Original subtitles

Narrator: A deserted military site hidden

In the american southwest...

Green: the power, the size,

The complexity Was absolutely phenomenal.

Narrator: ...A top-secret Underground air base...

Les: you need to approach this With utter caution,

Or you really could Lose your life.

Narrator: ...And an industrial powerhouse Where engineering meets design.

Gough: it was the new black.

Gough: it was the new black.

It was full of wonder,

And its potential was limitless.

Narrator: once, they were some Of the most advanced structures

And facilities on the planet,

At the cutting edge Of design and construction.

Today, they stand abandoned,

Contaminated, and Sometimes deadly.

But who built them and how,

And why were they abandoned?

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

Hidden out In the remote desert

Near alamogordo, new mexico Is a huge,

Top-secret military facility.

It covers 3,200 square miles

Of rugged, uninhabited terrain.

At its center lies A 75-feet-tall,

25-feet-wide steel structure

Weighing over 500 tons.

Inside of it stands A 45-feet-high rocket

Once capable of going beyond The earth's atmosphere.

The genesis of the space program

The genesis of the space program

Wasn't sort of These ambitious goals

Of putting a man on the moon.

It was military.

It was sending missiles Straight up into space,

Not caring about where they go,

But caring about how they come Down and observing that

So you could understand How you could use

That information To attack your enemy.

that was the start of the space program.

Narrator: but what role did this Facility play in america's

First foray to the stars,

First foray to the stars,

And why was it abandoned?

In 1945, after the end Of world war ii,

The united states faces A serious problem.

Despite the defeat Of nazi germany,

A new military threat Appears on the horizon --

The soviet union.

They are developing The most destructive weapons

Of all time, nuclear weapons,

And the united states Urgently needs to defend

And the united states Urgently needs to defend

Against this imminent threat.

There is a group of visionaries,

Really, at the end Of world war ii

Who have learned this lesson That technology

Is the key to future success.

It's the key to survival In a nuclear world.

Getting behind in any area

Of missile or nuclear technology

May mean total defeat.

Narrator: to further its Military technology,

The americans develop This remote outpost

The americans develop This remote outpost

In the deserts of new mexico,

The white sands testing range,

And american scientists Have one key advantage.

They possess All the top-secret

Nazi rocket technology

And are actively trying To improve on it

With the latest In military defense,

The v-2 rocket.

Court: comparing the v-2 to the First american rocket design,

The v-2 was a tremendous Advance in the technology.

What we had at the time, The wac corporal,

Could put about A 35-pound payload

Maybe 60, 70 miles Into the atmosphere.

The v-2, we could Push over 100 miles up

With a 2,000-pound payload.

Corum: it was very secret At the time.

We were certainly not going To let the russians know

We were certainly not going To let the russians know

What we knew about rockets

And ballistic missiles.

Narrator: with the looming Prospect of nuclear conflict

With the soviet union,

America needs to take the lead In missile defense.

Using all the cutting-edge Technology from the nazi

V-2 program,

A top team of scientists further

Develop the world's Most powerful weapon --

The nuclear bomb.

The nuclear bomb.

They test it here

At the White sands proving ground.

Court: Scientists here at white sands

Were certainly aware Of what was potentially

Happening in the soviet union,

But I think that it was More a sense of pride

In doing these new things Here at white sands

That no one had Ever done before.

Narrator: As part of a top-secret program

Called operation paper clip,

The rocket development Team at white sands

Consists of dozens of former Nazi scientists and engineers

Consists of dozens of former Nazi scientists and engineers

Who had run germany's V-2 rocket program,

Including the man known As the father of the v-2,

Wernher von braun.

Von braun I don't think Was really an ardent nazi.

I think that he created the v-2

Simply because he was a man That invented rockets.

Wernher von braun was the head Of the german rocket program.

Wernher von braun was the head Of the german rocket program.

In other words, "How do we develop missiles

To fire at other cities Around the globe?"

So when he comes Over to the u.S.,

And he's on their side,

He jump-starts their program Like you wouldn't believe.

It would have taken Them decades to get

Where they got so quickly With his help.

Without his help, They may never have caught up.

Green: america had everything That they needed to create

A very successful Rocket program.

They had the rockets That they could learn from.

They had the rockets That they could learn from.

Their engineers Could rebuild them.

