best episodes of Drain the Oceans poster

Maritime mysteries—old and new—come to life in this series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world.

6 Seasons
55 Episodes
Returning Series
Documentary
Cast & Characters
episode image Ultimate Battleships
8.0/10 (71 votes)

#1 Ultimate Battleships

S1:E9

The hidden secrets of WWI's powerful weapons are revealed by draining the North Sea.

episode image Egypt's Lost Wonders
7.9/10 (78 votes)

#2 Egypt's Lost Wonders

S1:E7

The Nile was central to ancient Egypt. Draining its water reveals a lost wonder and the origins of the Egyptians’ obsession with the afterlife.

episode image Mysteries of the China Seas
7.9/10 (66 votes)

#3 Mysteries of the China Seas

S1:E8

The China seas are the most fiercely contested and mysterious waters on the planet. We expose the remains of the biggest battleship ever put on the water.

episode image Killer U-Boats
7.9/10 (50 votes)

#4 Killer U-Boats

S2:E3

Draining the oceans reveals the story of the U-Boats as they took on the Royal Navy, sinking 12 million tons of ships and nearly winning the war.

episode image Gulf of Mexico
7.8/10 (97 votes)

#5 Gulf of Mexico

S1:E2

Draining the Gulf of Mexico brings deadly secrets back to the surface. Stories of piracy, war, slavery and a dinosaur-killing asteroid are revealed.

episode image Sunken Treasures
7.8/10 (79 votes)

#6 Sunken Treasures

S1:E4

Treasure hunting has captured our imaginations for centuries. Draining the oceans reveals the richest wrecks ever found.

episode image Chicago
7.8/10 (34 votes)

#7 Chicago

S3:E9

Chicago's past emerges from the waters of Lake Michigan.

episode image Nazi Secrets
7.7/10 (118 votes)

#8 Nazi Secrets

S1:E1

The hidden secrets of the Nazis are revealed when the oceans covering them are drained using CGI animation.

episode image Lost Worlds of the Mediterranean
7.7/10 (92 votes)

#9 Lost Worlds of the Mediterranean

S1:E3

The secrets of lost ancient civilizations come to light when the Mediterranean is drained.

episode image Deadly Pacific
7.7/10 (89 votes)

#10 Deadly Pacific

S1:E6

The Ring of Fire is an area in the Pacific Ocean where volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis form; the ocean is drained to reveal the geological forces behind natural disasters and to uncover threats along the coast of Seattle, Tokyo and New Zealand.

episode image The Battle for the Black Swan
7.6/10 (29 votes)

#11 The Battle for the Black Swan

S4:E2

Archaeologists and treasure hunters battle it out over half a billion dollars worth of gold and silver. Who will win the Battle for the Black Swan?

episode image Legends of Atlantis
7.5/10 (99 votes)

#12 Legends of Atlantis

S1:E5

Exciting evidence emerges of civilizations lost under the waves. But are these ancient cities the long sought-after Atlantis or accidents of geology?

episode image The Wild West
7.5/10 (811 votes)

#13 The Wild West

S4:E1

Uncovered clues from a famous Montana battleground, a 19th-century steamboat and a frontier ghost town reveal surprising truths about the Wild West.

episode image America's Last Slave Ship
7.2/10 (40 votes)

#14 America's Last Slave Ship

S3:E10

Maritime archaeologists and historians go in search of the crucial component in the Atlantic Slave Trade: the slave ship. An armoured, floating fortress operating for over four centuries, capturing and transporting over 12 million Africans, who were sold and forced to work in brutal conditions in the New World. By draining we reveal the cruel technology on-board, gain an insight into the horrific conditions and ID a wreck in Alabama that could be the last ever slave ship to bring Africans to American soil.

episode image Malaysia Airlines 370
0.0/10

#15 Malaysia Airlines 370

S1:E10

Where is Malaysian Airlines flight MH370? CGI reconstruction reveals the challenges of locating an aircraft that goes missing in the deep ocean.

episode image Secrets of D-Day
0.0/10

#16 Secrets of D-Day

S2:E1

In the greatest amphibious invasion fleet ever assembled, 7,000 vessels and 250,000 men take the Nazis by surprise. By draining the ocean, we explain exactly how they did it.

episode image Secrets of New York City
0.0/10

#17 Secrets of New York City

S2:E2

In just 400 years New York has become a global powerhouse. By draining the ocean, revealing submerged shipwrecks and subterranean secrets, we explain how.

episode image Buried Secrets of the Gold Rush
0.0/10

#18 Buried Secrets of the Gold Rush

S2:E4

Winners took all in the race to get rich in the California and Klondike gold rushes; unearthing the ships involved reveals the risks taken to go west.

episode image Secrets of the Civil War
0.0/10

#19 Secrets of the Civil War

S2:E5

Throughout the American Civil War, technological advances fuelled an arms race on America’s seas and rivers. Science and graphics drain the oceans to reveal the ships that shaped America.

episode image Lost Nukes of The Cold War
0.0/10

#20 Lost Nukes of The Cold War

S2:E6

When the world’s two greatest superpowers vie for supremacy, they spur extraordinary advances in military technology.

episode image Secrets of The Spanish Armada
0.0/10

#21 Secrets of The Spanish Armada

S2:E7

Spain’s attempted conquest of England fails when its armada is defeated. Draining the ocean reveals how the English stole technology to build an empire.

episode image Pacific War Megawrecks
0.0/10

#22 Pacific War Megawrecks

S2:E8

An expedition searches for the iconic wrecks of the Battle of the Pacific, including the ship that delivered the Hiroshima bomb, the USS Indianapolis.

episode image Thai Cave Rescue
0.0/10

#23 Thai Cave Rescue

S2:E9

Drain the Oceans conducts the first accurate 3D survey of the Thai cave, revealing insight into the risky mission to save 12 boys from the flooded cave.

episode image London's Secret History
0.0/10

#24 London's Secret History

S2:E10

London is one of the most powerful cities on Earth. Drain the Oceans reveals the story of the city’s meteoric rise.

episode image Secrets of Loch Ness
0.0/10

#25 Secrets of Loch Ness

S2:E11

Combining over 100 years of data with military-grade scanning equipment, Drain the Oceans pulls the plug on the world’s most famous lake to reveal the monster within.

episode image Hitler's Killer Warships
0.0/10

#26 Hitler's Killer Warships

S2:E12

The story of Hitler’s vision to conquer the world using his high-tech battleships, revealing the rise and fall of the Third Reich’s deadly fleet.

episode image Lost Giants
0.0/10

#27 Lost Giants

S2:E13

Over the past century, advances in technology have fueled a race to build gigantic ships. When things go wrong, they become awe-inspiring wrecks.

episode image Pacific Shockwave
0.0/10

#28 Pacific Shockwave

S2:E14

In 1942, Japan came to dominate the Pacific region. The secret as to how they did it lies waiting to be discovered.

episode image Rise of The Roman Empire
0.0/10

#29 Rise of The Roman Empire

S2:E15

The secrets of the survival of the Roman empire are unearthed from beneath the waves of the Mediterranean and the soil of the Italian peninsula.

episode image The Atomic Ghost Fleet
0.0/10

#30 The Atomic Ghost Fleet

S3:E1

The dark secrets of U.S. nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.

episode image The Viking Seas
0.0/10

#31 The Viking Seas

S3:E2

A formidable battleship reveals secrets, 450 years later.

episode image Egypt's Sunken City
0.0/10

#32 Egypt's Sunken City

S3:E3

A lost Egyptian city gives up its secrets after 2,000 years.

episode image The Battle of Britain
0.0/10

#33 The Battle of Britain

S3:E4

Uncovered wrecks reveal how Britain defeated the Nazis.

episode image Pirate Ships of the Caribbean
0.0/10

#34 Pirate Ships of the Caribbean

S3:E5

Shipwrecks reveal the true story of piracy on the Caribbean.

episode image The American Revolution
0.0/10

#35 The American Revolution

S3:E6

Revealing forgotten stories from the American Revolution.

episode image Raiders of the Civil War
0.0/10

#36 Raiders of the Civil War

S3:E7

Revealing the lost wrecks of the American Civil War.

episode image The Last Wrecks of WWII
0.0/10

#37 The Last Wrecks of WWII

S3:E8

New insights reveal how the Allies won World War II.

episode image Hollywood
0.0/10

#38 Hollywood

S4:E3

From a buried film set to a WW1 Navy ship and old fishing barge, we discover the role these ruins played in Hollywood movie-making history.

episode image The First Americans
0.0/10

#39 The First Americans

S4:E4

Clues from a 13,000-year-old skeleton and a submerged coastline reveal surprising insights about the first humans to arrive in the Americas.

episode image Venice's Lost Empire
0.0/10

#40 Venice's Lost Empire

S4:E5

A 14th-century galley entombed in mud, a 16th-century hoard of luxury cargo, and a gruesome discovery reveal the rise and fall of the Venetian Empire.

Cast & Chracters

character image Self - Narrator (voice)

Self - Narrator (voice)

Actor: Craig Sechler

The highest rated episode of Drain the Oceans is "Ultimate Battleships" (S1E9) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 71 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "America's Last Slave Ship" (S3E10) with a rating of 7.20.

This episode received 40 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Ultimate Battleships" (S1E9) with a rating of 8.00.

This episode received 71 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Legends of Atlantis" (S1E5) with a rating of 7.50.

This episode received 99 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Killer U-Boats" (S2E3) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 50 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "Killer U-Boats" (S2E3) with a rating of 7.90.

This episode received 50 votes.

The highest rated episode is "Chicago" (S3E9) with a rating of 7.80.

This episode received 34 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "America's Last Slave Ship" (S3E10) with a rating of 7.20.

This episode received 40 votes.

The highest rated episode is "The Battle for the Black Swan" (S4E2) with a rating of 7.60.

This episode received 29 votes.


The lowest rated episode is "The Wild West" (S4E1) with a rating of 7.50.

This episode received 811 votes.

Name Department Job
Jacob GIbbs Crew Editorial Staff
Sophie Elwin-Harris Crew Creator

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