0:00:02 > 0:00:06A mile off the rocky coast of the Channel Island of Alderney
0:00:06 > 0:00:11lies a shipwreck that could rewrite English naval history.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15For centuries this stretch of water has been a ships' graveyard.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Just 30 metres below me lies an extraordinary shipwreck.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22The only Elizabethan fighting ship ever discovered.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Little remains of the ship and its name is still a mystery.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30But, could it hold a 400 year old secret?
0:00:30 > 0:00:34It is very exciting to think that we may at last have
0:00:34 > 0:00:38artefacts and indeed fabric of the ship that fought the Armada.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Diving on the wreck could hold the
0:00:42 > 0:00:48key to how the Elizabethan navy began to win control of the seas.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54To have this kind of proof that English gun founders are almost 50 years ahead of
0:00:54 > 0:00:58their time technologically. That would be extraordinary.
0:00:58 > 0:01:04A team of divers and experts aim to find and raise the ship's cannon.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08But they lie in some of the most dangerous waters in the World.
0:01:08 > 0:01:14By recasting and firing 400 year old guns they hope to demonstrate how
0:01:14 > 0:01:18Elizabeth 1st became the mother of British naval dominance.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Today, bathed in sunshine, the Island of Alderney looks idyllic.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51But for centuries it's been a rocky fortress.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54A tiny outcrop of the British crown.
0:01:55 > 0:02:01The Nazis were only the most recent invaders to leave their mark here.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07In the 16th century these waters swarmed with English ships of war.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11The first line of defence against deadly enemies.
0:02:11 > 0:02:18Many sank but for years it was thought no trace of Elizabeth 1st's navy remained.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Until, that is, the discovery of a wreck off this coast.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Its name and mission remain a mystery.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30But it could hold the key to the birth of English naval dominance.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35As a military historian, the Armada era fascinates me.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39And this wreck offers a unique opportunity to unlock the secrets
0:02:39 > 0:02:41of a pivotal moment in English history.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48As the 16th century drew to a close the fate of Protestant England
0:02:48 > 0:02:49hung in the balance.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Faced, as she was, on all sides by foes.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Spain was the World superpower and Philip the Second
0:02:56 > 0:03:01wanted Elizabeth's throne and England Catholic.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06With most of Europe against her, it was England's darkest hour.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10People sometimes throw in comparisons with 1940.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13But Britain and Germany in 1940 were approximately equal.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18Whereas in 1588 the Spanish army was by an enormous margin,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21not only the biggest but also the best in the World.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23And England had no standing army at all.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26So on the face of it, it would appear to be absurd to imagine
0:03:26 > 0:03:28that England could survive such a contest.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Yet England did survive.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Could the Alderney shipwreck and the weapons she carried
0:03:35 > 0:03:37help to explain why?
0:03:38 > 0:03:43What we already know was that the ship itself was at the cutting edge
0:03:43 > 0:03:45of Elizabethan naval technology.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Because her all-important rudder has been raised.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55This key discovery allows for an array of calculations
0:03:55 > 0:03:59that reveal the nameless ship's exact dimensions.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05She was 20 metres long with a deep draft and a high stern.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12This looks to me like one of the smaller size war ships of the period.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16What they call pinnaces, the smallest size of warship at the time.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22An English pinnace was a very powerfully armed ship for her size
0:04:22 > 0:04:27capable of taking on even much bigger merchant ships
0:04:27 > 0:04:29with a good prospect of success.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Over several years of diving the wreck has yielded
0:04:34 > 0:04:38hard won artefacts.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41The biggest single haul of Elizabethan objects ever found.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47But could this ship also have
0:04:47 > 0:04:52been carrying a set of guns that revolutionised war at sea?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58One cannon has already been salvaged from the wreck.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05And the divers have charted the position of eleven more
0:05:05 > 0:05:08buried in the sea bed.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12On first inspection, these cannon appear to be identical
0:05:12 > 0:05:18to the one already recovered and stored in the Alderney Museum.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23If that is the case, then it could rewrite Elizabethan naval history.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Until now, it was thought that Elizabeth was using
0:05:26 > 0:05:31the same sort of weapons as her father, Henry VIII.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36His flagship, the Mary Rose, was ultramodern but carried
0:05:36 > 0:05:42a bewildering variety of cannon, many of them designed for land warfare.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45They were of different shapes and sizes,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49firing different shot at different rates with different killing power.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Fighting at sea was chaos.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56You're in the middle of a battle.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01This gun needs some ammunition and you're rummaging around in the hold
0:06:01 > 0:06:05with a pair of callipers measuring one shot after another desperately
0:06:05 > 0:06:07trying to find one which fits.
0:06:08 > 0:06:14If all the Alderney cannon are the same, it would mean the Elizabethans
0:06:14 > 0:06:17made a giant leap forward in military technology,
0:06:19 > 0:06:25creating the first ever set of uniform cannons using the same shot
0:06:25 > 0:06:29and capable of firing a deadly coordinated barrage.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37The kind of guns that we take for granted now in HIMS Victory, etc.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38This was the beginning of that.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42A kind of mechanisation of war.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49This ship is now a gun platform in a way that it wasn't before.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55But to do this Elizabeth's gun founders must have developed a way
0:06:55 > 0:07:01of casting identical cannon en masse earlier than had ever been thought possible.
0:07:02 > 0:07:07This would be the first known example of a ship with a uniform armament.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10It just doesn't happen in the 16th century.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13And historians generally say it doesn't happen until
0:07:13 > 0:07:17the middle of the 17th century, possibly even later.
