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{\an8}They're
the most powerful weapons wielded
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in the largest conflict
the world has ever seen.
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From flying bombs fired off
steel catapults like pinballs...
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These countries weren't
just trying to win battles,
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they were trying
to terrify their enemy.
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{\an8}...and giant cannons bigger
than a three-storey building...
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{\an8}It's the largest piece
of artillery that's ever been built.
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Nothing like it
has existed before or since.
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...to flame-spewing technology
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that makes the battlefield
a raging inferno...
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It isn't just a tank. It's an
armoured, fire-breathing dragon.
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{\an8}...these are just some
of the revolutionary war machines
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built to unleash
maximum destruction.
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{\an8}Having the more powerful gun,
the more powerful ship
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{\an8}and the more powerful bomb
determined who was gonna win.
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Now World War II superweapons...
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on Modern Marvels.
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On a quiet Sunday morning, dozens
gather in the Royal Military Chapel,
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not far from Buckingham Palace.
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All these people,
they're packed in the church,
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and the quiet is disturbed...
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by a strange buzzing sound.
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As they're contemplating
what that noise is,
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this massive explosion
just rips through the chapel...
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...and completely obliterates it.
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121 people
are instantly killed
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and 141 more are gravely wounded.
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The cause of this carnage
is Nazi Germany's
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most fearsome weapon yet...
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{\an8}The V in V-1
stands for 'Vergeltungswaffen',
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or 'vengeance weapon.'
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It's the world's first
self-guided missile
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that's used in combat.
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The V-1 is an advanced technology.
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The weapon flies itself
to the target.
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It's not under human control.
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Prior to the creation of the V-1,
if you were trying to drop a bomb
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on a target,
you had to fly the plane.
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You're risking having the plane
shot down and losing
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all that expensive equipment along
with the lives aboard the plane.
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But the V-1 changes all that.
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Not only is the V-1
the first weapon of its kind,
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it also packs over 1,800lb
of explosives:
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about three times greater
than the average bomb.
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In terms of impact,
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{\an8}a standard World War II bomb
can wipe out a car.
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{\an8}But a V-1 flying bomb,
it can obliterate an entire house.
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Nothing else in the sky
makes a sound
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that can compare
to the distinctive buzzing sound
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produced by the V-1 flying bomb:
people on the ground hear it coming.
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People have, then, this
growing sense of urgency and doom,
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because what if it comes down here?
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The V-1 has what's known as
a pulse jet engine.
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It's burning fuel in these rapid
bursts, which creates propulsion.
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And it's doing this
about 50 times a second.
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And so those mini explosions create
that distinctive buzzing sound.
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But what makes the V-1
truly terrifying...
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is the technology that lets it
hit London with lethal accuracy.
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The V-1 rocket is the first weapon
with a built-in targeting system.
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The thing that makes this
so revolutionary
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is that this is long before
there were microchips or GPS.
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To get a V-1 flying bomb
into the air,
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there's a steam-powered catapult
that launches it off a ramp.
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The weapon accelerates
0-200mph in two seconds.
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That's faster than
a Formula One race car.
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After launch,
the simple, but brilliant,
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guidance control takes over.
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A small compass inside the nose
detects what direction
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the bomb is heading and then sends
signals to the tail rudders
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to adjust its path
and keep the weapon on target.
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There's also a tiny spinning
propeller on the front tip.
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Each rotation measures how far the
bomb has travelled through the air.
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When it hits the preset distance
to London,
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explosive bolts in the tail section
cut the rudder control lines.
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This causes the V-1
to fall into a steep dive
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and drop out of the sky
onto its target.
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Germany launches
more than 8,000 V-1s at England...
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as the Royal Air Force scrambles
to find a way to stop them.
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The British build
a ring of balloons around the city,
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hoping that the V-1s
will collide with the balloons
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and blow up harmlessly
above the population.
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Still, even with all of that,
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almost 2,500 V-1s make it through
and explode in London.
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The British come up with what can
only be described as a...
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beyond-insane idea.
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Some daredevil RAF pilots are like,
'Let's use our wings
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to tip the missile off its course
so it doesn't hit its target.'
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The problem with that is that you've
got to be beyond pinpoint accurate
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or you risk accidentally
blowing yourself up.
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The V-1 campaign eventually causes
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almost 40,000 people
to be killed and wounded
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by an entirely autonomous weapon:
this is unprecedented.
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The V-1's power to destroy
casts a dark shadow over London.
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But an even deadlier German
superweapon will soon emerge...
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and it's completely silent.
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Nearly three months
after the first V-1 attack,
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an early autumn evening is shattered
by a devastating blast...
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that arrives without warning.
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Eleven houses
are demolished instantly,
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and damage ranges
as far as 500ft away.
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Because it doesn't
make any noise,
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no-one heard it coming,
no-one knows where it came from.
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The Government decides they have
to come up with an explanation,
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so they get a cover story: they
claim that it was a gas explosion.
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The real reason this happens
without any buzzing sound
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is because this explosion
isn't caused by a V-1 buzz bomb.
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{\an8}This is the V-2.
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What makes the V-2 rocket
so powerful
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is that its explosive payload
is enough to level a city block.
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The V-2 marks a dramatic
escalation of destructive power,
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because it is
the world's first ballistic missile.
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What makes a ballistic missile...
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different than just a regular
missile is the path of its flight.
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A regular missile, when it's fired,
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just goes
straight toward its target.
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{\an8}But a ballistic missile gets shot
straight up into the sky
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and follows this high-arcing path
that takes it to the edge of space.
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When it reaches the top of its arc,
the rocket engines cut off,
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and gravity brings the missile back
down to Earth
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at incredible rates of speed.
