Victory at Sea is a documentary television series about naval warfare during World War II that was originally broadcast by NBC in the USA in 1952–1953. It was condensed into a film in 1954. Excerpts from the music soundtrack, by Richard Rodgers and Robert Russell Bennett, were re-recorded and sold as record albums. The original TV broadcasts comprised 26 half-hour segments—Sunday afternoons at 3pm in most markets—starting October 26, 1952 and ending May 3, 1953. The series, which won an Emmy award in 1954 as "best public affairs program", played an important part in establishing historic "compilation" documentaries as a viable television genre. Over 13,000 hours of footage gathered from US, British, German and Japanese navies during World War II were perused in the making of these compelling episodes.
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Leonard Graves
Narrator
All 26 episodes plotted by IMDb rating
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26 episodes • 1952Avg: 5.1Golden Era
| # | Episode | Air Date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DESIGN FOR WAR: Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1941 | Oct 26, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 2 | THE PACIFIC BOILS OVER: Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 | Nov 2, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 3 | SEALING THE BREACH: Anti-submarine warfare, 1941-1943 | Nov 9, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 4 | MIDWAY IS EAST: Japanese victories & the Midway Battle | Nov 23, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 5 | MEDITERRANEAN MOSAIC: Gibraltar, Allied & enemy fleets, Malta | Nov 30, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 6 | GUADALCANAL | Dec 14, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 7 | RINGS AROUND RABAUL: Struggle for the Solomon Islands | Dec 21, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 8 | MARE NOSTRUM: Mediterranean Command, 1940-1942 | Dec 28, 1952 | 5.0 |
| 9 | SEA AND SAND: Invasion of North Africa, 1942-1943 | Jan 4, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 10 | BENEATH THE SOUTHERN CROSS: War in the south Atlantic | Jan 11, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 11 | THE MAGNETIC NORTH: War from Murmansk to Alaska | Jan 18, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 12 | THE CONQUEST OF MICRONESIA: Carrier warfare--Gilberts and Marshalls | Jan 25, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 13 | MELANESIAN NIGHTMARE: New Guinea campaign | Feb 1, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 14 | ROMAN RENAISSANCE: Sicily and the Italian campaign | Feb 8, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 15 | D-DAY: Normandy | Feb 15, 1953 | 5.5 |
| 16 | KILLERS AND THE KILL: Victory in the Atlantic, 1943-1945 | Feb 22, 1953 | 6.0 |
| 17 | THE TURKEY SHOOT: Conquest of the Marianas | Mar 1, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 18 | TWO IF BY SEA: Peleliu and Angaur | Mar 8, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 19 | BATTLE FOR LEYTE GULF: Sea battle for Leyte Gulf | Mar 15, 1953 | 6.0 |
| 20 | RETURN OF THE ALLIES: Liberation of the Philippines | Mar 22, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 21 | FULL FATHOM FIVE: U.S. submarines | Mar 29, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 22 | THE FATE OF EUROPE: Black Sea, south of France, surrender | Apr 5, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 23 | TARGET SURIBACHI: Iwo Jima | Apr 12, 1953 | 5.5 |
| 24 | THE ROAD TO MANDALAY: China, Burma, India, and Indian Ocean | Apr 19, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 25 | SUICIDE FOR GLORY: Okinawa | Apr 26, 1953 | 5.0 |
| 26 | DESIGN FOR PEACE: Surrender of Japan & aftermath of war | May 3, 1953 | 5.0 |
