0:00:06 > 0:00:09In the telling of the story of the Second World War,
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Ireland is rarely mentioned.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15But scattered across this landscape
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and hidden in the waters of these shores
0:00:18 > 0:00:19are relics and reminders
0:00:19 > 0:00:22of the greatest conflict in modern history.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Here, there is an unique archaeological record
0:00:27 > 0:00:30which holds the key to unlocking the forgotten story
0:00:30 > 0:00:34of one of the most important battles of World War II.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45As a military historian, World War II is a story I thought I knew.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47But now I've come to Northern Ireland,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50where I'm discovering all sorts of incredible stories -
0:00:50 > 0:00:54secrets, heroism, suffering and valour.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58It was here, off the coast of Northern Ireland,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03that the Battle of the Atlantic was won...and lost.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10In these waters, German U-boats and British merchant ships
0:01:10 > 0:01:12played a deadly game of cat and mouse.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14There was very heavy loss of life.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20And the end game of this titanic struggle
0:01:20 > 0:01:23would see the symbolic surrender of the U-boats
0:01:23 > 0:01:25into a Northern Irish port.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32The records alone can only tell us part of the story.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Archaeology can fill in the missing pieces.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Along the way, we'll reveal the story
0:01:39 > 0:01:42of a Spitfire that never made it home...
0:01:45 > 0:01:48It's still got air in the tyre.
0:01:48 > 0:01:50"Instructions for use."
0:01:50 > 0:01:54What we have out so far is six Browning .303 machine guns.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00..and the flying boats built in Belfast's factories
0:02:00 > 0:02:03return to the skies with the airmen who flew them.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07What's it like flying in one of these after 65 years?
0:02:07 > 0:02:09It's marvellous.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11It seems like yesterday.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13During the Battle of the Atlantic,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Northern Ireland found itself at the heart of this bitter struggle.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20And untouched, and amazingly preserved,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24the clues to this forgotten story are hidden here,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26just waiting to be discovered.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37The waters around Northern Ireland
0:02:37 > 0:02:40are littered with shipwrecks from the Second World War.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- Hello. Good to see you.- Hi.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Many are the victims of German U-boats,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52sunk whilst bringing food and war materials from North America
0:02:52 > 0:02:54as part of the Atlantic convoys.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Early in the war, the Allied navies
0:02:58 > 0:03:02began guarding large groups of unarmed merchant ships.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06The supplies they carried stopped Britain
0:03:06 > 0:03:08being starved into submission
0:03:08 > 0:03:13and would later fuel the Allied armies invading Europe after D-day.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21In this six-year battle, over 75,000 Allied seamen lost their lives,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25as well as nearly 30,000 U-boatmen.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Initially, the Atlantic convoys reached the United Kingdom
0:03:31 > 0:03:35by the relative safety of the south-western approaches.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38But with the fall of France in June 1940,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42the Atlantic convoys were rerouted around the top of Ireland,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and so Northern Ireland and her coastal waters
0:03:45 > 0:03:48were thrust into the heart of the action.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I'm heading out to some of the clearest diving waters in the world,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01where World War II wrecks litter the seabed.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07There's one wreck in particular here that encapsulates
0:04:07 > 0:04:10these six years of bitter struggle
0:04:10 > 0:04:13played out just off Northern Ireland's coast.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17In the late summer of 1944,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22around 100 ships that had left Halifax in Canada 10 days before
0:04:22 > 0:04:25arrived here, off the north coast of Ireland.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27It had been an uneventful Atlantic crossing.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Now they were in home waters, a few miles from their base at Derry
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and well within range of the protective aircraft
0:04:34 > 0:04:36of the RAF Coastal Command.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40But convoy HXF 305
0:04:40 > 0:04:44was about to feel the full might of Hitler's U-boats.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02On 30th August, 1944, the Jacksonville,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07an American tanker carrying 14,000 tons of petrol
0:05:07 > 0:05:11from New York to London, was hit by a torpedo.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13It exploded in flame.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18The sea was alight,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and flames from the petroleum were leaping 300 ft into the air.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Of her crew of 73,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30just two were picked up alive.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38For naval rating John Cumming, it was an all-too-familiar tale.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42I remember one occasion an oil tanker going up
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and the sea covered in this thick black oil,
0:05:45 > 0:05:46and men swimming through it.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48And we couldn't stop to rescue them.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50As a matter-of-fact...
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It's one of the worst memories I have, ploughing your way
0:05:54 > 0:05:58through men who are already swimming in this black oil,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and the ship, the destroyer, just ploughs its way through
0:06:02 > 0:06:04to get back to the convoys.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06So, you're leaving folk...
0:06:09 > 0:06:12..to drown, there's nothing you can do about it, you know?
0:06:14 > 0:06:15A bit harrowing.
0:06:19 > 0:06:2336 hours later, the very near to where the Jacksonville was sunk,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27the British corvette HMS Hurst Castle was torpedoed.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29She'd been commissioned just two months before.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34She sank in three minutes, taking 17 Royal Navy sailors with her.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Reg Mason served on corvettes like the Hurst Castle
0:06:38 > 0:06:40on convoy escort duties.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43I will say this, that each time,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45particularly if there was any...
0:06:45 > 0:06:48ships and that going down,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50I always...
0:06:50 > 0:06:53remembering just to say my prayers while I was in my hammock.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59And I knew, each time, that if the ship was torpedoed
0:06:59 > 0:07:01and probably blown up, the magazine,
0:07:01 > 0:07:03I knew that there would be no pain,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06you wouldn't know anything about it, so.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12In the early years of the war, the Allies' convoy system
0:07:12 > 0:07:16had offered safe passage for the cargo ships crossing the Atlantic.
0:07:16 > 0:07:22The naval warships were there to beat off any attempted U-boat attacks.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The U-boats responded to this by attacking en masse
0:07:25 > 0:07:28in big groups called wolf packs.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33These wolf packs initially caused chaos,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and thousands of tons of vital supplies
0:07:36 > 0:07:38were sent to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49But, by 1944, the U-boats were forced to change their tactics,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52as the Allies once again gained the upper hand through new weapons
0:07:52 > 0:07:55and technologies, like sonar.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Lone German submarines now lurked in the coastal waters off Ireland,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06where rocks, currents and wrecks hampered their detection.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13These new tactics saw great success, as our dive is about to demonstrate.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23There are a couple of pictures here - HMS Hurst Castle...
0:08:23 > 0:08:26'Maritime historian Ian Wilson has brought me here
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'to this U-boat killing zone.'
0:08:29 > 0:08:30There you go! Big stride out!
