1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,640 Speaker 1: The Flood is brought to you by the Australian War Memorial. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,160 Speaker 1: Some stories define a nation, others reveal what it means 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: to be human. Through Their Eyes is a new podcast 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: from the Australian War Memorial that uncovers powerful human stories, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: revealing war through unexpected perspectives and immersive storytelling. Through Their 6 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: Eyes will be live soon wherever you get your podcasts. 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 2: Breathe, my heart is beating through my neck. I know, 8 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 2: we all know that if we go down in this 9 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 2: stepth of water, we will be crushed by the pressure 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 2: before we hit the bottom. 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 3: Commodore Peter Scott was responsible for HMAS to show know 12 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,080 Speaker 3: and the lives who depended on her. He still carries 13 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 3: that burden and he wrote about the experience in his 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 3: book Running Deep. I asked him to read a passage 15 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 3: from the book. 16 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 2: We're beneath steep diving depth and we're thinking, there's a 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 2: moment in time where I know all of me, and 18 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 2: I am here. The captain is here, holding on to 19 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,040 Speaker 2: his fear to remain calm and offer courage to his crew. 20 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 2: Commander Scott is here observing every single order and every 21 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 2: single action, mind racing to understand the present and shape 22 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 2: the future. Scottie the husband is here, and so is 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 2: Law's dad. Pete, the hopeful boy, still searching for his 24 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 2: place in the world, is here, not wanting to die, 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 2: not like this, not taking this crew with him. Yet 26 00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 2: I can already see myself floating, face down and lifeless 27 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:09,800 Speaker 2: through a cold, dark and submarine. 28 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 3: It was February twelve, two thousand and three, and fifty 29 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,160 Speaker 3: night miles off the coast of Perth. The Royal Australian 30 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 3: Navy submarine HMASD Chano and sixty crew were fighting for survival. 31 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 4: I don't think there was anybody on board that day, Cameron, 32 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 4: it wasn't shit scared. 33 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 3: I'm Cameron Stuart and this is the flood Episode two, 34 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 3: shut all whole valves. Peter Scott had no idea how 35 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 3: much seawater had entered his submarine or if water was 36 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 3: still surging in. He knew the flood had started in 37 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 3: the lower motor room at the back of the submarine, 38 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 3: where one of his crew, Petty Officer Jordie Bunting, was stationed, 39 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 3: but he knew nothing else. 40 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 4: We'll never know how close we were to finishing. 41 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 3: Up at this moment. Hm As Dashino, the pride of 42 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 3: Australia's new submarine fleet, was just seconds from sinking like 43 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 3: a monstrous black rock to the frigid depths of the 44 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 3: Indian Ocean. The only comfort for Jordie bunting In his 45 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 3: crew was that their death would have been swift. In 46 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,799 Speaker 3: the years since, the crew has often speculated they were 47 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:23,640 Speaker 3: twenty seconds away from death. 48 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 5: I probably think that was a bit of an overestimation. 49 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 5: I reckon it's closer to ten. Yeah, I knew we're 50 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 5: in trouble. 51 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 4: That's it. 52 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 3: As the stricken submarine went down, bunting In his crew 53 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 3: would have listened helplessly to the creeks and cracks as 54 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 3: the water pressure outside leaned on the hull like an elephant. 55 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 3: There would have been no survivors. 56 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 4: It was just another day. It was just another ordinary 57 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 4: dye and we'd proceeded out to carry out some checks. 58 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 4: There was myself and two other guys who were in 59 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 4: the engine room and for some reason we'd played paper 60 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 4: rocks as so who was going down the hall and 61 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 4: somehow I come up worse off than the other two. 62 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 4: So yeah, down I went. And we were just looking 63 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 4: for leaks and just hoping that everything held together as 64 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 4: it should to put the boat through its paces. 65 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 3: Jeordie Rockerbunting grew up in Townshill, Queensland. In nineteen eighty seven, 66 00:04:25,320 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 3: at the age of just seventeen, he joined the Navy, seeking, 67 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,720 Speaker 3: in his words, adventure and opportunity. 68 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:33,359 Speaker 4: It got me out of North Queensland to go and 69 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 4: do something that I never thought i'd do. I joined 70 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 4: up as an apprentice, starting my training out at H. 71 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 4: Mason remember in Quakers Hill in Sydney. I had no 72 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 4: idea where I wanted to be. And then at a 73 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 4: point in time a road show came around trying to 74 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 4: wrestle up submaranas. 75 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 3: Not many people can say they got married in a submarine, 76 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 3: but after Bunting became and a submarine, he loved it 77 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 3: so much that he took his vows on one of 78 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 3: the old Oberon class boats. 79 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 4: I was married on h MIA s Ovans. My wife 80 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 4: decided she wanted a water side wedding and for whatever 81 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:17,160 Speaker 4: reason she convinced me to get married on the casing 82 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 4: of a submarine. That was thirty two years ago. 83 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,799 Speaker 3: Funting served in the Oberon boats as an apprenticed fitter 84 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 3: machinist before moving over to the Comins class submarines, eventually 85 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 3: joining the crew of the Deshena in late two thousand 86 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 3: and two. On that fateful day in February two thousand 87 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 3: and three, as the submarine glided down to its deepest 88 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 3: diving depth to test its systems, Bunting's job was to 89 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 3: stand in the lower motor room and keep an eye 90 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 3: on a newly replaced hose, which was exposed to sea pressure. 91 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,640 Speaker 3: As the submarine approached its deepest diving depth. His gaze 92 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 3: was fixed on that new hose when suddenly he was 93 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 3: knocked off his feet. 94 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 4: There was a sharp hiss and then or mighty explosion bang, 95 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 4: And the next thing I remember was, shit, it's getting 96 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 4: pretty cold. It was fearfully cold, and there was a 97 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:12,800 Speaker 4: lot of water coming in. I can remember screaming out 98 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 4: at the top of my voice, not that I thought 99 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 4: it was heard that we were flooding. And then yeah, 100 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 4: it was like being stuck in a washing machine. It 101 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 4: was just round and round and round. 102 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 3: Bunting did not yet know it, but a different hose 103 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 3: had broken, spraying icy seawater into the small room at 104 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:34,679 Speaker 3: a pressure strong enough to sweep him off his feet. 105 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 3: Such was the force that a heavy piece of metal 106 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 3: attached to the hoses to help keep them in place. 107 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 3: Flu just sent to me this from Bunny's head, avoiding 108 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 3: what would almost certainly have been a fatal blow. 109 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 4: Something flew past and clipped my head and hit something 110 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 4: and flew back, but it was all split second stuff 111 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 4: that went on. 112 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 3: The metal elbows zoomed past, the front of his head, 113 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 3: hit a wall, and we bound behind his head, miraculously 114 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 3: missing him both times. 115 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:06,799 Speaker 4: To remember, the space wasn't much bigger than a phone box. 116 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 4: It's only a very very small space when you're sort 117 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 4: of hunched over to being there, and it's probably a 118 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 4: little bit, probably a couple of meters wide that you've 119 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 4: got a deck platform that you're on. But I kept 120 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 4: trying to make my way to the ladder, but then 121 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 4: getting washed back, and then I'd be at the ladder 122 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 4: again because it was very much in a whirlpool type situation. 123 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 3: You were trying to get up out of the manhole 124 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 3: in the roof, which we have got. 125 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 4: You trying to get to the manhole. But I ended 126 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 4: up getting gemmed on the other side of the ladder, 127 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 4: between the ladder and the main motor. I was on 128 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 4: the wrong side of the ladder. 129 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 3: Where's your head under the water? 130 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 4: At any point, I was under the wood most of 131 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:44,360 Speaker 4: the time. It was sort of up. It was yeah, 132 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:45,880 Speaker 4: it was cold. It was vicious. 133 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 3: Abel Seaman Greeg Sullivan, who was stationed nearby in the 134 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 3: engine room. Builge heard the explosion and the roar of 135 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 3: the water. As soon as Sullivan walked through the door 136 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,480 Speaker 3: towards the hatch leading down to the lower motor room 137 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 3: where Bunty was, he saw how much trouble both Rocker 138 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 3: and the submarine were in. 139 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 6: He went back there. There was water spray and missed. 140 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 6: As soon as we went through the door, we didn't 141 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 6: see Rocker. So we looked down the hatch to the 142 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 6: village area and that's where the water was, obviously, and 143 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 6: lots of it and in it. 144 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 3: Bunting, who was pinned under the water by the pressure, 145 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 3: said his initial panic was replaced by a strange calm. 146 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 3: Looking back now, he believes he was starting to drown. 147 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 4: I don't know whether it's your body coping with stress 148 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 4: or with with an issue. But everything went quiet. Everything 149 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 4: went very very quiet, and I can remember seeing the 150 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,439 Speaker 4: wi Fia and my daughters. I saw a vision of them, 151 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 4: but it was I was at peace. Your body does 152 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 4: amazing things to protect your protect you from trauma, and 153 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 4: I guess that was one of them. 154 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 3: Bunting was fading, and then that of consciousness when suddenly 155 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 3: he felt handsome above clutching at his shoulders. Greg Sullivan 156 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 3: and petty Officer Michael Morris were reaching down through the 157 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 3: hatch into the flooded motor room to try to fish 158 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 3: him out. 159 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 4: I got grabbed arm, which was probably one of the 160 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 4: most relieving feelings that I've ever had. But the two 161 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 4: guys who found me grabbed me by the epaulets on 162 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 4: the shoulders and overls managed to scouldrap me out of there. 163 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,200 Speaker 4: I don't know how I'm not a small guy, but 164 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 4: somehow they lifted me straight out. They knew I was 165 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 4: down there, and obviously they'd come back to find me, 166 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:36,960 Speaker 4: and that sticks with me. 167 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,720 Speaker 1: The flood is brought to you by the Australian War Memorial. 168 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: What Does War Look Like Through the Eyes of the 169 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: People Who Lived It? Through Their Eyes is a new 170 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: podcast from the Australian War Memorial that uncovers deeply human 171 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: stories drawn from the aw m's vast collections. Galleries and 172 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: expert insights through unexpected perspectives and immersive storytelling. Each episode 173 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: brings history to life in a way that's personal, moving, 174 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 1: and relevant today. Discover the stories behind our history. Listen 175 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: to through Their Eyes soon wherever you get your podcasts. 176 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:27,000 Speaker 3: In moments of intense action, our brain signals to the 177 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,559 Speaker 3: body to send a rush of adrenaline into the bloodstream, 178 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 3: giving us a huge burst of energy and strength we 179 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 3: might not know we had. That's doubtless what was happening 180 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 3: to Greg Sullivan and Michael Morris as they reached down 181 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 3: into the hole in the submarine's main deck to haul 182 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 3: Jordi bunting up. 183 00:10:42,679 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 6: I don't know how it gout him out. I remember 184 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:46,599 Speaker 6: once we got him up, I pulled him over to 185 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 6: the side and sat him down. He was white, I 186 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,720 Speaker 6: presume from cold and fear. Also, I'm not sure if 187 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 6: I said it or just thought it, but why are 188 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,440 Speaker 6: we not moving up yet? As they had blown ballast 189 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,439 Speaker 6: probably the scariest bit waiting for the boat to start 190 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:02,839 Speaker 6: going out. 191 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,480 Speaker 3: All vessels have capacity to carry what's called ballast or 192 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,280 Speaker 3: extra weight, to help with buoyancy and stability. In the submarine, 193 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 3: the ballast tanks are filled with sea water. When the 194 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 3: submarine needs to dive, and when it's time to surface, 195 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 3: compressed areas blown into the tanks to force the water out, 196 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 3: lightning the boat. Even Sullivan, who was busy saving Bunting's life, 197 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 3: was aware that the submarine was not responding as it 198 00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 3: should have to the flood. It wasn't going up. Here's 199 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 3: Peter Scott. 200 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 2: So we are active diving depth. The submarine is under 201 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 2: as much pressure as you would design the submarine to 202 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 2: operate out and we run a major flood somewhere back 203 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 2: after in the submarine. When you go to emergency stations 204 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 2: like this, you're getting ready for anything, so you're getting 205 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,800 Speaker 2: ready for fires and so on. So there's people getting 206 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 2: dressed into fire fining gear and breathing masks and all 207 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 2: that sort of stuff. So a lot going on, but 208 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:09,719 Speaker 2: all in a remarkably cool sort of manner. I'm standing 209 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,560 Speaker 2: for it in the control room, but quite central, so 210 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:16,360 Speaker 2: in between the two main periscopes, which obviously lower because 211 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 2: we're at diving stations. So the control room is full 212 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 2: of people. It's a very small space. There's a lot 213 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 2: of gear in there, but there's somewhat at every station 214 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 2: and more so. The first person I'm clocking is the 215 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 2: XO who is duty command and the watch leader, just 216 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 2: to get a sense of where they're at. You do 217 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 2: it without thinking, but your attention is moving around the 218 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 2: control room so very quickly. There's a lot of orders 219 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 2: and reports coming in and out of the control room. 220 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 2: They would, I think, be completely unintelligible to someone who 221 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 2: was not understanding what was going on. A lot of 222 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 2: information moving back and forwards quite quickly. So the chief 223 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 2: of the boat, probably the most experienced senior sailor on 224 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 2: the submarine is on the planes. He is quite a character, 225 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 2: very laconic, sort of fela. So he's just cool as Mustard, 226 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 2: just sat there, flicks the boat up to twenty up 227 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 2: and holds it there the entire way up. So for 228 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,719 Speaker 2: we had the signar operators, so they were having a 229 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 2: pretty quiet day. There wasn't a whole lot out there. 230 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 2: But they need to kick in the gear because quite 231 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 2: apart from the flood, it can be it can be 232 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 2: dangerous bringing a submarine from deep up to periscope depth 233 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:44,800 Speaker 2: because your situational awareness changes. You know and understand what's 234 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:49,679 Speaker 2: happening at that depth. You don't necessarily know and understand 235 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 2: what you're coming up to, so they're switched on operating 236 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 2: their sonars to check for any sort of sign of 237 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 2: life or shipping or whatever up up above us and 238 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 2: make sure that we're safe to actually come. 239 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 3: Up without knowing how seriously damaged the submarine was. Commander 240 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,440 Speaker 3: Scott's immediate task was to urgently gather speed to give 241 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 3: the DeShane of the momentum to climb back towards the surface, 242 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 3: while at the same time blowing all of its ballast 243 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 3: tanks to make the submarine as light as possible. Scott 244 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,120 Speaker 3: or to the submarine to climb on a twenty degree angle, 245 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 3: twice the normal angle of a cent, causing coffee cups 246 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 3: in the mess area to slide off the tables and 247 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 3: crash to the ground. 248 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 2: We have emergency operating procedures for any major casualty like that, 249 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 2: a flood of fire, hydraulic burst. They're exceptionally well trained 250 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 2: and drilled, and they just kicked in action. We're propelling 251 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 2: at full speed. We drive the submarine so that we 252 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,680 Speaker 2: get about a twenty degree bow up, which is not extreme, 253 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,240 Speaker 2: but it's you're trying to get to the roof. 254 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,320 Speaker 3: Submarines have valves in the whole that allow small amounts 255 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 3: of seawater to flow in and out the purposes like cooling. 256 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 3: Dushena's last line of defense. With the ultimate order in 257 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 3: the Navy's emergency operating procedures shut all whole valves. Would 258 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 3: it help? Commander Scott did not know. 259 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 2: So you hit that shuttle whole valves function, and the 260 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 2: scores of hull valves that are doing different jobs around 261 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 2: the submarine are shut immediately. So we didn't know it 262 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,800 Speaker 2: at the time, but that actually stopped the ingressive water 263 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 2: into a lama. What we didn't know was how much 264 00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: water we had taken on what had caused the flood. 265 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 3: Commander Scott did not know it at that moment, but 266 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 3: the final order of that emergency operating procedure, the cry 267 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 3: of shut all hull valves, had the effect of successfully 268 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:58,440 Speaker 3: closing the external ocean exposed valves across the submarine. Crucially, 269 00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 3: this also blocked the flow out of seawater into the 270 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 3: lower mosor room. But in the space of between ten 271 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 3: and fifteen seconds, and astonishing twelve to fifteen thousand liters 272 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 3: of seawater had already poured In the question of the 273 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 3: survival of the crew was now a simple one. Had 274 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,880 Speaker 3: the Dasheno taken on more seawater than it had released 275 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 3: by blowing the ballasts. Here's Melanie Ellerton. 276 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 6: Everything just kind of froze. 277 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 2: It was definitely like a pause and time that does 278 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 2: hold in that breath and just going. 279 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:34,120 Speaker 6: Are we coming back up? 280 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 3: The chief engineer, John Ryan, who had been with command 281 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 3: to Scott when the flood alerted sounded, ran from the 282 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 3: front of the submarine to the back to give Scott 283 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 3: a first hand report at the accident. Ryan sprinted at 284 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 3: full speed down the narrow corridors, at one point passing 285 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 3: a framed quote from Shakespeare's Henry the Fifth, whoever does 286 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 3: not have the stomach for this fight, let him depart. 287 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:01,720 Speaker 5: I needed to get to the motor room and see 288 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,680 Speaker 5: what was going on so I could relay back or 289 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 5: do what I could to stop it and fix it. 290 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:13,440 Speaker 3: Was anything going through your head at that point, A. 291 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 5: Lot of things, I think, but nothing in particular. Just shit, shit, shit. 292 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 5: So heading back there, one of the last things I 293 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:25,600 Speaker 5: had to do before I entered the engine room was 294 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 5: to open the tunnel door. And you have to equalize 295 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 5: the pressure either side, so I had a pause of 296 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 5: about two seconds or so to think, like, what am 297 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:46,640 Speaker 5: I opening this too? See? As I got back closer 298 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,080 Speaker 5: and it was foggy, and the closer I got was 299 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,520 Speaker 5: missed in the air. Basically it was almost like a fog. 300 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 5: I saw a rocker there looking very bedraggled. The flood 301 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,200 Speaker 5: was down there. 302 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 3: Pretty sure. 303 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,439 Speaker 5: Michael Morris was already in the lower motor room at 304 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 5: that stage, so I leapt down there with Michael. 305 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,280 Speaker 3: When John Ryan saw how much seawater had flooded the 306 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 3: lower motor room, his heart skipped a beat. As the 307 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 3: boat's chief engineer, no one on the Ducheno knew more 308 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 3: about the limits of what the submarine could tolerate. 309 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 5: Yeah, I knew we're in trouble because there was a 310 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:27,399 Speaker 5: lot of water, and that stage it was still coming in. 311 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 5: I mean, we're way steep in water. I won't say 312 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,639 Speaker 5: we're scratching our heads, but we were trying to figure 313 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 5: out where the flood came from. 314 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 3: The surge of seawater into the lower motor room had 315 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,919 Speaker 3: been cut off by the shut all hull valve's function. 316 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:48,159 Speaker 3: The flood had stopped, but the submarine was now weighed 317 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:52,000 Speaker 3: down by up to fifteen tons of seawater. It was 318 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 3: as if two African elephants had just walked on board. 319 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 3: But even Bunting, who was barely conscious after his near drowning, 320 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 3: realized that something was now very wrong with the submarine. 321 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,239 Speaker 3: He kept waiting for the boat to start climbing, but 322 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:07,040 Speaker 3: it never did. 323 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 4: The crew were doing the best they can to bring 324 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 4: this thing back, bearing in mind that we were very 325 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,720 Speaker 4: very heavy in the eyes. The angle at the boat 326 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,119 Speaker 4: was on was pretty scary. 327 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 3: John Ryan, Again. 328 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 5: I'm a positive sort of person, so I mean, when 329 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,919 Speaker 5: we had the bow up there was a sort of 330 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 5: a pause of ten or fifteen seconds. I just put 331 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 5: my arm around Laurie and said, we're going to be 332 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 5: all right, mate. Really yeah, I wasn't sure. 333 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 3: But for those who could bear to look, their eyes 334 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 3: were fixed upon the depth gauge, the single dial that 335 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,240 Speaker 3: would effectively tell them whether they were going to live 336 00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:01,720 Speaker 3: or die. It did not move the longest time, leaving 337 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:03,399 Speaker 3: the crew frozen in fear. 338 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 2: The boat just hung for what seemed like an eternity 339 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,680 Speaker 2: and then began to slowly sink. 340 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,639 Speaker 1: VISs episode two of our four part series, which the 341 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,879 Speaker 1: Australian subscribers here first at the floodpodcast dot com and 342 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:31,080 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts next week. 343 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 5: On the flood, I mean the water was swirling. We 344 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,120 Speaker 5: yield up to isolate some of the equipment so that 345 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,800 Speaker 5: it didn't fry, or we didn't fry with what. 346 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 3: Was the ganger, there's electrocution. 347 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,040 Speaker 5: We were standing waist deep in seawater. 348 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: The Flood is an audio and video investigation for The 349 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: Australian by Cameron Stewart, Executive producer Claire Harvey and editor 350 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: Jasper League. You can watch the video right now at 351 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: the floodpodcast dot com. Our theme is composed by Jasper League. 352 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: Cinematography is by Andy Taylor and video editing by Lachlan Clear. 353 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: Additional footage was shot by Luke Geldard and Peter Aquilina. 354 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: Our graphics of by Sean Callanan and animations by Franklin. 355 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: Special thanks to Kristin Amiot, Ryan Elfin, the Australian National 356 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 1: Maritime Museum and the Australian War Memorial. Captured, Imprisoned, Determined 357 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: to Survive through first hand accounts from the Australian War 358 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:43,119 Speaker 1: Memorial's archives, Through their Eyes reveals what it meant to 359 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: endure captivity maintain hope and survive against the odds. Listen 360 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: to through their Eyes wherever you get your podcasts.