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The V-2 rocket will reach
an altitude of around 300,000ft.
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{\an8}To put that into perspective,
the highest-flying planes
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{\an8}of World War II
were only reaching 40,000ft.
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{\an8}So the V-2 rocket
is hitting an altitude
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almost eight times higher than that.
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{\an8}General Walter Dornberger,
who controlled
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{\an8}the V-2 development programme, said,
'We have entered the Space Age.'
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Because of the fact that a launch
crossed 60 miles above the Earth,
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entering outer space
for the first time.
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While the V-1 flies at 400mph,
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the ballistic arc of the V-2
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pushes its speed to nearly...
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3,600mph is five times faster
than the speed of sound.
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It is physically impossible
to hear it coming.
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As a result of V-2 attacks,
the British are dealing with
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thousands and thousands of people
who have injuries to their eyes
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because the weapon moves so fast,
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when the explosion occurs,
you don't even have time to blink.
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Between September 1944
and March 1945,
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Germany launches nearly 1,500
V-2 rockets at the London area...
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...reducing entire city blocks
to smoking rubble.
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After the war, the US government
comes into the custody
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of surviving examples
of the German V-2,
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along with some of
the German scientists
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that had developed them
to begin with.
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And the V-2 becomes the prototype
that will lead to nuclear missiles,
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and eventually,
develop the technology
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that will take us to the moon
in 1969.
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The entire US space
programme is founded on the V-2.
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It's such an irony that this weapon
of war becomes the tool
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that then becomes a whole era
of space exploration.
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While Germany's V-2
ignites the Space Age,
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Russia invents
a radically different rocket weapon.
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German forces storm the Soviet Union
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in the largest land invasion
in history: Operation Barbarossa.
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But the Russians have a deadly
surprise waiting for them.
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{\an8}Russia invents this weapon
called the Katyusha.
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It's kind of like
the shotgun of rocket launchers,
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because it has 16 tubes
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that can fire 16 rockets
in a massive barrage.
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Katyusha rockets are as fast as
a Boeing 737 jet at full throttle.
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They're going...
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And they're screaming down
in large numbers.
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So in less than a minute,
a barrage of Katyusha rockets
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can absolutely devastate an area
the size of a football field.
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Just three weeks after
the start of Operation Barbarossa,
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Russia unleashes the Katyusha
on the Nazis for the first time.
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A Katyusha attack
is not a surgical affair.
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You pick an area downrange,
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bombard that area
and fill it with exploding rockets.
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The Germans have nothing
that they can do to stop it.
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Almost as terrifying to the German
troops as the explosions themselves
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is the unholy noise of
the Katyusha rockets
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as it rained fire on their position.
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The Katyusha produces
an ear-splitting
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screeching sound
on the way to the target.
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Just imagine dozens and dozens
of rockets howling down at you
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with that screeching noise:
it was terrifying.
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Many of the Germans,
upon seeing this on the battlefield
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for the first time,
give it the nickname Stalin's organ,
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and that's because the launchers
have a little bit of a resemblance
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to a pipe organ, but then also,
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like a pipe organ,
they make a tremendous sound.
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Beyond its overwhelming
firepower and chilling shriek,
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what makes the Katyusha
truly effective
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is its ability to strike...
and then vanish.
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The Katyusha is immune
to counter battery fire,
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cos they're usually
mounted on trucks.
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They launch their rockets,
and they just scoot somewhere else.
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They eventually even put
Katyusha launch rails
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on Studebaker trucks
from the United States.
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{\an8}So you get the strange irony of
this terrifying Soviet weapon
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that has been driven
to the battlefield by a truck
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that was made in Detroit, Michigan.
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The Katyusha rocket
is such an effective weapon,
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the Russians continue to use it
throughout the war,
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driving the Germans from Russia
all the way back to Germany.
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Coming up...
America's B-29 Superfortress
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dominates the skies.
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This was the plane
that changed everything,
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and only the US had it.
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This technology
seems like it's something out of
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a contemporary
video game, but it's from the 1940s.
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And later,
the British army builds
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the most terrifying tank of the war.
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The Germans watch
helplessly as the tank hurls flames
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burning at more than 2,000F.
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Despite years of heavy
losses, Japan refuses to surrender.
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Under cover of darkness, a massive
fleet of American bombers
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descends on the Japanese capital...
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...dropping tons of explosives
that reduce the city...
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to smouldering ruins.
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00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,400
The air raid over Tokyo
is even more deadly
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than the atomic bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,840
{\an8}This is all the handiwork
of 279 B-29 bombers,
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...the most advanced bomber
of the Second World War.
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From wingtip to wingtip,
the B-29 is 140ft long,
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which is a massive wingspan.
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It's nearly half the size
of a football field.
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Even the price
of the B-29 bomber is huge...
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It is the single-most expensive
weapons programme of the entire war,
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even more expensive
than the Manhattan Project.
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The B-29 is so enormous,
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it's nicknamed the Superfortress.
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The plane is engineered
from the ground up
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to fly higher and farther
than any other bomber of the war.
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The problem the B-29 is intended
to solve is the problem of distance.
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How are you going to carry
a whole load of bombs
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all the way across the vast
distances of the Pacific to Japan
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and make it all the way back
without refuelling?
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The B-29 had a tremendous range.
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00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:43,080
{\an8}It could fly up to 4,000 miles
on a single tank of fuel,
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which is double the distance
of the B-17's range.
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00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,800
The reason the B-29 can fly
all the way to Japan and back,
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which no other bomber
could do at the time,
236
00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,320
is because it's built
so it can fly at 30,000ft.
