Editing Robert Ballard (section)

====''Bismarck''====
Ballard undertook an even more daunting task when he and his team searched off the coast of France for the German Battleship ''[[German battleship Bismarck|Bismarck]]'' in 1989, using an ocean-crawling robot. The 15,000 foot deep water in which it sank<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/13/science/undersea-robots-open-a-new-age-of-exploration.html |title=Undersea Robots Open a New Age of Exploration |last=Broad |first=William J |date=1990 |website=New York Times |access-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902220613/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/13/science/undersea-robots-open-a-new-age-of-exploration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> is 4,000 feet deeper than that where the ''Titanic'' sank. He attempted to determine whether it had been sunk by the British or was scuttled by its crew. Three weeks after the expedition however, personal tragedy struck him when his 21-year-old son, Todd, who had aided him in the search, was killed in a car accident.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/07/25/Son-of-explorer-another-man-killed-in-car-crash/3764319040352 |title=Son of explorer, another man killed in car crash |date=1989 |access-date=April 21, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020205300/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/07/25/Son-of-explorer-another-man-killed-in-car-crash/3764319040352/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ballard later published a book about the quest, ''The Discovery of the Bismarck'' (1990)<ref>Ballard Robert D and Rick Archbold. 1990. ''The Discovery of the Bismarck.'' New York N.Y: Warner Books.''</ref> The discovery was also documented for [[National Geographic]] in a 1989 [[James Cameron]] video ''Search for the Battleship Bismarck'' which indicated that the ship had been damaged by torpedoes and shells from British ships.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alibris.com/National-Geographic-Search-for-the-Battleship-Bismarck/movie/100034563 |title=National Geographic: Search for the Battleship Bismarck (1989) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1990 |website=Alibris |access-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902183903/https://www.alibris.com/National-Geographic-Search-for-the-Battleship-Bismarck/movie/100034563 |url-status=live }}</ref> The actual cause of the sinking, however, was sabotage of the underwater valves by the onboard crew, according to Ballard, who said, "we found a hull that appears whole and relatively undamaged by the descent and impact". Filmmaker Cameron, however, said that his crew's examination of the wreckage indicated that the Bismarck would have sunk eventually even if it had not been scuttled.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HFQxDwAAQBAJ&q=Ballard+Bismarck+we+found+a+hull+that+appears+whole+and+relatively+undamaged+by+the+descent+and+impact&pg=PT16 |title=World War 2 In Review No. 9: Warships |date=August 1, 2017 |publisher=Merriam Press |isbn=978-1-387-10543-4 |access-date=October 28, 2020 |archive-date=February 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206135216/https://books.google.com/books?id=HFQxDwAAQBAJ&q=Ballard+Bismarck+we+found+a+hull+that+appears+whole+and+relatively+undamaged+by+the+descent+and+impact&pg=PT16 |url-status=live }}</ref>