Secrets of the Lost Liners

Climb aboard this Russian-designed symbol of French pride and marvel at the Art Deco luxury that made it the most expensive ocean liner ever built. Investigate the fire that sank her in 1942, which may have been an act of Nazi sabotage.

Mapping the zigzagging path of a floating palace as it ferries U.S. troops to Europe during World War II; witnessing her smooth transition to peacetime cruise ship and mourning her disastrous end after she was sold to a Hong Kong shipping tycoon.

Hollywood stars flocked to this sleek, stylish vessel, making it the envy of other shipping lines; learning why her high-tech navigation equipment failed to alert her to another ship that was on a catastrophic collision course.

The pride and joy of Benito Mussolini's fleet, which was once the fastest liner on the Atlantic; discovering why she was never turned into a troop ship during the war, but remained a target for the Allies, who sank her after Italy surrendered.

This German flagship of Hitler’s fleet doubled as the Titanic in a 1942 Nazi propaganda film. Her eventual demise would be equally tragic. As the Second World War came to an end, the ship was housing thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Then it was inexplicably bombed by the British. Thousands of innocent people died. But how could such a dreadful mistake happen?

Two of America’s best female designers helped create this elegant vessel, which went on to become one of the longest serving liners in history. It became a much-loved, well-traveled cruise ship. But after changing hands many times over the decades, the SS America ended her gallant life as a dramatic wreck on the shores of the Canary Islands. What went wrong?