0:00:04 > 0:00:08In the telling of the story of the Second World War,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Ireland is rarely mentioned.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17But scattered across this landscape and in the waters off these shores,
0:00:17 > 0:00:22are the relics and reminders of the greatest conflict in modern history.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31As a military historian World War Two is a story I thought I knew.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33But now I've come to Northern Ireland
0:00:33 > 0:00:36where I'm discovering all sorts of incredible stories
0:00:36 > 0:00:40of secrets, heroism, suffering and valour.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43This is the untold story
0:00:43 > 0:00:46of how Northern Ireland played a pivotal role in the war
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and how its people helped shape the outcome.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55In the waters off the north coast of Ireland...
0:00:55 > 0:00:57There was very heavy loss of life.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59..we're diving on extraordinary wrecks.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01- It's a Sherman tank. - That's unbelievable.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05We visit Northern Ireland's wartime airfields.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10And tell the story of a Spitfire that never made it home.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13It's still got air in the tyre.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15"Instructions for use."
0:01:15 > 0:01:18What we have out so far is six Browning 303 machine guns.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24This weapon gave the Spitfire its teeth.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27We discover a farm in County Down
0:01:27 > 0:01:30which gave refuge from the Holocaust.
0:01:30 > 0:01:36And an island in Lough Neagh where the US troops left their mark.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And how shipbuilders Harland and Wolff
0:01:39 > 0:01:42provided the blueprint for our most successful tank.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47We're piecing together wartime tragedies
0:01:47 > 0:01:51of those who volunteered
0:01:51 > 0:01:53and didn't return.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57I just knew that he was in the war and he was a soldier and he died.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03The person who shot this was aiming for the person in this bunker here.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05He was trying to kill him.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07He died in battle and that's the way it happened.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11From the flying boats built in Belfast factories
0:02:11 > 0:02:14we return to Fermanagh with the airman who flew here.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18What's it like flying in one of these after 65 years?
0:02:18 > 0:02:22It's marvellous. It seems like yesterday.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24And how the Londonderry-based warships
0:02:24 > 0:02:26took the fight to Hitler's U-boats.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Preserved for 70 years, this is the story of Northern Ireland's war
0:02:32 > 0:02:35told with what's left behind.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54The archaeological heritage of World War II in Northern Ireland is unique.
0:02:54 > 0:02:5870 years after the conflict began,
0:02:58 > 0:03:01over 350 sites still survive.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06Many lie derelict, slowly disappearing into the landscape.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11These are the extensive remains of RAF Limavady,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14an air station just east of Derry.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18It was the first of 20 new airfields rushed into service
0:03:18 > 0:03:22by the RAF in Northern Ireland during World War II.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It might not look like much now,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27but this was at the frontline of the massive struggle
0:03:27 > 0:03:33during World War II for control of the supply routes across the Atlantic Ocean.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42The shells of the buildings and hangars
0:03:42 > 0:03:44are all that remain at RAF Limavady.
0:03:44 > 0:03:49and tell of a time when battles raged over the sea off Northern Ireland
0:03:49 > 0:03:52and deep into the Atlantic.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55During World War II,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59the United Kingdom relied heavily on imported goods, particularly food,
0:03:59 > 0:04:04most of which came in large convoys of ships from the other side of the Atlantic.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11The Germans' answer to this was the U-boat, submarines which
0:04:11 > 0:04:16they believed would torpedo the United Kingdom into starvation
0:04:16 > 0:04:18and ultimate defeat.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27It was from wartime airfields like Limavady
0:04:27 > 0:04:33that planes would leave to make sure that defeat would never happen.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38This is all that remains of the airfield's control tower.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43I've come here to meet two historians
0:04:43 > 0:04:48who can tell me the significance of Limavady during World War II.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51This is where day to day operations would have been run from.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55They would have controlled takeoffs and landings.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59It's sited to overlook the three runways, the best seat in the house.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02They get an unrestricted vision of planes coming and going.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08What were these flight operations about? Why was it such a busy base?
0:05:08 > 0:05:12This is one of the coastal command bases for the area.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15They were out, proactively taking the attack from the Allies
0:05:15 > 0:05:17to the Germans, hunting the U-boats
0:05:17 > 0:05:21by day and by night to protect the important convoys coming in
0:05:21 > 0:05:25carrying fuel, munitions and other war-related equipment that was needed.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Squadron leader Terry Bulloch from Lisburn
0:05:34 > 0:05:37was based in Northern Ireland during the war.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41He would become the most successful U-boat hunter in coastal command,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43attacking 19 submarines.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48First of all, they're a very small target
0:05:48 > 0:05:53and we didn't really know the exact location of them.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59You could pick out the U-boat itself or the track it's making
0:05:59 > 0:06:01like a ship.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07What pilots like Terry Bulloch looked for
0:06:07 > 0:06:13was low cloud to conceal their aircraft as they approached the unsuspecting U-boat.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17You had to manoeuvre your aircraft,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20'get it into position where you could attack it.'
0:06:23 > 0:06:29When we actually attacked them, we were flying down at 50 feet
0:06:29 > 0:06:32above the sea, running in and dropping depth charges.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43They worked very well, they were quite lethal,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48but you had to get very close, within 10 feet of the U-boat hull
0:06:48 > 0:06:50to be lethal.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56On one 16-hour sortie alone,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Terry Bulloch would attack seven U-boats.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06He would end the war as one of the most highly decorated pilots in coastal command.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Remnants of the RAF's presence at Limavady are everywhere.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19What a cavernous space!
0:07:20 > 0:07:23This vast hangar, hastily thrown up in wartime,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25serviced Wellington bombers.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29In its first year alone, aircraft from Limavady
0:07:29 > 0:07:35would fly 25,000 hours, patrolling the Atlantic searching for U-boats.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40The very presence of these aircraft did much to ensure that the convoys
0:07:40 > 0:07:46gained safe passage to the ports of Londonderry, Belfast and beyond.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Unbelievable, isn't it? What is that black substance on the outside?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55This is, like, a bitumen to keep it weather tight.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57'On the edge of the airfield
0:07:57 > 0:08:01'is, perhaps, Limavady's most extraordinary wartime building.'
0:08:03 > 0:08:04I've never seen anything like it.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Jim, what on earth goes on in this building here?
0:08:08 > 0:08:13This is what is 1940s high-tech, er, version of a simulator.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17It's called an anti-aircraft gunnery dome
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and what it did was it allowed people to be taught, on the ground,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22how to shoot anti-aircraft guns
0:08:22 > 0:08:25without actually expending ammunition.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29- ARCHIVE NARRATOR:- One side of the dome serves as a cinema screen
0:08:29 > 0:08:32on which films of aircraft in flight are projected,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35the targets being followed in the gun sights by the practise gunners.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It's like big planetarium, essentially.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43They'd project a picture of a plane flying across the sky
0:08:43 > 0:08:45and the gunner would use a dummy gun
0:08:45 > 0:08:47and fire, using a ray of light, at this target.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50And then you have an instructor, with a clip board,
0:08:50 > 0:08:52telling him how good or bad he did.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56'Noise effects are produced to simulate battle conditions.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02'At the end of the exercise all results are recorded.'
