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Reaching for the Skies

Season 1 Episode 6: Fighters

Oct 17, 1988NR1h8.9

Few aspects of the history of aviation match the vitality, drama and scale of the World War II fighter planes. As the strategists discovered the advantages of these warships of the skies, armies rarely moved across the battlefield without the security of air cover. This episode evokes the life and times of the fighter pilot and his aircraft, from World War II to the present...of individual determination and technological innovation working together in synchronous perfection. From Korea to the...

Season 1 Episodes:

Episode 1 Pioneers

Aired: Sep 12, 1988

The early history of aviation, covering the Wright Brothers, Santos Dumont, L...

Episode 2 The Adventures of Flight

2. The Adventures of Flight

Aired: Sep 19, 1988

This is the account of the master aviators who pushed back the frontiers and ...

Episode 3 The Aeroplane Goes to War

3. The Aeroplane Goes to War

Aired: Sep 26, 1988

Over France in World War I, where man and flying machines were first forged i...

Episode 4 Victory Over the Sea

4. Victory Over the Sea

Aired: Oct 3, 1988

Since the Second World War, aircraft have played an important role in naval o...

Episode 5 Bombers

Aired: Oct 10, 1988

Dresden...London...Vietnam...Tokyo..their names alone are dramatic testimony ...

Episode 6 Fighters

Aired: Oct 17, 1988

Few aspects of the history of aviation match the vitality, drama and scale of...

Episode 7 Giants of the Air

7. Giants of the Air

Aired: Oct 24, 1988

We take them - the jumbo jets - for granted today, yet overwhelming obstacles...

Episode 8 Rivals Over the Atlantic

8. Rivals Over the Atlantic

Aired: Oct 31, 1988

The development of the jet engine represented a quantum leap in aviation, and...

Episode 9 Trail Blazers

9. Trail Blazers

Aired: Nov 7, 1988

Episode 10 The Quest for Speed

10. The Quest for Speed

Aired: Nov 14, 1988

This film begins with the SR-71 Blackbird, expressed as the ultimate expressi...

Episode 11 Lighter Than Air

11. Lighter Than Air

Aired: Nov 21, 1988

Episode 12 Vertical Flight

12. Vertical Flight

Aired: Nov 28, 1988

Examining the history of vertical flight, the program begins with the early h...

Appearances

Info about Reaching for the Skies

Current Status: Ended

Network: BBC Two

Genres:History