0:08:32 > 0:08:36This was the work of one U-boat using new tactics,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and the first and most successful of the skippers
0:08:39 > 0:08:44employing these was the skipper from U-482,
0:08:44 > 0:08:45a German count, von Matuschka.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47And he was a U-boat captain of some experience?
0:08:47 > 0:08:50No, this was his first patrol.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52He managed to sink three ships...
0:08:52 > 0:08:57And a fourth, and that's the one we're actually right above now,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59a huge ship called the Empire Heritage.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Wow, she's vast, isn't she? And that's below us now?
0:09:03 > 0:09:07That's below us, and her huge cargo, as well, on the seabed.
0:09:09 > 0:09:1470 metres below us lies the wreck of the Empire Heritage.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17As well as her 16,000 tons of fuel oil,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21she was carrying nearly 2,000 tons of cargo,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24most of which was military vehicles, and you can see...
0:09:24 > 0:09:26Is that what I think... That looks like a...
0:09:26 > 0:09:27- Is that a tank? - It's a Sherman tank.
0:09:27 > 0:09:28That's unbelievable!
0:09:28 > 0:09:31The closer you look at that, the more obvious it is.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34These are scattered across the seabed.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37You can see the tracks there and the huge numbers of wheels.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41Tyres, wheels, other types of military vehicle,
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and it's a little bit like a child's toy box
0:09:44 > 0:09:47that has been scattered across the seabed.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I didn't imagine this existed off the British and Irish coast,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00I'd never imagined it.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12It's the way the Sherman tanks are scattered like that.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And notice, also, if you look carefully at the tyres,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21- they seem to be in perfect condition. - They're in great condition.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35This is a huge military blow.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39D-Day just happened, the battle for Normandy, the battle for France is going on -
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I mean, these tanks are needed on the beaches, and beyond.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44Yes, the Allies were advancing through Normandy,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47so, obviously, the Empire Heritage's cargo of Sherman tanks
0:10:47 > 0:10:50and other military vehicles was destined for there.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55So, how did she sink?
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Von Matuschka put his periscope up into the middle of a convoy.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02The first ship he saw happened to be the Empire Heritage.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04The torpedo struck her after 42 seconds
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and she went down in about three minutes.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11She was one of the 20 biggest merchant ships sunk in the war.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The Chief Officer, Mr Gibson, was the senior surviving officer
0:11:14 > 0:11:16and made a statement afterwards.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20He said he came on deck after two minutes after the explosion,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23and by the end of the third minute, by his reckoning,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25he was being swept off his feet by the water
0:11:25 > 0:11:28and the funnels were disappearing.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29Clearly, one of the officers survived,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32how many of the others managed to get off the ship?
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I'm afraid there was very heavy loss of life.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37About 110 people went down with the Empire Heritage.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38And how many survived?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40About 40.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44- So the vast majority of people on board died.- They did, indeed.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52But the Empire Heritage wasn't the last of Matuschka's victims.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56The SS Pinto, rescuing survivors from the Empire Heritage,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58was sunk with the loss of 21 men.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09In just nine days, Matuschka had sunk two freighters,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12two tankers, and one Royal Navy corvette.
0:12:12 > 0:12:18In doing so, U-482 had caused the death of 250 Allied sailors.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23It was one of the most successful patrols of any U-boat that year.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Matuschka arrived back at his base in Norway three weeks later a hero.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32He'd heard via radio signals on the journey
0:12:32 > 0:12:36that he'd been awarded the Iron Cross and the German Cross in gold.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43One hardened U-boat captain described Matuschka's achievements as beginner's luck.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45We'll never know if this was true or not,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49because whatever luck he did have was about to run out.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Eight days into his second patrol, Count Herman von Matuschka
0:12:55 > 0:13:00and his crew of 47 were lost when U-482 was depth charged
0:13:00 > 0:13:04and destroyed to the west of the Shetland Islands.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Matuschka's mission was almost the last hurrah of the U-boat threat
0:13:11 > 0:13:15that had reigned during the Battle of the Atlantic.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18It had seen Londonderry transformed from a small Irish port
0:13:18 > 0:13:21to the centre of operations for this critical front.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25At the height of the Battle of the Atlantic,
0:13:25 > 0:13:31up to 140 naval escort vessels were moored along the banks of the River Foyle.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Alongside this naval power,
0:13:33 > 0:13:3628 new military airfields would spring up,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41housing the planes that would seek and destroy the U-boats in the mid-Atlantic.
0:13:46 > 0:13:52Uniquely preserved, a derelict but intact Second World War airbase.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58These hangars once held the sub killers of Coastal Command.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15But it wasn't just U-boats that were sinking British ships.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18With the fall of France, the German air force
0:14:18 > 0:14:21was close enough to attack the merchant fleet at will.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Therefore, squadrons of fighter aircraft were also needed
0:14:27 > 0:14:30to defend the ships off the Northern Irish coast.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38In 1941, just such a plane was returning to base
0:14:38 > 0:14:41when it met difficulties and crashed into a peat bog.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45The pilot, a young American flying with the RAF,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49had a lucky escape and bailed out just in time.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53But the Spitfire he was flying was never found.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Aviation expert Johnny Macnee
0:14:58 > 0:15:00has been looking for this plane for 10 years,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03and now he thinks he might have found
0:15:03 > 0:15:06the final resting place of this lost Spitfire.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12The ground-penetrating radar survey that we did in February
0:15:12 > 0:15:14showed at least ten metres of peat...
0:15:14 > 0:15:18'He's enlisted the help of World War II aviation experts
0:15:18 > 0:15:21'Steve Vizard and Gareth Jones.'
0:15:21 > 0:15:23We think they might be the undercarriage legs.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- It's inboard of the...guns.- Uh-huh.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Nice, isn't it? It's like a blancmange!
0:15:30 > 0:15:32'Because the ground is soft,
0:15:32 > 0:15:35'it means that hopefully the aircraft will have survived
0:15:35 > 0:15:38'much better than if it had hit hard ground.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41'I'm aware that the downside is that soft ground means
0:15:41 > 0:15:45'that it's extremely difficult for the 20-tonne digger to operate
0:15:45 > 0:15:47'without sinking into the bog itself.'
0:15:49 > 0:15:51- Right, thumbs up, then.- Thumbs up.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01The pilot of our missing Spitfire
0:16:01 > 0:16:05was 23-year-old Bud Wolfe from Nebraska in America.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09He'd been in Northern Ireland with his squadron for just over a month.
