Wings of War

This episode features the mighty bombers of WWII from the British night-time bomber, the Lancaster, to the American/Canadian Dakota. It tells the story of the bouncing bomb and describes how The Dambusters achieved their famous mission using the weapon designed by British engineer Barnes Wallis to destroy a German dam. The episode finishes with the story of the long range, jet-powered the B-52 from its first flight in 1952 onwards.

With the raising of the Iron Curtain, intelligence from within the Soviet Union was hard to come by. How did high-altitude spy planes overcome this problem?

In the early 20th Century there was an arms race to develop military airplanes. With the advent of WWI, the British and Germans experimented with air combat.

Hundreds of German and Allied planes fought for domination of the skies over southern England. How did the first major air battle change the course of WWII?

The development of the jet engine was a huge advancement that dramatically increased the speed and altitude at which airplanes flew. How did it change air combat?

A look at how aircrafts and pilots have shaped military history and how technology has impacted the advancement of aerial combat over the past 100 years.

The ultimate fighter plane, the F-22 Raptor, is a supersonic aircraft that dominates American airspace. What makes this plane the ideal superiority fighter?