237
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,480
{\an8}When you're flying at 30,000ft,
the air is thinner,
238
00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,120
{\an8}so you can go much farther
cos you're using less fuel.
239
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:05,400
While modern jets
routinely fly above 30,000ft,
240
00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:09,120
the B-29 is the first large plane
to do so.
241
00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,920
The secret is a key innovation
that allows its engines
242
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,160
to operate at higher altitudes.
243
00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:17,480
The engines on a regular
World War II bomber
244
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,080
need to burn a lot of fuel
to drive its propellers.
245
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:22,600
But at high altitude,
there isn't enough oxygen
246
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:25,360
to burn fuel efficiently
because the air is so thin.
247
00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,640
So as a result,
the engines lose power.
248
00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:30,440
And before you know it, the plane
starts to fall out of the sky.
249
00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,920
What's different about the B-29
is that its engines are equipped
250
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:36,360
with devices called turbo
superchargers,
251
00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,680
which suck in air,
run it through a compressor,
252
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,080
and then they squeeze the air
to make it more dense.
253
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,880
This process
boosts oxygen levels enough
254
00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,280
so that the engines can continue
to burn fuel at a high altitude
255
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,600
and maintain full power.
256
00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,480
The B-29 doesn't just fly
higher than any other plane:
257
00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,240
it also incorporates revolutionary
technology in its weapons systems.
258
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:02,240
We think of
the World War II bombers
259
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:04,880
of having gunners standing there
shooting out the sides,
260
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,520
or out the back, but that's not how
it works on a B-29.
261
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:10,760
General Electric builds this
groundbreaking analogue computer,
262
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:15,800
which is designed to both aim
and fire the B-29's gun turrets.
263
00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:18,360
This is easily
one of the most advanced
264
00:14:18,520 --> 00:14:20,640
pieces of technology
of the entire war.
265
00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:24,360
Each of the five
machine gun turrets on the B-29
266
00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,160
is controlled by this revolutionary
computer technology.
267
00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,640
The whole thing works like an
early computer-guided aiming system.
268
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,600
Essentially, a crewman follows
the target through their sight,
269
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,680
and then the computer
instantly calculates the distance,
270
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:40,880
angle, and speed to that target,
271
00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,200
and it starts firing the bullets
not where the target is...
272
00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,800
but where it's gonna be
when the bullets arrive.
273
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,520
The computer
made it possible for aerial gunnery
274
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,400
to be vastly more effective
275
00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:53,760
than when it was
just in the hands of a gunner.
276
00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,680
This technology seems like
it's something out of
277
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,040
a contemporary video game,
but it's from the 1940s.
278
00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,160
Without the B-29,
279
00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,040
we couldn't have attacked Japan
in the way that we did.
280
00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,240
This was the plane that changed
everything, and only the US had it.
281
00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,880
While the Americans build
World War II's most advanced bomber,
282
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,920
their British allies
invent game-changing bombs.
283
00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,840
By the middle of World War II,
the Nazis have built these...
284
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,080
fortifications that have these
ridiculously strong defences,
285
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:28,440
with 20ft-thick reinforced concrete.
286
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,120
So the bombs would come down
and not even make a dent.
287
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:32,920
This is a huge problem
for the Allies.
288
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,560
{\an8}A British engineer named Barnes
Wallis comes up with a solution
289
00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,640
on how to bust through
20ft of concrete.
290
00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:40,800
{\an8}He calls it...
291
00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,040
{\an8}The Grand Slam is
the largest conventional bomb
292
00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,280
of World War II,
and it's not even close.
293
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:49,040
It's literally the size
of a school bus.
294
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,680
The average bomb is, like, 500lb.
295
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,560
Then you get to
the Grand Slam bunker buster...
296
00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,720
{\an8}Forty times the size of an average
aerial bomb dropped in World War II.
297
00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,720
The unmatched size
of the Grand Slam
298
00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,640
delivers earth-shattering explosions.
299
00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,880
The Grand Slam is designed
to penetrate solid concrete.
300
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,280
And that's because of its shape.
It's sort of like a bullet.
301
00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,000
It's very streamlined.
It comes to a point.
302
00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,760
So when it hits that concrete,
it's just spreading it open,
303
00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:21,520
slicing like a knife through butter.
304
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,960
Just one Grand Slam bomb
305
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,000
took out one of Germany's main rail
lines in March of 1945:
306
00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,600
{\an8}this concrete bridge called...
307
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,600
{\an8}...that had survived 54 previous
bombings by regular bombs.
308
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,520
The Grand Slam is so effective,
309
00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,040
it even penetrates
the Nazis' notoriously thick
310
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,240
and well-defended U-boat pens,
311
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,320
taking down reinforced concrete
walls 20ft thick.
312
00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,600
Despite the Grand Slam's
immense destructive power,
313
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,960
it's not suited for every mission.
314
00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,920
To destroy three heavily defended
hydroelectric dams
315
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:01,800
in Germany's Ruhr Valley,
316
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,720
the British must develop
a radically different kind of bomb.
317
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,360
The Ruhr Valley
is an industrial area.
318
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,440
And so the idea they have is that
they can destroy dams that are
319
00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,440
providing power and stop all that
manufacturing in the Ruhr Valley.
320
00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:17,280
The problem is these dams
are virtually impossible to bomb.
321
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,800
The big challenge is
you got to apply explosive force
322
00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:23,360
at the base of the dam
below the waterline,
323
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,920
but the Germans have installed
netting that protects the dam,
324
00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,480
so you can't carry out
a standard torpedo attack.
325
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:34,000
How do you design a bomb that can
take out a dam from the bottom up?
