Wrecks That Changed The World

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The world's oceans hide three million shipwrecks. Each one is a time capsule - a moment frozen at the point of sinking; a moment lives changed forever. Mallinson Sadler Productions, the makers of National Geographic's acclaimed ‘Drain the Oceans’, delivers a deep-sea mystery series that takes viewers on a thrilling journey to the bottom of the sea. Join real-life shipwreck hunters as they uncover the gripping stories behind the most fascinating wrecks in our oceans. Quality actors will deliver the first-hand accounts of survivors and witnesses while stunning VFX will be used to return the wrecks to their former glory.

Using cutting-edge underwater technology, ‘World's Greatest Shipwrecks’ delivers an unparalleled view of the underwater world, telling powerful stories of death, desperation, and survival from history's most dramatic maritime disasters to unpack their mysteries.

Unpicking the evidence of the wreckage with state-of-the-art CGI and the latest underwater technology and combining it with powerful personal testimony brings out the human side of these tragedies. As well as revealing the answers to the questions of what happened and why.

Episodes

Assassins Of The Deep

No instrument of war defines the 20th century like the submarine. Covert and deadly, these silent assassins of the deep, rewrote the rules of the game. Featuring exclusive access to three separate wreck sites.

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Danger Ahead

The sea is unpredictable. Critical decisions made in the face of danger make all the difference. What sank the ocean liner Empress of Ireland, causing Canada’s worst maritime tragedy? And the enigma of the ship El Faro, lost with all hands. Armed with the latest undersea technology and personal testimony, we climb aboard these doomed ships to discover what set them on the path to catastrophe.

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Last Days Of The Battleship

The wreck of the USS Arizona, sunk at her mooring in Pearl Harbour in the US Navy's largest single loss of life, shows us how vulnerable even a heavily-armoured battleship could be.

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Nuclear Wrecks

The remains of five warships, from the remote Pacific to the deep Atlantic, reveal new insights into the dawn of the nuclear age and how the atom bomb changed our world forever. Features a unique survey of the Bikini Atoll, carried out by a team from the University of Delaware.

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Savage Revenge

With exclusive access to unique footage and 3D scanning data, this episode casts light on one of America's greatest-ever military victories - the attack on Truk lagoon in February 1944. The wrecks of MV Wilhelm Gustloff and Aikoku Maru tell their stories.

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Failed Invasions

Using eyewitness reports, 3D scanning technology and expert testimony, we investigate the story behind the dramatic sinking of the French battleship Bouvet. Also featured, three ships from the Spanish Armada which sank whilst carrying archaeological treasures to England.

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The Lost Fleet Of WWI

Maritime archaeologist, Innes McCartney and a team of divers investigate history's most epic scuttle, which saw 74 of the most modern and powerful warships disappear off the coast of Scotland. Sonar data maps the seabed and reveals the remains of seven wartime wrecks scattered within two miles of each other. With expert CGI, we bring to life the events of both the scuttle and the salvage.

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Collisions At Sea

We journey to San Francisco Bay, where sonar research reveals the 1888 wreckage of SS City of Chester, just past the Golden Gate Bridge. This episode includes a gripping account of the collision between the famous liner, Queen Mary (currently a floating hotel in California) and the ill-fated light cruiser, HMS Curacao.

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Toxic Wrecks

Thousands of WW II wrecks lay dormant in British and Scandinavian waters, laden with toxic cargo - essentially ticking time bombs. We follow the dedicated teams, working at the cutting edge of marine technology and research, monitoring these toxic terrors.

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Scotland's Sea Secrets

Human stories and testimonials of survivors and witnesses uncover the event s around the demise of HMS Vanguard and HMS Hampshire more than a hundred years ago. The circumstances surrounding their sinking have cast a century-old shadow across Orkney and its people.

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