0:07:17 > 0:07:22So to find an example from the 16th century would be quite extraordinary.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27What is known is that English sailors became greatly feared.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31At the beginning of Henry VIII's reign the English fleet
0:07:31 > 0:07:34was forced to run away from heavily armed French galleys.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40By the time of Elizabeth, even King Philip of Spain was warning of the
0:07:40 > 0:07:43deadly English artillery.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52The proof that Elizabeth did develop these matched cannon could lie
0:07:52 > 0:07:56in the sea bed a mile off Alderney.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58The objectives for the summer... .
0:07:58 > 0:08:01I've joined marine archaeologist,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Mensun Bound, and a crack team of divers on a salvage ship.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Mensun believes he can prove his controversial theory.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12But to do so, he'll first need to find
0:08:12 > 0:08:15and raise two of the lost cannon.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18The mission is dangerous and the conditions will
0:08:18 > 0:08:21limit the divers to just two short opportunities each day,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25between tides, when they can descend to the wreck.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27They can afford to be on site for just three days.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Ok, guys, unless you have questions I think that should be a wrap.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34I've got so many questions...
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Let's save them till later.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It's seven am. The tide is about to turn.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43The window of opportunity is opening for the first dive.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Let's go diving.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59We'd been scrambled in probably about five minutes.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04Everyone was just finishing off their breakfast and all of a sudden the window opened.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07So they've got 40 minutes to find what they're looking for.
0:09:13 > 0:09:19The wreck lies in a basin the size of a football pitch. 100 feet down.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23It's surrounded by rocks warn to razor sharpness by the sea.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32The harbour master's vessel will monitor the conditions.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The currents here are so powerful that Alderney plans to tap them
0:09:35 > 0:09:38to produce the same amount of electricity
0:09:38 > 0:09:40as a nuclear power station.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Divers' safety is of paramount importance.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57One of the divers will record pictures with a head mounted camera.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05It's usually possible to send live images back to the ship.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08But here the cabling would drag a diver out to sea.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Mensun has dived here many times before.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32But he's no longer strong enough for multiple dives on this site.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34What's the temperature like down there?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37From the surface it looks quite benign. The sun is shining.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- It's freezing is it? - It's totally deceptive.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45It's freezing. After 40 minutes you're shaking even with a dry suit.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48- What do you do now? - Now we wait. That's it.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50There's nothing else to do.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56It's really quite eerie on the boat actually since the divers left.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59It was all hustle and bustle for a few minutes and then
0:10:59 > 0:11:03all of a sudden they were in the water and off.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09Mensun waits anxiously for the divers to return.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12He's all too aware of the peril faced by his team.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16'The body of a Jersey man who died whilst diving
0:11:16 > 0:11:20'on the Elizabethan wreck near Alderney has been brought...'
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Just one week previously, tragedy struck.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Peter Le Sauteur, a hugely experienced local diver
0:11:25 > 0:11:30and paramedic, died during the exploratory dive on the wreck.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36It is totally hellish.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It's tragic beyond words.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45It pitches everybody into this very dark place.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Certainly at a personal level, you just want to give up and go home.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54There's no doubt about that. But you can't do that.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04These waters are amongst the most dangerous in the World
0:12:04 > 0:12:07because the landmass of Alderney splits powerful underwater currents
0:12:07 > 0:12:10that send up huge clouds of sand.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Visibility is poor.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24As the first team returns to the ship, the news is not good.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Pim, can we ask you what it's like down there at the moment?
0:12:27 > 0:12:29You've literally just come up...
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Sand, sand, sand, sand. All, everything is covered in sand.
0:12:35 > 0:12:42British divers Russell Sanford and Phil Donaldson have also experienced problems.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Hello guys. How did it go?
0:12:45 > 0:12:50It was good. Nice to get down there and see the site in its entirety.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Frustrating the amount of sand covering everything.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55There's more sand than what we anticipated.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58That's the only thing that really worries, worries it all.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01All we've got showing right now are a few labels.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04That's it. One cannon is showing on the periphery.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Everything else is covered. Buried under about
0:13:08 > 0:13:11one metre and a half of sand as near as I can judge.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13It's not going to be easy.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17The tides are changing.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Diving has already become too dangerous.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Pictures from the head mounted camera confirm Mensun's worries.
0:13:27 > 0:13:28Sand, you see it?
0:13:28 > 0:13:32I tell you what's bad about all this, Pim, is the bad visibility
0:13:32 > 0:13:36we're getting this year. I can't remember when it was last this bad.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Last year we could actually see what we're doing.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40It was better, that's for sure.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43But even though there are no cannon visible,
0:13:43 > 0:13:48there are occasional glimpses of Elizabethan artefacts.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Oh look, that's a breastplate he's got there.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55That's the one I lifted up, it's a really heavy one.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05The divers are all safe on board
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and the window of opportunity has slammed shut.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12The undersea gale will now rage with increasing strength for another
0:14:12 > 0:14:17six hours before the tide changes and the window briefly opens again.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25It's enough time for Mensun to take me ashore to the Alderney Museum
0:14:25 > 0:14:28and the gun that inspired the expedition and his theory.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33I always think how lucky we are to have a museum like this...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35And here it is, isn't she magnificent.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37That's some site.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39This is the absolute pride of our work.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43And this, of course, is why we're here.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46But it was the cannon balls that first caught Mensun's attention.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48He'd expected to see the different
0:14:48 > 0:14:51shapes and sizes of shot found on the Mary Rose.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55A ship that sank only 47 years earlier.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Instead, every ball he brought up from the seabed was the same.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03If every ball was the same, was every cannon?