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Jonny, this is YEARS ahead of its time, surely? It's space age.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Yes, you can see why... We've all got our modern, you know, games consoles now
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and we think this is very amateurish by those standards
0:09:13 > 0:09:16but looking back, this was cutting-edge at the time.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19And is this unusual? I've never come across ANYTHING like this.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21This is the only one in Northern Ireland
0:09:21 > 0:09:24and its importance is recognised in archaeological law.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26So, therefore, it's a scheduled monument.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34Limavady was one of five RAF airfields in County Derry built during the war.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39At nearby Eglinton a squadron of Spitfires protected city of Derry.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41And it was one of those Spitfires
0:09:41 > 0:09:45which would lead us to a windswept bog just to the north of the city.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48BEEPING
0:09:49 > 0:09:54It's not just wartime airfields that Jonny is interested in,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56it's also crashed aircraft.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59'This is where the parts were.'
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Some parts to the right, some parts to the left.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03DETECTOR WHINES
0:10:03 > 0:10:06As well as researching the airfields and airmen,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08in the past 20 years Jonny has also visited
0:10:08 > 0:10:12nearly 90 Second World War crash sites in the north-west of Ireland.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Today he's been given a tip-off that there might be something here -
0:10:18 > 0:10:19buried in the bog.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23So, he's assembled a team of aviation archaeologists
0:10:23 > 0:10:25to see if they can find evidence of a fighter plane,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28which crashed here during the Second World War.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30- Still got paint on it, hasn't it? - In fact, yeah, there is.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34There's a wee bit of the green paint. Hang on. This bit might come out.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38And after many hours of searching, things are looking promising.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40And that's complete. If you look, that's immaculate.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Definitely our Spitfire! 100%.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53In 1941, RAF Eglinton was the home of 133 Eagle Squadron -
0:10:53 > 0:10:57made up of American pilots who had volunteered to fly with the RAF
0:10:57 > 0:11:00before the United States had entered the war.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06And it's one of those Eagle Squadron Spitfires,
0:11:06 > 0:11:07which crashed here into the bog.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Now that Jonny's found the crash site,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15what he wants to do is get whatever remains of the aircraft
0:11:15 > 0:11:17out of the ground.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20But that's easier said than done!
0:11:20 > 0:11:25The ground penetrating radar survey that we did in February
0:11:25 > 0:11:28showed at least 10 metres of peat and no sign of...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31He's enlisted the help of World War II aviation experts
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Steve Vizard and Gareth Jones.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36We think there might be the undercarriage legs,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- which in border, in border the guns.- Uh-huh.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- SQUELCHING - Nice, isn't it?
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- THEY CHUCKLE - Like a blancmange!
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Because the ground is soft
0:11:45 > 0:11:48it means that, hopefully, the aircraft will have survived
0:11:48 > 0:11:51much better than if it had hit hard ground.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I'm aware that the downside is that soft ground means
0:11:54 > 0:11:57that it's extremely difficult for the 20 tonne digger
0:11:57 > 0:12:00to operate without sinking into the bog itself.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04- All right, thumbs up, then. - Thumbs up!
0:12:12 > 0:12:15The pilot of our crashed Spitfire
0:12:15 > 0:12:19was 23-year-old Bud Wolfe from Nebraska, in America.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24He'd been in Northern Ireland with his squadron for just over a month.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25Our pilot was out flying top cover,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27over the convoys that are coming from America
0:12:27 > 0:12:30bringing military supplies in to the UK.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Derry Port very important in receiving those supplies, so they need protection.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38While he was out flying he noticed that his engine was rapidly overheating.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Er, temperature about to boil over and his engine seized up.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So, he said, "I'm heading for home, folks."
0:12:46 > 0:12:49And his last reported words were, "I'm going over the side,"
0:12:49 > 0:12:50and away he went.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56So, he managed to bail out, he managed to pull his chute
0:12:56 > 0:12:58and landed down there, did he?
0:12:58 > 0:13:01We know that it was about 12.30 on a Sunday, a very foggy Sunday.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03People coming out of Mass heard the aircraft,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06you know, screeching down through the skies. Couldn't see anything.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07So, it was a very foggy day
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and he landed about three quarters of a mile away.
0:13:10 > 0:13:11What about the plane itself?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14The plane, as you can see in the surrounding moorland,
0:13:14 > 0:13:15just buried itself.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19And a small, v-shaped crater was all that was left.
0:13:19 > 0:13:20Do you want to get round there
0:13:20 > 0:13:23and make a start on the spoil heap, then, everybody?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25We've, er, got our first bit of wreckage now.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Just little bits of aluminium from the airframe.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30Gone into the bucket now.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The rest of the team are going to sift through that spoil pile
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and make sure that they don't miss a single piece.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38That's just a piece of wing skinning there, Dan.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Is that the original paint there?
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- That's the original paint, yes. That's the camouflage.- No way!
0:13:48 > 0:13:51'Every single scoop is like opening a Christmas present.'
0:13:51 > 0:13:55It's so exciting, you've no idea what you're going to find, what it uncovers.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57- Right, guys, what have we got here? - That's a Browning.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58- That's a Browning?- Yep.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01That is one of how many machine guns that would have been on board?
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- One of eight. - One of eight machine guns.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07- Look at that! That's extraordinary! - Good grief!
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- That is the original colouring.- Hmm.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11That's in very good nick, isn't it?
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- This was the weapon that really gave the Spitfire its teeth. - It will have done.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17This is the recoil buffer off the back of the Browning,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20still with the safety latch. Still working after 70 years.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21In working condition?
0:14:21 > 0:14:23Look at the quality of that,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26that paint and that metalwork after 70 years.
0:14:26 > 0:14:27That is staggering.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- And we've been digging for five minutes?- We have, yes.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31And there should be another six of these.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Each of the Browning machine guns in Bud Wolfe's Spitfire
0:14:39 > 0:14:42would have been loaded with 350 rounds of ammunition.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46So rapid were the guns' rate of fire
0:14:46 > 0:14:51that the pilots had just 15 seconds of ammunition to hit their target.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53GUNFIRE
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Oh, my goodness!
0:15:01 > 0:15:04'Because of the lack of oxygen in the peat,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06'it's meant that our finds are remarkably preserved.'
0:15:07 > 0:15:10That is absolutely extraordinary. I've never seen anything like that.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I haven't got me glasses on, Dan, what are the dates?
