About
This definitive history of manned flight has been compiled into 26 hour episodes, with access to some of the rarest archive film ever taken. Unprecedented co-operation has been extended by the world's leading aircraft manufacturers and leading archive libraries. Included in the footage are shots of rare prototype accidents and failures which contributed to the inevitable achievement and success of man in the air. Since Charles Lindbergh became the first lone aviator to cross the Atlantic in 1927, air transport has greatly accelerated , revolutionised by the giant Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet - and what might we see in the 21st century?
Seasons
Episodes
Season 1
Man Learns To Fly
The development of the early heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air flying machines. The programme framework includes a comparison to all forms of modern flight, the early dream of flight, hot-air balloons, kites and gliders, early powered flight, early pioneers, early attempts at speed and distance records including Bleriot’s English Channel crossing, the Zeppelins and the build-up to World War I.
High Above The Trenches
How the aeroplane went to war, with the development of the combat aircraft from the unarmed reconnaissance types to specialised fighters. The program includes simulated air combat by replica fighters in colour, reviews the part played by aircraft in the early part of World War I including the coming of the Fighting Scout. Also featured is the heyday of air fighting on the western front, 1917-18, including fighter ground attack, the great aces and the way in which the legacy of these years inspired pilots in the modern day.
Wings Over the Sea
This programme covers the development of naval aviation during the Great War. We travel back from the aircraft carriers today to see how early aircraft were used initially for observation for the fleet. Early float planes led to the development of long range flying boats and the coming of the aircraft carrier heralded a new age of aircraft versus ship. In combating other ships, including submarines, colour footage shows how the aircraft became the ship’s greatest enemy.
Strike From The Air
The aircraft soon bought civilians into the firing line as never before and brought about a new form of total war. The programme shows the origins of aerial bombing initially from Zeppelins. In turn, how the Zeppelins were defeated and how heavy bombers were developed by the major nations. Strategic bombing is examined in terms of its early role to hit targets behind the trenches, eventually extending to civilian targets as well as industrial targets.
The Trailblazers
A review of the great long distance flights and those aviators who achieved them including colour re-enactments by restored and replica aircraft. The great transatlantic flights are featured together with those to the Orient and Africa. The conquering of the Pacific is covered including Amelia Earhart and the mystery of her disappearance, how both Poles were overflown and the way in which these early exploration craft paved the way for modern airliners.
The Romance Of The Air
A review of heroic days of civil aviation. How civil airlines began in Europe and USA during the 1920s. Airship versus Aircraft - rivalry for transatlantic routes, culminating in the R101 and Hindenburg airship disasters. British Imperial Airways and Pan Am flying boat services. Airmindedness - air shows, aerobatics, barnstorming.
The Shadow Of The Bomber
How air forces developed between the two world wars. Rearmament - creation of the Luftwaffe, expansion of the Russian Air Force, reaction of western democracies. Dress Rehearsals - the use of airpower in Abyssinia, Spain and China during the late 1930s. Technical developments - the development of the monoplane metal - framed fighter, bomber developments, and invention of radar meant that the bomber would not necessarily get through.
Struggle For The Skies
Fighter developments and the great air battles. Colour collage of World War II fighters. All powerful Luftwaffe - Poland 1939 and France 1940. The Critical Contest - Battle of Britain 1940, including the tactics used by both sides. Colour graphics and diagrams are used. The Fighter War in Europe - Eastern and Western Fronts, with emphasis on increasing armament and speed of piston-engine fighters. This includes colour footage. Night Fighters -developments. The fighter aces - the leading aces and their stories. Coming of the jets - review of World War II types, in colour.
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