0:15:03 > 0:15:07What occurred to me was that for the first time we were perhaps
0:15:07 > 0:15:12looking at here not just one individual gun but taken
0:15:12 > 0:15:16as a collection, what we had was our very first
0:15:16 > 0:15:19coordinated uniform naval weapon system.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Of the kind which would take the
0:15:22 > 0:15:25British navy right through to the dawn of the 20th century.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28This represents standoff naval warfare.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32It's a totally different style of warfare.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Naval tactics had been about getting soldiers aboard your enemy's vessel
0:15:37 > 0:15:40and fighting a land battle at sea.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46With powerful cannon capable of firing coordinated broadsides,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49it became all about guns and ships.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54This is the new style of fighting and this is the beginning,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57if you like, of a new world in which it's possible to have,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00if you like to call it that, a pure naval battle in which
0:16:00 > 0:16:06ships fight one another rather than soldiers fighting one another afloat.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Controversially, Mensun believes the Alderney wreck will show
0:16:12 > 0:16:15it was Elizabeth the First who created the earliest
0:16:15 > 0:16:20matching cannon and began this naval revolution.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22But he needs the evidence to prove it.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30At 3.20 the coastguard signals that diving can begin again.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Precious minutes are taken up descending the 100 feet.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39The team will have very little time with the wreck.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45The problem is we haven't actually got anything yet
0:16:45 > 0:16:49and Mensun's nightmare begins. Because he simply has to wait.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53We've got no cannon and we've got no other material off the seabed yet.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55And time is ticking.
0:16:58 > 0:16:59Let go of the rope...
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- The divers have found something. - Let go of the buoy...
0:17:02 > 0:17:08They already have two lifting bags out so I think the best thing
0:17:08 > 0:17:10- to do we go over and pick it up. - Yeah, me too.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14It's not a cannon.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- Come closer.- We will. - It's really heavy.
0:17:18 > 0:17:25Ok, let's get it off... Ok? OK...
0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Careful of the boat, OK? - Don't drop it on me!
0:17:30 > 0:17:32It may look like a lump of rock
0:17:32 > 0:17:37but the archaeologist knows that there's treasure buried inside.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40It's the breastplate spotted on the first dive.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45Over the centuries a concrete-like layer has formed around it.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48You want me to take it back?
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Ok, what we have here is a breastplate.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54It's what the soldiers wore over their chests
0:17:54 > 0:17:57to protect them from musket ball penetration.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59It looks to be intact.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01You've got to be made out of stone
0:18:01 > 0:18:04not to feel excited when something like this comes up.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11This breastplate is the first artefact of the dive.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And even better news follows quickly.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17I found them all, got all the cannons back. I'm happy with that.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21If you've been away for a year, all the sand is coming back
0:18:21 > 0:18:23because it's one big sand pool.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27So we just move the sand away and we found it again. All the cannons.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29I've found all the cannons. Yeah.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35This is excellent news. Yesterday we didn't have any of the cannons.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37One was exposed, all the rest were covered.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41Today we've got all of them exposed again. We know where they are.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47A decade of dives has revealed 12 cannon in the sea bed.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52A year after their last dive on the wreck, the team have found
0:18:52 > 0:18:55the guns again and have begun freeing them from the sand.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03We'll get changed and cleaned up...
0:19:03 > 0:19:07With the first dive day finished, the team now has just 48 hours left
0:19:07 > 0:19:11in which to raise two of the cannon to test Mensun's theory
0:19:11 > 0:19:16that Elizabeth the first was the mother of British naval dominance.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28The divers spend the second day preparing two of the cannon for
0:19:28 > 0:19:31lifting. This will leave the third and final day of the dive
0:19:31 > 0:19:34to attempt to bring them to the surface.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56As the morning dive comes to an end, there is a surprising discovery.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Amid the debris of the wreck the divers have found what
0:20:15 > 0:20:18appears to be an Elizabethan musket.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Well, let's have a look at this baby.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Oh, that is a beautiful musket.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46This is the first time we've found a musket like this intact of this size.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50It's remarkable. This was the weapon of the future.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53This, the rise and eventually
0:20:53 > 0:20:57the total ascendancy of firearms like this finished the longbow.
0:20:59 > 0:21:05The only complete Elizabethan military musket in existence.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08It will be preserved for further examination later.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Although the cannon have been found, getting them to the surface
0:21:16 > 0:21:20will require a remarkable feat of marine engineering.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23The guns weigh over 2 tons each.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27The salvage ship will have to prize them from the bottom while fighting
0:21:27 > 0:21:32the same fierce currents that tore the Elizabethan ship to pieces.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37And because the wreck site is so important,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40they can't risk damaging it by dropping an anchor
0:21:40 > 0:21:41to steady the ship.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45It's going to be difficult. It's going to be very difficult.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48You cannot keep the cannon in the air because it's going to
0:21:48 > 0:21:52swing all over. And swing the weight of two, three ton.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55That's not nice, it's really dangerous.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04The team spends the rest of the second day securing two of the
0:22:04 > 0:22:07cannon in preparation for lifting.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11In poor visibility it's painstaking work.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16- The back, I think. - Just, what, around there?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Look at cannon one right there.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23It's very similar indeed to the one we have in the museum.
