Smithsonian TV Guide — Thursday TV Listings & Schedule

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for Thursday, 6 August 2026. 24 programmes listed , including 6 tonight. US listings updated daily — scroll down to tonight's highlights or use the day tabs above to browse the weekly schedule.

Early Morning

00:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S2 · E2 · A Wounded Bird True

A Wounded Bird

As a commuter plane leaves Atlanta one of its propellers breaks and strikes the engine nacelle, causing the wing to lose its lift, and the plane sinks rapidly.

01:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S23 · E1 · Deadly Exchange Documentary

Deadly Exchange

After a commuter flight crashes a mile away from the Missouri runway where it was supposed to land, investigators look into the final seconds in the cockpit.

02:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S4 · E3 · Fire Fight Documentary

Fire Fight

The toilet of an Air Canada DC-9 catches on fire, and as the plane makes an emergency landing in Cincinnati, a flashover causes the cabin to burst into flames.

03:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S3 · E1 · Hanging by a Thread True

Hanging by a Thread

An Aloha Airlines flight from Hilo to Honolulu, Hawaii was forced to land on Maui when a crack in its fuselage resulted in explosive decompression.

04:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S11 · E6 · Turning Point Documentary

Turning Point

The hydraulics controlling the lower rudder of a Boeing 747 fail 35,000 feet above the Bering Sea, but its pilots maintain control of the plane.

05:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S24 · E7 · Pitch Battle Documentary

Pitch Battle

After Colgan Air 9446 crashes off Cape Cod, investigators must determine what brought down a widely-used commuter aircraft in under three minutes.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S21 · E10 · Deadly Delivery True

Deadly Delivery

Facing poor visibility, a cargo flight is on final approach to an Alabama airport when it hits a grove of trees and crashes.

07:00 1h

Combat Ships

S4 · E1 · Courageous Captains Documentary

Courageous Captains

Four remarkable captains that have gone above and beyond the call of duty throughout naval history.

08:00 1h

Combat Ships

S3 · E8 · River Raiders Documentary

River Raiders

Examination of river warfare from the story of Harriet Tubman's victorious gunboat raid to the high-speed river Patrol Boats in Vietnam.

09:00 1h

Combat Ships

S2 · E7 · The Battle of Leyte Gulf Documentary

The Battle of Leyte Gulf

The largest naval battle in modern history, which was fought in October 1944 in the waters of the Philippine Islands, and its ships are examined.

10:00 1h

Combat Ships

S3 · E3 · The Battle of Inchon Documentary

The Battle of Inchon

The riskiest amphibious assault during the Korean War.

11:00 1h

Combat Ships

S4 · E8 · Lightning Strikes Documentary

Lightning Strikes

Joseph Balderrama and Kieran O'Brien examine maritime history's most effective lighting strikes and how they turned the tides of many battles.

Daytime

12:00 1h

Combat Ships

S4 · E2 · Explosion! Documentary

Explosion!

Featuring the destruction of a Nazi mega structure, the devastation of an atomic blast on a battleship fleet and the sinking of a British Battleship.

13:00 1h

Combat Ships

S2 · E1 · Viking Longships Documentary

Viking Longships

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.

14:00 1h

Combat Ships

S1 · E10 · Wooden Warships Documentary

Wooden Warships

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

15:00 1h

Combat Ships

S2 · E4 · Destroyers and Cruisers Documentary

Destroyers and Cruisers

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

16:00 1h

Combat Ships

S1 · E6 · Rescue Ships Documentary

Rescue Ships

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

17:00 1h

Air Warriors

S11 · E8 · C-47 Skytrain True

C-47 Skytrain

The history of how the C-47 went from a passenger plane to a gunship in Vietnam.

Evening

18:00 1h

Air Warriors

S7 · E1 · Top Dogfighters True

Top Dogfighters

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

19:00 1h

Air Warriors

S4 · E2 · B-52 True

B-52

Boeing's hulking B-52 has been the bomber of choice for the U.S. Air Force since the mid-1950s because of its outstanding range and payload capability.

20:00 1h

Air Warriors

S3 · E2 · Chinook True

Chinook

The Chinook CH-47 has been the Army's favorite helicopter for heavy cargo hauling since the Vietnam War, and continual design improvements have kept it so.

21:00 1h

Air Warriors

S11 · E6 · B-1 Lancer True

B-1 Lancer

Narrators Beau Weaver and Bob Naughton talk about how the Cold War bomber B-1 Lancer evolved into one of America's most effective military aircrafts.

22:00 1h

Air Warriors

S9 · E2 · Top Ten Cold War True

Top Ten Cold War

In the Cold War battle between the U.S. and Soviet Union, some of the world's most formidable weapons were used, such as power lifters and nuclear bombers.

23:00 1h

Air Warriors

S4 · E1 · F-16 True

F-16

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.