All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S03E02.Nightmare.On.Blood.Mountain.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator: the twisted remains
Of a war-torn

Mountainside complex...

This is just such
A strange-looking site.

It kind of starts but just
Disappears into the forest.

Narrator: ...A secretive
Military structure,

Marooned in freezing waters...

Wisdom: it's a place
With lots of mystery.

There really aren't
Many clues left.

*

Narrator: ...And the stranded
Rusting carcass

Of a vessel deserted long ago.

Of a vessel deserted long ago.

There is that slightly
Spooky element to it.

You do feel there's
A story here somehow.

*

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?

But who built them, and how?

And why were they abandoned?

*

*

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

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

[ whirs ]

Narrator:
In southeastern europe,

In the hills around sarajevo,

A major city
In former yugoslavia,

Is a strange abandoned complex.

Is a strange abandoned complex.

[ whirring ]

*

Weaving its way down the side
Of a mountain

Is a network of snow-covered
Concrete walls,

Bridges, and channels.

*

Gough: this is such
A strange-looking site.

It curves around with these
Oblong structures

Coming out of the high wall,

And it kind of starts but just
Disappears into the forest.

And it kind of starts but just
Disappears into the forest.

Bell: it looks like something
From "Mad max,"

The setting for
A futuristic game of death.

Narrator: a concrete channel
Sits hidden in the forest,

High above the city.

Wisdom:
It's covered in graffiti,

And it's stained
With algae and decay.

It is a strange place, indeed.

Narrator:
It's not the only deserted
Structure here.

On different slopes
Around the city

On different slopes
Around the city

Are other devastated buildings,

And together,
They tell a story

Of violence and death.

What were they all built for,
And what sinister event

Left them severely damaged
And abandoned?

Some of the answers
Are linked to the war

That ripped sarajevo apart

Towards the end
Of the 20th century.

So was this all built as part of
An elaborate military structure?

So was this all built as part of
An elaborate military structure?

At first sight, it has all
The hallmarks of a damaged

And war-torn defensive line.

Dickrell: this location is
Strategically important

Because typically those
Who hold the high ground

In a military conflict
Have an advantage.

In this case, that was very true

In terms of
Artillery positionings

And snipers being able
To terrorize the city.

Wisdom: you've got snipers
Shooting anybody.

We're not just
Shooting soldiers.

We're not just
Shooting soldiers.

We're shooting civilians.
We're shooting children.

They're shooting people who just
Are caught in the crossfire.

It is a ghastly place.

Narrator:
These structures, in fact,

Weren't built for war.

They were all involved

In one of the city's
Proudest moments.

These are the remains of
The 1984 winter olympic venues.

*

Gough: the winter olympics were
Extremely important

Gough: the winter olympics were
Extremely important

For sarajevo.

For a start, it's the first time
That a socialist state

Has hosted the winter olympics.

But for yugoslavia,
It was a chance

To put the best foot forward
On a world stage.

This gives sarajevo
A chance to be seen.

So they really think
With that much focus

Coming onto them from abroad,
This is going to do wonders

For the yugoslavian
Tourist industry.

*

*

Narrator: but as previous hosts
Had found out,

The cost of putting on the games

Had a tendency
To spiral out of control.

The decaying structures here
Tell a story of despair,

Rather than celebration.

So was sarajevo really able
To pull it off?

Wisdom: you're going to need
To look after the athletes.

You're going to look
After everybody

Who's going to come
To see the games.

So what they've already got,

They're going to
Need to reinvigorate.

Dickrell: sarajevo had to invest
A large amount of money

Dickrell: sarajevo had to invest
A large amount of money

In both the venues themselves
As well as the infrastructure

To handle all of the crowds,
So it was quite a daunting task.

Narrator:
One of the key sites was
This curving concrete channel.

And its position on this
Mountain offers a clue

To what it was --

A huge bobsleigh
And luge track.

Slavko malec
Is a former manager

Of one of the olympic venues.

*

*

[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator:
This is one of the steepest
Tracks in the world,

Where crews were able
To achieve super-high speeds

And had to possess a lot
Of skill to avoid flipping over.