0:22:26 > 0:22:32We blew a lot of sand away because it was covering up again next time.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36Here it's cannon three. We cleared the cannon totally you can see it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39And probably tomorrow morning will
0:22:39 > 0:22:42be a fine time for us to do a first attempt.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Depending on the weather, of course.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47If the waves come up it's going to be a problem.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04The team now has just 8 hours left to bring
0:23:04 > 0:23:09Elizabeth's cannon to the surface before the dive window closes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Then comes the news we were all dreading.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16'Securite, securite, securite.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17'All stations, all stations.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21'This is Solent coastguard, Solent coastguard
0:23:21 > 0:23:25'for a local strong wind warning for the central Solent area.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27'Please listen VHF Channel 6.'
0:23:29 > 0:23:33I'm in close communication with the harbour master's office.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37He's given me the best weather advice I could hope for.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40He's not that optimistic himself.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43As a result of that neither am I.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45But, you know, this is the Channel Islands.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49This is Alderney and things change here from hour to hour
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and minute to minute with the weather sometimes.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56We've got to be ready in case there is another window of opportunity.
0:24:00 > 0:24:06The conditions don't change and the first dive is cancelled.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Six hours later and the weather is improving.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15But now there's another problem.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Both diving boats are out of action.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23- Gabby?- Yes?- How's it going?
0:24:23 > 0:24:24Well, found out the problem.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27But it's probably going to take us all night to get it fixed.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Oh, Jesus. Spare parts. We're able to get that?
0:24:30 > 0:24:32We have all the spare parts we need.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Ok, ok that's cool.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36- And the other boat?- The other boat,
0:24:36 > 0:24:40they're fixing it now so it should be ready in half an hour, an hour.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Can we not do the dive without one of these two boats?
0:24:43 > 0:24:47No, we've got to be able to offer them back up when they're in the water. If, for instance,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51if you get a distressed diver on the surface, we cannot pick him up,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53what do we do? It's as basic as that.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55We've got to be able to mobilise one of these boats.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04With only minutes to spare, one of the diving boats is fixed.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08The team is ready to dive.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11But the sea conditions remain a problem.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15'Securite, securite, securite. All stations...'
0:25:15 > 0:25:20- Then the coastguard calls again. - 'This is Solent coastguard, Solent coastguard...'
0:25:20 > 0:25:25We've got to do it now. We're not going to get another chance today. That's for sure.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Good news. We've just heard from Mensun that the harbour master
0:25:29 > 0:25:32has given the go ahead to dive today. It will be our first dive.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35The morning dive was postponed because the weather was bad.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39It's improved now, but they've got to get underwater
0:25:39 > 0:25:42as quickly as possible because they've got just 40 minutes.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48With every second now critical,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Mensun decides to go to the sea bed himself to check the slings on the cannon.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00On the surface, Captain Pim de Rhoods makes a final check of the engine room.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03At the flick of a switch he can change the direction of
0:26:03 > 0:26:07the propellers to make minute changes to the ship's position.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20It's like liquid chocolate down there.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Can hardly see a thing.
0:26:23 > 0:26:29The cannon is all slung up ready for lifting.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Should be a clean lift.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44So we're in the middle of an incredibly delicate operation.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Pim has lifted the anchor and we're edging
0:26:47 > 0:26:50metre by metre closer to the point at which we can actually
0:26:50 > 0:26:53pull the cannon off the surface of the sea bed.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57Probably in the next 30 seconds or so we should be in position
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and they're going to attach the ropes to the lifting gear.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03And before too long we may see the cannon.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Unable to use his anchor,
0:27:09 > 0:27:14Pim must hold the salvage ship in position in the ever-shifting tides.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Once the cannon is hooked the divers
0:27:25 > 0:27:29must gently shepherd it through currents moving at different rates.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44When the cannon breaks the surface, the salvage ship will be at the
0:27:44 > 0:27:47mercy of the tides supporting a weight that could become a
0:27:47 > 0:27:51deadly pendulum in an instant.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56I think it's about 15 metres right now.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Once we get it to about 8 metres then we should see something.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06There it is, guys.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08You can see it.
0:28:10 > 0:28:15When this cannon last saw light of day, Elizabeth the First was on the
0:28:15 > 0:28:18throne and England was fighting for its very survival.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Not that way, this way.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33We can... I don't know if we can right now. Yeah.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Ok...right...OK, Pim!
0:28:47 > 0:28:50That's it. Steady it.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Watch your toes.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57OK. That's it.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It's perfect, Pim.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Ok all stop. Look at that.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Brilliant.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Barrel is intact. Concretion is intact.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Just what we're after. It's perfect.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18I know it looks like something that a camel might have left behind.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22But trust me, inside this there is a beautiful gun.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27Mensun now has one gun but that's not enough to prove his theory.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31If he's going to show that Elizabethan warships carried
0:29:31 > 0:29:34sets of matching cannon, he needs another.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41The first one might match the gun in Alderney Museum just by coincidence.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25So, Mensun, congratulations. Cannon number two. The one you needed.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28It's good isn't it. I'm really pleased.
0:30:28 > 0:30:30Look at that. Muzzle over here.
0:30:30 > 0:30:35- You can see the swelly. All that. - Do you think it's going to prove your theory about it's uniform?
0:30:35 > 0:30:37I think it's going to prove my theory, I do.
0:30:37 > 0:30:42It's looking very much like this ship was really carrying
0:30:42 > 0:30:46our very first coordinated uniform naval weapon system.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47It's very exciting.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53OK, guys. Thank you all.
