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 campaign for Okinawa, located just 350 miles south of Japan, was one of the bloodiest of the war. US land forces faced a Japanese defence occupying a system of tunnels, caves and fortifications exploiting the natural defensive advantages of the hilly southern region of the island. At sea, ves...

This is the most remarkable father and son story I have ever come across. I am talking to historian Jeremy Dronfield about an astonishing true story of horror, love and impossible survival. In 1939, Gustav Kleinmann, a Jewish upholsterer in Vienna, was arrested by the Nazis. Along with his sixtee...

A new statue has just been unveiled in Saffron Walden, an unassuming town in Essex, England. Five children are held, with limbs outstretched or shoulders hunched, in life-size bronze. One carries a tattered lifejacket, which hangs uselessly below him. The statue, titled Unaccompanied Children of ...

The German invasion of Poland in September 1939 is often seen as a contest between the might of Hitler's war machine and an antiquated Polish military. But this perception of a modern, German force sweeping aside a fragile, backward enemy is far from the truth. Dan sat down with Roger Moorhouse t...

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 ...

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...

Hanna Reitsch and Melitta von Stauffenberg were two talented, courageous, and strikingly attractive women who fought convention to become the only female test pilots in Hitler’s Germany – eventually being awarded the Iron Cross for their services to the Luftwaffe. Both were brilliant pilots, both...

Andrew Roberts shares a selection of items from his Winston Churchill collection, documenting the fascinating life of one of Britain's most iconic figures.

Of all the chapters of the Second World War, none are as daring, nor as intriguing, as the Air War. In the skies over Europe, some of the most iconic aircraft to ever take flight, did battle in a life or death struggle for supremacy. Today most of these aircraft are gone, but at the Royal Air For...

Peter Snow explores the part Dover Castle played in Operation Dynamo in 1940, the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk.

Documentary charting the US campaign on the island of Saipan in the Marianas in June and July 1944. The film draws attention to the high number of civilian casualties - sadly a feature of the Pacific island campaigns. Saipan was also among the first occasions where American forces witnessed mass ...

Recognition of the Japanese Zero Fighter was produced by the US Air Force in 1943. The first part of the film describes the recognisable features of the Zero, and compares them with other aircraft. The second part takes the form of a short film, in which Ronald Reagan plays a pilot who finds hims...