0:15:14 > 0:15:15- "1941".- 1941.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19- I've never seen anything like this. - Yeah, 1941.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I mean, it's like this was put underground yesterday.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26The Army has been called in
0:15:26 > 0:15:28because of the danger of uncovering live ammunition.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32With the machine guns in such good condition
0:15:32 > 0:15:34they are taking no chances.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37Each gun will be carefully checked
0:15:37 > 0:15:40before being removed for deactivation.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44So, Jonny, what did the authorities come and take away with them back in 1941?
0:15:44 > 0:15:46We understand from the historical records
0:15:46 > 0:15:49that at least two Browning machine guns were removed
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and about 1,200 rounds of ammunition.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54There's a few maps and things were also recovered
0:15:54 > 0:15:56but that's essentially it.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Because, I mean, this is a bog in November.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- It's a difficult place to dig. - It is.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02That whole year was one of the wettest years on record in Ireland
0:16:02 > 0:16:04and the 20 soldiers that came the day after the crash
0:16:04 > 0:16:07dug down approximately 10 feet and soon realised that they
0:16:07 > 0:16:10were on a hiding to nothing and gave up after retrieving what they did.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16And then, amazingly, from the growing crowd of onlookers
0:16:16 > 0:16:19an eyewitness from 1941.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23The only thing I remember is we were at Mass in Ballinacrick
0:16:23 > 0:16:28and before we went into church this plane was hovering about.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33And we were all looking at her and we thought she was in trouble.
0:16:33 > 0:16:38And after some time, don't know how long, the man bailed out.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The pilot bailed out.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42ENGINE SCREAMING
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- And did you see the plane crash into the moor then?- We did, aye.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49We saw the plane go out of the sky, we saw the man coming out.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Though it was the man we were looking at,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53it wasn't the plane then,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57to see where this man went, but the man came out all right.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00As well as the local interest,
0:17:00 > 0:17:05our dig is beginning to attract the attention of the national media.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09What we have out so far is six Browning .303 machine guns.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12We have worked with the Department of Defence
0:17:12 > 0:17:14because of the munitions and the armament,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16and I'd say you've seen them here today.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'Well, we must be 15 metres down now.'
0:17:19 > 0:17:21It's taken five hours
0:17:21 > 0:17:25with the best 21st century heavy lifting equipment we've got.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30And, look, they're really starting to unearth, now, the guts of this aircraft.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46'Even though Bud Wolf's Spitfire ploughed into the bog at over 300 mph,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48'as the wreckage is prised apart
0:17:48 > 0:17:51'it's still possible to identify individual pieces
0:17:51 > 0:17:53'of the wartime fighter.'
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- We can see the...- Incredible! - ..we can see the Dunlop.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01Still got air in the tyres.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Still got air in the tyre. That is incredible!
0:18:04 > 0:18:06There you go, "Type...
0:18:06 > 0:18:08"Type, Spitfire."
0:18:08 > 0:18:11'And there, in tiny letters,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14'one of the most famous names in aviation history.'
0:18:14 > 0:18:16So, just between type and serial number here,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19you can see etched, "Spitfire," there.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22We know we've dug up the right plane.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29Whoa!
0:18:31 > 0:18:34Oh, wait, wait, you've got documents here!
0:18:34 > 0:18:37'Even in the ferocity of the crash,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40'something as delicate as paper has survived.'
0:18:40 > 0:18:42You can just see, "period of use," there.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Easy to distinguish.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Look at this, "Instructions for use."
0:18:54 > 0:18:56'And then, something that shows that our Spitfire
0:18:56 > 0:18:59'was in fact a gift to the nation.'
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Oh, look at that! Look at that!
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Garfield!- Isn't that good? I said it would be on there.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06The letters E-L-D are part of the name of Garfield Weston,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11who was member of Parliament for Macclesfield during World War II.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13'This is a very significant find.'
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Garfield Weston, during one of the roughest days of the Battle of Britain,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21gave £100,000 of his own money to the RAF to buy aircraft.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23The first number of these were Spitfires.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Our aircraft is a presentation aircraft from Garfield Weston
0:19:27 > 0:19:28and it's Garfield Weston number one.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32So, tremendous to see that in such a fantastic preservation.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37Proof that this aircraft is one given by Garfield Weston, flown by Bud.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Yes, this, this is our aircraft.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Tremendous result.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Did you expect to start the day and find this kind of stuff?
0:19:46 > 0:19:50No, this is all your Christmases come at once. This really is.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53One of the reasons today has been an exciting, celebratory event
0:19:53 > 0:19:57is because this, of course, was a Spitfire crash in which no-one died.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00The young Nebraskan managed to bail out of his plane
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and he landed about three-quarters of a mile away.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04As he landed on his parachute
0:20:04 > 0:20:07he heard the plane crash into this hillside
0:20:07 > 0:20:10but his troubles weren't at an end.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Even though he was just a few miles from his base,
0:20:13 > 0:20:14just over in Derry,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17he'd actually landed in a different country.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21Rather than being in the UK, he was in neutral Republic of Ireland.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27It should have taken Bud Wolfe less than an hour
0:20:27 > 0:20:31to drive the 26 odd miles back to his squadron at Eglinton
0:20:31 > 0:20:34but, by landing on the wrong side of the border,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Wolfe was now an internee.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41He was also at the start of a 220 mile journey south
0:20:41 > 0:20:46to internment at a place called the Curragh, not far from Dublin,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48where he joined other RAF airmen
0:20:48 > 0:20:51who had accidentally come down in neutral Ireland.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04These rather cosy looking cottages are, in fact, all that is left of the internment camp
0:21:04 > 0:21:07that Bud Wolfe and his RAF compatriots were sent to.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09With the corrugated iron huts,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12it was, effectively, a prisoner of war camp.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15But it wasn't your average prisoner of war camp.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17JOLLY SWING MUSIC
0:21:17 > 0:21:21To start with, there were the fellow inmates.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Right next to the RAF contingent were the Germans.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Sailors and airmen from the German Navy and Luftwaffe
0:21:28 > 0:21:31who'd also strayed onto neutral Irish territory.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34GERMAN MALE SINGING
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Then, there was the security.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Now, the Irish guards did have rifles
0:21:38 > 0:21:40but they were loaded with blanks
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and the inmates were allowed to come and go as they pleased.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49The town of Naas is about 10 miles from the camp.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52'It was here that both Allied and German prisoners
0:21:52 > 0:21:54'often came for the day.'
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Some of the conditions in which the internees were kept
0:21:58 > 0:22:01seem so far-fetched that it's hard to believe.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- Hello!- Hello.- How are you doing?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08'I've come to one the oldest pubs in Naas
0:22:08 > 0:22:11'to meet Sergeant Charlie Walsh of the Irish Army.'
0:22:11 > 0:22:13So, what was life like in this internment camp?
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The conditions inside the camp weren't too bad.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18In the Officers' Mess they actually had their own private bar.
0:22:18 > 0:22:23They would have had beer, Irish whiskeys, French wines,
0:22:23 > 0:22:26liquors, Scotch, stuff like that, port.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28The Irish Guinness
0:22:28 > 0:22:29and Irish whiskey was actually free.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32So, as long as you are drinking local stuff it was free booze?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34That's correct, yes.
