HC Great Ships - Broadside Collection (1999) Part 6 Destroyers

From ancient Viking ships to modern aircraft carriers, THE GREAT SHIPS let you step on board to explore the design, construction, technology and armaments of history's great vessels of war and peace. Join HISTORY as we roam majestically over the oceans of the world with the modern Aircraft Carrier – the largest warship ever to sail the seas acting as the centerpiece of a mighty taskforce – to the Battleships that were designed to be the ultimate expression of naval power. Nimble Cruisers played a crucial role in the world’s navies for the past two centuries thanks to an amazing versatility, as well as the Destroyers – some of the fastest and most deadly warships ever built.

Part 6: Destroyers

Knifing through the waves, destroyers are amongst the fastest and most deadly warships ever built. Mounting a powerful arsenal of offensive and defensive weapons, they can serve equally well as escorts for other vessels or as formidable attack ships in their own right. From their humble beginnings as stripped-down vessels designed exclusively to destroy torpedo boats, through the WWII models battling the U-boat 'wolf packs' in the North Atlantic to the most modern versions each now more powerful than a whole squadron of WWI dreadnought, BROADSIDE shows how the destroyer has continued to live up to its name. Rare and exclusive footage captures destroyers in action during both World Wars - in pitched battle at Cape Esperance and the Solomons, supporting the D-Day landings, fending off swarms of kamikazes at Okinawa and much more.

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