326
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,240
Well, you turn to the same genius
that invented the Grand Slam...
327
00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:43,160
{\an8}Barnes Wallace
designs an ingenious weapon,
328
00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,560
codenamed 'Upkeep',
better known by its nickname...
329
00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,080
Just like the name says,
the bouncing bomb has one job,
330
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,880
and one job only, to literally
bounce across the surface
331
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,040
of the water and skip over
the defensive netting
332
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,760
that protects the dam
and then detonate against the wall.
333
00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:02,800
Here is how
the bouncing bomb works:
334
00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:04,680
when it's dropped
from a fast-moving plane,
335
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,040
there is a motor that makes it spin
in the backwards direction,
336
00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:11,680
and then it goes down
and it hits the water surface.
337
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,480
On the one hand, it still has that
forward momentum from the aeroplane.
338
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,080
And because it's spinning backwards
every time it hits the water,
339
00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:21,200
it doesn't submerge, and that way,
340
00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:24,560
it could bounce its way to the
target and hopefully eliminate it.
341
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,080
Once they have
their bouncing bomb,
342
00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:29,680
they launch an operation:
it's called Operation Chastise.
343
00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,400
And that comes to be called
the Dambuster Raid.
344
00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,800
The bombers swoop in one by one,
release their bouncing bombs
345
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,720
spinning at 500 revolutions
per minute.
346
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,000
The spin allows them
to skip over the water,
347
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:46,840
and therefore,
over the defensive torpedo netting.
348
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:48,800
They hit the side of the dam wall.
349
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:50,800
The spinning bomb hugs the wall,
350
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,320
sinks to depth, and then... boom!
351
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,840
By releasing this very specialised
bomb in a special kind of attack,
352
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,640
it causes widespread flooding
and knocks out
353
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,720
the industrial productive capacity
of an entire region.
354
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,360
No other weapon could have
successfully completed
355
00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:08,600
this mission the way
that the bouncing bomb did.
356
00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,800
Coming up...
Germany builds a massive gun
357
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,280
that delivers destruction
on an unprecedented scale.
358
00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,560
The barrel of this gun
is 106ft long:
359
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,920
{\an8}that's a bigger gun than had ever
been deployed anywhere in the world.
360
00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:34,960
Three years
before the start of World War II,
361
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:39,440
the Nazis are already plotting
how to bring Europe to its knees.
362
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,720
Hitler orders the creation
of a massive super-cannon
363
00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:45,600
designed to inflict
earth-shattering destruction.
364
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:47,920
{\an8}It's called the...
365
00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,040
{\an8}'Schwerer' is the German word
for heavy,
366
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,040
and 'Gustav' is
the weapons designer Gustav Krupp,
367
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,200
who manufactured
this incredibly large gun.
368
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:01,440
Schwerer Gustav is like
369
00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,920
the Mount Everest
of artillery pieces: it's massive.
370
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,840
It's the size of a four-storey
building laid on its side.
371
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,640
This gun weighs 1,350 tons,
372
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,360
more than three fully loaded
747 jumbo jets.
373
00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:19,160
That's a bigger gun than had ever
been deployed anywhere in the world.
374
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,400
The Gustav gun is a great example
of what Hitler calls Wunderwaffen,
375
00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,840
or wonder weapons, weapons that
are so big, they are so powerful,
376
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,680
it's not just that they do damage,
377
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:30,640
it is a massive way
to project power.
378
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,760
When the Gustav gun
makes its debut in combat,
379
00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:37,960
it delivers a shocking display
of raw firepower.
380
00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,920
The first use is against
the Soviet Union in July of 1942,
381
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,480
when they're trying to take
the critical naval base
382
00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:46,960
in Port of Sebastopol in the Crimea.
383
00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:48,800
The first shot...
384
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,200
...is so deafening
that it shatters windows...
385
00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:56,520
...for miles around.
386
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:58,760
The Schwerer Gustav fires
387
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,200
the heaviest artillery shells
in history.
388
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:03,080
They weigh over seven tons,
389
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:05,720
which is more than
two full-sized pickup trucks.
390
00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,320
They're so big that engineers
designed the Gustav with elevators
391
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:11,880
to hoist these shells
onto the firing platform,
392
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,440
where they're shoved into the barrel
using a plunger.
393
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,480
Once it's ready to fire, aiming
this huge gun is another ordeal,
394
00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,600
because its enormous barrel
only tilts up and down.
395
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,720
So crews have to lay a curved
stretch of reinforced train track
396
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,840
and slide the entire gun along it
to aim the barrel left or right.
397
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,480
And when it fires, the Gustav
can hurl a shell more than 20 miles.
398
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,440
Schwerer Gustav
is a force to be reckoned with.
399
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,440
At Sebastopol, it knocks out
four Soviet fortifications...
400
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,960
...and then devastates an underground
ammunition storage facility
401
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,920
that's 100ft deep -
that's 10 storeys.
402
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,200
Hitler loves the weapon
403
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,640
and wants to introduce it
into the Battle of Leningrad.
404
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,120
But moving Schwerer Gustav
from point A to point B
405
00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:54,960
is a massive undertaking.
406
00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:59,760
This thing is so heavy, it
has to be moved on railway tracks.
407
00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:02,600
It takes a crew of 2,000 men
408
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,320
to get the gun into position
for firing.
409
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,160
Because of all the difficulties
of moving the Gustav gun,
410
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,280
the Germans can't even get it to
Leningrad to join the siege there.
411
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,560
So it's transported back to Germany
and then scrapped,
412
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:17,720
because Hitler can't let
the largest artillery weapon
413
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:19,920
ever built fall into enemy hands.
