In the summer of 1940 Britain fought a battle for survival against the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. This Battle of Britain would see German air attacks on British airfields, cities, factories and docks. Brave RAF pilots intercepted these raids, but Britain was not alone. Among the RAF and Allied ...
In this short film, Chris Lloyd looks into the story behind the Spitfire that crashed into a Welsh mountain outside the town of Caerphilly during a training flight on 7 November 1941. Lloyd explores how the community of the town came together to remember a man, Canadian pilot Sergeant Ivan Raymon...
"Who Is Romania", a unique miniseries about outstanding Romanian personalities. Presented by Dr Tessa Dunlop.
Marina Amaral is a Brazilian artist. Her remarkable colourisations of original photographs have been compiled in the recent book The Colour of Time: A New History of the World, 1850-1960, authored with Dan Jones. In this video, some of the most famous photographs of the Allied landings during Ope...
Gems from the HistoryHit archives. Tasked with arming a knight and not sure where to start? Look no further. Stuck in the 9th Century and need to tell the time? We got you.
A series of short films, showcasing the many treasures of St Helena.. Safe streets, pure waters, clear skies – St Helena is a slice of heaven on earth
More famously known as the ‘Stuka’, the Ju 87 is perhaps the most recognisable dive bomber of the Second World War, made famous by its infamous Jericho trumpet. During the Battle of Britain, squadrons of Stukas gained some success destroying ground targets. On 13 August 1940 – Eagle Day – Stukas ...
The Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous bomber which the Luftwaffe deployed during the Battle of Britain. It was capable of storing and delivering large bombs (250kg) and had state-of-the-art gyroscopic sights to improve its accuracy. The He 111 was protected armour plating and self-sealing fuel...
The Spitfire remains one of the most iconic aircraft of the Second World War. Although their turnaround time was longer than the Hurricane (29 minutes), they were faster. This made them a good match for the Messerschmitt bf 109s. In an attack on a German formation, the Hurricanes would focus thei...
Hawker Hurricanes accounted for 60% of German losses in the battle of Britain. They were the most numerous fighter aircraft which the RAF deployed, partly owing to their rapid turn-around time (it took them only 9 minutes to be refuelled and re-armed). Dan Snow provides an overview of the 'workho...
At c.7.40am 6 June 1944 Robert F Sargent took one of the most famous photographs from D-Day - and the whole of the Second World War - on a landing craft at Omaha Beach. This is the story behind the photograph.
British deception before D-Day was such that it tricked the Germans into concentrating their forces around the Pas-de-Calais, rather than near the beaches of Normandy. Blow up tanks, scarecrow paratroopers and dropping tin foil all contributed to creating a huge diversion and helped secure the be...
