History Undercover

Terrorists find chemical and biological weapons a cost-effective alternative to nuclear arms.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 kills 22 million people worldwide.

In 1944, 50 black ammunition-loaders boycott work deemed too dangerous for whites.

Friendship between JFK and Richard Nixon becomes intense rivalry.

North African theater of war; El Alamein; Rommel vs. Montgomery.

The Japanese army seeks to develop biological weapons during World War II.

It was a centerpiece of the Cold War. The space race between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. resulted in some of the most significant scientific and engineering advances in human history. But it was also marred by tragedy. And while the stories of American mishaps--such as the fire that claimed the lives of three Apollo astronauts in 1967--are well documented, the failures of the Soviet space program remained closely guarded secrets until only recently. Filled with rare, never-before-seen footage from Soviet archives and interviews with insiders like Ronald Sagdeev, Mikhail Gorbachev's science advisor, SECRETS OF SOVIET SPACE DISASTERS brings these long-hidden stories to light. See how personal rivalries, shifting political alliances and bureaucratic bungling led to the more than 150 deaths as well as the eventual failure of the Soviet space program itself.

Subs race to rescue men at sea; only 127 of the 2,000 survive.

In the Depression, U.S. executives tried to guide Soviet industry.

Banks from the United States, England and Switzerland helped fund the Nazi regime.

Altitude tests take place in 1950s New Mexico.

Japanese troops committed atrocities in Nanking, China, in 1937 and '38.

Third Reich military aircraft designs are far ahead of Allied counterparts.

A former Luftwaffe pilot moves up to become head of the West German Air Force.

Special pilots flew thousands of spy missions over communist countries.

Operation Thunderclap rained tons of bombs on Dresden, Germany.

A Russian defector damages the KGB.

U.S. soldiers man the SIGSALY system in a London department store.

The Soviets shoot down an American spy plane.

Science fiction movies from the '50s might seem dated, but the ideas behind them were not. The History Channel explores the oft-overlooked dreams of NASA space engineers in History Undercover: Code Name - Project Orion. When man first walked on the moon, men on Earth were planning an even longer journey. From a manned mission to Mars to a fully operational space station, the physicists' imaginations knew no bounds. Freeman Dyson and Theodore B. Taylor remember the top-secret plans of Project Orion in this one-hour program.

A 1989 explosion on the USS Iowa kills 47 crew members.

A top secret bunker in West Virginia is designed to protect officials from nuclear attack.

A farmer's son becomes Pope John XXIII and stirs up an ecumenical hornet's nest.

The sudden death of Pope John Paul I gives rise to rumors of a murder plot.

Pope John Paul II does not allow compromise on moral issues.

They were the terror of the sky, a small band of American mercenaries who soared into battle against the Japanese in defense of China's freedom. In 1941, with the U.S. government's tacit approval, retired Army Air Force Captain Claire L. Chennault, then a colonel in China's Air Force, formed the mercenary American Volunteer Group to fight Japan. Later dubbed Flying Tigers, these brave pilots set records yet to be equaled in the annals of aerial history. Against all odds, these true war heroes exceeded the limits of aerial warfare. Living on the edge, on a starvation diet, outnumbered and under-equipped, the Flying Tigers turned adversity into incredible success. With only 29 P-40's, The Flying Tigers shot down 296 confirmed enemy planes and 300 more probables. The AVG also destroyed 573 bridges, 1,300 riverboats and innumerable road vehicles and killed thousands of Imperial Japanese army soldiers. Their combat success has yet to be equaled to this day! Through rare footage of the legen