0:30:57 > 0:31:02Great job. Saul, join us, come on. Over this side, guys.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Look towards us...
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Mensun has raised the guns.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09But before he can prove they're part of an identical set he must
0:31:09 > 0:31:12first preserve and restore them.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29It takes just 36 hours for the salvage vessel
0:31:29 > 0:31:32to make the 300 mile voyage from the Channel Islands
0:31:32 > 0:31:34to the Port of London.
0:31:34 > 0:31:41In Elizabethan times, it would have taken the Alderney ship a week.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45In the 16th century, the Tower of London was the Royal Arsenal
0:31:45 > 0:31:47and cannon would have been stored here.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Four centuries later the Alderney guns have
0:31:56 > 0:32:00come to be separated from the hard concretion that covers them.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06But getting Elizabeth's cannon inside the castle
0:32:06 > 0:32:08proves to be a problem.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12We've come to a bit of a standstill. We've got the cannons here.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15We're trying to get them into the tank over there.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19But the problem is the machinery isn't up to the job.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22The cannon are just too heavy.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26To make matters worse, the tank of water that will protect the cannon
0:32:26 > 0:32:29is too small to take them with their thick coating.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35As the sandstone cocoon begins to dry out and crack
0:32:35 > 0:32:39the cannon are exposed to air, and will soon begin to crumble.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Mensun is in charge of emergency irrigation
0:32:42 > 0:32:46and the de-concretion that will allow them to fit the tank must begin immediately.
0:32:56 > 0:33:01After chiselling for two days the mouth of the first cannon is exposed
0:33:01 > 0:33:06and Mensun is ready for the initial test of his theory.
0:33:06 > 0:33:07yes. .
0:33:10 > 0:33:14Smell... 400 year old air.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Smells of gunpowder.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22The wooden bung is called a tompion.
0:33:23 > 0:33:28It's prevented salt water entering the muzzle for more than 400 years.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Look at that.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32It's almost corrosion-free.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36But are the cannon part of a matching set?
0:33:36 > 0:33:40This ball fits the muzzle of the cannon in the Alderney Museum.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43But will it also fit this one?
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Look at that. It fits perfect.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50- Brilliant.- Fantastic, it's good.
0:33:51 > 0:33:57- You did it! - I can't believe I did that.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59That was a perfect fit.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03I mean, that's it. It's perfect.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05And that's what I was hoping for
0:34:05 > 0:34:08and that's what I was expecting for the dimensions of the gun.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14So far the cannon appear to be the same size.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18Mensun now faces weeks of de-concretion and further tests
0:34:18 > 0:34:22to prove categorically that they're part of an identical set.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29While the work continues, I head south of Alderney
0:34:29 > 0:34:32to the North Western coast of France.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37I had a hunch that this was where our mystery ship was bound.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39And I believed I knew why.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48The first Armada sailed a 1,000 miles to invade England in 1588 and failed.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56The Spanish knew they're next attempt had to
0:34:56 > 0:35:00be launched from a deep water port much closer to the English coast.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Brittany was the obvious answer.
0:35:04 > 0:35:11Knowing this Elizabeth sent her greatest general to stop the Spanish capturing a port in Brittany.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15His name was Sir John Norris.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18Could the Alderney ship have been part of his mission?
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Military historian John Nolan has spent the last few summers
0:35:29 > 0:35:32researching the ports of Brittany.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38I've got some things here that are going to answer all your questions.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Excellent. Tell me more.
0:35:40 > 0:35:47We have a letter here dated 1592 from Sir John Norris
0:35:47 > 0:35:51who was campaigning in Brittany at the time.
0:35:51 > 0:35:56He was describing his situation here when he first arrived in 1592.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59As you can see here...
0:35:59 > 0:36:03In his letter Norris asked the chief minister to speak to
0:36:03 > 0:36:07the Queen about his need for money, winter clothing and men.
0:36:07 > 0:36:11And then, incredibly he refers to the ship they were on.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14A ship that was cast away about Alderney.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Are we certain that this ship is our ship?
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Oh, I'm convinced this is the ship.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22The dating period is just perfect.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26The equipment that we have on it is the kind of thing he would have been
0:36:26 > 0:36:29expecting to be on a ship that was following him up.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33So Norris clearly needs supplies. The ship goes down.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35How did that effect his campaign?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Well, from the year that that occurred,
0:36:38 > 0:36:43in 1592, it really pretty much ruined the year.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47Was he ultimately successful in his fighting in Brittany?
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Well, yes, to a degree, yes.
0:36:49 > 0:36:55Because this war will drag on a total of three and a half years till late 1594.
0:36:55 > 0:37:01And during that time the Spanish are never able to use Brittany,
0:37:01 > 0:37:03none of its deep water ports as a base.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10Naval historians have found no other reference to a heavily-armed
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Elizabethan warship lost around Alderney.
0:37:14 > 0:37:19Our ship would have been a vital link between Elizabeth and her expedition force in Brittany.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29It appears to have been carrying food, clothing and supplies.
0:37:34 > 0:37:42It's easy to imagine the misery of the commander on learning that his life line had sunk without trace.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45But his loss is our opportunity.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53The recovery of the intact musket allows us to examine the weapons
0:37:53 > 0:37:55used by an Elizabethan soldier.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59During the dive it was X-rayed at Alderney hospital.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07Definitely looks like the lock mechanism, doesn't it, Mensun?
