D-Day to VE-Day - From D-Day to Paris

Operation Overlord, the greatest invasion by sea and air in history, grows before your eyes from its original force of 130,000 to more than half a million men along with thousands of tanks and planes contains. The actual landings on D-Day in Normandy Reinforcements, first prisoners and captured towns cleared. The liberation of Cherbourg by American forces and of Caen by British and Canadian soldiers
German counter-attacks and the V1 Flying Bomb. The miraculous Mulberry Harbour, British and Canadian forces in the Orne Basin The Free French forces in operation. News from the other European fronts: Russia, Italy and the South of France. The liberation of Paris. Resistance street fighting. De Gaulle's re-entry into Paris and the sniper attack on him during the celebrations.

German Frontier - Tigers on the Loose

By late 1944, the Western Allies were infected with the over-confidence that flowed from the sweeping victories they had gained since the Breakout from Normandy and that by December had carried them to the very borders of the Third Reich. They were confident that the war would soon be over, but they were sadly mistaken. On December 16, German forces launched a massive attack through the Ardennes, the opening blows of Operation Watch on the Rhine, known to history as the Battle of the Bulge.

Hunters in the Sky - Fighter Aces of World War II

Air combat is quick… Each choice must be decisive and executed without hesitation. Mere seconds can decide who will go down in the record books and who will go down in flames. In the high arenas of the Second World War, only a select few earned the ambitious title of ‘Fighter Ace’. Now, this sweeping 13 episode documentary series recounts the death-defying stories of those amazing flying warriors. Thrilling, rare footage of actual dogfights and coordinated air strikes combined with candid personal narratives from surviving Fighter aces tell the comprehensive story of the men from all nations who flew to defend their flags.

The most comprehensive series ever produced on the Fighter Aces of World War II. Each program includes extraordinary air combat footage shot at the height of raging dogfights. Surviving Fighter Aces from all sides of the conflict- from Japan, Germany, Britain, Russia, Canada, Australia and the United States- provide vivid and graphic first hand accounts of what it was really like to be a fighter pilot in some of the greatest air battles the world has ever known.

Vietnam The Chopper War

As US-backed South Vietnamese troops began to wane in their struggle against the Communist North, the American military sought a solution that would turn the advantage back in their favour. The answer was to improve air mobility with the introduction of the US Army helicopter, in vast numbers and multiple guises. Amongst others, the now legendary Bell UH-1 or "Huey" helicopter became a familiar sight in the Vietnamese skies, carrying out various roles from escort gunship to air ambulances or "Medivac" helicopters. The versatility of these aircraft was recognised as being a major asset, one which has been adapted through the decades to the needs of modern warfare.

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.