414
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,320
Because the Schwerer
Gustav can only travel by rail,
415
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,640
Germany also develops
a more mobile mega-cannon...
416
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,840
{\an8}...called the...
417
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,400
{\an8}The Karl-Gerat siege mortar,
418
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,760
it's like the little brother
to the Schwerer Gustav,
419
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,000
except in this case, little is the
size of a two-storey house.
420
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:42,880
What makes
the Karl-Gerat incredible
421
00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,920
is that it's mounted
on these huge tank tracks.
422
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,160
So, an operator can drive it
around the battlefield.
423
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:54,200
{\an8}The shell that the Karl-Gerat fires
weighs more than...
424
00:22:54,360 --> 00:22:57,440
{\an8}By contrast, a regular mortar shell
weighs only...
425
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,280
So we're talking
orders of magnitude difference.
426
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:04,320
The recoil is so strong
427
00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:08,400
{\an8}that it actually had to sit on its
own cradle to absorb that shock,
428
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,760
{\an8}otherwise it would
just break itself.
429
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,120
The Karl-Gerat's cradle
is attached to rails,
430
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,280
which act like shock absorbers,
allowing the barrel
431
00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,960
to slam backwards safely
after each shot.
432
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:20,880
Engineers also designed the mortar's
wheels to be lifted so that
433
00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,880
the entire machine could be lowered
flat on the ground before firing.
434
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,320
This allowed leftover recoil force
to be dispersed into the earth.
435
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:29,520
While the Karl-Gerat unleashes
436
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:31,680
massive amounts of firepower...
437
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,400
Germany also produces
an enormous tank
438
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,040
built to dominate the battlefield.
439
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,960
To build this incredible new tank
that will be bigger,
440
00:23:40,120 --> 00:23:42,000
{\an8}and more powerful,
than any tank ever built,
441
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,600
{\an8}Hitler enlists the services
of Ferdinand Porsche.
442
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,160
Instead of building
yet another sports car,
443
00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:50,000
{\an8}Porsche designs the...
444
00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:52,720
{\an8}But it's obvious
that the name is ironic,
445
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,880
{\an8}because the Panzer Maus
is the largest tank...
446
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,800
ever built in world history.
447
00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:04,240
{\an8}The Maus weighs 200 tons,
give or take:
448
00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,960
{\an8}by comparison, your average American
main battle tank is roughly 30 tons.
449
00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:11,440
When it comes to the gun
on the Maus, they design a turret
450
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,600
that can mount the very powerful...
451
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:17,360
...which is almost twice as big...
452
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,800
as the 75mm main gun
on the American M4 Sherman tank.
453
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,160
After the Allies
invade Normandy,
454
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,400
only two Panzer Maus tanks
are ever built.
455
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:30,920
But beyond its record-breaking
size, the Maus is also remembered
456
00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,960
for its revolutionary
hybrid-electric engine.
457
00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,240
The Maus has a gasoline engine
that powers a generator
458
00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,440
that then turns the electric motor.
459
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:44,120
That gives it enough torque to move
its 200 tons across the battlefield.
460
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,600
People are often surprised
to learn that as we drive around
461
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,400
our city streets
with hybrid electric vehicles today,
462
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:54,280
the development of this technology
dates all the way back to the 1940s.
463
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,800
More than 28,000 British
soldiers land at Sword Beach,
464
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,880
where they face heavy machine-gun
fire from German defenders...
465
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,640
until the Allies deploy
a devastating new superweapon.
466
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:16,480
Suddenly, a British tank clatters
off a landing craft onto the beach,
467
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,640
and instead of shooting a cannon,
468
00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,800
it spews raging streams of fire.
469
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,080
For the Germans,
it's nothing short of terrifying.
470
00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,520
The Germans watch helplessly
as the tank hurls flames
471
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,400
and causes
unimaginable destruction and chaos.
472
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,240
This fearsome weapon
is a specially modified British tank
473
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:38,400
{\an8}known as the...
474
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,600
The Germans
had seen flamethrowers before.
475
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,280
They'd just not seen one mounted
inside an armoured fighting vehicle
476
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,160
that's capable of spraying the flame
out to 150 yards.
477
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:51,240
That's a football field and a half.
478
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,920
The secret
to the Crocodile's incredible range
479
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,360
is the unique fuel
that creates its flames.
480
00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:01,480
Before the Crocodile, many earlier
flamethrowers used regular gasoline.
481
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:03,440
{\an8}But gasoline is a thin liquid,
482
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,720
{\an8}so it can't travel very far
when it's shot out of a nozzle,
483
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,280
because it immediately disperses
into a mist,
484
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:10,560
so the flame loses momentum.
485
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,600
So to solve this problem, British
engineers add a special chemical
486
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,080
that's created by mixing fuel
with aluminium stearate,
487
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,040
{\an8}which is this white waxy powder
to make gasoline thicker.
488
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:24,720
So instead of scattering,
it holds together
489
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:28,360
in this heavy stream of fire
with far greater range.
490
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,320
German troops have no
protection from the vicious flames
491
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,480
unleashed by the Crocodile.
492
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:36,400
During the battle
in Northern France,
493
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,160
the Crocodile becomes very important
because there's a lot of
494
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,160
heavily fortified concrete bunkers.
495
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,120
But the Crocodile can roll up
and shoot flame inside.
496
00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,120
There's an argument
that the Churchill Crocodile
497
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,040
saved more lives than it took,
498
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,960
because the intimidating qualities
of that flame compelled
499
00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:57,840
a large number of Germans to throw
down their weapons and surrender.