0:22:34 > 0:22:35Quite a number of marriages
0:22:35 > 0:22:38between the internees and local people then as well.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41There was actually one wedding in the Curragh camp itself,
0:22:41 > 0:22:42in the local church, there.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- Was there trouble between the Allies and the German prisoners?- There was.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50The Germans would, actually, cycle six abreast on their bicycles on the roads,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52so everyone would have to get out of their way.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54And, obviously, the Allies, if they were out,
0:22:54 > 0:22:56they wouldn't wish to move off the road either.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58So, there was some fisticuffs and that there.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Despite the obvious comfort of being interned,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Bud Wolfe had no intention of sticking around.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06As far as he was concerned,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09he was heading back to join his squadron and fight.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14This is the old guard house at Curragh camp
0:23:14 > 0:23:16and it was here, on 13 December, 1941,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20that Bud came and signed a parole, which is basically a piece of paper,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22promising that he was going to pop out to town
0:23:22 > 0:23:24but that he would come back.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Then he returned to the camp
0:23:26 > 0:23:28on the pretext that he had forgotten his gloves.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30He checked himself back in.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34Later, though, he snuck out without signing a parole.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41Bud Wolfe had no intention of going back to Curragh camp that night.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43He was now on the run.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49He went first to Dublin, where he caught the train north to Belfast
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and then back to the RAF airfield
0:23:51 > 0:23:56where he and his ill-fated Spitfire had taken off two weeks earlier.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01You can just imagine the excitement of Bud Wolfe's fellow pilots
0:24:01 > 0:24:06when the 23-year-old Nebraskan arrived back here at RAF Eglinton
0:24:06 > 0:24:09but that excitement was to be short lived.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13In one of the most truly bizarre episodes of the Second World War,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17the British Government decided that, rather than antagonise the neutral Irish,
0:24:17 > 0:24:22that they would send Bud Wolfe back to the Curragh and internment.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28In the Donegal Hills, the final pieces of Bud's Spitfire
0:24:28 > 0:24:31are being unearthed after 70 years.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33'Just when you thought it couldn't get any better,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36'the massive piece that is the engine is coming out.'
0:24:36 > 0:24:39It's actually too big for the bucket, it's vast.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41You can put it over there. Right over where the...
0:24:44 > 0:24:46What, how, what state is this in?
0:24:46 > 0:24:47It's actually in quite good condition.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Well, obviously, it's well preserved.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52This is fuel running out of the engine, down here.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53Look at that.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58That's fuel running out of the engine. Been in there 70 years.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00This is the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03One of the classic bits of British engineering history.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05It powered the Spitfire, it powered the Lancaster bomber.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07We were worried it might have shattered
0:25:07 > 0:25:09as it went through the bog and hit the clay
0:25:09 > 0:25:11but, actually, it's in pretty good condition.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12It's almost perfect, look.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Absolutely as good as the day it went in 70 years ago.
0:25:16 > 0:25:18On here you'll have...
0:25:21 > 0:25:22"Merlin."
0:25:23 > 0:25:27But some artefacts provide an even closer connection to Bud Wolfe,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31the young American pilot who flew our Spitfire.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35That's the leather back of the seat there, look.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38And, er, there's the remains of the instrument panel
0:25:38 > 0:25:41with the two oxygen gauges.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44This is my favourite find so far, I think.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47This is on of the, erm, harnesses from the cockpit
0:25:47 > 0:25:50and he, Bud Wolfe, would have pulled this bit here
0:25:50 > 0:25:52seconds before he ejected.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54Absolutely incredible.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01Just here, I think you'll find we've got a lovely flying helmet.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02No way!
0:26:02 > 0:26:06- That is about as good it is it gets, isn't it?- That's extraordinary!
0:26:06 > 0:26:09This is something I never believed that we would find.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Bud Wolfe's original flying helmet.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Worn by him on that sortie,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16still attached to the original oxygen mask,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18survived underground for 70 years.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Removed by him just before he bailed out.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Just...speechless.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32Right, stop.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40- Hey, grand slam!- Thanks very much!
0:26:40 > 0:26:43That's unbelievable. That is unbelievable.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48'When you come to a hillside like this
0:26:48 > 0:26:50'and dig these objects out of the ground.'
0:26:50 > 0:26:55The straps that held the terrified pilot into the cockpit as his plane failed,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58the engine that overheated and forced him to bail out.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Those things take you back to a moment in time.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06They allow you to touch the past, they allow you to smell the past.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Even though that event happened 70 years ago.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16On the day he crashed, Bud Wolfe had been providing cover
0:27:16 > 0:27:19for convoys steaming along the coast north of Derry.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26In the first few months of the Second World War,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Northern Ireland remained relatively isolated from the war
0:27:30 > 0:27:33as most of the Atlantic convoys reaching the United Kingdom
0:27:33 > 0:27:38used the relative safety of the south-western approaches.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41But, with the fall of France, in June 1940,
0:27:41 > 0:27:46the Atlantic convoys were rerouted around the top of Ireland.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Which is why Northern Ireland and her coastal waters
0:27:49 > 0:27:51were thrust into the heart of the action.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55What came as a complete surprise to me
0:27:55 > 0:27:58was just how many wrecks from the Battle Of The Atlantic there are
0:27:58 > 0:28:00off the north coast of Ireland.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Both of the hunters and their prey.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10We've joined a dive vessel off the north Irish coast
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and a team who, over the course of the week,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14are hoping to dive some of those wrecks
0:28:14 > 0:28:17from the Battle Of The Atlantic.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Over the past decade,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23diving techniques have improved enormously,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26meaning that it's now possible to get down deeper
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and to stay there for longer.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32Ready to go! If you just line up!
0:28:37 > 0:28:40And this has led to some extraordinary discoveries.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Just over 70 metres below the surface,
0:28:45 > 0:28:50lies the wreck of the German World War II submarine U-155.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55It's still in remarkable condition.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And it's just one of over 100 German U-boat wrecks
0:29:01 > 0:29:03to be found off the north Irish coast.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21U-155 was just one of over 1,100 U-boats built by the German Navy
0:29:21 > 0:29:24and used with spectacular results.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
0:29:33 > 0:29:37said that the U-boat campaign was what frightened him most
0:29:37 > 0:29:39during the Second World War.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47And for a time it looked like a battle the U-boats would win.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Our prime job was guarding the convoys
0:29:50 > 0:29:54and preventing them from being sunk by U-boats.