But despite
All those elements --

The speed, the steepness,
And the rest --

It was still considered
One of the safest tracks.

[ continues
In foreign language ]

Narrator:
Today, its crumbling remains

Narrator:
Today, its crumbling remains

Peppered with holes
Speak only of a deadlier use.

But was this track and the other
Sites on the mountain

An olympic success story?

On february 8, 1984,

The world tuned in
To find out.

Malec:
[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator: the olympics
Weren't just successful

In a technical
And organizational sense.

It was also
A financial success.

The equivalent of a $20 million
Surplus speaks for itself.

The equivalent of a $20 million
Surplus speaks for itself.

I do not remember
Any olympic games

That were so successful,
Especially nowadays.

Dickrell: it was the first
Winter olympics

To actually make money
Since the early 1930s.

So for the people of yugoslavia,
It was a great success.

Gough:
After the winter olympics,

The facilities continued
To be in use.

The luge track, for instance,

Was used in many
World cup competitions,

Was used in many
World cup competitions,

While the ski resort
Went on to become

One of the most popular
In the country.

*

Narrator: but the sites today
Show that the olympic dream

Was eventually shattered.

So what happened?

Malec:
[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator:
I never believed that there
Could be a war in sarajevo.

Not for one moment
Did I believe it could happen.

Life in sarajevo was such that

You could not
Foresee war coming here.

You could not
Foresee war coming here.

[ concludes
In foreign language ]

*

Narrator:
So if even the locals

Couldn't predict the outbreak
Of armed conflict,

Then what event triggered it?

And why were the olympic sites
Dragged into the bloodshed?

*

Narrator: on the hills around
The city of sarajevo

Are some of the damaged remains

Of the 1984
Winter olympics venues.

Like everything else here,

They couldn't escape
The oncoming bloodshed.

[ explosion ]
Just 8 years later, in 1992,

The yugoslav federation
Was breaking apart,

And civil war
Had engulfed sarajevo.

And civil war
Had engulfed sarajevo.

*

[ gunfire ]
For 3 years,

Fighting between
Bosnia's muslim,

Serb, and croat populations
Tore the state apart.

Bell: the bosnian serbs
Held the city to ransom,

And the siege lasted
44 months --

The longest siege of a capital
City in modern history.

Narrator:
The scars can still be seen

In the pockmarked concrete
Of those structures,

In the pockmarked concrete
Of those structures,

And the mountainside that housed
The bobsleigh track

Had a deadly role to play.

*

Malec:
[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator: the bobsleigh track
Was, in effect,

The front line
Between the two sides.

And unfortunately, the track
Was both damaged by mortars

And used as
An artillery position.

All of the nearby facilities
Were destroyed.

*

Narrator:
Because of its elevated position
Overlooking the city,

Narrator:
Because of its elevated position
Overlooking the city,

This slope and others
Surrounding sarajevo

Became key offensive locations
From where artillery

Would unleash a savage
Pounding upon the city.

Gough:
In the peak of the siege,

300 shells a day rained
Down on sarajevo.

Wisdom:
The bosnian serb commander says,

"Shell them to the edge
Of madness,"

And he's good to his word.

Narrator: the city's
Bright future had faded,

Narrator: the city's
Bright future had faded,

While whispered accounts
Of horrific scenes emerged.

Wisdom:
It's the medal podium

Where perhaps some of
The most tragic events happened.

Soldiers, when they've
Captured people from the town,

They take them
To the medal podium,

And there, they are executed.

Narrator: it's even said

That the olympic hotel
Was used as a prison.

Bell:
So many thousands of people
Died during the siege

Bell:
So many thousands of people
Died during the siege

That they ran out of space
To bury them.

In the end, they had to use
The olympic arena

As a mass cemetery.

Narrator: the ordeal
Finally came to an end

On february 29th, 1996.

But by then,
The lives of 11,541 sarajevans

Had already been lost.

Today, while some areas
Have been patched up,

The abandoned structures
Across this mountain

The abandoned structures
Across this mountain

Still display the horrific scars
Of a very dark period

In this city's history.

