Hood Expedition to film the Bismarck

Channel 4's expedition to find the Hood has arrived at phase one. The team are about to start searching for and filming the wreck of the Hood's adversary in the Atlantic - the Bismarck.

Launched in 1939, the Bismarck was the pride of the German Navy and a challenge to Britain's supremacy at sea. During her maiden voyage she engaged and sank HMS Hood off the coast of Greenland with a single shot.

The Bismarck (1941)

3 days later Bismarck herself was sunk 150 miles west of Brest in Northern France, after 2 hours of continuous pounding by the British Navy. From a crew of over 2000, only 115 men were saved.

The wreck of the Bismarck was first found in 1988, by undersea explorer Bob Ballard. However, the black and white pictures from his expedition were murky and grainy, due to the relatively primitive technology available at the time.

The wreck lies at 4790 metres - a full 1790 metres deeper than the Hood - on the side of an extinct underwater volcano. Bob Ballard has never revealed the exact location of the wreck to protect it from souvenir hunters.

If successful in relocating the Bismarck, the team will be sending back pictures using the Seacast satellite system on board the Northern Horizon. They hope to be able to reveal the first crystal clear colour pictures of this famous wreck on British television.

Channel 4's attempt to find the Bismarck has full approval from the German Government and the Bismarck Survivor's Association.

After filming the Bismarck, the expedition will set off for Iceland to embark on its main and most important mission - locating the Hood which has never been found. This British warship was last seen in 1941 as it broke in two and disappeared beneath the waves in a huge explosion.

Pictures of the Bismarck and Hood will be available on this website and on Channel 4 News. Later in the month a full length programme on the Hunt for the Hood is planned.