500
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,680
Despite the Crocodile's incredible range
501
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:02,680
and devastating firepower,
502
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:05,240
it's not designed
for every battlefield.
503
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:09,960
To fight the Japanese
in the dense jungles of the Pacific,
504
00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,320
the United States unleashes...
505
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:14,480
{\an8}the...
506
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:19,280
{\an8}The Mark 2-2 flamethrower is the
individually portable flamethrower
507
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,360
that's being used by
the American military after 1944.
508
00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,320
It's 70lb: it's about like
carrying a keg on your back,
509
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,320
except that its contents
are vastly more flammable than beer.
510
00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,400
The United States uses this
flamethrower to attack hard-to-reach
511
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,800
Japanese positions that are hidden
in caves and foxholes.
512
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,040
It's the most destructive
handheld weapon
513
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,240
wielded in the Pacific Theater,
514
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,720
and it's a major upgrade
over earlier flamethrowers.
515
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,840
Early flamethrowers used a tiny...
516
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,360
pilot flame at the tip of the nozzle
to ignite their fuel.
517
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:50,840
But those open flames
could blow out in the wind,
518
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,760
leaving the operator with nothing
but a stream of unlit gasoline.
519
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:55,880
The Mark 2-2 fixes that
520
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,240
with a built-in ignition system
on the nozzle.
521
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,440
Each time the trigger is pulled,
a small charge fires,
522
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,400
creating a spark
right at the nozzle
523
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,080
and igniting the fuel instantly
shot after shot.
524
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,600
The Japanese clearly understood
what a unique danger
525
00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,160
was represented by the Mark 2-2
flamethrower system.
526
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,560
And so that means that the
individual carrying the flamethrower
527
00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:19,000
is going to draw automatic weapons
fire from multiple sources.
528
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,040
Because they know this is
the only guy that can destroy us.
529
00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:26,480
But both the Mark 2-2
and the Crocodile pale in comparison
530
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,840
to the most lethal new fire
weapon of the war...
531
00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,280
{\an8}We're all familiar with napalm
firebombs from the Vietnam War,
532
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,200
and the destruction
that they can cause,
533
00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:39,840
but what you might not know
is that napalm was actually created
534
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,400
back in 1942 by Harvard scientists
for the US military.
535
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,000
Napalm is essentially made
by mixing gasoline
536
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:48,960
with naphthenic and palmitic acid.
537
00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,160
Naphthenic, palmitic: napalm.
538
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:53,360
Napalm's burning power
comes from the fact
539
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,400
that it's like
a sticky gasoline gel.
540
00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,560
In fact, we call it jelly gasoline.
541
00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,040
And in this form,
it burns far longer than raw fuel.
542
00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,400
Imagine a substance
that's very sticky,
543
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,800
but it burns at 2,300 degrees:
544
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,000
the same temperature as molten lava.
545
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,040
And once it sticks to something,
546
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,920
it will burn
until everything is reduced to ash.
547
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,120
When napalm is first deployed in
France, the effects are devastating.
548
00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,480
A single cluster of napalm bombs
549
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:25,000
is able to completely obliterate
an area
550
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,200
the size of a football field
in minutes.
551
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,160
One of the most dramatic uses
of napalm
552
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,000
comes during the Allied bombing
553
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,040
of the small town
of Saint-Lo in France.
554
00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:38,920
Thousands of bombs are dropped,
555
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,120
and the devastation is so complete
556
00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,800
that the entire town centre
burnt to the ground.
557
00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,520
The survivors say it felt like
the Earth itself was aflame.
558
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,480
Just a few decades later,
559
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,760
we're going to use napalm
on a mass scale in Vietnam,
560
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:56,720
and it's just another example
of how these weapons
561
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,960
developed in World War II
become the blueprint
562
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:00,920
for the militaries of the future.
563
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,560
Coming up...
an experimental Nazi jet
564
00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:06,400
that slips past radar.
565
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:08,760
Did the Germans
actually invent stealth design
566
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,000
without even realising it?
567
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,480
An American bomber group
is on a mission
568
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:28,480
to destroy a German arms factory.
569
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,560
But as they near their target,
570
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,560
they encounter an aircraft
that appears to be...
571
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,760
out of this world.
572
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,080
The crew spots a plane
they assume is Allied,
573
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:43,800
but something seems wrong:
the mystery plane has no propeller.
574
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,920
That's not possible. There are
no Allied planes without propellers.
575
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:53,240
Not only that, it's travelling
at unfathomable speed.
576
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,520
It streaks past like a comet.
577
00:30:56,680 --> 00:30:58,760
When the Allies
first spot the plane,
578
00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:00,840
they have no idea what it is.
579
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,480
{\an8}We now know
that it's the Nazi ME-262,
580
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,880
the world's first
operational jet fighter.
581
00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:11,200
Prior to the arrival
of this Nazi jet,
582
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,600
combat aircraft relied on propellers
to provide thrust.
583
00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,040
But Germany's ME-262
is a quantum leap
584
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,920
over the United States'
most advanced fighter, the...
585
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,920
The fundamental limitation
of the P-51
586
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,400
is that they struggle
to maintain speed at high altitudes.
587
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,640
The reason is because the air there
is so thin,
588
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,040
the blades don't have anything
to grab onto.
589
00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,960
But a jet engine takes in that air,
590
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:42,200
compresses it, ignites it,
and then shoots it out of the back.
591
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,720
This means that it has
far more thrust than the P-51,
592
00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,840
allowing it to climb faster,
fly quicker...
593
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,200
and reach higher altitudes.
594
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,080
But jet engines
are not the only innovation
595
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:58,960
that gives the ME-262
an advantage over normal fighters.