0:16:11 > 0:16:12Our pilot is out flying top cover
0:16:12 > 0:16:15over the convoys that are coming from America,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17bringing military supplies into the UK.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Derry Port, very important in supplies,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21so they need protection.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22While he was out flying,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25he noticed that his engine was rapidly overheating,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28temperature about to boil over and his engine seize up,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30so he said, "I'm heading for home, folks."
0:16:33 > 0:16:36And his last reported words were, "I'm going over the side."
0:16:36 > 0:16:37And away he went.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42So he managed to bail out.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44He managed to pull his chute and landed there, did he?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48We know that it was about half-twelve on a Sunday, a very foggy Sunday.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50People coming out of Mass heard the aircraft,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52you know, screeching down through the skies,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54couldn't see anything, because it was very foggy,
0:16:54 > 0:16:56and he landed about three-quarters of a mile away.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01'But the plane itself was never recovered.'
0:17:01 > 0:17:03We've got our first bit of wreckage now,
0:17:03 > 0:17:06just little bits of aluminium from the airframe.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07They've gone into the bucket.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Now the rest of the team are going to sift through that
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and make sure that they don't miss a single piece.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16That's just a piece of wing skinning there, Dan.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17Is that the original paint there?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19That's the original paint, yeah.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21- That's the camouflage.- No way!
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Every single scoop is like opening a Christmas present, it's so exciting.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33You've no idea what you're going to find, no idea what it uncovers.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- Right, guys, what have we got here? - That's a Browning.- That's a Browning?
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- That is one of how many machine guns on board?- One of eight.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42One of eight machine guns, look at that, that's extraordinary!
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Good grief.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46That is... That is the original colouring.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52This was the weapon that gave the Spitfire its teeth.
0:17:52 > 0:17:53Oh, well done. Now, look.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56This is the recoil buffer at the back of the Browning, with the safety.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- Look at that!- After 70 years. - That's in working condition.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04Look at the quality of that paint and that metalwork after 70 years.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07That is staggering. And we've been digging for five minutes.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09We have, yeah, and there should be another six of these.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Each of the Browning machine guns in Bud Wolfe's Spitfire
0:18:16 > 0:18:20would have been loaded with 350 rounds of ammunition.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24So rapid were the guns' rate of fire
0:18:24 > 0:18:28that the pilots had just 15 seconds of ammunition to hit their target.
0:18:30 > 0:18:31BROWNINGS FIRE
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Oh, my goodness.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40'The lack of oxygen in the peat
0:18:40 > 0:18:46'means that our finds are uniquely well-preserved after 70 years.'
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Extraordinary, I've never seen anything like that.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51I haven't got my glasses on, Dan, what are the dates?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54- 1941.- 1941.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- I've never seen anything like this. - Yeah, 1941.- Yeah.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I mean, it's like this was put underground yesterday.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02'The army has been called in
0:19:02 > 0:19:06'because of the danger of uncovering live ammunition.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10'With the machine guns in such good condition,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12'they're taking no chances.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14'Each gun will be carefully checked
0:19:14 > 0:19:18'before being removed for deactivation.'
0:19:29 > 0:19:31'Even though Bud Wolfe's Spitfire
0:19:31 > 0:19:34'ploughed into the bog at over 300mph,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37'as the wreckage is prised apart, it's still possible
0:19:37 > 0:19:41'to identify individual pieces of the wartime fighter.'
0:19:43 > 0:19:45- That's incredible!- See the Dunlop?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49It's still got air in the tyre.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Still got air in the tyre, that survived, that's incredible.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Here you go.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56"Type... Type Spitfire."
0:19:56 > 0:19:58'And there, in tiny letters,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01'one of the most famous names in aviation history.'
0:20:01 > 0:20:04So just between "Type" and "Serial number" here,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07you can see etched "Spitfire" there.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09We know we dug up the right plane!
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Oh, wait, you've got documents here!
0:20:16 > 0:20:19'Even in the ferocity of the crash,
0:20:19 > 0:20:21'something as delicate as paper has survived.'
0:20:21 > 0:20:25You can just see "period of use" there.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27Easy to distinguish.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31Look at this - "instructions for use".
0:20:33 > 0:20:37One of the reasons today has been an exciting, celebratory event
0:20:37 > 0:20:40is because this, of course, was a Spitfire crash in which no-one died.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The young Nebraskan managed to bail out of his plane,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and he landed about three-quarters of a mile away.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48As he landed on his parachute,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51he heard the plane crash into this hillside.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53But his troubles weren't at an end,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56because even though he was just a few miles from his base,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00just over in Derry, he'd actually landed in a different country.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Rather than being in the UK,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04he was in neutral Republic of Ireland.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10It should have taken Bud Wolfe less than an hour
0:21:10 > 0:21:14to drive the 26-odd miles back to his squadron at Eglinton,
0:21:14 > 0:21:18but by landing on the wrong side of the border,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Wolfe was now an internee.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22He was also at the start
0:21:22 > 0:21:24of a 220-mile journey,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26south to internment
0:21:26 > 0:21:27at a place called the Curragh,
0:21:27 > 0:21:28not far from Dublin,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31where he joined other RAF airmen
0:21:31 > 0:21:34who had accidentally come down in neutral Ireland.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45These rather cosy-looking cottages
0:21:45 > 0:21:48are, in fact, all that's left of the internment camp
0:21:48 > 0:21:50that Bud Wolfe and his RAF compatriots were sent to.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52With the corrugated-iron huts,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55it was effectively a prisoner-of-war camp.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58But it wasn't your average prisoner-of-war camp.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04To start with, there were the fellow inmates.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08Right next door to the RAF contingent were the Germans,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10sailors and airmen from the German Navy and Luftwaffe
0:22:10 > 0:22:13who had also strayed onto neutral Irish territory.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Then there was the security.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Now, the Irish guards did have rifles,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23but they were loaded with blanks.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27And the inmates were allowed to come and go as they pleased.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32The town of Naas is about ten miles from the camp.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It was here that both Allied and German prisoners
0:22:35 > 0:22:37often came for the day.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Some of the conditions in which the internees were kept
0:22:41 > 0:22:44seem so far-fetched that it's hard to believe.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49- Hello.- Hello there. - How are you doing?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51'I've come to one of the oldest pubs in Naas
0:22:51 > 0:22:54'to meet Sergeant Charlie Walsh of the Irish Army.'
0:22:54 > 0:22:57So what was life like in this internment camp?
0:22:57 > 0:22:59The conditions inside the camp weren't too bad.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02In the officers' mess they actually had their own private bar.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06They would have had beer, Irish whiskies, French wine, liqueurs,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Scotch, stuff like that and port.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13The Irish Guinness and Irish whiskey was actually free.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16So as long as you were drinking local stuff, it was free booze?
