World Premiere

Monday, April 18

8-9 PM

SIZE IT UP: SUBS

Take an exciting, behind-the-scenes look inside the U.S. military’s most amazing mechanical marvels. With the ability to operate undetected by foreign spy satellites, subs can covertly cover about 70 percent of the earth.  From the stealthy Remus, which locates mines with its sonar sensors, to the mighty SEAL delivery vehicle (SDV), which transports Navy special ops teams to enemy territory, submarines are considered one of the most powerful weapons systems in the armed forces.  This episode of SIZE IT UP examines just how these subs measure up.

Tuesday,

April 19

8-9 PM

EXTREME MACHINES: NUCLEAR SUBS

The submarine nearly changed the outcome of both world wars.  It symbolized the terror of the Cold War arms race.  The modern sub is both nuclear powered and nuclear armed.  They often lurk for six months at a time in remote corners of the ocean, rarely detected.  Nuclear submarines have fired only once in anger—the sinking of the Argentine battleship, the Belgrano, by the British during the Falklands War.  But America's mighty fleet of subs is the single most important component of national defense, maintaining a strategic and nuclear deterrent across the entire planet.

Wednesday,

April 20

8-9 PM

SUBMARINE: HIDDEN HUNTER

SUBMARINE: HIDDEN HUNTER guides viewers through the shipbuilding process of the most advanced attack submarines – Virginia Class.  This special also shows what it takes to become a Virginia Class submariner and share in the “brotherhood of the fin.”  The road to becoming a full-fledged submariner begins at Basic Sub School, where raw recruits are subjected to harrowing drills as they learn to fight fires and repair leaks courtesy of the school's high-tech simulators.  And finally, a new chapter in undersea warfare begins when the Virginia, having bested all of her own challenges, is commissioned into the fleet. 

Thursday,

April 21

8-9 PM

ATTACK AND CAPTURE: THE STORY OF U-BOAT 505

Using extensive archival footage and interviews with historians and crew members from both vessels, this one-hour special recounts the U.S. Navy’s daring attack and capture of a German U-boat in June 1944.  This victory marked the first time the U.S. Navy had captured an enemy vessel since the War of 1812. 

Monday,

April 18

8-9 PM

ULTIMATE GUIDE: THE SUBMARINES

Submarines are the most powerful weapons system in any country's military arsenal.  This ULTIMATE GUIDE takes viewers inside a military sub to reveal all the contents, including rows of nuclear missile tubes, the control room, churches, movie theaters and hospitals. 

Viewers also learn how early models of submarines used steam and internal combustion engines and sometimes were cranked by hand when they submerged.  The program also explores how the quest to reach extreme ocean depths has led scientists to create other submersibles, including the Deep Flight submarine, which is being designed to loop and spin like an underwater aircraft. 

World Premiere

Thursday, April 28

8-9 PM

BATTLEFIELD DIARIES: LAM SON 719

On February 8, 1971, American helicopters lifted off from a base in South Vietnam carrying troops from that country.  Their mission was simply stated: cut the supply lines of their mutual enemy, the army of North Vietnam.  Dubbed Lam Son 719, the operation left an indelible mark on U.S. Army aviation, but despite its importance, was largely ignored at home. The death toll on both sides reached into the thousands.  On both sides, friends, brothers and fellow warriors fell in shocking numbers.  For those who survived, the battle will be long remembered for the pain and sacrifice they endured. 

Thursday, April 28

9-11 PM

THE FALL OF SAIGON

This program recreates the intensity of the last three days of the Vietnam War and examines the inside story of the chaos and duplicity that led to the final collapse of Saigon.  Viewers hear stories about the final days, including that of a Texas-trained South Vietnamese bomber pilot who defected and sent Viet Cong pilots to strafe the Saigon airport with American B-52s, and of Dinh Van De, the South Vietnamese delegate to the U.S. government who had actually been a top spy for the North for many years. 

World Premiere

Tuesday, April 12

8-9 PM

[TV-PG]

Blockade

This episode of BATTLE PLAN examines how the development of engines and submarines enormously increased the potential for blockade and takes a look into such historical cases as the North's blockade of the South during the American Civil War; the British blockade of Napoleon's ports in Europe, which kept his vessels in port and cut off almost all his overseas trade; the World War I British blockade of Germany and the German U-boat blockade that came close to starving Britain into defeat; and the War World II U.S. blockade that cut Japan off from all the resources the country needed to continue fighting. 

World Premiere

Tuesday, April 26

8-9 PM

[TV-PG]

Battlefleet

The use of a battlefleet to establish control of the sea, or to frustrate an enemy's attempt to do so, has been a key aspect of naval warfare for 2,500 years.  Dramatic changes in technology such as the arrival of steam and long-range artillery did not change this fundamental battle plan.  And even the development of submarines and naval air power only changed the means but not the aim.  At Midway, the whole course of the Pacific war was transformed in minutes, when U.S. dive bombers devastated Japan's vital aircraft carriers -- the pride of its battlefleet and the key to its survival.  

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 5

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Fall of Poland

It was a moment that would draw the entire world into war.  On September 1, 1939, the Germans launched their tank units in an invasion of Poland.  Though the Polish resistance was fierce and immediate, the unexpected involvement of the Russian army made the Polish fight for survival a losing battle.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 5

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Tobruk

In 1941, the Germans moved their panzer divisions through north Africa to push back the British forces in Libya.  One major supply port became a war zone:  Tobruk.  It was here that Rommel scored his greatest victory and became known as the Desert Fox.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 12

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Okinawa

By the spring of 1945, American forces were fighting their way to Japan, but they needed a base from which to launch their planned invasion.  There was only one obstacle in their path – the island of Okinawa and the hundreds of kamikaze fighter planes that protected it.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 12

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Stalingrad

In the summer of 1942, Adolph Hitler took personal command of his forces to finally conquer Russia and take home his prize: Stalingrad.  But the Russians refused to give up.  Their valiant struggle lasted for months and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 19

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Arnhem

Near the end of World War II, the Allies launched an attack against the Germans in Holland to push them back to the Rhine River, Germany's last natural defense barrier.  For this daring mission, the Allies needed an airborne operation of 35,000 paratroopers.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 19

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Fall of the Philippines

After the Japanese declared war on the U.S. by bombing Pearl Harbor, an invasion force set out to conquer the Philippines.  The surprise attacks destroyed American military and naval strength.  Brave Filipino scouts held the defensive as long as they could.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 26

9-9:30 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Dieppe

By the summer of 1942, Germany controlled all of Europe.  A Canadian contingent was the first of the Allied armies to attack the German war machine from the sea.  In a daring raid on the French coast, they had an impossible objective: to retake the town of Dieppe.

North American Premiere

Tuesday, April 26

9:30-10 PM

[TV-PG]

Battle of Anzio

After the invasion of Sicily, Allied armies headed for the Italian fishing town of Anzio.  But the Germans, entrenched in the hills, would not let them get off the beach.  It took three months of fierce battle to break the stalemate.