0:29:54 > 0:29:55That was our job.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00John Cumming, from Newtownards, served in Royal Navy escort ships.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05There was some of them there, there was about 30 or 40 ships
0:30:05 > 0:30:08and usually about three or four rows of ships.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12And then the destroyers would be nipping up and down in between these
0:30:12 > 0:30:13and round them, like.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15It's like a sheep dog looking after sheep.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17That was the basic idea, really.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Sometimes the U-boat themselves got in among the convoy
0:30:24 > 0:30:28and so we'd have to steam up in the middle of the merchant ships as well
0:30:28 > 0:30:33trying to detect these U-boats that had succeeded in doing that.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48One of the most successful German submarines was U-155,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51which now lies 17 miles off Malin Head
0:30:51 > 0:30:54in some of the clearest waters in the world.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02With a crew of 50 and armed with 22 torpedoes,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05each mission could cover 15,000 miles.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13In just over nine months,
0:31:13 > 0:31:18U-155 commander Adolf Piening would sink 23 Allied ships.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25BOOMING EXPLOSION
0:31:27 > 0:31:29It was the merchant ships that really got it rough.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I mean, they didn't stand much of a chance when they got torpedoed.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Well, particularly on the way up,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37with all the cargo that they carried and that.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40THUNDEROUS EXPLOSION
0:31:41 > 0:31:43HE EXHALES
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Sometimes it's a bit harrowing to think about it, you know?
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Especially when you...
0:31:48 > 0:31:51See, the destroyers, there's no question of them,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54sort of, remaining behind, stationery,
0:31:54 > 0:31:56to pick up survivors and so forth
0:31:56 > 0:32:00because they then themselves would've become a sitting target for the U-boats.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04So, we didn't always, I'm afraid, wait to pick up survivors.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09In fact, there were times, there, when you saw these men in the waters
0:32:09 > 0:32:11but there was nothing you could do about it.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15Our job was to, to look after the merchant ships
0:32:15 > 0:32:17and to get back to them as soon as possible.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21But the U-boats didn't have it all their own way,
0:32:21 > 0:32:25as Reg Mason from Derry witnessed from his Royal Navy corvette.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29You could have a full pattern of depth charges
0:32:29 > 0:32:32and for all those exploding at the one-time...
0:32:32 > 0:32:35maybe 100 feet or 150 feet down below.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39So, the next thing you know, there's the water spouts just shooting up.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45And if you made contact and actually damaged a U-boat,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49U-boat would just come up, like that, and then straight down.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52If that happened they were just lost with all hands.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57I've seen that happen once or twice.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02During the Second World War,
0:33:02 > 0:33:0670% of U-boat crews perished with their submarines.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12Adolf Piening survived but his U-boat was not so fortunate.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15At the end of the war it was handed over to the Allies
0:33:15 > 0:33:17and sunk off Malin Head.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22It was not just the convoys
0:33:22 > 0:33:25that needed protection from the enemy threat.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30In the early years of the Second World War there was a genuine fear
0:33:30 > 0:33:33that German troops would invade both the Irish Free State
0:33:33 > 0:33:35and Northern Ireland itself.
0:33:35 > 0:33:40In January 1941, a plan was proposed to Hitler
0:33:40 > 0:33:44where 20,000 paratroopers and 12,000 airborne troops
0:33:44 > 0:33:49would drop on an area between Lough Neagh and West Belfast.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51They would capture RAF airfields,
0:33:51 > 0:33:55enabling the Luftwaffe to fly in with reinforcements from France.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59This is one of the strangest pieces of airfield defensive architecture...
0:33:59 > 0:34:03The RAF's response was to beef up their airfield defences.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06You've got firing positions at the front and back
0:34:06 > 0:34:09and there's an access way just here, which, be my guest, please go down.
0:34:09 > 0:34:11That's a small hole. After you, I think!
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Thank you, you're too kind! Right. Let's see.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- That's going to be quite a squeeze! - It's going to be...
0:34:18 > 0:34:20AND it's water filled as well! Lovely.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28'This underground bunker at Limavady is an extremely rare example
0:34:28 > 0:34:30'of an airfield Battle headquarters.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36'It's a series of interconnecting chambers, tunnels and fire points
0:34:36 > 0:34:39where senior officers would come in the event of an attack.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41So, "bijou", I think is the word!
0:34:41 > 0:34:44Yeah, so what are we looking at down here?
0:34:44 > 0:34:48This is one of the fortified firing defence points in this battle HQ
0:34:48 > 0:34:49and just behind you, there,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51you'll see one of the original wartime gun mounts.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53- Oh, that's what this is!- Yes.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55So, there would have been the heavy machine gun on here.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58One there, one directly facing you to give you covering fire
0:34:58 > 0:34:59on both sides of the airfields.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02There's one over here, to my left, that you can see,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04still with the original fixtures and fittings.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08And this will provide protective fire this side of the airfield
0:35:08 > 0:35:10and the one behind you will cover the runway
0:35:10 > 0:35:13in the event of a parachute attack by the Germans.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18- ARCHIVE NARRATOR:- "On their toes," well describes
0:35:18 > 0:35:21the state of preparedness of troops in Northern Ireland.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23To keep them at concert pitch, an antitank battery takes to the road
0:35:23 > 0:35:25to deal with German troops
0:35:25 > 0:35:27supposed to have landed further along the coast.
0:35:27 > 0:35:28On the order, the men dismount
0:35:28 > 0:35:31and within 30 seconds their guns are in action.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34With that little spot of bother dealt with,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36the battery's next job is to cross a shallow river...
0:35:37 > 0:35:41While the newsreels were painting an upbeat picture,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44the reality was that all along the beaches and inland waterways,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48defensive bunkers were being hastily constructed
0:35:48 > 0:35:51in anticipation of the German invasion.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53'There would have been two guys in here,'
0:35:53 > 0:35:56armed with machine guns and antitank rifles.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00You can see exactly why it's here, look at that incredible view down the river there.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02So, if the Germans were advancing inland from the sea,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05this was a key place to try and stop them.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07What I really like about this particular bunker,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10it's got some evidence up here that gives you a real personal connection
0:36:10 > 0:36:12with the guys that served in here during the war.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15They wrote up, "1st Peter, 5th chapter, 8th verse."
0:36:15 > 0:36:19That obviously refers to a letter by St Peter in the New Testament.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Here we are, OK,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25"Awake! Be on the alert!
0:36:25 > 0:36:27"Your enemy the devil, like roaring lion,
0:36:27 > 0:36:30"prowls around looking for someone to devour.
0:36:30 > 0:36:31"Stand up to him!"