They could study them, Analyze them,

And they had the German rocket engineers

Who had the expertise already.

Narrator: but unlike the nazis,

The americans don't just want Their rockets to rain

Down on their enemies.

They also want them To travel up into space.

Because of the impetus to launch Intercontinental rockets,

The v-2 program quickly becomes A top-secret project,

The v-2 program quickly becomes A top-secret project,

And the science And technology development

Takes place at one spot At the white sands base,

The revered launch complex 33.

Court: the design Of launch complex 33

Was similar to launch stand 7, Peenemunde, germany.

The stand-off distance For firing the v-2s was similar.

The thickness of the blockhouse Walls was similar.

The thickness of the blockhouse Walls was similar.

White sands was a large Military installation.

You had this mountain range To the west here.

You could put instrumentation All along that mountain range

And track the rockets Really well.

Narrator: But can the team advance This new rocket technology

And manage To break into space?

And why is the whole White sands complex abandoned?

Narrator: In the late 1940s and '50s,

The white sands testing range Near alamogordo, new mexico

Kick-starts america's race Into space.

Before nasa is established,

Scientists here attempt

To launch dozens Of powerful rockets

From launch complex 33 Into the skies...

Reporter: rivaling the atom bomb in importance,

the 46 feet of death and destruction is set in place,

the 46 feet of death and destruction is set in place,

and here she goes.

...All with one aim -- To successfully get

A man-made vehicle beyond

Our atmosphere

Into the blackness of space.

Scientists out here Were doing science

For humanity's sake

Rather than just Science for science.

From 1946 to 1952,

There were 67 v-2 launches here

At launch complex 33 In white sands.

At launch complex 33 In white sands.

Narrator: but the rocket Technology is far from perfect.

To protect its personnel, The u.S. Army constructs

A massive block house with walls

That are 27 feet thick

And composed Of reinforced concrete.

This robust facility Is designed to

Withstand the explosion

Of a rocket A mere 100 yards away

And even the impact of one Falling from 100 miles above.

The reason this building Was built was

Because of the power Of the v-2.

It carried roughly 19,000 pounds of fuels,

Which really were a high Explosive charge.

We saw that on a couple Of the v-2 failures

On the launch pad,

Where something set off One of the tanks,

And another tank went off,

And there was A tremendous exploration.

The 10-foot-thick Reinforced walls

Were built specifically

To protect the people Inside the building.

The people in this room Were critical

The people in this room Were critical

To the success Of the v-2 launches.

You had your Guidance experts,

Your control, Your combustion experts.

You had really the brain trust Of the v-2 program

Would be in this room During the launches.

man: five, four, three, two,

one, zero, rocket away.

Narrator: But this ambitious project

Gets off to a rocky start.

Gets off to a rocky start.

Launched in april, 1946,

The first rocket only rises

To an altitude of 3 1/2 miles

Before crashing In a huge fireball.

Everything rides on The next launch.

A few weeks later,

The rocket reaches An astonishing altitude

Of 71 miles

Before coming down 35 miles away.

reporter: air force pictures show the rocket in flight.

the huge projectile drops the earth behind

the huge projectile drops the earth behind

at the tremendous speed of 4,000 feet per second,

and the camera photographs

the earth 65 miles straight down.

This marks the first Successful launch

Of a large rocket On american soil

And accelerates The united states

Into the space age.

As the tests at launch Complex 33 become more

And more advanced, von braun

And his team must also upgrade How the rockets launch,

And his team must also upgrade How the rockets launch,

So they develop A brand-new structure

Which sets up the rocket Before firing --

The gantry crane.

The original v-2 flights,

The rocket would be brought On on the milo wagon,

The original german Transportation erector vehicle.

It would be erected Onto a firing table,

And there were a couple Small ladders

That were used to fuel it,

That were used to fuel it,

Get it ready, Put the instrumentation

In the top.

The problem with that was, By 1947,

A lot of the instrumentation Was becoming more complex,

Took a lot more time to set up,

So it was felt that something More substantial was needed,

So the gantry crane

Was brought in From california in 1947.

It was on rails. You could bring it in,

Drop the platforms,

Do whatever you needed To do on the rocket,

And then once you were ready To go, raise the platforms,

And then once you were ready To go, raise the platforms,

Bring the gantry crane Away and fire the rocket.

