The Century of Flight

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

How aircraft were used in direct support of ground forces. Camera gun shots in colour of aircraft attacking ground targets. Blitzkrieg - the JU87 Stuka divebomber and the role it played in the German Blitzkrieg offensives. Colour graphics are used to explain how the Stukas operated with the Panzers. Close Air Support (The Allied version) in North Africa, Europe and the Pacific, including colour footage. Descent from the Skies - The employment of airborne forces during World War II. Examples include Norway 1940, Belgium and Holland 1940, Crete 1941, Sicily, Normandy, Arnhem, Rhine Crossings. Gliders are also included. Secret War - how aircraft inserted agents into enemy territory.

The influence of aviation on maritime operations during World War II. Colour footage of Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese 1941 attack on it. How Pearl Harbor took place - the story of the planning, including Yamamoto drawing inspiration from the British carrier strike on the Italian port of Taranto, and the attack itself. US Retaliation - the Doolittle raid on Japan, April 1942 (including colour footage). Aircraft Carriers Rule the Waves - vulnerability of ships to aircraft meant that the carrier took over from battleship as principal naval weapon. Colour graphics/diagrams to explain how carriers operated. Pacific Carrier Battles - Midway 1942, Leyte Gulf 1944, Japanese kamikaze attacks.

Colour collage of World War II bombers taking off and airborne. Eastern front- German and Russian bombing operations, with the emphasis on lack of German long range bombers. The combined Bomber offensive. Notable Raids - Dambusters (including graphics), Mosquito pinpoint raids. Strategic bombing offensive against Japan. The ultimate weapon - development of A-bomb and its use against Japan.