Episode
Modern Marvels: HMS Victory
Overview
The HMS Victory would play a crucial role in the foremost naval engagement in 19th century maritime history, the battle of Trafalgar. This victory was so decisive that no fleet challenged Britain’s Royal Navy for more than one hundred years. Built with enough wood to cover the Empire State Building one and a half times, propelled by wind and firing solid shots from smooth bored muzzle-loading canons, ships like HMS Victory ruled the waves for over two centuries. Manned by a crew of 850 and capable of firing one and a half tons of iron shot in a single devastating broadside, these eighteenth century floating fortresses were as complex and sophisticated in their day as a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is today. Using color re-enactments and the actual recollections of those who fought on board, this profile goes below the decks of the famous warship.
Details
- Series
- Modern Marvels
- Season
- Season 12
- Episode
- Episode 48
- Air date
- 2005-09-02
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
HMS Victory is Episode 48 in Season 12 of Modern Marvels. It aired on 2005-09-02. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 47: Nature Tech: Lightning
Since time immemorial, flashes of light have startled our senses and piqued our imagination. But it’s only in recent years that we’ve begun to unlock the secrets behind this terrifying phenomenon, as we learn in this high-tech look at how man has tried to control nature throughout history. Lightning kills nearly 100 people yearly in the United States and injures hundreds of others. Meet men and women who look for new ways of detection, prevention, and how to save lives when Mother Nature strikes!
Episode 49: Engineering an Empire: Rome
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Episode 52: Cereal: History in a Bowl
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