Narrator: But what other innovations Does launch complex 33 develop,

And how do they provide A blueprint

For all future Nasa space missions,

And why was this Critical base abandoned?

Narrator: hidden out In the remote desert

Near alamogordo, new mexico lies

A huge top-secret Rocket launch facility.

This is the White sands testing range.

Now abandoned, it pushed Rocket technology forward,

And it's also the first launch Complex on the planet

To launch actual creatures Into the atmosphere --

To launch actual creatures Into the atmosphere --

Living monkeys.

Gough: the testing of The v-2 rockets

For radiation in space Evolved over time.

It started with Really simple things

Like maybe an ant or a firefly Or a grain of corn

Just to see what the impact

Would be With radiation in space,

But this soon led To putting monkeys

In the actual capsule

And sending it up into space.

Animal right activists Would have a field day,

Animal right activists Would have a field day,

And rightfully so, today.

But back then nobody cared. Nobody knew.

The problem was The monkeys never survived

Because this was early days.

The parachute technology To gracefully bring

The craft down To earth never worked.

They died.

Narrator: by the early 1950s,

The pioneering efforts Of von braun

And his team at white sands

Make incredible strides

Into space research

And lay the groundwork For future progress.

And lay the groundwork For future progress.

But for all their success,

The v-2 rockets Reach their technical limits

And fail as Intercontinental missiles.

However, the scientists And engineers

At launch complex 33 Have great reason

To be proud of their efforts.

Court: there certainly was A push after the v-2 program

Had ended to beat The soviets into space,

But I think it was sort of The newness of the whole thing.

But I think it was sort of The newness of the whole thing.

They were doing Something that no one

In this country really had done

With these large, Liquid-fueled rockets.

We did science for the sake Of mankind out here,

And I think that really drove

What a lot of the scientists Were pushing for.

Narrator: Eventually, the u.S. Military Leaves launch complex 33.

Today, it stands abandoned.

I would like to have witnessed

Those early v-2 launches

From the white sands base.

For me, that was a time Of great unknowns

For me, that was a time Of great unknowns

And huge excitement.

We wanted to be able To look at the stars

And the planets unhindered By the earth's atmosphere.

Those early rocket launches Are somewhat overshadowed

By the phenomenal Success of programs

Like the apollo mission,

But those early projects Were incredibly important.

Narrator: and in 1958,

The u.S. Government folds The technology developed here

Into the national aeronautics And space administration --

Into the national aeronautics And space administration --

Nasa -- with wernher von braun

As its key rocket scientist.

The v-2 rocket may have Failed as a weapon of war,

But as the first vehicle To reach space,

This rocket represents An extraordinary breakthrough.

Court: Cape canaveral is often seen As the home of space flight,

But what happened here At white sands missile range

Made everything that happened At cape canaveral possible.

Made everything that happened At cape canaveral possible.

The monkey shots Were used by von braun

To push politicians And business leaders

To support this organization

That could be developed

To potentially send A man into space

And to the moon and beyond.

None of that would have Happened had those v-2 shots

Not sort of proofed

The technology here At white sands.

Narrator: Six thousand miles away,

In a remote corner of the Eastern european country

In a remote corner of the Eastern european country

Of croatia,

Is a top-secret underground Military facility

Built to be practically Undetectable to satellites.

With five 7,000-feet-long Concrete runways,

This abandoned base covers

22 square miles On a flat plateau,

But the most important part Of it lies hidden underground,

Inside a mountain,

Protected by four 100-ton doors.

Protected by four 100-ton doors.

Today, this abandoned site Remains extremely dangerous.

This sign is saying that There are mines in the area.

It's extremely dangerous To leave the concrete.

You need to stay on the Hard surface at all times

Because even if you have A map of the minefield,

It's useless now.

Narrator: in 1948, croatia Is part of yugoslavia.

As cold war Tensions escalate,

As cold war Tensions escalate,

Communist yugoslavia Finds itself

In an uncomfortable position

With both the soviet union And the west.

Between these two Giant super powers,

The government begins Building an airbase

That's designed to be The cornerstone

Of the country's air defenses --

The zeljava underground Air base.

It's one of those sites That must have looked

Really good on paper.

"Let's create a hidden air Base inside of a mountain.

