Heroes of the Skies

In July 1940, Squadron Leader Douglas Bader and his ragtag squadron of Canadian fighter pilots go into battle against Hitler's mighty Luftwaffe. The outcome of the Battle of Britain will determine the future of the free world. But Bader is also fighting his own personal battle. Just eight years earlier, a catastrophic flying accident cost him both of his legs. Never one to accept defeat, Bader – equipped with prosthetic legs – beats all the odds to become Britain's most celebrated air ace. Bader, who was immortalised in the film Reach For The Sky, used bold but controversial tactics. He and his men helped to turn the tide in the crucial Battle of Britain. This is his remarkable story.

Even though Canadian George Beurling broke every rule in the book, he still managed to become one of the greatest fighter pilots of World War II. But his was a turbulent road to glory. The Canadian Air Force deemed him too young for service and even when the British RAF accepted him, Beurling was branded a loner who lacked discipline and regularly defied orders. Only when he was transferred to Malta, one of the most dangerous war zones of World War II, was he able to prove himself. From 1940 to 1942, the strategically vital Mediterranean island was on the verge of surrender to the fascist powers. During the bitterly fought Battle of Malta, no Allied pilot shot down more enemy planes. Against staggering odds, Beurling's eagle-eyed marksmanship and extraordinary command of his Spitfire helped to win a crucial victory that changed the course of the war.

Like all the Allied bombers of WorldWar II, the crew of the Lancaster ME669 had an extremely dangerous job: avoiding deadly enemy fire while dropping high-powered explosives over Nazi Germany. Without them, Hitler may have emerged victorious. But the tactic called 'total war', a controversial strategy that turned cities into legitimate targets, overshadowed their legacy. Yet for the more than 100,000 volunteers, half of whom would not return, there was no other option. The rookie crew of Lancaster ME669 began their careers with a near-death crash landing. But the band of brothers bounced back with vigour, determined to defy the grim statistics of their profession. Ordered to fly 30 missions, no one expected them to make it past 14. Somehow luck was on their side and despite another crash landing and blood curdling missions over Berlin, Germany's most defended city, their heroic feats piled up. That is until their final mission, when they were forced to go deep into the heart of industrial Germany. This time, the men would not be so lucky. In April 1944, in one of the most heroic acts of the World War II, as the Lancaster tore through the night at 200 miles an hour, Sergeant Norman Jackson climbed onto the wing to try to fight a fire in a fuel tank while under attack from a German fighter at 22,000 feet.

They were young, gifted, and black but the US Army refused them key positions. Until intense pressure from African-American activist groups pushed President Roosevelt to initiate a Blacks-only fighter pilot training program in Tuskegee, Alabama. What began as a revolutionary experiment gave birth to a potent fighting force that would help take Nazi Germany out of the skies and, in the process, change the course of American history.

Michael Ashcroft profiles Brigadier General Robin Olds, the Second World War veteran who took command of the US Air Force's embattled 8th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1966. In July 1966, North Vietnam’s fleet of MiG-21s is hammering the US Air Force, and the embattled men of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing need a hero to whip them into shape. Enter Colonel Robin Olds, a WWII veteran airman, who charges in and commands respect. With the help of his pilots, Olds masterminds Operation BOLO; a death-defying bait-and-switch tactic that he hopes will whip out the MiGs once and for all. Then on January 2, 1967, Olds and his men provoke a ferocious dogfight and attempt to change the course of the Vietnam War.

Michael Ashcroft profiles pilot Francis 'Gabby' Gabreski, who was one of the leading American fighter aces during the Second World War