The Lancaster at War

Buzz Rickson is a dare-devil World War II bomber pilot with a death wish. Failing at everything not involving flying, Rickson lives for the most dangerous missions. His crew lives with this aspect of his personality only because they know he always brings them back alive.

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.

The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.

The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In the briefing before their last flight, the crew discover that the target for the day is Dresden, a heavily-defended city that invariably causes many Allied casualties

This WW2 documentary centers on the crew of the American B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle as it prepares to execute a strategic bombing raid on Nazi submarine pens in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

Documentary about the U.S. Air Force's P-47 Thunderbolt bomber's role in the Italian Campaign.

In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

Douglas, a broken, solitary, Spitfire Ace, must overcome his past to lead a Lancaster bomber crew in the pivotal aerial war over Berlin, in 1944.

Guy Martin helps restore XH558, the last airworthy Avro Vulcan bomber, to prepare it for its last ever flight, a 1000-mile farewell tour of Great Britain, before it is grounded.

WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way that puts key events and tipping points in a global perspective. By re-creating groundbreaking moments that could never have been captured on camera, and by illustrating the importance of simultaneity and the hidden effects of crucial incidents, HISTORY presents the war's monumental moments in a never-before-seen context. And with new information brought to the forefront, you'll better understand how a nation ranked 19th in the world's militaries in 1939 emerged six years later as the planet's only atomic superpower.

Brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor follow up their documentary The Battle of Britain with a film exploring Bomber Command, a rarely told story from the Second World War. The film focuses primarily on the men who fought and died in the skies above occupied Europe, with numerous examples of individual heroism and extraordinary collective spirit, and Colin learns to fly the key aircraft of the campaign: the Lancaster bomber. But this is also the story of a controversy that has lasted almost 70 years. The program covers six years of wartime operations, and traces the obstacles and challenges that were overcome as the RAF developed and deployed the awesome fighting force that was Bomber Command.

Seventy years on, brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor take viewers through the key moments of the Battle of Britain, when 'the few' of the RAF faced the might of the Nazi Luftwaffe. As they fly historic planes, meet the veterans, explore the tactics and technology, Colin and Ewan discover the importance of the Battle and the surviving legacy of the 1940's campaign for the modern RAF.

It had been 50 years since two Avro Lancaster bombers flew side by side. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Avro Lancaster, VeRA, flew from Hamilton, Ontario to meet her British counterpart, Thumper - the only other surviving flight worthy Lancaster bomber in the world - the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's (BBMF) Lancaster in England. This documentary includes first-hand accounts from the men and women who experienced the war and were connected to the Lancaster. It transports the viewer back in time as they share what it was like during the Lancaster's glory days. REUNION OF GIANTS documents this historic mission as it unfolds through the eyes of the flight crews, veterans, friends and family. It includes all parts in this new chapter of the bomber's history, as VeRA crosses the Atlantic.

‘Spitfire— Birth of a Legend‘ tells the story of the Spitfire from a radical design on the drawing board to the fighter aircraft that became the symbol of Britain’s determination to fight on to victory. It celebrates the history of this acclaimed aircraft, the men who designed and built it, and those who flew and fought in it. The story, along with dramatic archive and colour film of aerial combat, graphically illustrates the appeal and fascination the Spitfire has maintained since it faced and fought the fighter and bomber formations of the Luftwaffe.

Wing-commander Tim Mason leads a squadron of Lancaster bombers on almost nightly raids from England. Having flown eighty-seven missions he will shortly be retiring from flying, but the strain is showing. He tries to make sure his men concentrate only on their job and so keeps women away from the base, but then he himself meets naval officer Eve Canyon.

During World War II, airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.

This series chronicles the adventures--in the air and on the ground--of the men of the 918th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force. First commanded by irascible General Frank Savage--and later by Colonel Joe Gallagher, the son of a Pentagon General--the Group is stationed in England, and flies long-range bombing missions into German-held Europe.

The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.

Climb up on the footplate and join historian and host Dan Cruickshank for a railway adventure like no other as he investigates how trains helped shape modern Britain. This three-part series resurrects an exhilarating age and kicks off by focusing on the railways' role in defeating Hitler, before unearthing the incredible engineering achievements of Isambard Brunel and embarking on a trip on the earliest steam engines.

An intimate, authentic portrait of Hitler's Germany as recorded by the people who lived it. Never-before-seen home movies, Nazi propaganda films and personal recollections culled from German's diaries, journals and letters provide a rare look inside the darker pages of world history.

The story of the Convoys is a tale of compelling drama, full of bravery and tragedy. It takes us into the lives of hundreds of thousands of unheralded men whose incredible everyday courage, played out in the cruel seas and cold skies of the North Atlantic changed the course of the war.

World War II In HD Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.

This is the ultimate chronicle of the largest amphibious invasion in history. The momentous decisions and tragic losses, pitched battles and desperate strategies come alive with extensive footage from both Allied and Axis government vaults and revealing interviews with soldiers, commanders and civilians. Trace the development of D-Day from the initial plans and strategies to the final breakthrough that sent Allied troops roaring to Paris. Follow the strategies of Eisenhower, Montgomery, Marshall and Bradley and the counter-attacks and defenses of their German opponents. See how the heroism and valor of individual men was vital to salvaging success from plans that went awry in the first few minutes. And get an incredible, front-line view of the pitched battles that sent so many men to their grave.

Joe English learned to fly a Lancaster bomber before he could drive a car. During World War Two, RAF Bomber Command called upon young men barely out of their teens to fly some of the most dangerous missions of the entire war. In 1943, the life expectancy of an air gunner was just three minutes in combat. For every 100 Bomber Command aircrew, only 24 would survive their tour... Now, Joe English is reunited with the five other surviving aircrew from RAF 625 Squadron Lancaster 'The Lucky H' to tell their stories for the very first time. Joined by other surviving Bomber Command veterans, they provide a powerful and moving insight into life - and death - as one of the 'Bomber Boys'.

The history of U.S. involvement is told in this 7 part documentary series featuring personal stories from veterans and detailing the battles, strategy, and politics of a war that consumed multiple U.S. Presidents. A chronicle of the tragedy that tested the strength of our country and forever changed the social and political landscape of the world.

Dan Snow and Kate Humble present a three-part guide to the critical aerial battle that changed the course of the Second World War, featuring personal stories of pilots, ground crews and members of the public. The first episode tracks the first skirmishes of the three-day battle,as the Luftwaffe began an all-out assault to rid Britain of air power prior to a land invasion. The first skirmishes were being tracked by a 19-year-old WAAF member in a secret London bunker, and her secret diaries provide fresh insight into the strategies behind the aerial combat.

The story of Hitler’s war on the Eastern Front – an attempt to liquidate the Russian people and gain living space for his superior Aryan race. It is a conquest that takes the Nazis all the way to the gates of Moscow and back to the heart of Berlin, and culminates in the collapse of the Third Reich. The series reveals the cunning strategy, defensive megastructures and military technology deployed in this devastating war of brutality between giants.

The dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

Hitler’s Secret Sex Life exposes the myriad of rumours, theories and disputed historical accounts of Adolf Hitler's sexual psychology. There is no shortage of experts on Hitler's sex life who consider his predictions to be a barometer of the dictator's twisted psyche. Each episode will address a specific time period of Hitler's alleged and proven sex life and explores the role it played in shaping his behaviour.

Examining the life and times of Adolf Hitler and following the full arc of his ascent, tyrannical reign, criminality and undoing.