Nobody will see it."

Nobody will see it."

David: it was not actually That unusual.

There were other Places in europe,

Notably switzerland and even

Italy that had similar Types of projects.

Having said that, During the cold war,

The russians And the united states,

On the whole, were using Hardened aircraft shelters

That would not only protect Their planes, they thought,

But would also protect Their tactical nuclear weapons.

Narrator: the base is designed

To accommodate Three fighter squadrons,

To accommodate Three fighter squadrons,

Nearly 40 mig fighter jets In total,

Many of which are armed With nuclear missiles.

Les: during the cold war, The main purpose of this airport

And this air base Was to repel the initial attack

From the soviets Or from the western side.

That's why it was built In this remote location.

It was protected by this Mountain from the south side,

And by the large plateau

That has good visibility From the north side.

The aircraft were stored Behind those pressure doors.

They were all lined up One behind the other.

When a particular aircraft Was going to go fly,

They towed this aircraft Onto the beginning of the runway

And took off from there.

This shape was purposely built To accommodate a mig-21 aircraft

Because it had a single Vertical stabilizer,

Because it had a single Vertical stabilizer,

So it could just pass Underneath this concrete shield.

Narrator: But the real problems begin

When the engineers start Tunneling into the mountain.

When they were building The tunnels at zeljava,

To their surprise, They came across natural caverns

And caves in the rock.

It wasn't a solid mountain as, I think, they expected it to be.

So they were presented With a challenge.

How do you continue Your tunnel through air?

How do you continue Your tunnel through air?

And they had to then rethink The design at those points,

Suspend the tunnel in the air

Through caverns And natural caves,

Rather than building it Through the rock.

Agrawal: So, engineers were kind Of learning as they went along,

And I think that's why They used reinforced

Concrete to strengthen The mountain up

To create these huge spaces

That they needed in order To put all their planes in.

Narrator: the construction Project at zeljava is huge.

Hangars for 40 aircraft

Hangars for 40 aircraft

Are carved out of the solid rock

As well as command And control facilities,

Generators,

Bomb and fuel stores,

And living space For 1,000 people.

Engineers also install Special features

To limit the effects Of a nuclear attack.

This whole entrance Is a blast chamber

That is curving 90 degrees onto the side.

In case of a nuclear blast,

The blast gets dissipated Inside this chamber

The blast gets dissipated Inside this chamber

Before it enters The main tunnel.

On the roof, you can see Those concrete diaphragms

That were designed To deflect the blast.

The real door is located on The end of this curving tunnel.

It's a massive, 100-ton,

Reinforced concrete, Movable door.

Bell: protecting your air force Underground

Keeps it away from any attack

Or blast that's going To affect them directly,

But, by burying It all underground,

But, by burying It all underground,

Yes, you've got The protection of a great,

Big mountain on top of you,

But should there be An enormous blast around

Any of the apertures That allow you to get access

In and out,

It's almost like the tunnels Are propagating and channeling

That blast towards The very thing

You're trying to protect.

Narrator: will the Zeljava underground base

Protect its nation From military attack,

And why was it abandoned?

Narrator: yugoslavian Engineers claimed that,

In the event Of a nuclear attack,

The now abandoned Zeljava air base in croatia

Can remain sealed off From the world for a month

And still keep operating Its five runways.

The whole base is designed To withstand the impact

Of a 20-kiloton Nuclear weapon --

The similar destructive power

The similar destructive power

As the bomb which destroyed The city of nagasaki.

David: would these tunnels,

With the sliding Concrete defenses,

Have actually prevented A nuclear explosion

From forcing this massive

Explosion Back into the mountain?

We'll never know,

But what we do know Is that it was

Designed to be protected

Against the sort Of nuclear weapon

That was used at hiroshima,

And, of course, They became much,

Much more powerful.

You have to think About the whole logistics

Of the operation.

A thousand people could live In this mountain for a month,

But if you've got to come out,

What if everything has been Nuked and you survive?

Great, so what?

Who are you going To launch a plane against?

There's no one to attack.

It's all gone.

Narrator: All this doesn't come cheap.

The construction of zeljava Costs the modern-day equivalent

Of $50 billion u.S. Dollars,

Making it one of the most Expensive construction projects

Making it one of the most Expensive construction projects

Ever in post-war europe.