596
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,320
Unlike other World War II
fighter aircraft,
597
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,080
the ME-262 has a swept-wing design
598
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,560
{\an8}that makes the airframe
more aerodynamic
599
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:11,280
and makes it capable of
reaching 540mph maximum air speed,
600
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:15,640
which is easily 100mph faster
than Allied fighters.
601
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:18,760
And the ME-262
is armed to the teeth,
602
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,200
more than your average fighter:
it has four...
603
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:24,520
And it's got...
604
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,760
That's an innovation that, nowadays,
we take for granted:
605
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,280
the Sidewinder missile,
and more advanced variants,
606
00:32:29,440 --> 00:32:31,480
hitting enemy fighters,
but the Germans introduced this
607
00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,760
in World War II on the ME-262.
608
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:38,240
Towards the end of the war,
the ME-262 is going to destroy
609
00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:40,560
some 500 Allied aircraft...
610
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,120
...but they only lose
about 100 ME-262s.
611
00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:46,400
That's a 5-to-1 kill ratio...
612
00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:49,560
...better than any other aircraft
of the war.
613
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,080
The ME-262 is truly
614
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,600
an unstoppable force
in the skies over Europe.
615
00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,760
But Germany is not able to produce
the jets in large numbers
616
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:01,160
because of a bizarre decision
made by Adolf Hitler.
617
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:05,480
The ME-262 was originally
conceived as a fighter aeroplane,
618
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,360
but Hitler is convinced
that it should work as a bomber.
619
00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:11,920
The ME-262 is incredibly fast,
620
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:15,480
and so loading it with bombs
defeats the purpose of its design,
621
00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:17,800
which was fast bomber interception.
622
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,240
Hitler's idea
to turn the plane into a bomber
623
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,920
actually slows down
the production of the 262.
624
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,240
By the time the Nazi generals
are able to talk him out of it,
625
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:30,120
the window for this jet to change
the course of the war has closed.
626
00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,880
The Germans produce 1,400 ME-262s:
627
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,360
out of that 1,400,
300 of them see combat.
628
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,280
But those 300 examples
are a force to be reckoned with,
629
00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:42,560
and change aviation history forever.
630
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:44,840
The Messerschmitt ME-262
631
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,640
proves that jets
are the future of air combat.
632
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:53,000
But next, Germany designs an even
more sophisticated aviation marvel
633
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,800
that appears to be
straight out of science fiction...
634
00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,480
{\an8}...called the...
635
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,600
{\an8}The story of the Ho 229
is that towards the end of the war,
636
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,480
{\an8}Hermann Goring,
the head of the German Air Force,
637
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,880
sets a goal of creating a bomber
that can carry 1,000kg of bombs,
638
00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:15,240
travel 1,000km and fly at speeds
up to 1,000km per hour.
639
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,560
And what the Germans build
is a revolutionary design
640
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:20,520
that will have an impact
on strategic bombers
641
00:34:20,680 --> 00:34:22,600
well into the future.
642
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,200
As the name implies,
the Horten 229
643
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:27,880
is essentially a big, flying wing.
644
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,240
It's 55ft across,
about the size of a city bus,
645
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,320
just a single body
that blends smoothly into the wings
646
00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:36,520
with a sleek, aerodynamic design.
647
00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,360
Prior to the Ho 229,
648
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,280
aircraft designers had already
experimented with flying wings.
649
00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,320
But the problem was stability.
650
00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:46,240
Regular planes have vertical tails
651
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,160
to help keep the aircraft
pointed straight.
652
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,600
So if the nose starts to drift
left or right, airflow pushes
653
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,440
against the tail
and forces the plane back into line.
654
00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,480
But a flying wing has no tail at all
to keep it on course.
655
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,040
To overcome this challenge,
German engineers built
656
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,440
a sophisticated system of flaps
and rudders on the wing itself
657
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:04,600
to make adjustments
and keep the aircraft stable
658
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:06,920
without a vertical tail.
659
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:11,320
The Ho 229 is the most
cutting-edge aircraft of the war.
660
00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:15,960
But its greatest innovation isn't
discovered until decades later.
661
00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:18,200
What's fascinating
about the Ho 229 is that
662
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:22,760
it looks a lot like the present-day
American B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
663
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,040
The B-2 Spirit is
the US air force's most advanced
664
00:35:26,200 --> 00:35:28,160
long-range stealth bombing aircraft.
665
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:32,920
Given the B-2 is
a purpose-designed stealth aircraft,
666
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,080
a reasonable question is:
did the Germans
667
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:38,280
actually invent stealth design
without even realising it?
668
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:42,240
In 2008, Northrop Grumman
actually built a prototype
669
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,600
of the Horten Flying Wing,
and what they learnt
670
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:49,360
was that this design
actually reduces its radar profile.
671
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:53,480
A flying wing design has a much
smaller radar cross-section
672
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:55,520
as compared
to a conventional aircraft,
673
00:35:55,680 --> 00:35:57,800
because it just doesn't have
as many reflecting surfaces.
674
00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,760
In many ways, the Germans,
675
00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:01,720
even though
they didn't realise it at the time,
676
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,440
were first to begin the development
of stealth technology.
677
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,080
During the final days
of the war in Europe,
678
00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:12,600
Allied troops storm
German naval yards.
679
00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,200
But instead of
the familiar Nazi U-boats,
680
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,320
they discover a sleek,
streamlined submarine
681
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:22,560
that completely changes the game
in underwater warfare.
682
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,720
{\an8}It's known as the...
683
00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:29,680
The Elektroboot is often referred
to as the world's first
684
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,640
true submarine, and that's because
it's the first submarine designed
685
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:35,080
to remain submerged
for days at a time.
