Although taking the lead from early experiments with paratroops carried out by the Soviet Union, it was the German Luftwaffe who first employed paratroops and glider-borne troops in 1940. From the paradrops in Norway and Holland, and the glider landings on the Belgian forts at Eben Emael, to the climax of German airborne operations with the assault on Crete in May 1941, the Ju-52 was the transport workhorse of the Wehrmacht, the German Armed Forces. 1942 saw the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-323 'Gigant', a six-engined variant of the Me-321 glider.
Covered in this program are glider operations in Italy, and even the employment of DFS 230s to re-supply garrisons on the Oder front in 1945. Also shown are reconnaissance, trainer and liaison aircraft, which made a vital contribution to the role of the Luftwaffe on all fronts in the Second World War.

For many in the opening years of the Second World War, the vision of the menacing, gull-winged Stuka dive bomber, plunging vertically earthwards, its sirens wailing like banshees before releasing its bomb load, became the very embodiment of the terror created by the new form of 'Blitzkrieg' warfare unleashed on Europe by the German Wehrmacht in September, 1939.
Designed to assist ground operations, the Stuka was always to be found operating with the leading elements of the army in France, North Africa, and Russia as 'flying artillery'. In this wide-ranging presentation the Stuka is seen in action on all fronts, as well as the Hs-129s and Fw-190 in action in Russia.

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.

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.

A Timewatch programme looking in detail at the bloodiest episode of the 1944 D-Day landings, the battle for Omaha Beach. This is Saving Private Ryan territory, but the impact here comes not from the battle scenes, though they are vividly realised, but from the simple words of elderly former US Rangers recalling the horror. "You felt, oh boy, this is going to be a cakewalk," says one veteran recalling the sheer number of ships and troops he could see on the trip across the Channel. Yet they were soon to be mown down in the "pure hell" of Omaha Beach "like stalks of wheat by a sickle". Gradually, Hammond unearths why.

Glamorous young food entrepreneur Ching-He Huang is the face of “Chinese Food Made Easy”. Born in Taiwan to Chinese parents, Ching was raised on freshly cooked home meals for which ingredients were always bought on a daily basis. Her major food influences stem from the traditional cooking styles of her farming community grandparents, who lived out in the countryside of southern Taiwan. Ching-He Huang is a very talented cook and her series “Chinese food made easy” is excellent. Why go to the local Chinese restaurant when you can cook for yourself. It is so easy, healthy and fun

The existence of the anti-Iraq coalition was threatened when Saddam targetted Israel. In order to keep Israel out of the war, and the coalition together the Scuds had to be stopped. SAS patrol Bravo Two Zero, under the command of Sgt. Andy McNab was tasked to destroy these weapons. Three of the SAS troopers were killed and four captured: Only one escaped - Cpl. Chris Ryan. This is his version of what happenned.
As Operation Desert Storm begins in earnest, British SAS soldiers are sent deep into Iraq to infiltrate Saddam Hussein's stronghold in Baghdad and locate the Scud missile launchers that are pounding Israel with rockets. However, little do these young soldiers realise what dangers lie ahead…

The Germans are in retreat as the net slowly tightens around the once-proud Reich. The Russian onslaught, constant day-and-night-time bombing from the British and Americans and encroaching ground forces have sealed Germany's fate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.