Combat Ships

Larry Chambers makes a risky decision during the Vietnam War. Ernest Evans faces a formidable Japanese fleet during WWII, and enslaved steamship pilot, Robert Smalls, stages a daring escape.

Experts discuss nautical explosions, including an attack on the USS Westchester County during the Vietnam War, a collision in Canada during WWI and a nuclear test in the Pacific Ocean.

A black Merchant Marine in World War II forces the Navy to desegregate his ship, a teenage slave pressed into Royal Navy service finds himself in the thick of the Seven Years' War, and more.

American troops' determination to secure a vital airfield and preserve communications lines with Australia leads to a chaotic and deadly night battle in the Pacific theater of World War II.

Anti-war sentiment and racial unrest during the Vietnam War spark rebellions at sea, mutineers overthrow Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty, and a U.S. slave ship revolt ends in triumph.

The Navy captures an armed group of Somali pirates, a Coast Guard crew raids a drug-smuggling submarine, and Norwegian civilians in fishing boats outwit the Germans during World War II.

A look at how technological advances over the centuries have led to bigger and faster combat ships and transformed maritime warfare.

French surveillance frigate Nivôse executes a plan to capture pirates off the coast of Somalia, and the U.S. retaliates after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor with the help of the USS Hornet.