World's Greatest Warships

Decision

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Iran-Iraq War: A Tragedy That Changed History

Attack on Pearl Harbor: Minute by Minute

Covers the 1941 Japanese military strike on a Hawaiian naval base in never before seen detail.

Pearl Harbor, The World on Fire

Hawaii, Pacific Ocean. A postcard decor. Clean. Azure. Yet in this heavenly place, one of the most memorable battles of WWII took place 80 years ago.

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.

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.

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.

Battlefield

Battlefield is a documentary series initially shown in 1994 that explores the most important battles fought primarily during the Second World War but also the Vietnam War. The series employs a novel approach in which history is described by detailed accounts of major battles together with background and contextual information.

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 Battle History Of The U.S. Navy

Battle Castle

Explores the medieval arms race reflected in castle construction in the Middle Ages. Location filming, re-enactments and CGI reconstruction are used to tell the stories of six castles tested by siege.

Warship

The evolution of the modern naval warship, from the days of wooden vessels under sail to today's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines, and missile cruisers.

Britain's Biggest Warship

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. As she embarks on gruelling sea trials we see ship and crew pushed to breaking point.

Soldiers, A History of Men in Battle

The history of warfare from antiquity to the Falklands War; each episode looks at warfare from the perspective of different participants: infantryman, artillerist, cavalryman, tanker, airman, guerrilla, surgeon, logistician and commander.

Warship: Life at Sea

Documentary series exploring everyday life on board various ships in the Royal Navy fleet.