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Yeah, that's it. That's the lock plate right there.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16The X-rays were sent to the Royal Armouries in Leeds.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24We've taken the information from Alderney and
0:38:24 > 0:38:28recreated the lock, the barrel, bore diameter & overall form of the
0:38:28 > 0:38:31stock are all carefully modelled on information from the Alderney wreck.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Graeme Rimer is the chief weapon's expert.
0:38:34 > 0:38:40But, he'd never seen an intact Elizabethan military musket before.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44Here's the barrel tang forming the breach end of the barrel.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47The gun he's made is a replica of the one found on the wreck.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52So, on the Alderney wreck musket we've got the same lock
0:38:52 > 0:38:57we've got the same trigger mechanism and we've got the same barrel. All similar to these.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Yes, that's right.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Graeme and his team now have a unique opportunity
0:39:02 > 0:39:04to test Elizabethan fire power.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08And now we prime the pan using a finer grade.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13The Mary Rose carried hundreds of long bows.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16No trace of them has been found on the Alderney ship.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Mensun wants to know why.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26The first test is to measure the speed with which the musket fired its led ball shot.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- Ok.- Yep, ready.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37- There we are.- My goodness.
0:39:39 > 0:39:45It's incredible 230.3 metres a second Graeme how does that compare to the long bow?
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Well, based on our findings that's about between five and six times greater velocity
0:39:49 > 0:39:52than the long bow arrow from a serious long bow.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55What's amazed us Graham again and again in the
0:39:55 > 0:39:59course of this excavation is just how modern our ship is.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02Just how much these are weapons of the future.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05I think what Alderney is representing is the culmination
0:40:05 > 0:40:08of new thinking into the best equipment for British forces.
0:40:08 > 0:40:13I won't be able to get it all on one image at the same time so I'll do that half and then that half.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17But what damage could Elizabeth's muskets do to the enemy?
0:40:17 > 0:40:19It looks like there's something here.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22The team uses the breastplate brought up from the wreck
0:40:22 > 0:40:27to replicate a piece of 16th century body armour.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29This is the bit I've been waiting for.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Graeme, the target you've arranged for us here it's the same thickness
0:40:33 > 0:40:35as one of our breastplates?
0:40:35 > 0:40:39It's a 2mm thick piece of mile steel plate.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42It's going to be very interesting indeed to test
0:40:42 > 0:40:47the resistance of this to the penetrating capability of our musket.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50What sort of punch could this musket deliver?
0:40:52 > 0:40:58Colt 1911 used by the US forces for many years.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03Graeme begins the test with a comparison from the 20th century.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13The iron breastplate was designed to deflect arrows,
0:41:13 > 0:41:15lances and musket balls.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19It didn't go through, it didn't penetrate.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Here is the evidence really very graphically.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26The mushroomed head of the bullet and here is one in its unfired state. Dramatic stuff!
0:41:26 > 0:41:30It's pretty remarkable to think Graham that using a modern
0:41:30 > 0:41:34weapon you can't penetrate the type of armour we brought off the sea bed.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39Anybody wearing a breastplate that thick would've been safe against a weapon of this power.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42Now, the musket is tried against the same thickness of armour
0:41:42 > 0:41:45that the Spanish would have hoped would protect them.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Look at that.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Extraordinary. This is unbelievable.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01- Straight through.- Straight through.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04This demonstrates categorically
0:42:04 > 0:42:06that the Elizabethan shot is far more dangerous.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10'The next test is designed to
0:42:10 > 0:42:14'simulate the ball on the body inside the breastplate.'
0:42:14 > 0:42:18- Good shot, Graeme. Just where you wanted it. - There it is. Here's the hole.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23The victim in this case is a block of gelatine which behaves like human flesh.
0:42:23 > 0:42:29The entry hole is small enough but the internal damage is terrifying.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31You can see flecks along there.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34There are bits of coat with you know goodness knows what.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38If the shot didn't kill you, the infection would absolutely.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43The last target is a soap block.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Unlike the gelatine this won't collapse.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49So the passage of the ball will be graphically demonstrated.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58There's hardly any deviation at all is there. It just goes.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01That is what happens at the immediate moment it hits the body.
0:43:01 > 0:43:07The frozen moment, that flesh effectively being struck. This is the kind of performance.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11But, you can also see the depth which is significantly deeper than
0:43:11 > 0:43:14the thickness of the human body and yet even so it's gone through.
0:43:14 > 0:43:19The Alderney musket was clearly a devastating weapon.
0:43:22 > 0:43:28Englishmen had for centuries been required by law to learn to use the long bow.
0:43:31 > 0:43:36Now, they took up a revolutionary new weapon.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38One that could penetrate the thickest enemy armour.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Look at that.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43The long bow was dead.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57At the Tower of London the cannon are ready to reveal their secret.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01It's the same length to within a centimetre.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05The, the proportions, the dispositions of all the features
0:44:05 > 0:44:08they're the same they're absolutely identical to the gun on Alderney.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15All three of the cannon recovered from the Elizabethan ship wreck are the same.
0:44:15 > 0:44:21Mensun is convinced that they are part of a matching set. The earliest one ever found.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28We've established now that the wreck is every bit as important as
0:44:28 > 0:44:33we thought it was. This is the first archaeological evidence that we have
0:44:33 > 0:44:39that guns of this type were being used in this way during this period.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43And this system of fighting at sea wasn't something which our enemies
0:44:43 > 0:44:46really caught up with for decades.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52The guns are now bound for York
0:44:52 > 0:44:55to one of the world's leading experts in gun preservation.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11On arrival in York, Ian Panter and his team
0:45:11 > 0:45:17complete the final cleaning of the cannon and uncover another surprise,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20an owner's mark.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22It appears to link the cannon and the ship
0:45:22 > 0:45:27to one of the most important men in Elizabethan history.