0:36:31 > 0:36:33MEN SINGING
0:36:34 > 0:36:39In the summer of 1940, at the height of the invasion threat,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41while German troops were storming their way through France,
0:36:41 > 0:36:45in Belfast, ship builders Harland and Wolff
0:36:45 > 0:36:49were putting the finishing touches to a non-maritime project.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Harland and Wolff were asked to design a tank.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56They came up with one which they called the rather unglamorous name
0:36:56 > 0:36:59the A20 but this tank would go on to become
0:36:59 > 0:37:03one of the most successful British tanks of the Second World War.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The A20 would evolve into the Churchill Tank.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17I've come to Dunmore Park, in Belfast,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20the home of the North Irish Horse.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22A regiment, which during World War II,
0:37:22 > 0:37:25would become closely associated with the Churchill.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28The North Irish Horse, as the name suggests,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31was a cavalry regiment raised from the northern counties of Ireland.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35By the Second World War they'd swapped their horses for the Churchill Tank
0:37:35 > 0:37:37and the men served with huge gallantry
0:37:37 > 0:37:39through North Africa and Italy.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46The trouble with the Churchill Tank at Dunmore Park
0:37:46 > 0:37:50is that it's a bit static, a bit of a museum piece.
0:37:59 > 0:38:00- Nigel!- Welcome.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03- What an extraordinary thing to have in your shed!- I know.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08'Belfast born Nigel Montgomery knows quite a lot about Churchills.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11'Not only was his father in the North Irish Horse in World War II
0:38:11 > 0:38:15'but he actually owns the only working Churchill tank, of its kind,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18'anywhere in the world.'
0:38:20 > 0:38:22Right, so, this is the turret up here.
0:38:22 > 0:38:24There's some scars on here - is this battle damage?
0:38:24 > 0:38:27That's battle damage and we don't know for sure where it came from.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30It's probably shell splinters or mortar fire that burst on the deck.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34- And how many crew would have served in this tank?- Five in total.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Three in the turret and two at the front.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And the three in the turret were divided between the guy here,
0:38:40 > 0:38:41who was the loader and operator,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43so he did the radio and he loaded the main gun.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46And in here, amazingly, two people.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Front, way down there, a gunner and in here the commander.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54Gerry Chester joined the North Irish Horse in 1942.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58He was a driver-operator in Churchill Tanks.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02The Churchill Tank was the best British tank in World War II,
0:39:02 > 0:39:03no question about it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11We felt safe in it, which was important.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13It was a great tank to be aboard.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19My role, as driver-operator, was to take charge of the radio
0:39:19 > 0:39:21and also to load the heavy gun.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27That's it. Slide in.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29I don't fancy trying to get out of here in a hurry!
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Not sure it's designed for a tall person.
0:39:33 > 0:39:34Wow.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38The Churchill Tank was not as tight as the ones we did training in
0:39:38 > 0:39:41at the Tank Regiment, it was more roomy,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44but, yes, it's a tight fit, that's a sure, yes!
0:39:44 > 0:39:47And, driving wise, obviously, a nice big window here
0:39:47 > 0:39:50but, unfortunately, it's facing towards the enemy.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52- You'd want this closed, wouldn't you?- Yes.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54And the moment there's a chance of battle that closes
0:39:54 > 0:39:57and once it closes you're reliant on that single periscope.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01- That tiny little letterbox of vision. - It's this thing here?- Yes.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Ah!
0:40:06 > 0:40:09So, this is, I'm in the turret now!
0:40:09 > 0:40:12- So, this is the commander's position here?- That's the commander's position.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14The man in charge, the man who made all the decisions.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17It's a great view, isn't it? But you do feel quite exposed.
0:40:17 > 0:40:18It's quite nice being down there.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22I had my head out sometimes but it depended on the circumstances.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25If there was a lot of shelling going on,
0:40:25 > 0:40:27of course, you put your head down!
0:40:27 > 0:40:28If you move forward a little bit
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- you'll be sitting where gunner would be.- OK.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34Just in front of your commander's position you were in a moment ago.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Wow, so you're really close to the commander, aren't you?
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Oh, literally, by his kneecaps.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47But the best thing about Nigel's tank is that it actually works.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01It was in Churchill Tanks, like this one,
0:41:01 > 0:41:05that men like Gerry Chester and his comrades in the North Irish Horse
0:41:05 > 0:41:08were to go into action in the battle of The Hitler Line,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10in Italy, in May 1944.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30Being in this tank is really an assault on the senses!
0:41:30 > 0:41:34The sound and smell of the engine and being jolted around
0:41:34 > 0:41:37is like being at sea and it's a strange feeling.
0:41:37 > 0:41:41On the one-handed you feel very secure and protected
0:41:41 > 0:41:45but you also feel that you're in a lumbering, slow machine
0:41:45 > 0:41:48that would attract lots of enemy fire
0:41:48 > 0:41:50and that day, attacking the Hitler Line,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53the tanks took terrible casualties.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02And it's that action that has brought me here to central Italy
0:42:02 > 0:42:04to find out about a heroic battle
0:42:04 > 0:42:08in which the North Irish Horse would play a key part.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17In 1943, Allied troops invaded Sicily and Italy
0:42:17 > 0:42:20and began heading north, towards the Italian capital of Rome.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24If Rome fell it would be a huge boost to Allied morale.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31But they would become bogged down 75 miles south of the capital
0:42:31 > 0:42:34at a place called Monte Cassino.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37There, at the foot of the Benedictine monastery,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40in five months of bitter fighting,
0:42:40 > 0:42:45the Allies would try to dislodge the Germans who controlled the higher ground.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52In so doing, the monastery was reduced to a pile of rubble.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01Having taken Monte Cassino, only one obstacle lay in their way,
0:43:01 > 0:43:02the Hitler Line -
0:43:02 > 0:43:05a massive fortification which blocked the road to Rome.
0:43:07 > 0:43:13And it's here that the North Irish Horse would face the toughest battle in their history.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18From up here it is easy to see what was going on in 1944.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20This is the Liri Valley.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24Now, if you want to march an army up from the south of Italy towards Rome, just up there,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27you've GOT to bring them up this nice flat valley
0:43:27 > 0:43:29and that's why the Germans built what they hoped
0:43:29 > 0:43:32would be an impregnable line of steel and concrete,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34which stretched from this side of the valley, here,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38right across there, to that great big mountain.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Yeah, the Hitler Line, they had all sorts of stuff in there.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43I mean, all sorts.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47Not only dug in Panzers, it had machine gun nests,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and mobile anti-tank guns, and there were also Panzers running around.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53So, there was a lot of opposition!
0:43:53 > 0:43:55A lot of opposition.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04A group of Italian historians
0:44:04 > 0:44:08has been investigating the remains of the bunkers and emplacements
0:44:08 > 0:44:11which make up the Hitler Line.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13Bunkers which have been swallowed up by the undergrowth
0:44:13 > 0:44:16in the years following the Second World War.
0:44:16 > 0:44:18MEN SPEAKING ITALIAN
0:44:18 > 0:44:22This shows how this would have looked back in 1944, doesn't it?
0:44:22 > 0:44:25- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And that's a Panzer turret?
0:44:25 > 0:44:27Yes, this is a Panzer turret, yes.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29- This is a very strong position, isn't it?- Very strong, yes.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31These Churchill tanks look...
0:44:31 > 0:44:33This could've been the North Irish Horse
0:44:33 > 0:44:36cos they were attacking this part of the line, weren't they?
