Battle Of Hood And Bismarck, The
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Synopsis
The Voyage to Find History's Two Greatest Battleships. It was the greatest sea battle of World War Two. It ended in the destruction of the two finest warships the world has ever seen and claimed the lives of almost 3,500 men.

Now, 60 years later, Channel 4 is mounting the most ambitious underwater expedition ever undertaken. Its aim – to locate the wrecks of HMS Hood and Bismarck, to film them using state of the art techniques, solve the outstanding mysteries surrounding their sinking, and re-tell the story of this epic battle through the eyes of the survivors. The Mighty Hood was considered the greatest warship afloat, and she was certainly the biggest. Launched in 1918, she was 810 feet long and weighed over 42,670 tons. Over two world wars, HMS Hood was the fastest, most powerful and arguably the most beautiful ship afloat, nothing could challenge her... until Bismarck. The Invinsible Bismarck was a state-of-the art battleship and Germany's challenge to Britain's supremacy at sea. She was 792 feet long and weighed nearly 45,000 tons. Launched in February 1939, it would take another two years to fit her out with the most daunting array of firepower ever assembled on a single ship, including no less than eight 15' guns. The loss of Hood – the pride of a nation – shook Britain to the core. Churchill responded by issuing his famous command, "Sink the Bismarck". For the next three days every available allied ship and plane hunted the 45,000-ton warship. Eventually a 'US flying instructor' in a Cataline aircraft spotted her, and shadowed her until she could be intercepted by Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal. They attacked her with torpedoes and the resulting damage jammed her rudder. Unable to steer, Bismarck limped towards the port of Brest in northern France. But the following day HMS Rodney and King George V engaged her. For two hours they sheloled her relentlessly, firing over 700 rounds of 14' and 16' artillery. FInally, at 10:40 on the morning of 27 May, the Mighty Bismarck rolled over and sank. Of the 2000 crew only, 115 were picked up. Her naval career had lasted just nine days. The two greaatest warships ever built become inextricably linked in history for evermore. Sixty years later, the search begins to find these two great battleships. Leading the expedition will be David Mearns – one of the world's leading experts in wreck exploration, with a long and distinguished track record. He has been responsible for finding and investigating at least 40 wrecks. It was Mearns who located the huge bulk carrier Derbyshire, which went down in suspicious circumstances in the Western Pacific. Many experts said it would be impossible to find – he discovered it within three days.

Duration
2 x 60'
Definition
SD
Genre
History
Subgenre
Factual
Producer
ITN PRODUCTIONS