0:45:30 > 0:45:34Wow Saul, look at this, here it is.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36F W.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Francis Walsingham.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42So we're talking about Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth's spy master.
0:45:42 > 0:45:47- One of the great figures of the Elizabethan age.- It links it right into the heart of government.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50In other words this is definitely a Queen's cannon.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52He was second only to Burleigh in importance.
0:45:52 > 0:45:58We have Burleigh on one side of the throne, Walsingham on the other and in the middle is Elizabeth.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03That's how important he was. He was in charge of the defence of the nation at the time of the Armada.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Every bit of information we get underlines the importance
0:46:06 > 0:46:09of this ship and the material that was on it.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Absolutely so. Absolutely so.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15This to me is just more than I could have dreamed of.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21If these were Francis Walsingham's, cannon then they would be directly
0:46:21 > 0:46:26linked to Elizabeth herself and possibly even Queen's cannon
0:46:26 > 0:46:30bought by her spy master Walsingham to be used on a ship bound for her
0:46:30 > 0:46:33greatest general - Norris.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Elizabeth may well have had a ship
0:46:38 > 0:46:43with a matching set of guns but how effective were they?
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Like the musket the recovery of her cannon presents us with
0:46:47 > 0:46:49a unique opportunity to find out.
0:46:54 > 0:46:5599.3
0:46:55 > 0:46:5899.3. Mag's maths is...
0:47:00 > 0:47:03The original gun is too unstable to be fired.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Mensun will need to carefully replicate and cast the first new
0:47:07 > 0:47:10Elizabethan cannon in four centuries.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Reinforce all the way down to the muzzle right there.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Right.
0:47:15 > 0:47:1878.5.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21OK and then the muzzle.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25From the mouldings there to the muzzle rings right there.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32It will be re-cast in this foundry where they've researched ancient
0:47:32 > 0:47:35techniques that might allow us to reproduce the gun
0:47:35 > 0:47:38with a few concessions to modernity.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45This is how iron cannon were made under Henry VIII.
0:47:45 > 0:47:51Under construction here already is a replica of a Mary Rose
0:47:51 > 0:47:52wrought iron cannon.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56It had to be pieced together and banged into shape.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Metal rings gave it support.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03But, it was still liable to explode when fired.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11If Mensun is right, it was Elizabeth's gun founders
0:48:11 > 0:48:15who perfected cast iron technology.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18Casting iron cannon made them stronger
0:48:18 > 0:48:22but it also meant that sets of identical iron guns could be made.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It took early foundry men three weeks to get the furnaces up to the
0:48:25 > 0:48:321500 degrees, the temperature at which iron runs like water.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34It's the English secret weapon.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38The technique of casting iron guns that didn't explode.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41It would be an advantage that England would keep right up to the,
0:48:41 > 0:48:43up to the 19th century.
0:48:43 > 0:48:49This allowed the growth of this huge English armada.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56Modern cast iron is extremely pure and durable.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01This cannon is deliberately cast with a high level of impurities
0:49:01 > 0:49:05to get as close as possible to the grade of metal available
0:49:05 > 0:49:06to the Elizabethans.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16That's quite a long way up above the gun, isn't it?
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Look at the bubbling in that.
0:49:18 > 0:49:22That's incredible Nick. Look at it. It's amazing.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24That's all the impurities.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28The smell too, it's so alchemaic, isn't it?
0:49:28 > 0:49:31It's Elizabethan magic we're seeing here.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35And this is exactly the feeling that the Elizabethan gun founders
0:49:35 > 0:49:39must have had but they don't know if the gun is going to be any good
0:49:39 > 0:49:43until they take it out of the mould and take it out and fire it.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48The casting must set overnight in the mould.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01Early the next morning it's ready to be opened.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14You know, for the first time in my life I really don't know what to say.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17This is incredible.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Fresh out of the mould the gun requires careful handling.
0:50:26 > 0:50:27Sweet Jesus!
0:50:32 > 0:50:35That was a bit unexpected.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45The iron is in a state known as cherry red.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48So hot saliva boils or bounces off it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55The metal is getting much thicker here.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Changes in pitch
0:50:58 > 0:51:03might reveal a flaw which would cause the gun to explode on firing.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Oh, oh, is that a crack over there?
0:51:05 > 0:51:09A fault at this stage would mean scrapping the cannon.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13You see it though? The question is, is it skin deep?
0:51:16 > 0:51:20I think it probably is. We're OK. Might get away with this.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25It's just in the sand and the ash that's accreting to it. We're OK,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27it's fine.
0:51:27 > 0:51:28Tense moment though.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37The guns found on the Mary Rose were lumbering mismatched weapons.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Mensun believes that the Alderney cannons were their descendants - a new generation.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45To prove it, he'll need to test them in action.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58So, we're going to load one round shot.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02Common cannon ball placed in the muzzle.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05For the first time in over 400 years,
0:52:05 > 0:52:10Elizabeth's ground breaking guns are about to be fired.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Right. Guns loaded.
0:52:13 > 0:52:18This first shot is the critical shot because we don't know what's going to happen with this cannon.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20It's the first time it's ever been fired.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22WHISTLE BLOWS
0:52:22 > 0:52:26The team takes cover. The cannon could turn out to be a bomb.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Stand by firing.