Gough: when you look at what's
Left from those winter games,

We have to look at that
As a memorial to the spirit

And accomplishment
Of the yugoslavian people,

Not to the horrific events
That came later.

*

Narrator:
In the united states,

100 miles southwest of miami
Is a vast abandoned structure.

*

[ whirring ]

*

Narrator: straddling
The waters of the florida keys,

This bridge stretches out
For almost a mile.

It looks almost like a metal
Superstructure on its side.

Bell: it's an amazing ribbon
Of steel and concrete.

Bell: it's an amazing ribbon
Of steel and concrete.

There's a big gap in the middle
Of the structure...

*

...And a smaller gap
Towards the southern end.

It doesn't seem to go anywhere.
There's nothing on it.

So where did this come from?
What was it for?

Narrator:
A rusting pipe that runs
The length of the lower level

Seems lost amongst
The intricate metalwork,

Seems lost amongst
The intricate metalwork,

While perched
Precariously above

Is a series of badly cracked
Concrete slabs.

Could the structure's location
Hold the key

To its current state?

Meigs: the florida keys sit
Right in the middle

Of hurricane alley.

Southern florida
Is target number one.

Narrator:
So what was the purpose
Of this colossal bridge?

Why was it built here?

Why was it built here?

And why was it left
To disintegrate into the sea?

The story is closely linked
To a site

Over 1,000 miles away
In central america.

At the turn
Of the 20th century,

One of the most ambitious
Engineering projects in history

Was taking place --

The construction
Of the panama canal.

Meigs:
It allows ships to come from
The pacific into the atlantic,

Into the caribbean
Without having to go

Into the caribbean
Without having to go

Many thousands of miles
Around the horn,

The southern tip
Of south america.

It was going to
Revolutionize transport.

Narrator: the shortcut suddenly
Put key west on the map.

As the most southerly point
In the country,

It was perfectly placed
To become the gateway to america

For the shipping industry.

But the state of florida
Wasn't ready.

Meigs: key west was a pretty
Thriving port city.

Meigs: key west was a pretty
Thriving port city.

It was one of the largest towns
In all of florida.

[ bird calls ]
What's interesting is

The rest of florida wasn't very
Developed at this time.

It was largely uninhabited
Scrubland and swamps.

The grand resorts and cities
And disney world --

None of that was there
At that time.

[ camera shutter clicks ]
Narrator: the main problem

Was that key west
Had no transport link

To the mainland,

And the state wasn't about
To construct a new one.

So then who built this,
And why?

So then who built this,
And why?

Park ranger elaine mason
Has the answer.

Mason: a man named
Henry morrison flagler

Decided to build this bridge.

He had already started building
The railroads on the east coast,

And he had gotten to miami,

And then he decided
He was going to build

The railroad to key west.

He was the man to do it.

Narrator:
These remains span

The most treacherous section
Of water

The railroad had to cross.

This is the bahia honda bridge.

This is the bahia honda bridge.

This was one of the biggest
Single engineering challenges

Of the entire project because
Of the sheer depth of the water.

So, a really challenging
Place to build.

Meigs: this was one of the great
Engineering innovations

Of that era.

And look at it now. It's still
There after 100 years.

*

Narrator: but this bridge was
Just one amongst many.

Narrator: but this bridge was
Just one amongst many.

The whole route was planned to
Stretch 128 miles

From key west
All the way to the mainland.

Meigs:
This was just an incredibly
Audacious undertaking

Because when you look
At that map,

You see there's
Almost as much water

Between the islands
As there is land on the islands.

Bell: just imagine trying to
Build bridges over

Around 40 different
Stretches of water.

Around 40 different
Stretches of water.

[ camera shutter clicks ]

Narrator:
In 1905, work began

On what was called
The overseas railroad.

To in with a chance of success,
It had to be completed

Before the panama canal opened,
And if they couldn't cross

The water
Around bahia honda key,

Then the whole project
Would fail.

Mason: the bahia honda bridge
Was the biggest challenge

That workmen faced.

It's almost a mile long.

