Spitfire: Defender of the Skies

The Spitfire is one of the most charismatic aircraft ever to fly. In telling the story of this legendary machine, the producers have filmed many different Marks in flight and on the ground. The programme includes a wealth of archive documenting the Spitfires earliest flights to the final stages of its development. The Spitfire is also shown in action during some of its most memorable campaigns including the momentous Battle of Britain.

Format: XviD
Video: 640x480 29fps
Audio: AC3 192kbps
Language: English
Size: 505 MB

German Fighters: Fighter Aircraft of the Luftwaffe

Format: XviD
Video: 640x480, 1497 kbps
Audio: MP3 224 kbps, 2 Ch
Size: 657 MB
Language: English

German Bombers & Bombing Raids of WW2 - 1939 -1942

The bombing campaigns of World War II were the one element of the air war that had a strategic significance, on a par with the ground movements of infantry and the blockade-related activities of both sides on the high seas. It was this use of air power, first deployed to a significant extent in the 1940s, that was to have a lasting influence on geopolitics for decades to come. Previously, bombing from the air was looked upon as a form of sabotage—an irritant and a hindrance, but not a map-changing strategic factor in the course of a war. However, once bombing was carried out extensively against industrial, military, and civilian targets, it had the power to change battle lines, and ultimately to determine the outcome of a war.
The first use of bombing in the war was as a tactical weapon, by the Germans in the invasion of Poland. The early bombers were converted transports that were originally designed to be transformed into bombers: the Junkers JU86 and JU88, the Dornier Do 17, and the Heinkel He-111, all used in the invasion of Poland. All these aircraft had been tested in the Spanish Civil War and had been found to be vulnerable to attack from the aft and forward directions. The remedy was to create gunner’s nests in “greenhouse” type nests, which were to become common in later bombers of both sides.

German Jets and V1 & V2 Flying Bombs

Stunning footage of the first combat jet aircraft, the Me 163 and the Messerschmitt 262. Heinkel’s pioneering efforts and his pre-eminent He-280 are acknowledged, the Komet is shown in flight (scary!), and the A-4 rocket receives plenty of coverage, especially the complex launching procedures. The Me-163A, the most radical aircraft of the war, reached a speed of 623 mph, when released from a bomber. Me-163B pilot Schubert shot down 2 B-17s in one sortie, and some of that gun camera footage is shown.

BBC - 20th Century Battlefields. Episode 1: 1918 Western Front

Peter and Dan travel to the Western Front in France to investigate the battle that gave Britain and its allies decisive victory in World War One - Amiens.