Viewers will go where only the most elite insiders from the highest levels of the US government are allowed--on board Air Force One. Discover what makes this uniquely modified Boeing 747 faster, more secure, more comfortable and more capable than any other comparable plane. Take a 20,000-mile voyage through the heart of Africa and join the crew and privileged passengers on one of Air Force One's most challenging missions.

In 1917, three young shepherd children from the small town of Fatima, Portugal, claim to be instruments of divine prophecy. The children report being visited by the Virgin Mary. Three haunting visions of death and destruction are revealed, but the children are forbidden to give details. Two of the children die within three years of receiving their visions. The third, Lucia, shares the three "secrets" with the Vatican. The Vatican debates the girl's stories. Could three children from a poor town have really been touched by divinity? And what of the visions? Lucia claimed the first vision revealed souls burning in a fiery hell. The second foretold the outbreak of World War II and the dangers of Communism. But the third was guarded closely by the Vatican until the year 2000. The final Fatima prophecy revealed an angel with a flaming sword setting the world on fire. Is this the entirety of the third secret, or is the Vatican hiding something far more sinister?

This island in the middle of San Francisco Bay has a forbidding reputation. Native Americans believed it to be a place of evil spirits. When it became a federal prison in 1934, only the most violent and difficult prisoners in the U.S. were sent there. It was reputed to be escape proof; only three men have ever managed to get off the island. They left in 1962 and have never been found. MysteryQuest investigates to determine whether they could have survived the icy waters of San Francisco Bay.

Robert Burns, a shell-shocked WWI veteran, was shackled to a Georgia chain gang for a petty robbery. Dodging armed guards and bloodhounds, he made a daring escape. A fugitive for seven years, he built a new life in Chicago--until his wife betrayed him to authorities. Against all odds, he escaped a second time and embarked on a crusade to expose chain gang atrocities. Even as he ran, he wrote a best-selling book. When captured in New Jersey, the governor refused to extradite the public hero.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

This week's "mosts" include: Close Calls (Apollo 13, earth-killer asteroid, and nuclear accident); Flights of Fancy (oldest satellite--Vanguard 1, successful flying car--the Arrowcar, and biggest aircraft ever built--the Spruce Goose); Give & Take (Statue of Liberty, Trojan Horse, and Taj Mahal); Water (deepest sea dive--the Trieste, ancient plumbing system--Roman aqueducts, and the world's largest water desalination system in Saudi Arabia); and "The Most Moment", Iranian hostage crisis.

For 3000 years the Siege of Troy has remained steeped in mystery. Journey with us to the site in Turkey believed to be the location of the real Troy, as we analyze one of the world's greatest historical battlegrounds for new clues. This program takes us behind the Troy celebrated by Hollywood to uncover fascinating evidence in regard to Achilles' duel against Hector, the sailing of the vast Mycenaean fleet and the wooden horse of Troy. Watch as we apply modern technology, archaeology and engineering to uncover the real story behind the legend of Troy.

New York's towering skyline and world-leading technology have made it the ultimate city, yet breathtaking new discoveries reveal that the blueprints for this megametropolis were in fact laid thousands of years ago. From brutal bloodsports staged in ancient Madison Square Gardens to Times Square-style celebrations at a gigantic neolithic calendar, you are about to discover that everything you thought you knew about the Big Apple comes from our distant forefathers. 

Amazingly, the Ancients understood the principles of the modern tank. They combined armor with speed to create the ancient version of the tank--it could stop an onslaught of bullets. What exactly was this ancient weapon that destroyed enemy heavy infantry, elephants and cavalry? Watch as experts and archaeological digs reveal new evidence into this invention, which will be reconstructed.

Throughout history man has gone to great lengths to develop the technology of torture. Learn about a new discovery that proves victim's bones were snapped apart on the rack--not the joints being pulled apart as previously believed. Investigate the actual cause of death for those who were burned at the stake. Watch as a stuntman is set on fire to reveal the truth behind roman emperor Nero's burning tunic of death. Discover how Vlad the Impaler impaled his victims from top to bottom with 3-inch wide stakes--while still keeping them alive for up to three days. Historians, doctors, model makers and virtual reality artists will help to reveal the startling torture technologies of the ancient world.

Military innovation is consistently at the cutting edge of technological advances. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by one purpose--war. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, most of today's lethal weapons owe their origins to the inventors of the ancient world. 

A gritty, true-life series exposing the world of history's most notorious and dangerous gangs.

For 3000 years the Siege of Troy has remained steeped in mystery. Journey with us to the site in Turkey believed to be the location of the real Troy, as we analyze one of the world's greatest historical battlegrounds for new clues. This program takes us behind the Troy celebrated by Hollywood to uncover fascinating evidence in regard to Achilles' duel against Hector, the sailing of the vast Mycenaean fleet and the wooden horse of Troy. Watch as we apply modern technology, archaeology and engineering to uncover the real story behind the legend of Troy.

New York's towering skyline and world-leading technology have made it the ultimate city, yet breathtaking new discoveries reveal that the blueprints for this megametropolis were in fact laid thousands of years ago. From brutal bloodsports staged in ancient Madison Square Gardens to Times Square-style celebrations at a gigantic neolithic calendar, you are about to discover that everything you thought you knew about the Big Apple comes from our distant forefathers. 

Amazingly, the Ancients understood the principles of the modern tank. They combined armor with speed to create the ancient version of the tank--it could stop an onslaught of bullets. What exactly was this ancient weapon that destroyed enemy heavy infantry, elephants and cavalry? Watch as experts and archaeological digs reveal new evidence into this invention, which will be reconstructed.

Throughout history man has gone to great lengths to develop the technology of torture. Learn about a new discovery that proves victim's bones were snapped apart on the rack--not the joints being pulled apart as previously believed. Investigate the actual cause of death for those who were burned at the stake. Watch as a stuntman is set on fire to reveal the truth behind roman emperor Nero's burning tunic of death. Discover how Vlad the Impaler impaled his victims from top to bottom with 3-inch wide stakes--while still keeping them alive for up to three days. Historians, doctors, model makers and virtual reality artists will help to reveal the startling torture technologies of the ancient world.

Military innovation is consistently at the cutting edge of technological advances. Almost all technology on the planet today owes its origins to inventions driven by one purpose--war. From apocalyptic skyscraper siege machines to ancient landmines and flamethrowers which had the potential to extinguish hundreds of lives in minutes, most of today's lethal weapons owe their origins to the inventors of the ancient world. 

A gritty, true-life series exposing the world of history's most notorious and dangerous gangs.

A gritty, true-life series exposing the world of history's most notorious and dangerous gangs.

A gritty, true-life series exposing the world of history's most notorious and dangerous gangs.

Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. Take a look back at early methods of airborne attack. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. We'll build one and test it with startling new insights and success. Ancient bouncing bombs that actually skipped across water--the forerunners of the famous Dam Buster projectiles--terrorized shipping in Turkey in 1453. Learn the secrets of ancient China's whistling arrows--used by commanders to direct the flow of a battle. Investigate the world's earliest rocket-powered explosive missile from the ancient battlefields of China. Finally, in one of the most dramatic tests ever conducted, we'll build the earliest known successful parachute and drops a skydiver from 6,000 feet.

Lurking beneath Lake Nemi's blue waters lay the titans of Roman naval engineering--the Nemi Ships. Titanic luxury liners of the ancient world, they held inventions lost for thousands of years. But why were they built? Were they Caligula's notorious floating pleasure palaces--rife with excess and debauchery? Flagships of a giant sea force? It took Mussolini's obsession with all things Roman to finally prise the two wrecks from the depths of Lake Nemi near Rome. Using an ancient Roman waterway, he drained the lake and rescued the ships, an accomplishment captured on film that we access to illustrate this astounding story. Sophisticated ancient technology discovered in the boats transformed the understanding of Roman engineering overnight. Yet by 1944, the adventure had turned sour and the retreating German army torched the boats. We reveal the mysteries of the Nemi Ships and the ancient technology that made them possible.