0:23:16 > 0:23:17That's correct, yes.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Quite a number of marriages between the internees and local people as well.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24There was actually one wedding in the Curragh Camp itself,
0:23:24 > 0:23:25in the local church there.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28- Was there trouble between the Allies and the German prisoners?- There was.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32The Germans would actually cycle six abreast on their bicycles
0:23:32 > 0:23:35on the roads, so everyone would have to get out of their way
0:23:35 > 0:23:39and the Allies, if they were out, they wouldn't wish to move off the road either,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41so there were some fisticuffs on that there.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Despite the obvious comfort of being interned,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Bud Wolfe had no intention of sticking around.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50As far as he was concerned
0:23:50 > 0:23:55he was heading back to join his squadron and fight.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58This is the old guard house at Curragh Camp and it was here
0:23:58 > 0:24:03on 13th December 1941 that Bud came and signed a parole, which was basically a piece of paper
0:24:03 > 0:24:07promising he was going to pop out to town but that he would come back.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Then he returned to the camp on the pretext
0:24:10 > 0:24:14he'd forgotten his gloves and checked himself back in.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Later though, he snuck out without signing a parole.
0:24:19 > 0:24:24Bud Wolfe had no intention of going back to Curragh Camp that night.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26He was now on the run.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32'He went first to Dublin, where he caught the train north to Belfast.
0:24:32 > 0:24:37'And then back to the RAF airfield where he and his ill-fated Spitfire
0:24:37 > 0:24:40'had taken off two weeks early.'
0:24:41 > 0:24:45You could just imagine the excitement of Bud Wolfe's fellow pilots
0:24:45 > 0:24:49when the 23-year-old Nebraskan arrived back here at RAF Eglinton.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52But that excitement was to be short-lived.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56In one of the most truly bizarre episodes of the Second World War
0:24:56 > 0:25:01the British Government decided that rather than antagonise the neutral Irish,
0:25:01 > 0:25:05that they would send Bud Wolfe back to the Curragh and internment.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11'In the Donegal hills the final pieces of Bud's Spitfire
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'are being unearthed after 70 years.'
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Just when you thought it couldn't get any better,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19the massive beast that is the engine is coming out.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21It's actually too big for the bucket, vast.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23You can put it over there.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29What state is this in?
0:25:29 > 0:25:31It's actually in quite good condition.
0:25:31 > 0:25:32It's well-preserved.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35This is fuel running out of the engine down here.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Look at that.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42That's fuel running out of the engine, it's been there 70 years.
0:25:42 > 0:25:43This is the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46one of the classic bits of British engineering history.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It powered the Spitfire, it powered the Lancaster bomber.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52We worried it might have shattered as it went through the bog and hit the clay
0:25:52 > 0:25:54but actually it's in pretty good condition.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59Almost perfect, as good as the day it went in 70 years ago.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01On here you'll have...
0:26:03 > 0:26:04.."Merlin".
0:26:06 > 0:26:10'But some artefacts provide an even closer connection to Bud Wolfe,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15'a young American pilot who flew our Spitfire.'
0:26:15 > 0:26:18This is my favourite find so far.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22This is one of the harnesses from the cockpit and Bud Wolfe
0:26:22 > 0:26:26would have pulled this bit here seconds before he ejected.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Absolutely incredible.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35This here, I think you'll find we've got a lovely flying helmet.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36No way!
0:26:36 > 0:26:39That is about as good as it gets, really.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40That's extraordinary.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44This is something I never believed that we would find,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Bud Wolfe's original flying helmet, worn by him on that sortie,
0:26:48 > 0:26:50still attached to the original oxygen mask.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54It's survived underground for 70 years,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57removed by him just before he bailed out -
0:26:57 > 0:26:59just speechless.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12Hey, grand slam.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Thanks very much.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17It's unbelievable, that is unbelievable.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24When you come to a hillside like this and dig these objects out of the ground -
0:27:24 > 0:27:28the straps that held the terrified pilot into his cockpit
0:27:28 > 0:27:29as his plane failed,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33the engine that overheated and forced him to bail out,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36those things take you back to a moment in time.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41They allow you to touch the past, they allow you to smell the past,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44even though that event happened 70 years ago.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50'On the day he crashed, Bud Wolfe had been providing cover
0:27:50 > 0:27:53'for convoys steaming along the north coast.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55'But Coastal Command could also
0:27:55 > 0:28:00'call upon planes that would patrol long and far into the Atlantic,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'using Northern Ireland's geography to tilt the battle
0:28:03 > 0:28:04'in the Allies' favour.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08'But to do this would take a particular kind of plane.'
0:28:08 > 0:28:10This is Lough Erne in Fermanagh.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13This is about as far west as you can get in the United Kingdom.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15The Atlantic is just a few miles that way
0:28:15 > 0:28:17beyond the end of the lough,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19so with the Battle of the Atlantic raging out there
0:28:19 > 0:28:23it was clearly vitally important to use this area as a base.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25The trouble is, at the outbreak of war
0:28:25 > 0:28:27there were no airfields around here,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29but what there was, though, was water -
0:28:29 > 0:28:31lots of water.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37'In 1941, it was a very different kind of boat which was moored here.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39'Perfectly adapted to the terrain
0:28:39 > 0:28:40'and in some cases built here,
0:28:40 > 0:28:43'a brilliant solution to the problem.'
0:28:43 > 0:28:47NEWSREEL: Northern Ireland factories are making Sunderland flying boats,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49those magnificent aircraft which have done
0:28:49 > 0:28:52so much to prevent the U-boats being victorious.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55It's not permissible to say how many flying boats have been
0:28:55 > 0:29:00manufactured in Ulster, but the output has been highly creditable.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06'Lough Erne was the home to the Sunderlands and Catalinas,
0:29:06 > 0:29:10'operated here by airmen from RAF Coastal Command.'
0:29:12 > 0:29:16'Because of a secret deal with the Irish Republic,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20'the flying boats based at Castle Archdale and Killadeas on Lough Erne
0:29:20 > 0:29:23'could fly a route which became known as the Donegal Corridor,
0:29:23 > 0:29:27'a shortcut to the Atlantic over neutral Ireland.'
0:29:30 > 0:29:35'This extended their range, enabling the aircraft to get further into the Atlantic
0:29:35 > 0:29:38'to protect the convoys from marauding U-boats.'
