World's Greatest Ships

The Ark Royal was World War II's most famous aircraft carrier. Her survival in the face of Nazi Luftwaffe bombing raids and U-boat attacks was a testament to her ingenious design and courageous crew.

This famous ocean liner serves as a staggering monument to British nautical engineering. Scaling the funnel and delving deep into the engine room, host Rob Bell finds out how the largest ship of her day could also become the fastest, achieving speeds that few large ships can match 80 years later.

The world's first purpose-built scientific vessel, her bold journey to the most inhospitable continent on the planet, Antarctica, propelled Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton into the ranks of the world's most famous explorers. The diaries of Discovery's backers tell the incredible story of how a chance meeting in London would define the course of polar exploration.

This humble British merchant ship carried one of history's most important voyages. It was hired by a group of religious dissidents to transport them to a new life of freedom in the New World.

The most famous ship in the world, Titanic, was a marvel of engineering based on revolutionary new capabilities. It bristled with the latest technology and was said to be unsinkable.

This is the story of how a humble coal vessel became one of Britain's greatest ships. Capable of battling stormy seas, the ship carried the historic missions of Captain James Cook to explore the South Pacific.

This the story of the only surviving British warship to bombard the Normandy coast on D-Day. Host Rob Bell clambers aboard, experiencing first-hand the awesome power of its guns.

Admiral Nelson's personal flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar was the largest warship in the world with firepower equivalent to a whole army on land. Its construction included the felling of 6000 oak trees for planking and 27 miles of rope rigging.

Here is the extraordinary story behind what was once the longest passenger ship in the world. Designed by Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this vast vessel redefined shipbuilding, pioneering innovations that are still found on most modern ships.

This is the story of Henry VIII's great warship, a vast vessel that went down nearly five centuries ago, killing more than four hundred men. Over the years a host of theories have emerged to explain the disaster, including accounts of enemy fire, mistakes made by the ship's builders, an unruly crew, an inexperienced captain and even King Henry VIII himself.

One of the most glamorous ships of her day, Cutty Sark made her name racking precious cargoes of tea from Shanghai to London. The ship endured long vagabond years of 'tramping', when she was mistreated by her captains and deserted by her crews.

Here is the extraordinary story of the Flagship of England's most notorious pirate, Sir Francis Drake. Sent on a secret mission to plunder Spanish ships in the Pacific, the Golden Hinde's voyage was packed with adventure.