It's the deepest channel
In the keys.

It's the deepest channel
In the keys.

It's 30 feet deep.

The currents are very fast,

And you get four changes
Of tides a day.

Narrator: and was there
Another danger to building

Across this deep water?

Could the missing section
Suggest the bridge

Met with a violent end?

*

*

Narrator: at the turn
Of the 20th century,

The completion of the bahia
Honda bridge

Was critical to the success of
The florida overseas railroad.

But the tropical weather would
Soon take a turn for the worse.

One of the challenges in the
Keys, of course, is hurricanes.

Today, we know a week in advance
When a hurricane is coming.

Back then, these things
Came out of nowhere.

Back then, these things
Came out of nowhere.

They didn't have that kind of
Weather forecasting,

So they couldn't
Anticipate them.

They couldn't prepare for them,

And many hundred of lives
Were lost in the keys.

*

Narrator:
During the construction,

Three major hurricanes
Struck the bridges,

Killing over 100 workers

And putting the entire
Project in jeopardy.

But after 3 years' hard toil,

The bahia honda bridge
Successfully stretched

The bahia honda bridge
Successfully stretched

The 5,055 feet
To the next key.

Would the rest of the overseas
Railroad be finished in time?

Mason: it was very difficult
Building the bridges.

A lot of it was unknown
Territory.

There were mosquitoes, bugs.

The heat was intense.

They had to bring everything --
All fresh water, all the food,

Plus all of the material.

Narrator: finally, in 1912,
The bahia honda bridge

Narrator: finally, in 1912,
The bahia honda bridge

And the overseas railroad
Were ready for use.

It had beaten the construction
Of the panama canal by 2 years.

Everybody in the world who was
Interested in engineering

Knew about the panama canal.

It was by far the most
Impressive work

Of engineering on the planet,
But a lot of people thought

That this railroad
Was a close second.

*

Narrator:
So had it worked?

Did this become the route
Into the u.S.?

Did this become the route
Into the u.S.?

Mason:
Sadly, the dream of the trade

From the panama canal
Never materialized.

The ships bypassed key west
Altogether,

Went straight to the major ports
On the east coast

Or into texas,
New orleans areas.

Unfortunately, it never
Really made any money,

But it had the tourists going
Back and forth to key west.

Then in 1935,
The labor day hurricane hit.

[ wind whooshing ]

[ wind whooshing ]

Narrator:
Around 250 to 300 men

Working on a new
Road-bridge network

Were killed by the storm,

Alongside more than 100 natives
Of the keys.

As well as the devastating
Loss of life,

The hurricane caused $3 million
Worth of damage

To the overseas railroad,

And the company
Couldn't afford the repairs.

They sold the entire thing,
Lock, stock, and barrel,

To the state, who was
Already building a highway.

To the state, who was
Already building a highway.

They converted
All the old bridges,

And people started driving
Their automobiles.

[ camera shutter clicks ]
Narrator: by the 1970s,

A larger four-lane highway
Was built just beside it.

Two sections were removed
From the bahia honda bridge

To allow boat traffic through,

And finally,
It was abandoned for good.

Today, the standing remains
Of the bahia honda bridge

Today, the standing remains
Of the bahia honda bridge

Are the most obvious reminder

Of this incredible
Engineering project.

But a few smaller fragments
Can still be found.

Mason: a few weeks ago,
I was walking on the beach,

And I found this railway spike.

It's over 100 years old.

You can still see the marks of
The hammer on the top of here.

It really does
Make you think, though --

All the brutally hard work
In the hot sun,

Pounding these railroad spikes
Into the ground.

There's a whole story
In this itself.

*

*

Narrator: in central europe,
On the north coast of poland,

Is a mysterious structure
Lost at sea.

[ whirring ]

*

Over 1,000 feet
From the shore,

This crumbling
Concrete building

Dominates the coastal waters.

Bell: with its
High observation tower

Bell: with its
High observation tower

And isolated position,

It looks like
A maximum security prison.

That, or a james bond
Villain's lair.

*

Caldwell-evans:
The tower is a bit odd.