0:29:44 > 0:29:48This is a genuine Second World War Catalina flying boat,
0:29:48 > 0:29:53an aircraft perfectly designed to take off and land on the water.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55Actually just look at the fuselage here,
0:29:55 > 0:29:57it's shaped exactly like the hull of a ship.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00These wheels wouldn't actually have been there during the Second World War,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02so it could only operate from the water.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05For me, it's one of the most distinctive aircraft of World War II.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10There's a huge bubble-shaped canopy, known as a blister at the back there.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13That allowed an observer to have an unimpeded view,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15and that's the job of these aircraft,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19to go out and act as observers, scouring the Atlantic
0:30:19 > 0:30:21for enemy ships and U-boats.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24If they did spot a U-boat, there were depth charges
0:30:24 > 0:30:27arrayed along the wings so they could swoop down and drop depth charges
0:30:27 > 0:30:31on the U-boat and try and sink it.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45Seven decades later, this wartime Catalina, one of only a few left
0:30:45 > 0:30:48flying in Europe, has returned to the Fermanagh and Lough Erne.
0:30:50 > 0:30:56It was about 66, 67 years ago when I last flew in a Catalina.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04'On board are two veterans, Ted Jones and Chuck Singer.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08'Both flew with Coastal Command from Lough Erne during the war.'
0:31:10 > 0:31:13- Is it all coming back? Do you recognise it all?- Oh, yes.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23What's it like flying in one of these after 65 years?
0:31:24 > 0:31:27It's marvellous. It seems like yesterday.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00I was made a captain of a Catalina two days after my 20th birthday,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02so I was young.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Ted Jones joined RAF Coastal Command in 1942.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10He flew 55 anti-U-boat patrols.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14They flew like an old cow, but they were lovely aircraft.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16They were built like a tank -
0:32:16 > 0:32:19solid, you know, but a bit heavy on the controls.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21We had a marvellous automatic pilot
0:32:21 > 0:32:24because we went out for 18-hour patrols
0:32:24 > 0:32:27and it wouldn't have been possible to fly one for that time.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Chuck Singer was a crew member in the much larger Sunderland flying boat,
0:32:32 > 0:32:36which operated out of RAF Castle Archdale.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38While Chuck flew for the RAF,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42he was just one of an estimated 100,000 US and Canadian servicemen
0:32:42 > 0:32:44who'd flooded into Northern Ireland
0:32:44 > 0:32:48to bolster Coastal Command and the naval convoys.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55I was gunner in the mid-aperture. That was my position.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Your flying boats did an extraordinary job during the war
0:32:59 > 0:33:02because it was just endless patrolling and looking out.
0:33:02 > 0:33:03It must have been exhausting.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06It was, you're awful tired when you got back.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08You had to be on the alert all that time.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10How long were you up in the air for?
0:33:10 > 0:33:1310 to 12 hours. It was quite a while.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18You must have been exhausted because you're constantly looking at everything in the sky.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Yes, for the first five or six hours, it's very interesting,
0:33:22 > 0:33:26and after that your eyes start getting sore and you're imagining things.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28You say that's an aircraft,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31later you find out it's just a flock of gulls or something.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35But you had to... be on the ball every second.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39We were really shattered. And it was basically the noise
0:33:39 > 0:33:42because we had no ear protectors,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46we just had the ordinary earphones and a helmet on.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50But it didn't bother us, we were too young.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55Nothing can happen to you when you're 19, can it? You know?
0:33:57 > 0:34:01The seaplanes built and flown in Northern Ireland
0:34:01 > 0:34:04played a significant role in the battle of the Atlantic.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07And across Britain, the realities of total war
0:34:07 > 0:34:12meant everyone ended up doing their bit, and in places like Belfast,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15this happened on a vast scale.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Peacetime factories were turned over to the war effort,
0:34:20 > 0:34:24producing huge numbers of parachutes as well as uniforms.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31They also produced massive quantities of armaments.
0:34:32 > 0:34:3414,000 gun barrels,
0:34:34 > 0:34:3775 million shells
0:34:37 > 0:34:40and 180 million incendiary bullets.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45NEWSREEL: 'Incendiary bullets that have shot down many a Nazi plane have come from this place.'
0:34:47 > 0:34:50There was one key contribution that would come to embody
0:34:50 > 0:34:52the Northern Irish war effort.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56In the summer of 1940, at the height of the invasion threat,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00while German troops were storming their way through France, in Belfast,
0:35:00 > 0:35:04shipbuilders Harland and Wolff were putting the finishing touches
0:35:04 > 0:35:06to a non-maritime project.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Harland and Wolff were asked to design a tank.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15They came up with one which they called the rather unglamorous name the A-20.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17But this tank would go on to become
0:35:17 > 0:35:20one of the most successful British tanks of the Second World War.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25The A-20 would evolve into the Churchill tank.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35I've come to Dunmore Park in Belfast,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39the home of the North Irish Horse, a regiment which during World War II
0:35:39 > 0:35:41would become closely associated
0:35:41 > 0:35:43with the Churchill.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45The North Irish Horse, as the name suggests,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48was at cavalry regiment raised from the northern counties of Ireland.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52By the Second World War, they'd swapped their horses for the Churchill tank,
0:35:52 > 0:35:56and the men served with huge gallantry through North Africa and Italy.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04The trouble with the Churchill tank at Dunmore Park
0:36:04 > 0:36:07is that it's a bit static - a bit of a museum piece.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Nigel.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20- Welcome.- What an extraordinary thing to have in your shed.- I know.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25'Belfast-born Nigel Montgomery knows quite a lot about Churchills.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29'Not only was his father in the North Irish Horse in World War II,
0:36:29 > 0:36:33'but he actually owns the only working Churchill tank of its kind
0:36:33 > 0:36:35'anywhere in the world.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:39So this is the turret here.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41There are scars here. Is this battle damage?
0:36:41 > 0:36:44This is battle damage and we don't know for sure where it came from.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47It's probably shell splinters or mortar fire that burst on the deck.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50How many crew would have served in his tank?
0:36:50 > 0:36:54Five in total - three in the turret and two at the front.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57The three in the turret were divided between the guy here,
0:36:57 > 0:36:59the loader and operator, so he did the radio
0:36:59 > 0:37:01and loaded the main gun.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03And in here, amazingly, two people -
0:37:03 > 0:37:07front...way down there, a gunner, and in here, the commander.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Gerry Chester joined the North Irish Horse in 1942.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16He was a driver/operator in Churchill tanks.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19The Churchill tank was the best British tank of World War II,
0:37:19 > 0:37:20no question about it.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29We felt safe in it, which was important.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32It was a great tank to be aboard.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36My role as driver/operator was to take charge of the radio
0:37:36 > 0:37:38and also to load the heavy gun.
0:37:40 > 0:37:41That's it.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44Slide in.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46I don't fancy getting out of here in a hurry.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50I'm not sure it's designed for a tall person.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51Wow!
