Weapons of World War II

The arsenal of weaponry employed during the course of the war, beginning with tanks, the mainstay of the Nazis' fearsome Blitzkrieg strategy. In 1939, a Mark 3 Panzer corps entered Poland, setting Europe on an irrevocable path to conflict as country after country fell into German hands.

Major Gordon Corrigan analyses the role played by midget submarines capable of sneaking into harbours and sinking much larger vessels. Pioneered by the Italians, these miniature U-boats were soon adapted by the Royal Navy and given a sinister twist by the Japanese, who developed a kamikaze version.

The crucial part played by aircraft carriers in the war, first developed by the Royal Navy at the end of World War One to supersede battleships. After a successful British carrier-based attack on the Italian fleet, the Japanese resorted to the tactic of wreaking havoc on Pearl Harbour - only to face devastating retaliation from the US, who ended the war in an unrivalled position of maritime dominance.

How the evolution of the fighter bomber marked the start of modern aerial warfare. The fearsome Stuka dive bomber, a crucial component of the Germans' Blitzkrieg tactics, carried 4,000lb of explosives and could swoop down at an 80-degree angle. However, the Stuka was ultimately outperformed by the RAF during the Battle of Britain and it was left to later generations of aircraft to combine the bomber's devastating firepower with the manoeuverability of a fighter.

Exploration of the military role of gliders in the conflict. Hitler made effective use of the silent aircraft to launch a surprise nocturnal attack on Belgium and later to rescue deposed Italian dictator Mussolini from imprisonment. In comparison the Allies' efforts to deploy gliders in an invasion of Sicily were less successful - although they still played a major part in the D-Day landings.

Documentary examining the role of heavy bomber planes, which by the end of the conflict had become a military force of devastating power owing to technical innovations like radar and ruthless tactics such as carpet-bombing. The process which began with the Luftwaffe's destruction of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War continued with the RAF's retaliatory attacks on German cities.

How battleships lost their naval supremacy during the conflict because of their vulnerability to aerial attack. The pride of the German Navy, the Bismarck, was crippled by Swordfish torpedo aircraft, while the state-of-the-art HMS Prince of Wales was sunk in the Pacific by Japanese planes.

The development of Germany's V1, or doodlebug, and more sophisticated V2 rocket, both of which were used during the latter stages of the conflict to strike at the very heart of British life and undermine morale on the home front.

The high-speed shallow attack boats used by the German and Allied forces, which could cause havoc with torpedoes and cannons.

The development of machine guns, including the Thompson, which was favoured by American gangsters during the 1920s. Plus, the lowdown on the Anglo-Czech Bren and various Russian models.