TV Schedule for Smithsonian Channel USA

Combat Ships Smugglers and Pirates

A look at how maritime task forces and the Coast Guard are keeping commercial vessels and US shores safe from pirates and drug smugglers.

Combat Ships The Battle of Leyte Gulf

It is considered the largest sea battle in history: the Battle of Leyte Gulf in WWII was three days of ingenious strategy and white-knuckle combat between warships, aircraft and kamikazes.

Combat Ships The Battle of Incheon

A portrayal of a crucial September 1950 military operation that helped the UN and ROK gain the upper hand over North Korea in the Korean War.

Combat Ships Lightning Strikes

Examining some of maritime history's most effective lightning strikes; how the French frigate Nivôse set a trap to lure Somali pirates; how the HMS Illustrious captured a well-defended Mediterranean harbor in WWII; a surprise attack on Tokyo in 1942.

Combat Ships Secrets and Lies

A look at how the art of deception was used by naval forces in the first half of the 20th century; in 1939, the German raider Atlantis is equipped with fake funnels, while its sailors dressed as women pushing prams to fool Allied merchant ships.

Combat Ships Galleons and Privateers

Revolutionary ship design helped Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake lead England to defeat the Spanish Armada and become a world power.

Combat Ships The Fast and Furious

A look at Naval warfare's fastest combat ships and how the advantage of speed determined the outcome of some of the great seas battles of the last 150 years.

Combat Ships Doomed Vessels

Bad design, human error and the enemy sent great ships to tragic ends, like Britain's K13 submarine and HMS Hood, Sweden's 17th century Vasa, and Kublai Khan's fleet, sunk by the original kamikaze.

Combat Ships Metal War Ships

The evolution from wooden ships to metal ones in the second half of the 19th century is examined.

Combat Ships World Wars

A look at how the role of battleships changed over the course of the First and Second World Wars.

WWII Battles in Color Blitzkrieg

Rare archive footage charts the German Army in 1940 as it unleashes a new Blitzkrieg tactic.

WWII Battles in Color Barbarossa

Cameras roll as Nazi Germany launches an all-out assault on the Soviet Union.

WWII Battles in Color El Alamein

Footage of life and death on the battlefield of El Alamein and behind the lines in the African desert.

WWII Battles in Color Kursk

The story of the greatest tank battle the world has ever seen.

WWII Battles in Color The Bulge

Eye-witness accounts from those who fought in the US military's bloodiest battle on the European front in World War II.

WWII Battles in Color Berlin

Incredible footage, colourised for the first time, chronicles the final days of the Third Reich and the brutal battle for Berlin, though German defeat looked certain. Nazi soldiers persisted fighting despite the inevitability of their downfall.

Air Warriors F1-11

The history of the F-111 and how the fighter-bomber no one wanted went on to dominate both air and battlefields in the late 20th century.

Air Warriors B-17 Flying Fortress

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most lethal bombers of the U.S. Air Force in WWII's European and Pacific campaigns; among other things, the plane delivered food to the German-occupied Netherlands.

Air Warriors A-10 Warthog

The history of the mean and ugly jet aircraft, the A-10 Warthog.

Air Warriors C-47 Skytrain

A look at how the C-47 evolved from passenger plane to a transport aircraft and flying hospital in WWII and years later as a gunship in Vietnam.

Air Warriors P-51 Mustang

The fighter plane that helped turn the tide of World War II; the P-51 Mustang.

Air Disasters Deadly Mission

A new investigation sheds light on the controversial 1961 plane crash that killed U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld.

Air Disasters What Happened To Malaysian 370?

Leading aviation experts are confronted with a shocking theory as they investigate one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

Air Disasters Cockpit Killer

When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators have to rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a conclusion.