0:37:51 > 0:37:54The Churchill tank was not as tight as ones
0:37:54 > 0:37:57we did training in at the tank regiment.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01It was more roomy, but still it was a tight fit, that's for sure.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04And driving-wise, obviously a nice big window here,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07but unfortunately it's facing towards the enemy,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09you'd want this closed, wouldn't you?
0:38:09 > 0:38:11Yes, if there's a chance of battle, that closes,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14and once it closes, you're reliant
0:38:14 > 0:38:16on that single periscope, that tiny letterbox of vision.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- This thing here?- Yes.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Oh!
0:38:23 > 0:38:25So I'm in the turret now.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28So this is the commander's position?
0:38:28 > 0:38:32The man in charge, the man who made all the decisions.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36It's a great view, but you do feel quite exposed, it's quite nice being down there.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40I had my head out sometimes, but it depended on the circumstances.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42If there was a lot of shelling going on,
0:38:42 > 0:38:44of course you put your head down!
0:38:44 > 0:38:46If you move forward a little bit,
0:38:46 > 0:38:48you'll be sitting where the gunner would be,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52just in front of your commander's position you were in a moment ago.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54So you're really close to the commander?
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Literally, by his kneecaps.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04But the best thing about Nigel's tank is that it actually works.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20It was in Churchill tanks like this one that men like Gerry Chester
0:39:20 > 0:39:22and his comrades in the North Irish Horse
0:39:22 > 0:39:28were to go into action in the Battle of the Hitler Line in Italy, in May 1944.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Being in this tank is really an assault on the senses.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49The sound and smell of the engine
0:39:49 > 0:39:52and being jolted around is like being at sea.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54It's a strange feeling.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58On the one hand, you feel very secure and protected,
0:39:58 > 0:40:01but you also feel that you're in a lumbering,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05slow machine that would attract lots of enemy fire.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08And that day attacking the Hitler Line,
0:40:08 > 0:40:10the tanks took terrible casualties.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18The battle for the Hitler Line would prove the mettle of the Churchill tank
0:40:18 > 0:40:23and the fighting men of Ulster, here in the fields of central Italy.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33In 1943, Allied troops invaded Sicily and Italy
0:40:33 > 0:40:37and began heading north towards the Italian capital of Rome.
0:40:37 > 0:40:42If Rome fell, it would be a huge boost to Allied morale.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49But they would become bogged down 75 miles south of the capital,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51at a place called Monte Cassino.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55There, at the foot of the Benedictine monastery,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59in five months of bitter fighting, the Allies would try
0:40:59 > 0:41:02to dislodge the Germans who controlled the higher ground.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09In so doing, the monastery was reduced to a pile of rubble.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18Having taken Monte Cassino, only one obstacle lay in their way -
0:41:18 > 0:41:21the Hitler Line - a massive fortification
0:41:21 > 0:41:23which blocked the road to Rome.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30And it's here that the North Irish Horse would face the toughest battle in their history.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35From up here, it's easy to see what was going on in 1944.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37This is the Liri Valley.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40If you want to march an army up from the south of Italy towards Rome,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44just up there, you've got to bring them up this nice, flat valley.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46And that's why the Germans built
0:41:46 > 0:41:50what they hoped would be an impregnable line of steel and concrete,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53which stretched from this side of the valley right across there,
0:41:53 > 0:41:55to that great big mountain.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59The Hitler Line, they had all sorts of stuff in there.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03All sorts, not only dug-in Panzers,
0:42:03 > 0:42:08they had machine-gun nests, mobile anti-tank guns and also Panzers running around,
0:42:08 > 0:42:09so a lot of opposition,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12a lot of opposition.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14STRIMMER ENGINE WHIRRS
0:42:19 > 0:42:24A group of Italian historians has been investigating the remains
0:42:24 > 0:42:28of the bunkers and emplacements which make up the Hitler Line -
0:42:28 > 0:42:31bunkers which have been swallowed up by the undergrowth
0:42:31 > 0:42:34in the years following the Second World War.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41The Churchill tanks of the North Irish Horse,
0:42:41 > 0:42:43along with other British units,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46would support the Canadian infantry, who were leading
0:42:46 > 0:42:48the assault on the German bunkers and machine-gun nests.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54The actual battle started off at six o'clock on May 23rd.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56HEAVY ARMS FIRE
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Of course, there was a constant barrage going on
0:43:00 > 0:43:02but at eight o'clock a huge bang
0:43:02 > 0:43:05cos the whole Canadian artillery -
0:43:05 > 0:43:06a lot of Eighth Army artillery -
0:43:06 > 0:43:09loading down a tremendous barrage
0:43:09 > 0:43:11and we advanced in behind that.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13CONSTANT EXPLOSIONS
0:43:16 > 0:43:18We were working through this wood and, in there,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20the Germans had snipers in trees
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and we lost a few fellows - tank commanders -
0:43:23 > 0:43:25who were killed by these snipers.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27MACHINERY WHIRRS
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Va bene! >
0:43:29 > 0:43:32So this group believe that, just behind all this foliage,
0:43:32 > 0:43:36there is a concrete bunker built by the Germans in World War II,
0:43:36 > 0:43:40and you can see the outline of it as they start to thin it all out.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43And, of course, this was just one of hundreds of bunkers,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47gun emplacements, concrete-and-steel structures and machine-gun pits
0:43:47 > 0:43:49that spread right the way across this valley here -
0:43:49 > 0:43:51the so-called Hitler Line.
0:43:51 > 0:43:52The Germans built this line
0:43:52 > 0:43:55intending it to be absolutely impregnable.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57They'd lost Monte Cassino
0:43:57 > 0:44:00but they were not going to give this up without one heck of a fight.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04When we first went in to action, most of us - well, I was - dead scared.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07What was going to happen, you know? 18, well, I was 19, you know?
0:44:07 > 0:44:08HE CHUCKLES
0:44:10 > 0:44:13There was so much gunfire and things that we couldn't see
0:44:13 > 0:44:15because there was dust everywhere.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18Now, our visibility was estimated
0:44:18 > 0:44:20at no more than ten yards.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23We didn't see that Panzer turret. We didn't see it.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25I mean, it ran so close to us.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33Walking across this fairly flat, wide open, lush Liri Valley,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36the troops would have felt very, very exposed
0:44:36 > 0:44:38to the German machine-gunners just there.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40And they would have been cut down instantly,
0:44:40 > 0:44:42were it not for the fact they weren't alone.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44They had the support of their tanks.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47The tanks were behind them, blasting high-explosive shells
0:44:47 > 0:44:49towards those German positions,
0:44:49 > 0:44:51forcing the Germans to keep their heads down.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53And there's shrapnel all over these fields,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56like these pieces of shell-casing here.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59It allowed the infantry to get nice and close to this German bunker.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04'At the time of the assault, the bunker would have been
0:45:04 > 0:45:07'surrounded by minefields and barbed wire.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12'Now uncovered by the team, it's possible to climb up inside it.'
