TV Guide Smithsonian Thursday

Host Mike Davidson goes to Cirque Du Soleil to meet the talented teams that are in charge of maintaining the machines behind the circus' stage shows.

The world's only underwater research habitat fell into disuse during the pandemic, but Mike and his team work to revive it despite choppy seas.

A report is shared on the accident of a West Air Sweden Flight near Lake Akkajaure in Sweden during a cargo flight, which killed both crew members.

A Bulgarian airliner gets hijacked and to save them the hijackers must be convinced that their demands have been met before the planes fuel runs out.

After the Flydubai Flight 981 enters a rapid descent and crashes in Russia, investigators realize that it aborted its second landing attempt in poor weather.

A team of aerial investigators investigates a trio of crashes and learns that the nuts and bolts of each plane went unchecked, which spells catastrophe.

A look is taken at longships used by the Vikings, Norse people who raided and traded from their Northern European homelands across sweeping areas of Europe.

Wooden warships are examined as an in-depth look is taken at how American and European technology transformed wartime vessels into armored ships.

Two kinds of ships, destroyers, a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship, and cruisers, another type of warship, are examined in detail.

An analytical look is taken at historical rescue ships that played a part in transporting people and rescuing refugees and the injured from disaster.

Revolutionary designs and ship experiments change the tides of war over centuries.

Exploring four stories of uprisings across naval history including the infamous mutiny on the Bounty and the daring takeover of the brig Creole.

World War II operations involving stealth watercrafts, such as the submarine HMS Seraph, are examined in detail, as is the 1985 prototype Sea Shadow.

Exploring the maritime task forces and the Coast Guard who keep commercial vessels and US shores safe from pirates and drug smugglers.

Firsthand accounts detail the dangerous operation to storm the beaches of Normandy, France as a close look is taken at the technology behind the famed armada.

The heroism of U.S. sailors who held off the powerful Imperial Navy at the battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.

A look at some of the world's most functional and powerful helicopters includes the Huey aircraft that was used in Vietnam as a rescue helicopter.

An aircraft has projected U.S. military power all over the world by transporting war machines and American troops wherever they need to be.

Stories of aerial combat include tales of dangerous fights that took place over Nazi occupied Germany with P-38 Lightning and Messerschmitts aircrafts.

The people of France face the devastation of war and the hope of freedom in 1944 when the Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe.

Never-before-seen footage of Belgium and the Netherland's liberation from Nazi occupation and the cost the Allies and civilians paid for their freedom.

Hitler's surprise attack on Belgium in late 1944 forced the Americans into their bloodiest battle of the war.

Western Europe's liberation by Allied forces during World War II.

An examination of the B-29 vessel's involvement in ending the war in Japan and bombing airfields during the Korean War.

The history behind Japan's A6M Zero from World War II is showcased with a look at how the U.S. Navy beat it with their F4U Corsair aircraft.

The C-17 Globemaster has been the primary cargo hauler for the U.S. Air Force for decades, but its critics in Congress almost halted its development.

The U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance airplane's very existence was denied until the Soviet Union shot one out of the sky and set off an unpleasant conversation.

The General Dynamics F-16 is fast and nimble, and since the Vietnam War, it has evolved to become the U.S.' primary multirole warplane.

The Allies used flying weapons in the fight against Nazi Germany, from the dogfighters like the P-51 Mustang and British Spitfire to the Hellcat dive-bomber.

Military personnel share the history behind the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and discuss how the aircraft has been in use since the Cold War.