686
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:38,200
The average U-boat could really
only spend a few hours underwater
687
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:40,760
because they have to come up
for air to run the engines,
688
00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:42,600
which charges the batteries.
689
00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:45,560
But the Elektroboot has a snorkel
which allows it to take in air
690
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:47,880
and charge its batteries,
even when it's underwater.
691
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,200
{\an8}And so the Elektroboot has about
three times the battery charge
692
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,760
{\an8}that you would have
on a regular U-boat.
693
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,280
The Elektroboot is so secret,
it is built in different pieces,
694
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,720
in different places,
so even the people
695
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,280
in those different factories only
know the piece they're building.
696
00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:03,800
They don't know what
the whole boat is going to be like.
697
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,320
The Elektroboot has an
automated torpedo reloading system,
698
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:11,040
which means it can fire
17 or 18 torpedoes in 20 minutes.
699
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:12,920
Compare that
with your average U-boat,
700
00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,160
which takes 20 minutes
to fire a single torpedo.
701
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,440
No other submarine
is even close in terms of power.
702
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:21,360
The Elektroboot's capabilities
703
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,520
are shockingly ahead of their time.
704
00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:29,120
For the Allies, capturing these Nazi
submarines becomes a top priority.
705
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,760
At the end of the war,
the US and Soviets realised
706
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:33,840
that these submarines
that the Germans had built
707
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,680
were just far ahead
of anything we had.
708
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:38,720
And so they begin
strip-mining the technology.
709
00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,520
Gauges vanish, wires yanked off,
periscopes are ripped free.
710
00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,520
Entire battery banks
are shipped off.
711
00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,120
The Allies are acting
more like pirates than soldiers.
712
00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,480
The Americans come over, take an
Elektroboot that's fully functional,
713
00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:53,600
they plonk a US flag on the top,
714
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,080
and then they sail it back home
across the Atlantic to study it.
715
00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:02,120
The Elektroboot is such
a game-changer, everyone copies it.
716
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,600
All of the major submarine
categories that are born
717
00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:06,920
in the years after World War II,
718
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,080
their design is inspired to
a certain degree by the Elektroboot.
719
00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:12,720
The Elektroboot's
groundbreaking technology
720
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,440
lives on during the Cold War
and beyond.
721
00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:19,400
But the United States
takes secrecy to a whole new level
722
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,480
to create
the ultimate superweapon...
723
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:26,480
{\an8}The Manhattan Project
wasn't simply
724
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,560
{\an8}a top-secret weapons
development programme:
725
00:38:28,720 --> 00:38:32,360
there are 130,000 people
associated with this project.
726
00:38:32,520 --> 00:38:34,560
And those people
are working at secret cities
727
00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:36,520
the rest of the country
doesn't even know about.
728
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,000
These are
entire communities.
729
00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:41,240
They have schools.
They have recreational facilities.
730
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,080
It is a whole town
surrounded by tall fences,
731
00:38:44,240 --> 00:38:45,960
barbed wire, armed guards.
732
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,680
Whole idea is to keep what's going
on in that city a complete secret.
733
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,200
One of these secret cities
is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,
734
00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:55,400
where the K-25 building
735
00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:59,160
is the largest enclosed building
under one roof in the entire world.
736
00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:02,160
And that plant is there
to produce weapons-grade uranium
737
00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:04,360
for use in the Manhattan Project.
738
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:07,600
{\an8}The most important of these secret
cities is Los Alamos in New Mexico
739
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:10,480
{\an8}where Robert Oppenheimer
and his team build the most powerful
740
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,160
super weapon of World War II...
the atomic bomb.
741
00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:17,280
The United States drops
two atomic bombs
742
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:19,960
to defeat Japan and end the war.
743
00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:22,360
Each explosion unleashes more energy
744
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:25,480
than had ever been released
in the history of warfare.
745
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,000
When a nuclear weapon explodes,
essentially what you've done
746
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:33,120
is created a tiny star on Earth,
and stars are really hot.
747
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:35,520
So what happens when you heat air?
It expands.
748
00:39:35,680 --> 00:39:37,960
The air rushes away rapidly,
749
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:40,240
and that creates a blast wave.
750
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:43,760
{\an8}What's fascinating
about the atomic bomb is that...
751
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,960
{\an8}...splits and creates an explosion
that's as strong
752
00:39:49,120 --> 00:39:51,920
as 15,000 tons of TNT.
753
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:57,280
A sad reality of the human
experience is it is only during war
754
00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,800
that we have our period
of greatest innovation,
755
00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:03,480
and the Manhattan Project produces
a war-winning weapon in the form
756
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,440
of the greatest scientific
innovation known to humankind:
757
00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:08,680
the atomic bomb.
758
00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:12,200
World War II was
more than just an enormous conflict:
759
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,240
it was a flat-out arms race.
760
00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:16,480
{\an8}Nations created super weapons that,
761
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:18,640
{\an8}only a few years prior,
were unimaginable.
762
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,360
{\an8}There's all these technologies
developed in World War II
763
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,480
{\an8}that couldn't even be glimpsed
in previous conflicts.
764
00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:26,560
{\an8}You're seeing this rapid innovation
that's going to, basically,
765
00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:28,760
{\an8}set the table for the Cold War
and after.
766
00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:30,480
{\an8}Back during World War II,
767
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,920
{\an8}having the more powerful gun,
the more powerful ship,
768
00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:36,000
{\an8}and the more powerful bomb
determined who was gonna win.
769
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:39,960
{\an8}Might makes right,
and that's how you maintain power.