It's the early evening of July 19, 1545, on the Solent, a sea channel separating the south

coast of England from the Isle of White. A master gunner in the English Navy pokes his head out of the gunport

of his warship the Mary Rose.

He looks out to sea

and judges the distance to a fleet of enemy vessels.

Then he announces to his crewmates

on the gun deck that it's finally time

to ready their cannons.

After more than an hour of drifting

in calm conditions,

the wind has picked up,

and they're finally closing in on the French Armana. For hundreds of years, the English and French have been engaged in a series of off and on wars as the two kingdoms struggle for supremacy in

Western Europe. Today, the French are attempting an invasion of southern England. It's the job of the sailors

aboard the Mary Rose and the rest of the British fleet to fend off the enemy armada before it lands

on English soil. Cannon fire in the distance indicates that the battle has begun, and it prompts a

flurry of activity on the gun deck as the sailors of the Mary Rose prepared to take their first shots.

But before that can happen, the ship begins to tilt in the water.

The Master Gunner struggles to maintain his balance,

gripping onto a handhold in the wall as the Mary Rose leans over further and further.

Suddenly, seawater begins to enter through the open gun ports.

Master Gunner clings to the wall, hoping that the Mary Rose will write itself, but the ship

remains at a dangerous angle, and the sea continues to pour in. The gunner shouts in order to evacuate,

...