0:44:39 > 0:44:42The Churchill Tanks of the North Irish Horse,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45along with other British units, would support the Canadian Infantry
0:44:45 > 0:44:50who were leading the assault on the German bunkers and machine-gun nests.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55The actual battle started off at six o'clock on May 23.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01Of course, there was a constant barrage going on
0:45:01 > 0:45:05but at eight o'clock a huge bang, cos the whole Canadian artillery,
0:45:05 > 0:45:07a lot of Eighth Army artillery,
0:45:07 > 0:45:12loading down a tremendous barrage and we advanced in behind that.
0:45:16 > 0:45:22We were working through this wood and in there the Germans had snipers in trees
0:45:22 > 0:45:23and we lost a few fellas,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26tank commanders were killed by these snipers.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28STRIMMER WHIZZING
0:45:28 > 0:45:30MAN SHOUTS IN ITALIAN
0:45:30 > 0:45:33So, this group believe that just behind all this foliage
0:45:33 > 0:45:36there is a concrete bunker built by the Germans in World War II
0:45:36 > 0:45:38and, actually, I think you can see the outline of it now,
0:45:38 > 0:45:40as they start to thin it all out.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44And, of course, this was just one of hundreds of bunkers,
0:45:44 > 0:45:48gun emplacements, concrete and steel structures and machine-gun pits
0:45:48 > 0:45:50that spread right the way across this valley, here.
0:45:50 > 0:45:51The so-called Hitler Line.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53And the Germans built this line
0:45:53 > 0:45:56intending it to be absolutely impregnable.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57They'd lost Monte Cassino
0:45:57 > 0:46:01but they were NOT going to give this up without one heck of a fight.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04When we first went into action, most of us, well I was, dead scared.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06"What was going to happen?" You know!
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- 18, well, you know, I was 19, you know? - HE CHUCKLES
0:46:11 > 0:46:14There was so much gunfire, and things, that we couldn't see
0:46:14 > 0:46:15because there was dust everywhere.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Our visibility was estimated to be no more than 10 yards.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23We didn't see that Panzer turret, we didn't see it.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26I mean, it was so close to us.
0:46:30 > 0:46:35Walking across this fairly flat wide-open, lush Liri Valley,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39the troops would have felt very, very exposed to the German machine gunners, just there.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41And, of course, they would have been cut down instantly
0:46:41 > 0:46:43were it not for the fact they weren't alone.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45They had the support of their tanks.
0:46:45 > 0:46:46The tanks were behind them
0:46:46 > 0:46:50blasting high explosive shells towards those German positions,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52forcing the Germans to keep their heads down.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54And there's shrapnel all over these fields,
0:46:54 > 0:46:56like these pieces of shell casing here.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00And it allowed the infantry to get nice and close to this German bunker.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02That's better...
0:47:02 > 0:47:05At the time of the assault, the bunker would have been surrounded
0:47:05 > 0:47:07by minefields and barbed wire.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12Now uncovered by the team, it's possible to climb up inside it.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Wow, that's pretty cosy!
0:47:15 > 0:47:17And another bunker like this may be just a few hundred metres...?
0:47:17 > 0:47:20Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very close.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22- Very strong position. - Very strong position.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Excavating the ground in front of the bunker,
0:47:29 > 0:47:30what the historians are finding
0:47:30 > 0:47:34is evidence of a robust defence by its German occupants.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36- German?- German. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's German.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40- Machine gun?- Yes, machine gun. - A German machine gun round.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42- That's fine, that's fine. - OK, another one!
0:47:42 > 0:47:45These were fired in the heat of battle
0:47:45 > 0:47:48on that one day at the end of May 1944.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54- Oh, look at that.- Yeah!
0:47:54 > 0:47:57That was the belt on which all bullets would have been stored.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59Incredible, eh?
0:47:59 > 0:48:02I cannot believe this was fired 70 years ago.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:48:06 > 0:48:08- Oh!- Oh!
0:48:08 > 0:48:10- So, now, what's this? Cos this is...?- 303!
0:48:10 > 0:48:12- This is a 303 bullet?- The bullet...!
0:48:12 > 0:48:15That is, that is just extraordinary.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Well, these German casings are from bullets going that way,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20this is what's coming back the other way.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23This is actually a bullet, a British Allied bullet
0:48:23 > 0:48:26and it's been battered because it's hit this concrete wall,
0:48:26 > 0:48:27the concrete's done its job,
0:48:27 > 0:48:31and it's split and twisted this bullet into all sorts of different shapes.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33This is incoming fire. This is the proof we need.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36This is outgoing, this is incoming, no question.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38DETECTOR BEEPS
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Again?
0:48:40 > 0:48:43The battlefield is giving up its secrets before my very eyes.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Our team are now using metal detectors
0:48:46 > 0:48:48to see if the ground in front of the bunker
0:48:48 > 0:48:50can reveal evidence for the assaulting troops.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52DETECTOR BEEPS
0:48:52 > 0:48:55And whether the tanks provided enough cover
0:48:55 > 0:48:57for the infantry to reach their objective.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59OK.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02So, the bunker's about 10 metres away, just over there,
0:49:02 > 0:49:05and this is where an attacking force would have tried to come,
0:49:05 > 0:49:06tried to outflank the bunker,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09get in the shelter of this cover here
0:49:09 > 0:49:12so that they could carry out the final assault on the bunker.
0:49:12 > 0:49:13Oh!
0:49:16 > 0:49:20- British?- British. 303.- 303?
0:49:22 > 0:49:23Amazing. So, that's it.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27This is a casing of a bullet fired right here.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29We're 10 metres away, now, from this bunker.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33This is not long-range duelling, this is the final assault.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Putting down fire on that bunker, trying to kill the inhabitants
0:49:36 > 0:49:39or, perhaps, trying to get them to surrender.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41MEN SPEAKING IN ITALIAN
0:49:42 > 0:49:43Another one.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50We've been looking here for two minutes max,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53and there is these casings coming out of the ground every few seconds.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56This is evidence of a huge firefight.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59- Another one.- Another one.- Again?
0:50:01 > 0:50:04This is a fight that would have lasted for no more
0:50:04 > 0:50:08than just a few minutes 70 years ago.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11It's absolutely extraordinary the archaeological material remains
0:50:11 > 0:50:15of that split second in time, yet here we have them here.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19No way. Is that a German shape?
0:50:19 > 0:50:23- Hm, no, from the shape, no. - Very early to say but it looks like it's a jagged hole
0:50:23 > 0:50:26and it could be the helmet of a Canadian infantryman who was killed
0:50:26 > 0:50:28in the assault on this bunker.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30MEN SPEAKING IN ITALIAN
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Oh my God!
0:50:39 > 0:50:43- It's definitely a Canadian, a Canadian helmet? Yeah.- Yeah.