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Wow! That's pretty cosy.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17And another bunker like this, maybe just a few hundred metres?
0:45:17 > 0:45:19Yes, yes, yes. Very close.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22- Very strong position. - Very strong position.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28'Excavating the ground in front of the bunker,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32'what the historians are finding is evidence of a robust defence
0:45:32 > 0:45:33'by its German occupants.'
0:45:33 > 0:45:37- German?- German. Yes. German. - Machine gun?- Yes, machine gun.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40- It's German machine gun round.- OK! Another one.- That's fine.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44These were fired in the heat of battle,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47on that one day at the end of May 1944.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49RAPID MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:45:50 > 0:45:52MAN SPEAKS EXCITEDLY IN ITALIAN
0:45:52 > 0:45:56That was the belt on which all the bullets would have been stored.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Incredible, eh?
0:45:58 > 0:46:01You can not believe this was fired 70 years ago.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03- Yes, yes.- 70, yes.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05METAL DETECTOR BEEPS
0:46:07 > 0:46:11'As tanks and infantry closed in on the prize of the Hitler Line,
0:46:11 > 0:46:14'many fell in the fighting
0:46:14 > 0:46:16'and the evidence is still there to be found.'
0:46:16 > 0:46:18No way! Is that a German shape?
0:46:18 > 0:46:20Hmm. No. From the shape, no.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Early to say but there's a jagged hole and it could be a helmet
0:46:23 > 0:46:24of a Canadian Infantryman
0:46:24 > 0:46:27who was killed in the assault on this bunker.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28MEN CONVERSE IN ITALIAN
0:46:35 > 0:46:38- Fantastic.- All go. My God!
0:46:38 > 0:46:42- It's definitely a Canadian... a Canadian helmet?- Yes.- Yes.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43- Absolutely.- Wow!
0:46:47 > 0:46:50We advanced through all this smoke and dust
0:46:50 > 0:46:54and then we got hit on the starboard side three times.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57CONSTANT EXPLOSIONS
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Skipper gave the order to bail out.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03We got out. My driver was badly cut -
0:47:03 > 0:47:06almost in two - and he died.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Er...a further shot hit the turret,
0:47:09 > 0:47:13which shot fragments of red hot... all over,
0:47:13 > 0:47:18o e of which seriously wounded the tank commander, Gordon Russell.
0:47:18 > 0:47:19EXPLOSION
0:47:19 > 0:47:21It was a tough day for the regiment -
0:47:21 > 0:47:24the toughest we'd had in either war.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26It was a...
0:47:26 > 0:47:31It was the... catastrophic, as far as losses.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42More than 70 men from the North Irish Horse
0:47:42 > 0:47:45were killed or wounded that day.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49With the dead buried here, below the monastery of Monte Cassino.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57The Canadian infantry, who they'd supported,
0:47:57 > 0:48:00had also suffered heavy losses.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04After the battle, the dead of the Canadians
0:48:04 > 0:48:08and the North Irish Horse were buried alongside each other.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12This was entirely fitting for men who had fought and fallen together -
0:48:12 > 0:48:15men who had broken the Hitler Line.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Was I feeling proud when I took part?
0:48:22 > 0:48:23In a way, yes.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27In a way, er...
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Most of us thought, during the war, that the war was worthwhile.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37You know? It was a war that we felt had to be won and it was a right war.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47There was an inward pride that we'd fought a good battle and we'd won.
0:48:48 > 0:48:49As simple as that.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51Simple as that.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06In our story of Northern Ireland's role in the Second World War,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09I've got one last trip to make.
0:49:13 > 0:49:14Back in Ireland,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17there's a post-script to the story of our crashed Spitfire
0:49:17 > 0:49:19and the brave, young American pilot
0:49:19 > 0:49:22who was interned as a prisoner of war for over a year.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25It's been six months since we dug up Bud Wolfe's Spitfire
0:49:25 > 0:49:27from the bogs of Donegal.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30In the meantime, something remarkable has been happening.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36The machine guns from the crashed Spitfire were taken away
0:49:36 > 0:49:40by the Irish Army to be stripped down before being deactivated.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44'But when they were dismantled,
0:49:44 > 0:49:49'they were found to be in much better condition than anyone had imagined...
0:49:54 > 0:49:58'..and that raised an interesting possibility.'
0:49:58 > 0:49:59- Hi, there.- Hi, Dan.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02How are you doing? Good to see you.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04'So I've come to meet Lieutenant Dave Sexton,
0:50:04 > 0:50:06'Ordinance Officer in the Irish Army,
0:50:06 > 0:50:10'and hopefully, actually fire the machine gun.'
0:50:10 > 0:50:12So the last time I saw that machine gun,
0:50:12 > 0:50:15I was pulling it with my hands out of a bog in Donegal.
0:50:15 > 0:50:16What have you done to it since?
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Well, we've been doing a lot of work on them,
0:50:19 > 0:50:21but basically, the work has been 95%
0:50:21 > 0:50:23just cleaning up the weapons,
0:50:23 > 0:50:24stripping them down,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26cleaning them out, checking them, measuring them,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28and adjusting them for firing.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30But no repairs. No repairs at all, really.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34These machine guns hit the ground at well over 300mph.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Why weren't they all bent and twisted and unusable?
0:50:37 > 0:50:41Well, the short answer is, we don't really know!
0:50:41 > 0:50:44We had assumed that we'd be picking up bits and pieces
0:50:44 > 0:50:46and collecting up the ammunition, etc.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49So when we took them out of the bog,
0:50:49 > 0:50:51I got a call on that day to say
0:50:51 > 0:50:54that they were actually in one piece.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57And, of course, that set the cogs in motion,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59as regards, "Well, how far can we go with this?"
0:50:59 > 0:51:03If they're in one piece, you know, could they actually fire?
0:51:03 > 0:51:06So you're telling me that every single part of that weapon
0:51:06 > 0:51:08over there was recovered from that aircraft wreck?
0:51:08 > 0:51:11Yes, I am, yes. Absolutely.
0:51:11 > 0:51:13Every single piece.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- Protection. - Ah. Protect the good bits!
0:51:23 > 0:51:25- Protection.- That fits.