0:52:29 > 0:52:334, 3, 2, 1.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37Stay down.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40It's intact look at that.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42You've got the foresight still there.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44I thought that would have gone flying.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47You see it's still a bit warm.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52What do you think Nick that was one hell of a bang. It's certainly intact.
0:52:52 > 0:52:53It's a small charge.
0:52:53 > 0:52:59We've got to worm the gun to make sure it's clean, nobody's been chucking rubbish down it.
0:52:59 > 0:53:00I'm serving the vents.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Great relief when we came out.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07We knew it was fired properly and the gun is intact. That was the main thing.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11You can really now begin to work out through the day what its destructive
0:53:11 > 0:53:13capabilities really are.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17'Next, the ballistics tests.'
0:53:17 > 0:53:21The stakes are set at half metre intervals and these will help us
0:53:21 > 0:53:24determine the velocity of the shot.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28We're at a watershed moment in our understanding of these guns.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32Before this, historians have only been able to speculate
0:53:32 > 0:53:35at the velocity of the shot, the muzzle velocity.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40We have a high-speed camera set up
0:53:40 > 0:53:43which is capable of 1,000 frames a second.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Now we know the distance between the poles over there so we'll be able to
0:53:47 > 0:53:53measure off to the split second what the muzzle velocity of the gun is.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55Mensun hopes these tests will demonstrate
0:53:55 > 0:54:00that the Elizabethans invented a devastating new naval tactic.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07They seem to have reckoned that a few big guns were less effective
0:54:07 > 0:54:10than a lot of small guns firing a barrage.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18But the bigger the gun the more powerful the punch.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Had they paid a price by investing in smaller weapons?
0:54:22 > 0:54:24Standby firing.
0:54:24 > 0:54:284, 3, 2, 1.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36The computer will need several shots to calculate velocity.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41Look at this guys. Somebody's found the shot.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45What's not in question is the accuracy of the cannon.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Is that the shot?
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Did you pick it up? Where did you find it?
0:54:49 > 0:54:51It's right behind.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55The target is the same thickness as the side of an Elizabethan ship.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58Oh, look at this. It's really splintered the wood here.
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Yes, if it was more seasoned wood, there'd have been bigger splinters.
0:55:02 > 0:55:07What about the rock behind. Look at that over there. See that fresh break.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10It's given it a thump. I don't think it's slowed down very much.
0:55:10 > 0:55:122, 1...
0:55:16 > 0:55:19A volley of shots will provide data that will show how fast
0:55:19 > 0:55:22the new super cannon could hurl a cannon ball.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26You've got some velocity for us.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31OK. Let's roll it. Oh, yeah look at that.
0:55:31 > 0:55:33It's gone through.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38It's ten frames over three metres. And it's a 1,000 frames per second.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40- 300 metres per second. - 300 metres per second.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42That's nearly the speed of sound.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45If you think about the hole in the target...
0:55:45 > 0:55:50We were throwing the shot almost at the speed of sound. That's incredible.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54- So, it's accurate. - It's accurate, it's devastating.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57It's fast and it causes a lot of havoc.
0:55:57 > 0:55:58And damage.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Just think what that could do.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08Elizabeth's guns could hit a target a mile away.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15At a hundred yards the ball could go through the oak planks of a galleon
0:56:15 > 0:56:19across the deck and out the other side.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27The biggest Mary Rose cannon could fire a ball faster but Mensun
0:56:27 > 0:56:31believes that a mass of shot fired as a coordinated broadside would
0:56:31 > 0:56:36give a much better chance of hitting the target and destroying the enemy.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46Look at that gentlemen, isn't that amazing?
0:56:46 > 0:56:49That target is testament to a reasonable day's shooting.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54- A very accurate day's shooting. - Well, I think it shows very clearly that these guns,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56they may look crude,
0:56:56 > 0:57:00they're smooth bore and, of course, rifling came in in the 19th century.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03But at the sort of ranges that were critical in the 16th
0:57:03 > 0:57:08century they're very effective and they are surprisingly accurate.
0:57:12 > 0:57:17We've almost got a broadside here. It's not going to hit the ship in this tight a cluster.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21But, imagine standing behind that obstacle when all these shot came
0:57:21 > 0:57:24through, you wouldn't stand much of a chance would you.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Put you off your own aim.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29- It would. Exactly... - And the damage...
0:57:29 > 0:57:32I'm delighted with the way things have gone.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36But, I keep reminding myself this is not, it's not really one gun we're
0:57:36 > 0:57:39testing here, we're really testing maybe four or five or even six.
0:57:39 > 0:57:46It's an entire broadside which means the efficacy of this weapon as a coordinated weapon system
0:57:46 > 0:57:50is so much more devastating than what we're actually seeing here right now.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56You feel very privileged if you like to be playing with a gun like this.
0:57:56 > 0:58:01So, this is a high point in my life.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07Mensun is now convinced that the Alderney shipwreck holds the key to
0:58:07 > 0:58:11a new understanding of naval warfare in the 16th century.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19The guns he recovered reveal that England had the technology to create
0:58:19 > 0:58:23a new generation of weapons years earlier than was previously thought.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30Coordinated cannon making possible the type of deadly broadsides
0:58:30 > 0:58:34which were still being used by Nelson at Trafalgar.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38He's revealed Elizabeth I as the mother
0:58:38 > 0:58:40of British naval dominance.
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