Warship

Documentary that looks at the history of naval technology. The program is a study of 150 years of technological advances that have shaped modern navies.

"Sea Power" examines the dawn of a new age in warfare as the old wooden warships made way for armored ships. It recalls how one early engineer unwittingly invented a more efficient propeller when a prototype he was testing accidentally broke in half.

"Big Guns" opens with the first battle between two ironclad warships and outlines the rapid technological developments that led to World War I-era battleships as large as floating cities and manned by crews numbering in the thousands.

"Submarines" looks at the first submersible craft, known as the Turtle, which was actually developed during the American Revolution. Submarines became the ultimate weapons of war much later, however, after the invention of a reliable electric motor, a working periscope and an effective torpedo.

"Aircraft Carriers" recounts the unlikely contributions of a motorcycle racer named Glenn Curtiss. This daredevil, who was also an engineer and inventor, made it possible for planes to take off from and land on ships.