Then you think, "Well, was this
Some kind of lighthouse

Or some kind of marine
Research center?"

It was really a skeleton
Of what was once

Probably a much larger and much
More imposing structure.

Narrator:
But what remains above the water

Is only part of the story.

*

Wisdom: there's
A sunken walkway nearby.

Wisdom: there's
A sunken walkway nearby.

One wonders whether that was
In any way

Part of this construction.

It's a place
With lots of mystery,

Lots of questions
You can ask yourself.

Narrator: so what was this
Complex used for?

And why was it finally cut off
From the land

And abandoned out at sea?

*

The answers are linked
To the nazis' efforts

The answers are linked
To the nazis' efforts

To advance their weapons program
During the second world war.

When it comes to world war ii,
One of the most significant

Weapons systems
Deployed was the torpedo.

Normally, we think about
The torpedo fired by a u-boat

As being a real potential
War winner for nazi germany.

Corum: torpedoes might damage
A battleship.

They won't sink it.

But merchant ships,
Which are unarmored,

Are easy prey for torpedoes.

Are easy prey for torpedoes.

Narrator:
Operating with deadly force

In the battle of the atlantic,

Groups of u-boats
Called wolfpacks

Terrorized the allies'
Merchant fleets.

But their torpedoes
Were unreliable.

Caldwell-evans: u-boats
At the beginning of the war

Are finding that 30 percent
Of their torpedoes

Are simply not exploding
When they're supposed to.

Wisdom:
German torpedoes suffered
From their proximity detonators.

These were affected by
The magnetic core of the earth,

Which meant the torpedo
Just went off

Which meant the torpedo
Just went off

Well before it should have done.

Caldwell-evans:
So you need a lot of critical,
Detailed research early on.

And when the war
Breaks out in 1939,

Germany has not done
That critical research.

Narrator: the germans had
To quickly advance

Their torpedo technology.

*

So could this structure
Somehow help the nazis

Turn the tide of war?

And why was it built
Here in poland,

Hundreds of miles
From the action in the atlantic?

*

Narrator:
Off the coast of poland

Sits an isolated structure

Once crucial to nazi plans
During the second world war.

With the germans struggling
To design reliable torpedoes,

This site was built to help
Solve the problem.

During the war, it was called
Torpedowaffenplatz hexengrund,

Meaning "Torpedo weapons place
Of the witch's ground."

Meaning "Torpedo weapons place
Of the witch's ground."

*

Local diver
Mariusz szymanski

Knows the site well.

*

[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator:
The first time I dived

In the torpedo testing station
Was in 2001.

It's always been shrouded
In mystery.

You can say that it's a very
Difficult area for diving

Because there are many dangerous
Items left behind in the water.

Because there are many dangerous
Items left behind in the water.

There are various parts
Of torpedoes

And other
Dangerous objects there.

*

Narrator: today, this structure
Is known as torpedownia.

But what remains is just
A small part of a vast complex.

On shore, the nazis
Constructed an airfield,

Manufacturing facilities,
A railway yard, and more.

Manufacturing facilities,
A railway yard, and more.

Around 2,500 people worked
Across the coastal sites

Dedicated to
Torpedo development.

*

Wisdom: you had diver
Embarkation areas.

You had harbors
For small vessels.

You had research facilities,
Workshops,

Even living quarters
For the staff who worked there.

Narrator: torpedownia
Was connected to it all

By a long pier used to bring in
The new torpedoes.

Caldwell-evans:
All leading to this unique
U-shaped building,

Caldwell-evans:
All leading to this unique
U-shaped building,

Which is there to actually
Launch the torpedoes

That are being assembled
And tested.

So torpedownia is a crucial
Final element.

Narrator: the nazis were relying
Heavily on this site

Giving them the advantage
In the violent ocean arena.

But why build such
A sophisticated research site

Here, hundreds of miles
From the battle of the atlantic?

[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator:
The torpedo testing station

Was built in 1940
And put into operation in 1942.

This location was chosen
As it was a remote place.

It could not be reached
By the allied air force.

