

that you get when
you fire a rifle.

Those dampening pads will
make the weapon even quieter.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] The De Lisle is
accurate out to 400 yards,

perfect for taking out
sentries from cover.

It holds seven rounds in
the detachable magazine,

which means quick reloads,

critical when you are
operating behind enemy lines.

- [John] De Lisle builds a
prototype

and brings it to Major
Malcolm Campbell,

who oversees all
commando operations

across British
military branches.

And Campbell is immediately
intrigued by this silent rifle.

- [Greg] But Campbell wants
proof that this actually works,

so he comes up with one of
the most ridiculous ideas

for testing a weapon
that you could imagine.

He decides that they're going

to fire the rifle from
a rooftop in London

into the Thames River and
just see if Londoners notice.

[subdued music]

- [Andrew] Picture this,
it's wartime London

and people are jumpy because
of air raids and sirens.

And here are these guys at the
top of the Adelphi building,

taking target practice
into the Thames.

I mean, this is something
out of a spy comedy.

- They fire multiple
shots into the river

while watching pedestrians
and boat traffic below.

Nobody looks up.
Nobody seems alarmed.

It's as if they have no idea

that someone's shooting a
rifle right over their heads.

- The Thames test
proves the De Lisle

is both accurate and
virtually silent.

Campbell immediately sees

the potential for
special operations.

He pushes for development for
commandos and secret agents.

[intense music]

- [Dolph] Most De Lisle missions

remain classified even today,

but its influence

on future silencer
technology is undeniable.

- What De Lisle achieves in 1942

is a silent sentry
suppression weapon,

and he sets the tone

for what special operations
forces will be doing

for decades to come
into the future.

- If a strike force doesn't know
how many enemies they're facing

or what kinda weapons
they're packing,

they're going in blind.

What if one tiny machine

could give the teams
the intel they need

without the enemy ever knowing?

[subdued music]

- [Don] It's the late 2000s
and U.S., British,

and NATO special
forces are facing

a completely new kind of
warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They are up against an enemy

that has mastered
asymmetric warfare.

- [Andrew] Asymmetric warfare is
basically David and Goliath.

The smaller, less
powerful opponent

uses things like trickery,
speed, and creativity

to outperform their
larger, more powerful foe.

Taliban fighters
plant roadside bombs

and then disappear into
the crowd untraceable.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] For U.S.
and allied forces,

the urban environment
makes everything harder.

No open desert, just dense
cities, narrow alleyways,

and compounds with thick walls.

- Helicopters and satellites
are basically useless here.

You're not going to
call in an airstrike

on a guy who is now blending
in into a busy marketplace.

- Traditional recon is either
too slow or too obvious.

Satellites take
hours to reposition,

and if you fly in a helicopter,

everybody knows you're there.

- [Kavitha] Big surveillance
drones like the Predator

are flying at 25,000 feet
and they're too removed

from the action in
urban environments.

You need to be able

to see inside buildings
and around corners.

[serious music]

- [Don] Even smaller drones,

like the ones that
drone hobbyists fly,

are still too big and loud
for close-quarter recon.

Special ops teams
either get made

or they go in blind with no idea

if they're facing three
guys with AK-47s or 30.

- [Andrew] To effectively
fight fire with fire

special forces need a machine

that's small, maneuverable,
and can disappear

without enemy forces
knowing it was even there.

[intense music]

- [Dolph] Enter the
Black Hornet Nano Drone,

a six-inch recon machine that
fits in the palm of your hand.

It's so small that it weighs
less than four quarters.

- It's basically this
tiny flying spy camera

that solves this
massive problem.

- [Jason] Previous drones
weighed up to 40 pounds.

The Black Hornet? A
hundred times lighter.

You can toss a bunch of
these things in your gear

and carry them anywhere.

[subdued music]

- [Dolph] What makes this
little machine so lethal

isn't just its size,

it's what you can't hear coming.

- Engineers create
an electric motor

that's whisper quiet
compared to gasoline motors.

There's no combustion,
no exhaust,

just little electric motors

humming no louder
than a mosquito.

- The rotor blades
are specially shaped

to slice through the air

without that telltale
wop-wop sound

you get from large helicopters.

- The Black Hornet's
noise signature

is rated best-in-class.

It could hover 10
feet away from you

and you won't hear a thing.

[subdued music]

- [Dolph] For reconnaissance,

the Black Hornet
packs three cameras

concealed within its nose,

one straight ahead,
one pointing down,

and one angled at 45 degrees.

- The cameras send a live,

secure feed
back to the operator.

- Imagine you're a
special operations team

approaching a compound
in Afghanistan.

Instead of sending your
point man out front

to potentially get
his head blown off,

you can pull the Black Hornet
out of your cargo pocket

and get it flying in seconds.

- You're controlling it
with this handheld device,

watching everything
on live video.

You're sending it through
doorways, down corridors,

even through open windows,

and all the while your team
stays safely behind cover.

- When you're finished scouting,

the Black Hornet comes
back to you automatically.

No recovery team needed,
no evidence left behind.

You just got
critical intelligence

that keeps your squad alive

and gives you the
tactical advantage.

- And you can launch the
Black Hornet from anywhere,

inside buildings, behind
walls, even from foxholes.

Previous drones needed an
open field to get airborne.

[serious music]

- [Dolph] By 2012, the Black
Hornet is combat-ready.

Allied forces rushed
them to Afghanistan.

They're almost $200,000 a piece,

but when it saves lives,
price doesn't matter.

- By 2013, the British Army has
324 Black Hornets in service

and they're putting them
to work in Afghanistan

on dangerous missions,
clearing buildings,

hunting IEDs, sending
them behind enemy lines,

and, of course,
word spreads fast

when something new
really works in combat.

- [Dolph] It only
takes 20 minutes

to train a soldier
on the Black Hornet.

20 minutes and suddenly the
enemy has nowhere to hide.

- So far, over
33,000 Black Hornets

have been delivered to
forces in 45 countries.

This drone fundamentally
changes the tactical playbook.

- Whether it's in a
compound in the Middle East

or a battlefield
in the Civil War,

critical missions need
state-of-the-art tech,

machines built to deliver
success no matter the odds.

[dramatic music]