Wings

Drones, Midgets and Mutations

From the German SC-1262, a 1930s drone controlled by wires connected to a telephone, and Hitler's ominous V-1 to ultra-l

Parasites

Parasites represent enormous technological breakthroughs. In the beginning, Curtis fighters hid inside dirigibles. Later

Eyes in the Sky

Takes a look at the people behind covert operations and the inventions that hid in the clouds - from the observation bal

Giants

Traces the story of aviation's most mammoth aircraft. Built for civil and and military uses, these amazing planes stun t

Vertical

Tells the fascinating story of attempts to design airplanes that could be launched straight up into the air. From the Be

Strange Shapes

Eliminating the fuselage on aircraft was an idea that never came to fruition, but it gave rise to a smaller, more aerody

Canards and Pusher Propellers

First Strike

The run-up to and beginning of Operation Desert Storm (McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle/Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk)

In Harm's Way

The air war over Iraq at the height of Operation Desert Storm (Panavia Tornado/Grumman A-6 Intruder)

The Final Assault

The final days of Desert Storm, including the ground war and the liberation of Kuwait (General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Fa

Nighthawk: Secrets of the Stealth

First ever behind-the-scenes look at the birth of the F-117 Stealth Fighter, including interviews with the airplane's de

The Blitz

Focuses on the Arado Ar 234 Blitz (English: lightning), the world's first operational jet-powered bomber, built by the G

The Butcher Bird

Focuses on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (nicknamed Würger; English: Shrike), a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircr

The Destroyer

Focuses on the Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110; a twin-engine Zerstörer (Destroyer, heavy

Gigant

Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant, a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II. Intended

Iron Annie

Focuses on the Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") and Iron Annie), a transport aircraft that was designed

The Jet

Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel (German:

The Komet

Focuses on the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, a German interceptor aircraft designed for point-defence. It is the only oper

The Legend

Focuses on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190,

The Schnell Bomber

Focuses on the Junkers Ju 88, a German World War II Luftwaffe twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft a

Sea Wings

Focuses on German Seaplanes of WWII.

The Secret Bomber

Focuses on the Heinkel He 111, a German bomber aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerk

The Stuka

Focuses on the Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber"), a German dive bomber and ground-attack a

V for Vengeance

Focuses on the V-1 flying bomb (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1"); an early cruise missile and the only p

The Backfire Bomber

Soviet supersonic bomber development, including the Tupolev Tu-22M 'Backfire' and the Tu-160 'Blackjack'

Duel over Korea

Development and career of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 'Fagot'

The Flying Tank

The Ilyushin Il-2 (Cyrillic: Илью́шин Ил-2) Shturmovik (Cyrillic: Штурмови́к, Shturmovík) was a gro

The Foxbat Deception

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supers

The Great Patriotic War

History of the air war on the eastern front during World War II

The Last Generation

Late-model Soviet fighters, including the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 'Fulcrum' and the Sukhoi Su-27 'Flanker'

The Nuclear Bear

Development of long-range strategic bombers, including the Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear'

The Phantom's Foe

Supersonic fighter development leading to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 'Fishbed'

Russian Giants

Giant Soviet transport aircraft leading up to the Antonov An-124 and Antonov An-225 Mriya

Soviet Rotors

Development of Soviet helicopters

Straight Up

Soviet Vertical Take-off aircraft, including the Yakovlev Yak-38 'Forger' and Yak-141 'Freestyle'

Supersonic Transport

Development of the Tupolev Tu-144

The Swing-Wing Solution

Development leading up to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23/Mikoyan MiG-27 'Flogger'

Intruder: Thunder from the Sea

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircr

F9F Panther/Cougar

The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's first successful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumm

Tomcat: Defender of the Fleet

The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing

The Avenger

The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM[1] for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era

Orion: The Hunter

The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a four-engined, turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft developed for the

Viking: The Scout

The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a 4-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft that was used by the U.S. Navy (USN) prim

Hornet: The Killer Bee

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, de

A-5 Vigilante

The North American A-5 Vigilante was an American carrier-based supersonic bomber designed and built by North American Av

Super Etendard: The Falkland Surprise

The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (Étendard is French for "battle flag", cognate to English "standard") is a French

Crusader: Last of the Gunfighters

The Vought F-8 Crusader (originally F8U) is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft buil

Dauphine: Wing of Mercy

The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin (Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin) is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast

Hugging the Deck

Among the first in combat in Vietnam, the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk flew more missions, and paid a higher price, tha

Steel Rain

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft deve

Whispering Death

The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufact

Guardians of the Night

The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement

Harrier

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the secon

Doomsday Mission

The Doomsday machine, a Cold War relic with the ability to deliver nuclear devices over the former Soviet Union without

Instant Thunder

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed

Eagles Over Lebanon

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell

Flight of the Falcon

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General

The Thud

The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. Capable of

Bear Trap

The Mil Mi-24 (Russian: Миль Ми-24; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter an

Flying Tank

The Sukhoi Su-25 Grach (Russian: Грач (rook); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine

Spy Planes

For more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind en

Landing Zone Vietnam

Meet the commanders of a true military legend and fight alongside the special breed of "madmen" who piloted the versatil

Flying Coffins

The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by

Red October

Profiles the Red October war game (October 2000) between US Navy F/A-18 Hornets and German MiG-29 Fulcrums over Laage, G

Top Guns

Profile of American naval aviators and the Top Gun school.

Wings Over Europe: Target Berlin

Focuses on the P-51 over WWII Germany

Wings Over Europe: Dresden Firestorm

Focuses on the B-17 in the skies over Germany.

Wings Over Europe: The Valiant Few

Focuses on the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain

Wings Over the Pacific

Focuses on the planes of the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Wings Over Vietnam: The Cavalry

One of the great battlefield innovations developed by the United States armed forces in its effort to defeat a skilled a

Wings Over Vietnam: The Gunships

The conflict in Vietnam was often referred to as the Helicopter War. The helicopter played all sorts of roles during the

The FACs

High technology did not play the major part in Southeast Asia that may have been expected. Rather, it was back to basics

Dust Off

Drawing on its first experiments with helicopters in Korea, the Army in Vietnam came to rely almost entirely on the heli

Rolling Thunder

Operation Rolling Thunder marked the first sustained American assault on North Vietnamese territory and thus represented

The Jolly Greens

One of the most unsung heroes of the Southeast Asian War were Winch Men. Lowered from large camouflage helicopters into

Spookies, Spectres, and Shadows

Benign aircraft has always proved useful for modification to the military. During the Southeast Asian War, such benign c

MiG Killers

In March 1965, U.S. air strikes into North Vietnam began. In April, the first dogfights took place. As the fighting grew

Wild Weasels

The constant threat to all American aircraft missions was the Russian built missile known as SAM, which employed various

Linebacker II

Not since World War II had bombers been employed in an operation of this scope. All previous air campaigns, including th

On the Step

In 1913, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss became the first to develop the flying boat. From the start, these large seaplan

The Great Clippers

Learn how Pan American Airways' giant Clipper flying boats established the world's first air service across two oceans a

The War Boats

From twin-engine patrol planes to six-engine bombers, flying boats offered versatility and mobility to combatants on bot

The Giants

Just when post-war aviation had forsaken the large flying boat, three of the biggest ones ever built would make their de

The End of an Era

By the 1950s, flying boat operations in the United States Navy were in decline. Ironically, Navy planners began developi

The Final Frontier

Today, only Japan, Canada and Russia still produce large flying boats and seaplanes. Designed for special utility and mi