But despite the vast commitment Of time and money

That make zeljava the largest

Underground air base In yugoslavia,

And one of the largest In europe,

There is a significant problem.

The concept of burying Your air force

Underground to protect it From any incoming attack

Seems like a pretty good idea,

But, at zeljava, This took 20 years

But, at zeljava, This took 20 years

For them to build effectively

What's just 3 kilometers worth Of tunnel into the mountainside.

Narrator: the zeljava base Is completed in 1968,

And it operates For over 20 years

During peacetime

Until yugoslavia

Abruptly breaks apart in 1991.

Then, the base endures An altogether unexpected attack.

Les: when bosnian forces Were about to take over

This whole area,

This whole area,

The serbs detonated huge Sums of explosives

Buried inside runways And inside of tunnels.

The base was completely Destroyed after serving

Only about 1 year Of actual combat.

David: when you consider The enormous cost and the fact

That it's only actually used In an operational sense

Against the yugoslav people

During the civil wars

Of the early 1990s,

I think you come To the conclusion

That this is A huge white elephant

That this is A huge white elephant

Among military projects.

Narrator: with its air base And tunnels wrecked

And its runways destroyed, Zeljava is abandoned.

Today, only the most Adventurous risk

Entering this dangerous

But once Impressive air base.

Zeljava can be regarded As a cold war, paranoia era.

It was shrouded In so much secrecy

All those decades ago.

It could not be considered A tourist destination

It could not be considered A tourist destination

Because you need Much preparation.

You need to approach this With utter caution,

Or you really could Lose your life.

Narrator: just 300 miles Northeast of croatia

In budapest, hungary,

Is a series of massive Abandoned warehouses.

Inside are what remains Of 19 boilers

Feeding eight turbines

Supplying 30 kilovolts Of electricity

Through 80-ton transformers

And a grand art-deco-style Control room

In the shape of an oval,

Rusting away in obscurity.

Archer: the generation of power Itself is so simple.

You take turbine That just spins

You take turbine That just spins

Around a magnet inside a coil.

That's essentially all it is,

But then you have to put All these sort of regulations

And extra things in there To make it usable,

And that's being The transformers,

The systems to make sure The turbines are going around

At constant speed the whole time So you don't get interruptions.

All this sort of stuff Had to be worked out,

And you're talking about Very old technology.

This was even Before vacuum tubes.

They had to think Of a lot of things

And be ingenious

With creating these things To make the ac useful.

With creating these things To make the ac useful.

Narrator: But what engineering problems

Did this now-crumbling Plant face,

And why was it abandoned?

In 1912, budapest is one Of the capitals

Of the austro-hungarian empire,

But to power the country's Global ambitions,

Authorities need to generate Electricity for 880,000 people.

For this tremendous task,

Engineers construct

The groundbreaking Kelenfold power station.

The groundbreaking Kelenfold power station.

Today, we take Electricity for granted.

But at the turn Of the 19th century,

It was the new black.

It was full of wonder,

And its potential was limitless.

Narrator: at the time, This power plant rivals

Every other plant In the world for efficiency

And high output.

More than anything,

The designers here Want to produce not

Just a power plant

But a grandiose temple To electricity.

But a grandiose temple To electricity.

However, for the engineers,

Executing this vision involves A risky, monumental transition.

Archer: people would have Their own coal,

And they'd be self-supporting.

You know, they'd create power That they needed, you know,

And that power would only just Be thermal energy, right?

Just heat, that's all You're going to get.

To then go pooling the coal Together at the power station

And then creating This electricity

Which can then be distributed

Out through a network, Through a grid,

Out through a network, Through a grid,

Which then you can tap Into and harness part

Of that energy yourself,

You know, that's very different.

You got to see this As a projection

Of the future to everybody.

There can be elements Of design going into that.

You're trying To get people onboard.

You're trying To show your nation

And people around That you're forward-thinking.

You're entering A new era.

Narrator: But the engineering challenge

Is harnessing 38 bars Of steam pressure

Is harnessing 38 bars Of steam pressure

To drive Its eight giant turbines

In order to produce electricity

To sustain 880,000 people.

To do that, workers Must shovel mountains of coal

And channel over 220 million liters

Of water from the danube River each day

Into the vast furnace hall.

