Through engrossing recollections from surviving pilots and a wealth of historical footage, Aviation Week brings the fascinating evolution of air-to-air combat to life as it chronicles the battles and the men who defined air combat tactics. Battles from WWI through Vietnam.
Through engrossing recollections from surviving pilots and a wealth of historical footage, Aviation Week brings the fascinating evolution of air-to-air combat to life as it chronicles the battles and the men who defined air combat tactics. Battles from WWI through Vietnam.
A young pilot, fresh out of training, is called to join a Flight while they wait for the call to scramble. Throughout a single day, he witnesses the skies of southern England filled with deadly dog fights, and after every exhausting battle the men return to their dispersal hut, only to find another of their number missing. Unwilling to surrender, the pilot and his comrades unite to take to the skies once more, determined to defend not only the airfield, but their entire country.
The first World War is in its third year and aerial combat above the Western Front is consuming the nation's favored children at an appalling rate. By early 1917, the average life-span of a British pilot is less than a fortnight. Such losses place a fearsome strain on Gresham, commanding officer of the squadron. Aces High recreates the early days of the Royal Flying Corps with some magnificently staged aerial battles, and sensitive direction presents a moving portrayal of the futilities of war.
Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.
Meet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
In order to boost circulation of his newspaper, Lord Rawnsley announces an air race and offers £10,000 to the first person who can fly across the English Channel. But one of the participants, Percy, plots to sabotage his competitor's planes. Will Percy triumph?
Polish pilots overcome prejudice to fight against the Luftwaffe with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in the hope of protecting both Great Britain and their own Poland from the German advance.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.
This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined monoplane that led to the development of the Spitfire.
When the Great War breaks out, brothers Roy and Monte Rutledge, each attending Oxford University, enlist with the Royal Flying Corps.