The goal was to protect this
Research and development center,

Which was of great importance
As far as creating

Torpedo prototypes
Was concerned.

*

Narrator:
But these torpedoes were not
Destined for u-boats.

Torpedownia was, in fact,
Run by the luftwaffe,

The german air force.

These weapons would soon
Be strapped

To the underside of an aircraft.

A number of countries
Already possessed

Effective aerial torpedoes,
Most notably japan,

Effective aerial torpedoes,
Most notably japan,

Who had demonstrated
Their destructive power

On the u.S. Fleet
At pearl harbor.

[ whooshing, explosion ]

[ camera shutter clicks ]

Germany, however,
Lagged far behind.

Caldwell-evans:
In the early years of the war,

Germany misses
A major opportunity

To attack british warships,

Particularly in the campaign
Around norway,

And cripple the british fleet.

They simply don't have
A viable airdrop torpedo

That can do the job.

*

*

Narrator:
The nazi high command demanded
That luftwaffe get up to speed,

And this site became
The heart of the operation.

*

But developing aerial torpedoes

Presented a whole new
Set of challenges.

*

Corum: because torpedoes
Are so delicate,

It's difficult enough
To fire them from a submarine

Or fire them
From a surface vessel.

Dropping them from an air
Is a whole different project.

Dropping them from an air
Is a whole different project.

You need some kind of apparatus
To make it

Fly effectively as it goes
From one medium,

The air, into the second medium,
The water,

And not start doing
All kind of crazy things.

[ splashes ]

Narrator: on the surface,
There's little to suggest

That nazis ever developed
An effective technology here.

But the secrets of this facility
Have begun to be offered up

By the waters below.

*

*

Translator: I hold in my hands
A very rare object.

It's an immersion device,

Which was mounted on the warhead
At the front of the torpedo.

It's a prototype,

Probably the only in the world
That has survived.

Narrator:
But it's not only this outer
Casing that has survived.

Even some of the more
Complicated components

Have remained incredibly
Good condition.

Translator:
And here's the gyroscope.

Translator:
And here's the gyroscope.

It still works.
Have a look.

You could say it was like
The computer

That controlled
The torpedo's trajectory.

It was all up to the gyroscope,
Really.

It was the most important
Device in the torpedo.

*

Narrator: so with the battle
For the domination

Of the seas heating up,

Would the nazis perfect
These weapons in time,

Or could the site's
Scarred appearance today

Suggest it wasn't safe
From allied bombers after all?

Suggest it wasn't safe
From allied bombers after all?

*

Narrator: the site
Of torpedownia

Today sits abandoned
In the freezing polish waters.

But during
The second world war,

The nazis pinned their hopes
On this site

Giving them the edge
Over their enemies.

However, the allies
Were closing in.

From here, the new torpedo
Prototypes

Would undergo a vital part
Of their testing

While the engineers
Tracked their progress

While the engineers
Tracked their progress

From the watchtower.

[ speaking foreign language ]

Translator: the torpedo
On the ramp was pulled down

To a submerged
Torpedo launcher.

It was then launched
Along a channel

That ran 7 miles
Across the bay.

[ concludes
In foreign language ]

Wisdom: when they were
At the end of their run,

They were caught
In torpedo nets.

Divers were then deployed
From small boats

Down to the bottom,
Recovered the torpedoes,

Down to the bottom,
Recovered the torpedoes,

And any adjustments
That have been needed

And been observed from
The observation tower were made,

And the torpedoes
Were tested again.

Narrator: further testing
Saw aircraft

Dropping torpedoes
Into the bay.

But ultimately, the nazis never
Managed to catch up

With the other nations.

In the field, initial success
Quickly turned into

Mounting losses,
As the allies learned

To defend against low-flying
Torpedo aircraft.

If they'd been able to employ

If they'd been able to employ

These airdrop torpedoes
Earlier in the war,

It could have had a big effect
On the war in the mediterranean,

For example, but it didn't.

Bell: torpedownia was just
Too little, too late.

They were never going to get
Their torpedo technology

Perfected in time.

Narrator: they had hoped

Torpedownia would be
A game changer for the war.