If you want to ask about The sort of efficiency

Of this method Of creating electricity,

The best thing I can say Is that's how we do it still.

The best thing I can say Is that's how we do it still.

It is coal and water Creating steam

And turning magnets Inside coils.

Fundamentally, it's exactly The same from a science

And physics point of view.

So that tells you We haven't come up

With a better way Of generating energy.

Even nuclear, we still Heat water, turbines.

It's exactly the same.

Narrator: will kelenfold be able

To pioneer this mass production Of energy?

To pioneer this mass production Of energy?

For 2 grueling years, Architects,

Engineers, and workers labor

Constantly to construct This massive plant.

But with the outbreak Of world war I in 1914,

What causes The kelenfold power plant

To become abandoned?

Narrator: the kelenfold power Plant in budapest, hungary

Is one of The early 20th century's

True engineering marvels.

As part of this Ambitious vision,

Both to pioneer Electrical power for the city

And also be a show piece for The austro-hungarian empire,

Engineers and architects Employ the art-deco style,

Engineers and architects Employ the art-deco style,

And they develop this Stunning control room

At the crossroads Of engineering and design.

By implementing curved walls

And a dramatic glass ceiling,

The architects transform

An otherwise Utilitarian power plant

Into a glittering Industrial masterpiece,

And, after 2 years Of construction,

Their ambitious plan Comes to fruition in 1914.

Their ambitious plan Comes to fruition in 1914.

This new power plant Soon becomes

A national treasure in hungary,

And both its layout And design style

Are copied all over europe.

Archer: I think it's great That they tried

To kind of pour design, Art deco, make it stunning,

And it still looks amazing.

I don't know how practical it Was in there,

With sound issues and all Manner of things like that,

But I don't see why, you know,

You can't have design And function go hand in hand.

You can't have design And function go hand in hand.

Why not?

Narrator: but just 2 months After kelenfold goes online,

World war I breaks out.

For years, budapest endures The horrors of war,

But the kelenfold power plant

Miraculously escapes Serious damage.

However, 20 years later,

Hungary joins the axis powers,

Hungary joins the axis powers,

And, during world war ii,

The plant becomes a prime target

For allied bombing raids.

To protect people From aerial attacks, architects,

Engineers, and the planners Implement a risky plan

And build dozens of one and Two-man concrete bomb shelters

All over the plant,

Even in the ornate control room.

I really wonder About air raid shelters

I really wonder About air raid shelters

In the middle of a factory.

Certainly deep underground

Is the only one That makes sense,

But the idea of putting Individual shelter

Right in the middle Of the target

Seems to be rather strange,

And it goes completely against

All of the studies Done in the 1920s

And '30s by german engineers

Who were looking At possible future war

And designing factories

With the idea Of minimizing damage

And easing the repair

And easing the repair

And the fire-fighting systems

If you were hit By an airstrike.

Man: Fortunately, this control room Didn't need any protection

Because it had only one bomb, But on the outside.

Narrator: after the war, Kelenfold continues

To power hungary's Growing energy supply.

But due to more modern Energy production technology

Coming online,

The plant is Decommissioned in 2005

The plant is Decommissioned in 2005

After an impressive 91 years in operation.

Today, even after years Of decay and neglect,

The glories of kelenfold's Unique art-deco control room

Are still admired Around the world.

Archer: you need to have That sort of symbol

Of what was the big step At that time.

We should try And keep these things

Where possible And keep them

So that they will stand The testament of time

And kind of remind us Of how far we've come.

And kind of remind us Of how far we've come.

Narrator: just over 1,000 miles Northwest of budapest

Are the orkney islands Off the coast of scotland.

In the freezing waters Of scapa flow,

As far down as 196 feet Below sea level,

Lies a mysterious Maritime graveyard.

Covering miles of seabed Are seven hulking warships

Ranging from 8,000-ton cruisers

To 26,000-ton battleships

Corroding away Out of sight.

Turton: it's there to explore And discover.

The battleships, Which are so big you

Can have the privilege Of being places

That nobody's been For 100 years.

Narrator: but why are these Sunken boats here,

And why were they abandoned?

And why were they abandoned?

In 1914, the german empire

Is at war with allied britain,

And incredible advances In engineering

All combine into creating

One singular military vessel.