0:50:43 > 0:50:44Wow.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51'We advanced, and through all the smoke and dust,'
0:50:51 > 0:50:54and then we got hit on the starboard side three times.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Skipper gave the order to bail out.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05We got out. My driver was badly
0:51:05 > 0:51:07cut almost in two and he died.
0:51:07 > 0:51:14A further shot hit the turret, which shot fragments of red-hot all over,
0:51:14 > 0:51:18one of which seriously wounded the tank commander, Gordon Russell.
0:51:19 > 0:51:24Took a large piece out of his skull...
0:51:24 > 0:51:26and we thought he was going to die.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28He didn't, fortunately.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33By the end of the day the Hitler Line had fallen
0:51:33 > 0:51:36and its German defenders, who had believed it to be impregnable,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38were taken prisoner.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40It was a battle in which Gerry Chester
0:51:40 > 0:51:44and his comrades in the North Irish Horse had played their part.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47It was a battle which was also captured in a remarkable painting.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54This is obviously one of these turrets blown completely off.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56And we are...
0:51:56 > 0:52:01in the same position of the painting.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03This is the mountain.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Oh, that, yeah, look, it's exactly the same shape!
0:52:06 > 0:52:09- So, this...?- The same mountain. - Same mountain and very same field.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13- This could be the field where all the Churchill tanks were knocked out.- The same place.
0:52:13 > 0:52:18- And we know this is based on reality because this turret is the same thing, isn't it?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21- Exactly the same angle, it's incredible.- Yeah, exactly.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24There's Churchill Tanks here. This was the North Irish Horse.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28- There was a lot of fighting. There's five or six knocked out tanks.- Yeah.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31And, at the end of the day, we had 15 tanks totally destroyed
0:52:31 > 0:52:33and were not recoverable.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37The ones which were damaged were recovered and came back to service.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39It was a tough day for the regiment.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43The toughest we've had in...either war.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45And it was the, it was the...
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Catastrophic as far as losses.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03More than 70 men from the North Irish Horse were killed or wounded that day.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07With the dead buried here, below the monastery of Monte Cassino.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16The Canadian Infantry, who they had supported,
0:53:16 > 0:53:18also suffered heavy losses.
0:53:19 > 0:53:24After the battle, the dead of the Canadians and the North Irish Horse
0:53:24 > 0:53:26were buried alongside each other.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30This was entirely fitting for men who had fought and fallen together.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Men who had broken the Hitler Line.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40Was I feeling proud when I took part?
0:53:40 > 0:53:41In a way, yes.
0:53:43 > 0:53:44In a way.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50Most of us thought, during the war, that the war was worthwhile.
0:53:50 > 0:53:55You know, it was a war that we felt had to be won. It was the right war.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03But it was an inward pride that we fought a battle,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06a good battle, and we'd won.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09Simple as that. Simple as that.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26In our story of Northern Ireland's role in the Second World War,
0:54:26 > 0:54:28I've got one last trip to make.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30It's been six months
0:54:30 > 0:54:33since we dug up Bud Wolfe's Spitfire from the bogs of Donegal
0:54:33 > 0:54:36and, in the meantime, something remarkable has been happening.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41The machine guns from the crashed Spitfire
0:54:41 > 0:54:43were taken away by the Irish Army
0:54:43 > 0:54:46to be stripped down before being deactivated.
0:54:49 > 0:54:50But when they were dismantled,
0:54:50 > 0:54:54they were found to be in much better condition than anyone had imagined.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04And that raised an interesting possibility.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08- Hi there.- Hi, Dan, how are you? - How are you doing?- Good to see you.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11'So, I've come to meet Lieutenant Colonel Dave Sexton,
0:55:11 > 0:55:12'Ordnance Officer in the Irish Army,
0:55:12 > 0:55:16'and, hopefully, actually fire the machine gun.'
0:55:16 > 0:55:20So, the last time I saw that machine gun I was pulling it, with my hands,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22out of a bog in Donegal. What have you done to it since?
0:55:22 > 0:55:25Well, we've been doing a lot of work on them
0:55:25 > 0:55:29but, basically, the work has been 95% just cleaning up the weapons.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33Stripping them down, cleaning them out, checking and measuring them
0:55:33 > 0:55:37and adjusting them for firing but no repairs. No repairs at all, really.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40These machine guns hit the ground at well over 300 miles per hour.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44I mean, surely... Why weren't they all bent and twisted and unusable?
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Well, the short answer is we don't really know!
0:55:48 > 0:55:50We had assumed that we would be picking up bits and pieces
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and collecting up the ammunition, etc.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57So, when we took them out of the bog, I got a call on that day
0:55:57 > 0:55:59to say that they were actually in one-piece.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03And, of course, that set the cogs in motion as regards,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06"Well, how far can we go with this if they're in one-piece?"
0:56:06 > 0:56:09You know, could they actually fire?
0:56:09 > 0:56:10So, you're telling me
0:56:10 > 0:56:13that every single part of that weapon over there
0:56:13 > 0:56:15was recovered from that aircraft wreck?
0:56:15 > 0:56:16Yes, I am, yes.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Absolutely. Every single piece.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21- Protection.- Protect the good bits!
0:56:29 > 0:56:31- Protection.- That fits.
0:56:33 > 0:56:34That's cocked.
0:56:34 > 0:56:35I'm extremely excited.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38It's been 70 years, to the month,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41since Bud Wolfe's plane crashed into Donegal
0:56:41 > 0:56:45and now we are going to try and fire that machine gun again.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- OK?- OK!- Got your target in front, in your own time.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51OK, here we go, 70 years on.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Standby! Firing!
0:57:01 > 0:57:03That was the sound of a Spitfire.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08'It's a testament to the engineers
0:57:08 > 0:57:09'that put that weapon together
0:57:09 > 0:57:11'more than 70 years ago
0:57:11 > 0:57:13'that after decades under a bog,'
0:57:13 > 0:57:15having hit the ground at over 300 miles an hour,
0:57:15 > 0:57:20that weapon is working like the day it was made.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28But what happened to the RAF pilot
0:57:28 > 0:57:31who flew the Spitfire where the guns had come from?
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Bud Wolfe was eventually released from Curragh Camp
0:57:36 > 0:57:37and got back in the cockpit.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39This time with the American Air Force,
0:57:39 > 0:57:43in time to see service at the end of World War II.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45The last time this gun was fired in anger
0:57:45 > 0:57:48the Second World War had been raging for just over a year.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52In the years to come things would get even more intense
0:57:52 > 0:57:55and, yet again, Northern Ireland and its people
0:57:55 > 0:57:57would be right at the heart of the action.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01Next time on Dig WW2,
0:58:01 > 0:58:02off Malin Head,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06the sea bed covered with tanks bound for Normandy.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12In County Fermanagh, Lough Erne veterans fly 60 years on.
0:58:12 > 0:58:17And in Arnhem, the Belfast family still searching for a loved one.
0:58:38 > 0:58:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd