National Geographic - 2 x 60 mins - Brook Lapping
The Battle That Won The Pacific War
Hitler’s Killer Rocket
Producer/Director/Writer
World War II was the largest, most destructive conflict mankind has ever known. Decisive battles played out across the globe. Many of these operations have been misinterpreted, lost in the fog of war or consumed by the landscape. Using remote-sensing techniques, the series investigates the traces of battles left behind and uncovering forgotten remains underwater and hidden scars on the land.
I directed two of the episodes in this six-part series:
Hitler’s Killer Rocket:
In the autumn of 1944, the Nazis unleashed a terrifying weapon on London. V-2 ballistic rockets were Hitler's last roll of the dice, as Germany was losing World War II. Marty Morgan and Pete Kelsey search for the top-secret missile sites and uncover the dreadful story behind the Fuhrer's vengeance rockets. Filmed in the remains of the Nazi V2 sites in Germany, including in the horrific underground factory/concentration camp of Mittelbau-Dora, and in the fields of Kent where we excavated the remains of a crashed V2.
The Battle That Won The Pacific War:
1942: the Japanese have swept through the Pacific. The rays of the rising sun creep towards Australia. The Allies' last hope is to stand and fight in some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. Between the volcanoes, jungles and swamps of Papua New Guinea, Marty and Pete hunt for clues as to how Allied troops dismantled the Japanese war machine. The team investigate submerged fighter planes, discover networks of tunnels, and travel to a lost battlefield that has remained hidden for 80 years. Filmed beneath the waters and in the jungles of Papua New Guinea including at the remarkable untouched “lost battlefield’ of Etoa deep in the PNG highlands.