Around the turn of The 20th century,

It was the battleship

That was the culmination Of success and progress

In so many areas Of engineering.

In propulsion, steam turbines

Were being used On these great, big ships.

Advancements in communication And optics, firepower,

Advancements in communication And optics, firepower,

The size of guns you could have, All came together

In these amazing war machines

That almost became Status symbols for any navy.

If you didn't have one, Who were you?

Narrator: for this reason,

The imperial german navy Produces the high seas fleet.

For the duration Of the first world war,

The german navy uses The high seas fleet

To attack the northeast Coast of england.

But after 4 years Of naval combat,

But after 4 years Of naval combat,

The first world war Ends in november, 1918

With the allies victorious.

This leaves the germans With 72 boats

Stuck in captive english waters.

Scapa flow is surrounded

By the southern isles of orkney,

Creating this huge Natural harbor,

Which becomes the best place,

Strategically, to house The bulk of our navy.

Now, the german navy, In the first world war,

I imagine, didn't really Want scapa flow

I imagine, didn't really Want scapa flow

To be so important to them,

But it ends up being Where the bulk of their navy --

It's their final Resting place.

Narrator: But with the war now over,

Who sinks the german High seas fleet,

And why were these Ships abandoned?

Narrator: With the allied victory At the end of world war I,

Great britain is holding 72 german ships hostage

In the icy waters of scapa flow.

But on june 21, 1919, As the allies try to negotiate

The terms of the peace treaty With germany,

The german high Seas fleet commander,

Ludwig von reuter,

Takes matters Into his own hands.

Takes matters Into his own hands.

Turton: admiral von reuter Wasn't being kept informed,

Really, up to date With the peace negotiations.

He fully expects that the Germans' fleet will be seized

And that they will be divvied up Among the allied forces,

Which I believe Was the intention.

These fighting ships Have been disarmed.

He has no way of fighting back,

So his only remaining act of war

Is to sink them So nobody can have them.

Narrator: This was one of the largest

And most complicated mass Scuttlings in history,

And most complicated mass Scuttlings in history,

But how did von reuter Execute this bold maneuver?

James: all vessels have

What we refer more commonly to As a sea chest.

It's located in the engine room,

And it's where the vessel Takes water in

For running the engine Room's systems, ballasting,

And the pipes are huge. They're this sort of diameter.

You couldn't put Your arms around them.

If you wanted To scuttle a vessel,

You would open These sea chest valves.

Just let the water flood in

Just let the water flood in

Throughout the ship Would achieve

The negative buoyancy That you needed to sink it.

David: the scuttling of The high seas fleet in 1919,

I mean, an extraordinary event

Involving a massive number

Of warships,

Has been relatively forgotten

Because, at least

From the british perspective,

We're a little bit Embarrassed about it

Because we didn't Manage to prevent it.

Narrator: in all, 52 ships sink And the rest are beached.

But even at the bottom Of the sea,

But even at the bottom Of the sea,

These ships remain valuable,

Worth $50 million In today's currency.

And one man is determined not To leave 400,000 tons of metal

And machinery to rot On the sea bed.

In 1920, Engineer earnest cox attempts

An impossible salvage job.

They wouldn't have had The same huge lifting capacity

That we have these days.

They would've had To look at air.

They would've had To look at air.

If you can regain the watertight Integrity of the vessel

And introduce air into it,

It is possible to refloat it.

You would have to have A reasonably intact vessel.

Narrator: using air, Cox's innovative technique

Employs salvage components

From smaller ships

To lift their larger Sister ships to the surface.

An example of ernest cox's Ingenuity

Was how he used boilers From some of the ships

Was how he used boilers From some of the ships

That had already been salvaged

To create These enormous airlocks

That went from sea surface Where their salvaged ships

Were and to create These giant tubes

By welding them all together

To create an airlock right down To the bottom of the sea

Where the scuttled ship Was sitting.

That's not a solution That had been done before.

There was no design blueprint To say how to do that.

Engineering is all About problem solving,

And none more tricky Or challenging

Than the one presented To ernest cox.

Than the one presented To ernest cox.

Narrator: today, seven of the Mighty german high seas fleet

Still remain at the bottom

Of scapa flow

Alongside countless Other shipwrecks

In these notoriously treacherous

And icy waters,

Accessible only to those Willing to dive in.