American Firepower

History Uncovered

Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.

Machine Gun: History Down the Barrel of a Gun

Trenches: Battleground WWI

Experience firsthand "the war to end all wars." World War I was the first war in history to affect most of the globe, with battles fought on land, at sea and, for the first time, in the sky. This five-disc DVD set captures the experience almost a century after it happened, with rare footage, much of it never before released on DVD.

World's Greatest Warships

Series charting the history of the warship.

Decision

Jutland - Clash of the Dreadnoughts

The only major fleet engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland has been surrounded by controversy ever since. The British public felt Admiral Jellicoe had failed – a reaction rooted in a hundred years of the 'Nelson cult', a conviction that anything short of a Trafalgar-style annihilation was letting the side down. On the 31st of May 1916 – 251 British and German battleships set out to annihilate one another in the North Sea. In a vicious engagement that lasted over 12 hours – 25 ships were sunk and 8,600 lives were lost. The German Fleet had sunk more ships and suffered fewer casualties, but the British had forced them to disengage and run for port. This two-hour special tells the true story of the battle. An international team of marine divers and historians set out to explore the wrecks of the great Dreadnoughts that lie 100 miles from shore and up to 60 metres deep. The dives will at last reveal why the British navy failed to score a decisive victory.

The Bomber: Terror of WWII

Terror of the World: The story of a deadly war that intertwines Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy and Spain, and the remorseless development of weapons and bombers.

Shipwreck: Ark Royal

One of the Royal Navy's most modern aircraft carriers when the Second World War began, HMS Ark Royal was eventually sunk by a German torpedo. Now her wreck has been found in the Mediterranean, and veterans are among the first to see it. With Dan Snow.

Iceland Defense Force - Cold War Frontier

In the aftermath of the Second World War, relations between the former allied eastern and western powers deteriorated fast. Suddenly, the small island nation found itself in the midst of the ensuing “cold-war”, which it used to its full benefit to catapult into the modern world. A founding member of the NATO alliance, Iceland provided an important base for forward operations in protection of NATO’s northern flank and Scandinavia and the approaches to North America by U.S. and allied forces.

Broken Arrows: The Lost Bombs of the Cold War

Mount Kologet, Goldsboro, Palomares, Thule… Four nuclear accidents, four stains on the history of the Cold War. Four names that are now forgotten. These events lay undiscovered for years having been classified as official secrets. Now published, the files show how the relentless standoff between the two superpowers spiraled out of control and led us to the brink of obliteration.

Killing Machines

Lost U-Boats of WWII

During the second world war, the Nazis looted everything they could get their hands on, including an estimated 600 tons of gold, thousands of pieces of artwork, and millions of priceless artifacts. While some of these items have been found, much of it remains missing. Treasure hunter Darrell Miklos believes some of these stolen riches were loaded into specially modified U-Boats that are currently lying at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. His evidence: two top-secret documents acquired over 40 years of research.

Scotland's War at Sea

Two-part documentary telling the story of the battle for control of the North Sea during the First World War.

The Iran-Iraq War: A Tragedy That Changed History

Combat Ships

The very first submarine, which legend claims lurked beneath New York Harbor during the American Revolutionary War. The small ships that rescued thousands from Dunkirk. The destroyer that forced the easing of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over the centuries, conflicts have prompted advances to ship designs, making vessels stronger, faster, smarter, and capable of changing the course of wars. Join us as we examine the world's greatest Combat Ships, and reveal how they shaped world history and inspired men and women to acts of incredible courage.

The Battle History Of The U.S. Navy

Blueprints of War

Blueprints of War will strive to encompass the most famous military conflicts, leaders and weapons throughout time. From the beaches of Normandy to the fields of Gettysburg and the minefields of Vietnam, Blueprints of War will traverse the battlefields of the globe telling the story hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute

Falklands Hero: Bravo November

Mike Brewer sets off on a journey of discovery to find out the story of one of the most remarkable aircraft in the British Armed Forces: a Chinook helicopter code named Bravo November. By doing so he examines the invaluable contribution that these helicopters have made to campaigns from the Falklands War onwards. And how Chinooks are now being upgraded to keep them at the cutting edge of British tactical weaponry.

The First World War

This ten-part docuseries tells the comprehensive story of the First World War, featuring excerpts written by Winston Churchill, Karen Blixen, Georges Clémenceau, David Lloyd George, Siegfried Sassoon and Rudolf Hess.

The Battleships

The story of how the Battleship was used and not used as the ultimate weapon of war during its day up to its demise.