But they were always
One step behind,

But they were always
One step behind,

And soon enough,
With the soviets closing in,

The site was abandoned.

*

Today, the front wall
Of the building has disappeared,

Having collapsed
Into the sea years ago.

And what remains appears to be
On the brink of disintegration,

A visible monument
To nazi failure.

Wisdom:
When you see torpedownia today,

It reminds you that even
The greatest empires

It reminds you that even
The greatest empires

Are heavily dependent
On technological advancement.

If you don't move fast enough,
Technology will fail you,

And that's exactly
What happened to the germans

And their torpedo development.

*

Narrator:
In the south atlantic ocean,

In the waters
Of the falkland islands,

Is a bizarre site --

A deserted sailing ship
Stranded on a sandbank.

[ whirs ]

*

*

Here's this rusting carcass
Just stuck out there in the bay.

Where did it come from?

Usually, when we think
Of a shipwreck,

We think of a ship
That's pretty broken up,

But this one looks
Pretty intact.

What's it made of?
How come it hasn't fallen apart?

*

Caldwell-evans: it's very hard
To see what's wrong with it.

There's a bit of damage
But not that much.

It almost looks as though
You could stick some sails

On that thing
And set out of the harbor today.

On that thing
And set out of the harbor today.

Narrator:
Still almost upright,

She seems to have
Defied both time

And the elements to remain
Rooted to this spot.

There is that slightly
Spooky element to it.

You do feel there's
A story here, somehow.

There's something behind
This relic of a bygone age

Just sitting,
Waiting for its crew to return.

It makes you wonder,

What happened that left it
In this sorry state?

What happened that left it
In this sorry state?

Was it attacked in war,
Or did pirates take it

And just leave it there
To be abandoned,

Or did the crew actually mutiny
And leave on their own?

Narrator: so how did it all
Go wrong for this ship?

And of all the places
In the world,

Why is she stranded here
In such a remote location?

*

The beginnings of her story
Can be found far across the seas

In the second half
Of the 19th century,

In the second half
Of the 19th century,

When one mighty power
Ruled the waves -- britain.

Caldwell-evans:
The british empire, the largest
Empire the world has ever known,

Was an empire built on trade.

There was simply no way
Britain could survive.

Once the industrial revolution
Had taken over,

And once britain really stopped
Being able to feed itself,

It was heavily reliant on trade,

Bringing food
And raw materials in

And exporting its goods

So they could be sold
Around the world.

So they could be sold
Around the world.

Narrator: to keep
The british empire running,

Great numbers of merchant ships
Were always needed.

And this was one of
Those vital crafts,

the lady elizabeth.

*

Her maiden voyage
Came in 1879.

But in an age of steam power,
Why does she have three masts?

It all came down to cost.

Meigs:
A sailing ship doesn't need

To burn expensive coal.

The wind is free,
And as long as you're not

In too much of a hurry,
The sailing ship

Will get your cargo
To its destination, eventually.

Caldwell-evans:
Though it looks very old,

It's actually a much more
Modern vessel than you realize,

And that's because
Of what it's made from --

The iron plates along the side
Rather than timber.

Gough:
Iron essentially offers more
Bang for your buck than wood,

Gough:
Iron essentially offers more
Bang for your buck than wood,

So there's more space for cargo,

Which means that each
Of your journeys

Is going to be more profitable.

*

Narrator: so what disaster
Caused the abandonment

Of such a reliable
And profitable ship

So far from home?

And what was the fate
Of her crew?

*

*

Narrator: deep in
The south atlantic ocean,

In the protected waters
Of the falkland islands,

Lies the deserted wreck
of the lady elizabeth.

Appearing in surprisingly
Good shape

After more than 80 years here,

She evokes eerie memories
of the mary celeste,

Another late-19th-century ship
Found mysteriously abandoned.

Another late-19th-century ship
Found mysteriously abandoned.

*

But life on the seas back then
Was no ocean cruise,

as the lady elizabeth
soon discovered in 1884

On a treacherous journey
From london to sydney.

[ thunder crashes ]

They hit real hurricane force
Winds going around the horn,

Which caused a lot
Of damage to the ship.

