
Explore the universal drama of war: why leaders and soldiers pick up arms to fight, the technologies that have determined outcomes, the tragedies and triumphs of history’s great battles.

The Hollywood film studios are founded by Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe who achieve their American Dream by acquiring a social status equal to the Los Angeles WASP elite.

Skilled engineers and pilots return historic warplanes to the air; pilot and engineer Richard Grace and his team restore a survivor of the Spitfire's rare mark from 75-year-old wreckage, salvaged from a Belgian scrapyard.

Pilot Shona Bowman is determined to get the battered Cessna Bird Dog, a Vietnam War mainstay, that she bought for £10,000 back in the sky; featuring recently rediscovered tapes of combat missions over Vietnam recorded by the pilots themselves.

Dutch pilots fought Hitler's Luftwaffe downing hundreds of aircraft; many joined the RAF but their outdated fighter vanishes; a family of restorers is recreating the Fokker D.XXI featuring rare color footage from a Dutch pilot.

Pilot Taff Smith rescues the wreckage of a Bucker Jungmeister, a relic from Franco's fascist air force; rebuilding it requires long hours and big bills and its resurrection could spark controversy in Spain.

The role a former coal track played in the development of the national railway; Isambard Kingdom Brunel's bid to secure Bristol's future and his creation of the fastest engine in the world.

How the Victorians built the most technologically-advanced ships in the world; HMS Warrior; the luxury steamer SS Great Britain.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol; the Tay Bridge disaster; a new metal emerges as the bridge maker's building "block" of choice.