0:51:28 > 0:51:29I'm extremely excited.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32It's been 70 years to the month
0:51:32 > 0:51:34since Bud Wolfe's plane crashed into Donegal.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38And now we are going to try and fire that machine gun again.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42- OK?- OK? That's your charge at the front. In your own time.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44OK. Here we go. 70 years on.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48- HE SHOUTS - Stand by! Firing!
0:51:48 > 0:51:51RAPID MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:51:54 > 0:51:57THAT was the sound of a Spitfire!
0:52:00 > 0:52:02It's a testament to the engineers
0:52:02 > 0:52:05that put that weapon together more than 70 years ago,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07that, after decades under a bog,
0:52:07 > 0:52:09having hit the ground at over 300mph,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13that weapon is working like the day was made.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16RAPID MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:52:19 > 0:52:22But what happened to the RAF pilot
0:52:22 > 0:52:25who flew the Spitfire where the guns had come from?
0:52:25 > 0:52:29Bud Wolfe was eventually released from Curragh Camp,
0:52:29 > 0:52:31and got back in the cockpit,
0:52:31 > 0:52:33this time with the American Air Force,
0:52:33 > 0:52:36in time to see service at the end of World War II.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43To tell the final chapter of this country's role
0:52:43 > 0:52:46in what was a global conflict,
0:52:46 > 0:52:50we're heading back underwater, to the hunting grounds
0:52:50 > 0:52:53of one of the most feared German war machines, the U-Boat.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56The hidden menace that tried to starve us into submission.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02Just off the north coast lies a submarine graveyard,
0:53:02 > 0:53:06where over 100 of the vessels that formed Germany's backbone
0:53:06 > 0:53:08during the Battle of the Atlantic,
0:53:08 > 0:53:10now lie broken, and in ruin.
0:53:13 > 0:53:14The Battle of the Atlantic
0:53:14 > 0:53:17was the longest continuous battle of World War II.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20It stretched from the earliest days of September, 1939
0:53:20 > 0:53:23right up until early May, 1945,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26just before the final German surrender.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28Throughout this battle,
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Allied convoys feared U-boats like no other weapons system.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Hunting alone, or in dreaded 'wolf packs',
0:53:35 > 0:53:36they would prey on Allied shipping
0:53:36 > 0:53:39and sent numerous vessels to the bottom.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42GUNFIRE
0:53:48 > 0:53:52But, by the spring of 1945, the Nazis were on their knees,
0:53:52 > 0:53:55and as the noose tightened around Berlin,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58the German High Command had no choice
0:53:58 > 0:54:00but to put an end to its naval campaign.
0:54:01 > 0:54:05For the U- boats, it ended here in Northern Ireland.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10On May 5th, 1945,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13just five days after Hitler had died in his bunker in Berlin,
0:54:13 > 0:54:18Grossadmiral Karl Donitz, who was now the supreme commander
0:54:18 > 0:54:21of the German Armed Forces, issued the following order.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26"All U-boats cease fire immediately.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30"Stop all offensive actions against Allied shipping."
0:54:30 > 0:54:35This was total defeat.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39The German fleet was made to surrender formally in Londonderry,
0:54:39 > 0:54:44the city that had played such a huge part in the battle against them.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Able Seaman Tex Beasley was among those who were tasked
0:54:48 > 0:54:52with ensuring that all enemy crews yielded without incident.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54We went out in early May
0:54:54 > 0:54:59to meet up with the U-boats that were surrendering.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02Behind her were many, many other U-boats.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04I don't know how many, but quite a few.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06So the skipper said,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09"Right, you're in action now. Over."
0:55:09 > 0:55:13So I jumped from our boat onto the U-boat.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17I said to the...who I presumed was the commander...I said,
0:55:17 > 0:55:21"Guten Morgen, sprechen Sie English?"
0:55:21 > 0:55:23And he said, "Yes, rather well, I think."
0:55:26 > 0:55:29The other guy that came up had an American accent, but...
0:55:29 > 0:55:34HE ADOPTS ACCENT: ..mit a German American accent, you know what I mean?
0:55:34 > 0:55:37That sort of thing.
0:55:37 > 0:55:43And he said, "What would you do if I just did a crash dive?"
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I said, "I'd shoot you right between the eyes."
0:56:01 > 0:56:04This remarkable structure is all that's left
0:56:04 > 0:56:08of the naval escort base built at Lisahally during the war,
0:56:08 > 0:56:09just a few miles north of Derry.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12It was here that the U-boats were moored alongside.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15And here, on 14th May, 1945,
0:56:15 > 0:56:19the German Navy ceremonially signed its final surrender.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Over the next few months, more than 50 U-boats
0:56:24 > 0:56:25came up the River Foyle,
0:56:25 > 0:56:29where they were stripped of anything valuable still on board.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Locals came from miles around
0:56:31 > 0:56:34to have a look at the world's most famous submarines.
0:56:34 > 0:56:38Once the U-boats were alongside here, the crews were marched off.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41They were taken along the pier and put on waiting trains
0:56:41 > 0:56:44and then transferred to POW camps.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47For the commanders, it must have been a terrible humiliation.
0:56:47 > 0:56:48And for the locals,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51watching these men as they shuffled off into captivity,
0:56:51 > 0:56:53it must have been hard to believe
0:56:53 > 0:56:55that this was the force that, just a few years earlier,
0:56:55 > 0:56:59had almost brought the Allied navies to their knees.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04For the U-boats that remained tied up in Derry,
0:57:04 > 0:57:07their fate was swift and deliberate.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11As part of Operation Deadlight, 116 surrendered U-boats
0:57:11 > 0:57:14were towed into the North Atlantic, off Malin Head.
0:57:14 > 0:57:15Some of them didn't even make it.
0:57:15 > 0:57:18They were barely seaworthy after such a long war.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22But those that did were then used for target practice
0:57:22 > 0:57:24by Allied ships and aircraft.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29The task of dragging them out to sea took three months.
0:57:29 > 0:57:34One by one, 116 of these once-proud members of the wolf packs
0:57:34 > 0:57:36were systematically destroyed.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39GUNFIRE
0:57:48 > 0:57:52The sinking of the U-boats, as part of Operation Deadlight,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56marked the end of the Battle of the Atlantic.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59It was a campaign which had thrust Northern Ireland
0:57:59 > 0:58:01to the heart of the action,
0:58:01 > 0:58:04defending the convoys at sea and from the air.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11It's some 70 years
0:58:11 > 0:58:15since one of the key battles of the world's greatest war
0:58:15 > 0:58:19was fought and won here, off the rugged coast of Northern Ireland.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25And the evidence for that struggle is still with us -
0:58:25 > 0:58:27at least, for now.
0:58:51 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd