Great Britain, Summer, 1915--A small band of estate workers from King George V's Sandringham Estate joined the Norfolk regiment to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in WWI. On August 12th, they went into battle against the Turks and never returned. After the battle, the families waited for news. But their names were not on the casualty lists, nor were they POWs. Using archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, we recreate the fate of the Sandringhams and uncover the awful truth behind their deaths.

In 1933, Bill Lancaster took off from Reggan, a remote outpost in the Sahara Desert headed to Gao--800 miles ahead--the next stop in his attempt to set a new world record flying from England to South Africa. But somewhere out of Reggan, something went terribly wrong. The mystery of what happened to Lancaster wouldn't be solved for another 30 years when the wreckage of his plane was found in the desert. Tied to the wing was the diary he kept in the final week of his life, which revealed his tragic end.

On May 25, 1952, a British Hermes airliner, The Horus, was en route from London to Kano, Nigeria, with eight crew and 10 passengers, including a 6-month-old baby. The trip's second leg was 1,400 miles across the Sahara desert. An hour before arrival in Kano, the crew realized they had drifted miles off course and were low on fuel. The Horus crash-landed in the vast empty wastes of the Sahara--beyond the reach of conventional rescue teams. This is the story of the passengers' struggle to survive.

On June 7, 1924, George Mallory, a 38-year-old English schoolmaster, and Andrew Irvine, a 22-year-old university student, stopped to rest on Mount Everest, at 26,800 feet, before making the final ascent. The next morning, they set off on the most difficult and dangerous stage of the whole climb, and around midday they were seen for the last time. In 1999, Mallory's body was found, mummified. What clues did it give to the last moments of the intrepid explorers and how far they climbed?

In 1941, General Sikorski, head of the Polish Government in Exile, arrived in Moscow to negotiate with Stalin for the return of thousands of Polish army officers who were captured when Russia and Germany overran Poland in 1939. Stalin was dismissive, claiming the men had escaped. Though Sikorski didn't believe him, there was nothing he could do. How did thousands of men disappear without record of capture or death? Did the Nazis murder them, or did the Russians have something to hide?

In 1925, Sidney Reilly, one of the British Secret Service's most successful spies, traveled to Moscow to meet with a shadowy group that was dedicated to the defeat of Bolshevism and the removal of Stalin. Friends and associates felt Reilly was being set up, but Reilly, an implacable foe of the Bolsheviks, refused to listen. Then, shortly after arriving in Moscow, the Ace of Spies went missing. The British Foreign Office denied all knowledge of his whereabouts--but somebody must have known.

On the morning of January 10, 1954, a British Comet, one of the first turbojet airliners, took off from Rome headed to London with six crew and 29 passengers. 20 minutes after take-off, the captain radioed another airliner flying thousands of feet below, but the message was abruptly cut off. The Comet and the 35 people onboard were never seen nor heard from again! This was not the only Comet to disappear under mysterious circumstances. We'll look for possible explanations for the vanishing planes.

On August 2, 1947, the British airliner Stardust took off from Buenos Aires heading to Santiago in a flight that would take the six passengers and five crew members over the Andes--but four minutes from landing in Santiago, the Stardust signaled and ended the Morse Code message with the strange word "Stendec." It was repeated twice, then silence--the plane had vanished. Fifty years later, an expedition found the crash site. We investigate possible causes of the crash and why it took so long to locate the wreckage.

Shortly after midday on December 17, 1967, Australia's Prime Minister Harold Holt made his way down to the beach for a swim. Onlookers said that as a large wave swept over, Holt seemed to disappear. Despite extensive air and sea searches, Holt's body was never found. After his disappearance, rumors circulated that Holt had been a spy, and had been taken away by a Chinese submarine. Could this be true?

In 1942, a flying boat took off from northeast Scotland headed for Iceland. There were 15 men onboard, including the Duke of Kent, younger brother of King George VI. Approximately half-an-hour after takeoff, the plane ran into dense cloud, and the pilot couldn't fix his position. On the ground, a sheep farmer heard the plane's engines drone--then sound of a muffled impact, followed by a much louder crash. The plane had vanished. Was there a conspiracy involving the Duke and a top-secret peace mission?

In 1964, Ronald Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his part in robbing a British mail train. At the time, it was the biggest robbery ever carried out, and it made worldwide headlines. But little more than 13 months later, Biggs made a daring escape and went into hiding. His extraordinary story involves plastic surgery, kidnapping, and his eventual return to prison in England. But for four long years, nobody knew where Biggs was. He seemed to vanish without a trace...

On July 4, 1928, a private aircraft took off from Croydon, England's biggest commercial airport, headed for Brussels.

In August 2000, one of the biggest maritime disasters of modern times struck the Russian fleet in the Barents Sea. When the submarine Kursk, the pride of the Russian Navy, left harbor on a major summer exercise, an American sub was not far behind. The exercise began well, but suddenly all contact with the Kursk was lost. Confusion, secrecy, and leftover Cold War antagonism all contributed to the disaster. We reveal the true story behind the sinking and the terrible loss of its 118-man crew.

Ernest Shackleton planned to be the first to lead an expedition by sled across the whole of the Antarctic continent. On December 5, 1914, he set sail in the Endurance; but two days after leaving port, the Endurance ran into heavy pack ice.

On October 31, 1968, Donald Crowhurst set sail from southwest England on a round-the-world solo yacht race in a newly-built 41-foot trimaran named the Teignmouth Electron. Despite an inauspicious start, Crowhurst soon sent back reports of steady progress. Then, on July 10, 1969, his boat was spotted drifting alone about 700 miles southwest of the Azores, but Crowhurst had vanished without a trace. Did he fall overboard? What of his missing log book and the strange entries in the other three?

In 1974, a well-known member of the British government, John Stonehouse, supposedly committed suicide by drowning when he walked into the ocean in Miami Beach and vanished. It was presumed that, following the disastrous failure of one of his businesses, he had committed suicide--exactly what he wanted everyone to believe! We'll follow Stonehouse's elaborate plan--England to Florida to Australia, where he met the young secretary with whom he was having an affair.

Great Britain, Summer, 1915--A small band of estate workers from King George V's Sandringham Estate joined the Norfolk regiment to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in WWI. On August 12th, they went into battle against the Turks and never returned. After the battle, the families waited for news. But their names were not on the casualty lists, nor were they POWs. Using archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, we recreate the fate of the Sandringhams and uncover the awful truth behind their deaths.

In 1933, Bill Lancaster took off from Reggan, a remote outpost in the Sahara Desert headed to Gao--800 miles ahead--the next stop in his attempt to set a new world record flying from England to South Africa. But somewhere out of Reggan, something went terribly wrong. The mystery of what happened to Lancaster wouldn't be solved for another 30 years when the wreckage of his plane was found in the desert. Tied to the wing was the diary he kept in the final week of his life, which revealed his tragic end.

On May 25, 1952, a British Hermes airliner, The Horus, was en route from London to Kano, Nigeria, with eight crew and 10 passengers, including a 6-month-old baby. The trip's second leg was 1,400 miles across the Sahara desert. An hour before arrival in Kano, the crew realized they had drifted miles off course and were low on fuel. The Horus crash-landed in the vast empty wastes of the Sahara--beyond the reach of conventional rescue teams. This is the story of the passengers' struggle to survive.

On June 7, 1924, George Mallory, a 38-year-old English schoolmaster, and Andrew Irvine, a 22-year-old university student, stopped to rest on Mount Everest, at 26,800 feet, before making the final ascent. The next morning, they set off on the most difficult and dangerous stage of the whole climb, and around midday they were seen for the last time. In 1999, Mallory's body was found, mummified. What clues did it give to the last moments of the intrepid explorers and how far they climbed?

In 1941, General Sikorski, head of the Polish Government in Exile, arrived in Moscow to negotiate with Stalin for the return of thousands of Polish army officers who were captured when Russia and Germany overran Poland in 1939. Stalin was dismissive, claiming the men had escaped. Though Sikorski didn't believe him, there was nothing he could do. How did thousands of men disappear without record of capture or death? Did the Nazis murder them, or did the Russians have something to hide?

In 1925, Sidney Reilly, one of the British Secret Service's most successful spies, traveled to Moscow to meet with a shadowy group that was dedicated to the defeat of Bolshevism and the removal of Stalin. Friends and associates felt Reilly was being set up, but Reilly, an implacable foe of the Bolsheviks, refused to listen. Then, shortly after arriving in Moscow, the Ace of Spies went missing. The British Foreign Office denied all knowledge of his whereabouts--but somebody must have known.

On the morning of January 10, 1954, a British Comet, one of the first turbojet airliners, took off from Rome headed to London with six crew and 29 passengers. 20 minutes after take-off, the captain radioed another airliner flying thousands of feet below, but the message was abruptly cut off. The Comet and the 35 people onboard were never seen nor heard from again! This was not the only Comet to disappear under mysterious circumstances. We'll look for possible explanations for the vanishing planes.

On August 2, 1947, the British airliner Stardust took off from Buenos Aires heading to Santiago in a flight that would take the six passengers and five crew members over the Andes--but four minutes from landing in Santiago, the Stardust signaled and ended the Morse Code message with the strange word "Stendec." It was repeated twice, then silence--the plane had vanished. Fifty years later, an expedition found the crash site. We investigate possible causes of the crash and why it took so long to locate the wreckage.

Shortly after midday on December 17, 1967, Australia's Prime Minister Harold Holt made his way down to the beach for a swim. Onlookers said that as a large wave swept over, Holt seemed to disappear. Despite extensive air and sea searches, Holt's body was never found. After his disappearance, rumors circulated that Holt had been a spy, and had been taken away by a Chinese submarine. Could this be true?

In 1942, a flying boat took off from northeast Scotland headed for Iceland. There were 15 men onboard, including the Duke of Kent, younger brother of King George VI. Approximately half-an-hour after takeoff, the plane ran into dense cloud, and the pilot couldn't fix his position. On the ground, a sheep farmer heard the plane's engines drone--then sound of a muffled impact, followed by a much louder crash. The plane had vanished. Was there a conspiracy involving the Duke and a top-secret peace mission?

In 1964, Ronald Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his part in robbing a British mail train. At the time, it was the biggest robbery ever carried out, and it made worldwide headlines. But little more than 13 months later, Biggs made a daring escape and went into hiding. His extraordinary story involves plastic surgery, kidnapping, and his eventual return to prison in England. But for four long years, nobody knew where Biggs was. He seemed to vanish without a trace...

On July 4, 1928, a private aircraft took off from Croydon, England's biggest commercial airport, headed for Brussels.

In August 2000, one of the biggest maritime disasters of modern times struck the Russian fleet in the Barents Sea. When the submarine Kursk, the pride of the Russian Navy, left harbor on a major summer exercise, an American sub was not far behind. The exercise began well, but suddenly all contact with the Kursk was lost. Confusion, secrecy, and leftover Cold War antagonism all contributed to the disaster. We reveal the true story behind the sinking and the terrible loss of its 118-man crew.

Ernest Shackleton planned to be the first to lead an expedition by sled across the whole of the Antarctic continent. On December 5, 1914, he set sail in the Endurance; but two days after leaving port, the Endurance ran into heavy pack ice.

On October 31, 1968, Donald Crowhurst set sail from southwest England on a round-the-world solo yacht race in a newly-built 41-foot trimaran named the Teignmouth Electron. Despite an inauspicious start, Crowhurst soon sent back reports of steady progress. Then, on July 10, 1969, his boat was spotted drifting alone about 700 miles southwest of the Azores, but Crowhurst had vanished without a trace. Did he fall overboard? What of his missing log book and the strange entries in the other three?

In 1974, a well-known member of the British government, John Stonehouse, supposedly committed suicide by drowning when he walked into the ocean in Miami Beach and vanished. It was presumed that, following the disastrous failure of one of his businesses, he had committed suicide--exactly what he wanted everyone to believe! We'll follow Stonehouse's elaborate plan--England to Florida to Australia, where he met the young secretary with whom he was having an affair.

Great Britain, Summer, 1915--A small band of estate workers from King George V's Sandringham Estate joined the Norfolk regiment to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in WWI. On August 12th, they went into battle against the Turks and never returned. After the battle, the families waited for news. But their names were not on the casualty lists, nor were they POWs. Using archive footage and dramatic reconstruction, we recreate the fate of the Sandringhams and uncover the awful truth behind their deaths.

In 1933, Bill Lancaster took off from Reggan, a remote outpost in the Sahara Desert headed to Gao--800 miles ahead--the next stop in his attempt to set a new world record flying from England to South Africa. But somewhere out of Reggan, something went terribly wrong. The mystery of what happened to Lancaster wouldn't be solved for another 30 years when the wreckage of his plane was found in the desert. Tied to the wing was the diary he kept in the final week of his life, which revealed his tragic end.

On May 25, 1952, a British Hermes airliner, The Horus, was en route from London to Kano, Nigeria, with eight crew and 10 passengers, including a 6-month-old baby. The trip's second leg was 1,400 miles across the Sahara desert. An hour before arrival in Kano, the crew realized they had drifted miles off course and were low on fuel. The Horus crash-landed in the vast empty wastes of the Sahara--beyond the reach of conventional rescue teams. This is the story of the passengers' struggle to survive.

On June 7, 1924, George Mallory, a 38-year-old English schoolmaster, and Andrew Irvine, a 22-year-old university student, stopped to rest on Mount Everest, at 26,800 feet, before making the final ascent. The next morning, they set off on the most difficult and dangerous stage of the whole climb, and around midday they were seen for the last time. In 1999, Mallory's body was found, mummified. What clues did it give to the last moments of the intrepid explorers and how far they climbed?

In 1941, General Sikorski, head of the Polish Government in Exile, arrived in Moscow to negotiate with Stalin for the return of thousands of Polish army officers who were captured when Russia and Germany overran Poland in 1939. Stalin was dismissive, claiming the men had escaped. Though Sikorski didn't believe him, there was nothing he could do. How did thousands of men disappear without record of capture or death? Did the Nazis murder them, or did the Russians have something to hide?

In 1925, Sidney Reilly, one of the British Secret Service's most successful spies, traveled to Moscow to meet with a shadowy group that was dedicated to the defeat of Bolshevism and the removal of Stalin. Friends and associates felt Reilly was being set up, but Reilly, an implacable foe of the Bolsheviks, refused to listen. Then, shortly after arriving in Moscow, the Ace of Spies went missing. The British Foreign Office denied all knowledge of his whereabouts--but somebody must have known.

On the morning of January 10, 1954, a British Comet, one of the first turbojet airliners, took off from Rome headed to London with six crew and 29 passengers. 20 minutes after take-off, the captain radioed another airliner flying thousands of feet below, but the message was abruptly cut off. The Comet and the 35 people onboard were never seen nor heard from again! This was not the only Comet to disappear under mysterious circumstances. We'll look for possible explanations for the vanishing planes.

On August 2, 1947, the British airliner Stardust took off from Buenos Aires heading to Santiago in a flight that would take the six passengers and five crew members over the Andes--but four minutes from landing in Santiago, the Stardust signaled and ended the Morse Code message with the strange word "Stendec." It was repeated twice, then silence--the plane had vanished. Fifty years later, an expedition found the crash site. We investigate possible causes of the crash and why it took so long to locate the wreckage.

Shortly after midday on December 17, 1967, Australia's Prime Minister Harold Holt made his way down to the beach for a swim. Onlookers said that as a large wave swept over, Holt seemed to disappear. Despite extensive air and sea searches, Holt's body was never found. After his disappearance, rumors circulated that Holt had been a spy, and had been taken away by a Chinese submarine. Could this be true?

In 1942, a flying boat took off from northeast Scotland headed for Iceland. There were 15 men onboard, including the Duke of Kent, younger brother of King George VI. Approximately half-an-hour after takeoff, the plane ran into dense cloud, and the pilot couldn't fix his position. On the ground, a sheep farmer heard the plane's engines drone--then sound of a muffled impact, followed by a much louder crash. The plane had vanished. Was there a conspiracy involving the Duke and a top-secret peace mission?

In 1964, Ronald Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his part in robbing a British mail train. At the time, it was the biggest robbery ever carried out, and it made worldwide headlines. But little more than 13 months later, Biggs made a daring escape and went into hiding. His extraordinary story involves plastic surgery, kidnapping, and his eventual return to prison in England. But for four long years, nobody knew where Biggs was. He seemed to vanish without a trace...

On July 4, 1928, a private aircraft took off from Croydon, England's biggest commercial airport, headed for Brussels.

In August 2000, one of the biggest maritime disasters of modern times struck the Russian fleet in the Barents Sea. When the submarine Kursk, the pride of the Russian Navy, left harbor on a major summer exercise, an American sub was not far behind. The exercise began well, but suddenly all contact with the Kursk was lost. Confusion, secrecy, and leftover Cold War antagonism all contributed to the disaster. We reveal the true story behind the sinking and the terrible loss of its 118-man crew.

Ernest Shackleton planned to be the first to lead an expedition by sled across the whole of the Antarctic continent. On December 5, 1914, he set sail in the Endurance; but two days after leaving port, the Endurance ran into heavy pack ice.

On October 31, 1968, Donald Crowhurst set sail from southwest England on a round-the-world solo yacht race in a newly-built 41-foot trimaran named the Teignmouth Electron. Despite an inauspicious start, Crowhurst soon sent back reports of steady progress. Then, on July 10, 1969, his boat was spotted drifting alone about 700 miles southwest of the Azores, but Crowhurst had vanished without a trace. Did he fall overboard? What of his missing log book and the strange entries in the other three?

In 1974, a well-known member of the British government, John Stonehouse, supposedly committed suicide by drowning when he walked into the ocean in Miami Beach and vanished. It was presumed that, following the disastrous failure of one of his businesses, he had committed suicide--exactly what he wanted everyone to believe! We'll follow Stonehouse's elaborate plan--England to Florida to Australia, where he met the young secretary with whom he was having an affair.