[ thunder rumbling ]

[ thunder rumbling ]

The crew had to fight for hours
To survive this storm

And this heavy weather.

All of a sudden,
These guys have to climb up

These lines high up the masts

On a ship that's swaying
Back and forth.

At one moment, you're out over
One side of the boat.

The next moment,
You're out over the other side.

It was not uncommon for sailors
To fall out of the rigging

And not even hit the boat.

They would just fall
Right into the water,

And, of course, there was no way
To turn around and pick them up.

[ camera shutter clicks ]

*

Narrator:
the lady elizabeth survived,

Narrator:
the lady elizabeth survived,

But the narrow escape
Had terrified her crew.

The moment they reach port,
A number of them jump ship.

They were the lucky ones,

As soon
Death would strike the ship

When two sailors
Became infected with malaria.

*

All was well until
One of the men goes missing.

And word goes around the ship
Really quickly that,

And word goes around the ship
Really quickly that,

"Hey. He's gone."

And, you know,
That creates some concern.

Of course it does,
But it got worse that evening

When the other man went missing.

*

Now, there's a state of panic.

Now, they go and they check
The lifeboats.

They're all there.

Well, how about the sea?
It's not rough.

It's really still.

Nobody really knows
What happened to the two men,

And to this day,
It remains a mystery.

*

Narrator: but if this ship
Could withstand

Narrator: but if this ship
Could withstand

Unexplained disappearances

And the worst weather nature
Could throw at her,

Then what was it
About the falklands

That finally cut her time short?

the end came for the lady 'liz
in 1913, her final voyage.

She was doing a fairly long haul
All the way from vancouver

To africa carrying timber.

But again,
She hit heavy weather.

There was a lot of damage
To the ship itself.

Actually, four men were washed
Overboard in this

Actually, four men were washed
Overboard in this

Appalling weather that she met
Going around the southern tip

Of south america, cape horn.

It was so bad, in fact,
And there was so much damage

To the ship itself,

The captain decided
He had no choice

But to run for
The nearest safe harbor.

Narrator: the remaining sailors
Fought for their lives

As they battled
Through the storm.

But disaster
Was about to strike.

As she neared the port,

the lady elizabeth
crashed into a rock.

the lady elizabeth
crashed into a rock.

[ thunder rumbles ]

Meigs: the ship was headed
To a small port

In the falkland islands,

Which are really
In the middle of nowhere

In the south atlantic.

And on their way towards
The port, they hit a rock.

They knocked a pretty good size
Hole in the bottom of the boat.

It started to flood.

Narrator: she had been fatally
Wounded below the waterline.

Crawling into harbor with water
Pouring in,

This was to be the end
Of her days on the open seas.

She was patched up, sold,

She was patched up, sold,

And became a floating warehouse
For timber,

Moored in the harbor.

But if she couldn't
Be sailed again,

How did she make it across
From there

To her final resting place?

Bell:
On the 17th of february 1936,

A heavy storm hit the falklands.

lady elizabeth was moored
in port stanley,

But her moorings broke loose.

She drifted round
To whale bone cove,

Where she beached on the sands,

And that's where she's been ever
Since, slowly rusting away.

And that's where she's been ever
Since, slowly rusting away.

*

Meigs: what's so interesting
And kind of spooky

about the lady elizabeth
is it looks so intact.

That's that iron hull.

Usually, when a boat's
Been wrecked for,

You know,
The better part of a century,

It's really broken down
To some pretty scattered pieces.

The masts are still sticking up
For the most part,

And it looks pretty intact
And dramatic,

Like it just sailed in
Maybe just,

Like it just sailed in
Maybe just,

You know, not long ago.

*

Narrator: today,

the lady elizabeth's
rusting remains

Are a haunting memorial to both
The sailors who lost their lives

In the service of this ship

And the perils of sailing
Upon the open ocean.

*

meigs: if the lady elizabeth
has a moral,

It's that the life of ships

It's that the life of ships

And the life on the sea
Is difficult, dangerous,

And often does not come
To a happy end.

*