All language subtitles for Air.Warriors.S06E08.Spitfire.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE[eztv]

Narrator: It flies like an angel
and fights like the devil.

Man: The spitfire is
a combination of grace, beauty,

And yet potent killing power.

Narrator: It appears
when the world needs a hero.

Man: People were
very much prepared

To fight to the death.

Hitler had to be stopped
at all costs.

Narrator: The spitfire
charges into the breach

At britain's darkest hour.

Man: This is a desperate
struggle for survival.

Narrator: It's a merciless fight
with freedom in the balance.

Woman: By the summer of 1940,

This is a battle
between good and evil.

And the spitfire is
on the side of good.

Narrator: The spitfire soars
to become a nation's champion

And the plane that
saves the free world.

♪

[airplane roaring]

♪

May 1940, dunkirk, France.

[airplane roaring]

300,000 allied troops are
trapped between german tanks

And the english channel.

[gunfire]

To save its army,
the british have a single goal:

Rescue as many men
as possible by sea.

With few trained pilots,
the royal air force, or raf,

Faces a life-or-death challenge.

Steve darlow: The situation
for the british troops

At dunkirk is dire.

Narrator: Steve darlow is
an author and authority

On british air power
in world war ii.

Darlow: The raf's mission
at dunkirk

Is to protect
their service colleagues

Congregating on the beaches,

Try and keep the luftwaffe
outside of that perimeter.

If an enemy bomber
gets to the beaches

And able to drop its ordnance,
it's too late.

So, the raf have got to
stop the luftwaffe

Getting there
where men are congregating,

Where men are trying
to get onto the ships.

Narrator: The germans and
their air force, or luftwaffe,

Have steamrolled all opposition.

Darlow: In the two weeks prior
to the evacuation at dunkirk,

The luftwaffe was having

Pretty much free rein
of the skies.

But now they were coming up
against a new adversary

In the spitfire.

The supermarine spitfire,
historic and iconic aircraft.

Streamlined fuselage,
the gracious lines,

The small tailfin,
and the elliptical wing.

A beautiful design, but
one of the deadliest aircraft

In the history of warfare.

[boom]

Narrator: The crisis had begun
just two weeks earlier.

German troops blast through
allied defenses,

Storming into northern France.

John mcmanus:
May 10th to 20th, 1940,

Is a crucial period in
the history of world war ii.

Narrator: John mcmanus is
a professor of military history

At missouri university
of science and technology.

Mcmanus: The germans succeeded

In slashing behind
the allied front.

Narrator: The british army
in France,

Known as the expeditionary
force, retreats,

And the germans are on the verge
of destroying them.

Mcmanus: So by the end
of the day on may 20th,

There's the very strong
possibility

That the entire
british expeditionary force

Are gonna be cut off behind
that german armored front.

Narrator: Leading
the charge, germany's air force.

Mcmanus: One of the advantages
the germans have

In the battle of France is
certainly numbers of airplanes,

But also the qualitative edge
of their pilots,

The experience
many of them had had.

So it almost seemed as if the
germans had cornered the market

On what was a cutting-edge
aspect of warfare, air power.

Narrator: German dive bombers

Savage retreating
british troops,

While their fighters,
especially me 109s,

Blast allied planes
from the sky.

The spitfire enters combat
when britain needs her most.

Mcmanus: If the british
expeditionary force

Is lost on the continent,

Britain will be
more or less defenseless

Against any ground invasion.

Narrator: In late may, spitfire
pilot robert stanford tuck

Has never been in combat,

But he's thrown
into the heart of the fight.

Stanford tuck's mission:

Destroy any and all german
planes near dunkirk.

Willy hackett: The morning
of the 23rd of may,

Bob stanford tuck took off
with his squadron

And headed to an area
between dunkirk and boulogne

To set up a combat air patrol
looking for enemy airplanes.

Narrator: Willy hackett
is a test pilot

For the royal air force and
an experienced spitfire pilot.

Hackett: They quickly sighted
50-plus enemy airplanes

And decided they were
going to attack.

Whilst he was getting ready
to make that attack, though,

He was taken by surprise

By some enemy
messerschmitt 109 fighters.

Narrator: The germans
have set a trap

And pounce on stanford tuck.

Hackett: He's got
a messerschmitt behind him,

He needs to quickly
turn the tables

On those german fighter pilots
and try and gain advantage.

He flew his airplane hard,

He used the performance of
the spitfire to turn tightly.

Narrator:
In the hands of a skilled pilot

Like stanford tuck,

The agile spitfire
has a tighter turning radius

Than the me 109.

Hackett: He quickly
split up his formation,

Started to turn tightly,

And managed to get on the tail
of the german messerschmitts

And shoot one down.

So what you're seeing here
is the fighter pilot,

An aggressive fighter pilot

Who could quickly turn the
tables on those messerschmitts,

Sat in a wonderful airplane,
the spitfire,

That enabled him to do that.

Narrator: Stanford tuck
makes his first kill

Against the luftwaffe's
top fighter plane.

And that afternoon, he's racing
back into the fray over dunkirk.

Hackett: So, bob stanford tuck
is leading his airplanes

In formation at about 4,000 feet
heading south near boulogne.

He looks up and sees
three me 110s, 9,000 feet,

So above him already,

They already have
the tactical advantage,

They're on the high ground,
so to speak.

He starts climbing his formation
up to meet these messerschmitts.

They come down to meet him,
but he quickly sizes them up,

Flies his airplane
very aggressively,

And swiftly gets behind a 110,

Manages to very quickly
have a burst,

A quick short burst of gunfire,

Bits are seen
to fly off the 110.

He sees that airplane diving
down towards the ground.

He's then focusing on
the second messerschmitt 110.

[gunfire]

Narrator: The german
skims his plane

Just over the trees and hedges,
hoping to shake stanford tuck.

Hackett: He's trying to fly
that spitfire into the ground

Hoping he's inexperienced
and will make a mistake,

Hit a tree or a high-tension
cable or something like that.

But stanford tuck's
not having any of it,

He can manage to focus
on the enemy airplane,

And flying that close
to the ground,

Line up a good shoot,

Take more shoots on that
airplane and bring it down.

He gets his third kill.

Narrator: Three kills
on his first day of combat,

And stanford tuck keeps
his streak going the next day.

Hackett: So on the afternoon
of the 24th of may,

Bob stanford tuck is again
in the thick of it.

He's leading his formation when
he comes across dornier 17s.

Now, they're light bombers,
and their main aim

Is to bomb our ground forces
around dunkirk.

So they're a real threat to
the british expeditionary force

On the continent.

He aggressively maneuvers
his airplanes

And quickly achieves
two further kills,

Making him the first
spitfire ace of world war ii.

Narrator: He's the first
of what will be scores

Of spitfire aces.

From late may to June 4th,

Stanford tuck
and the allied air forces

Fight a rear-guard action.

Often outnumbered and outgunned,
they suffer heavy losses,

But disrupt
the german air attacks.

Mcmanus: The two air forces,
allied and german air force,

Just begin to maul each other.

So losses are pretty high
on both sides.

In this case, you know, talking
about the british pilots,

Many of them were
highly inexperienced

And were learning as they went,

And of course combat
is a tough place

To learn your job.

It's pretty unforgiving.

Narrator: The ground troops
often have no idea

Of the brutal fight
taking place out of sight.

Darlow: The royal air force
were not popular

With the men on the beaches

'cause usually they couldn't see
the actual air battles

That were taking place

'cause they were
taking place inland,

Preventing the enemy bombers
reaching the beaches.

The raf was certainly
taking its toll inland.

Narrator: While
robert stanford tuck and the raf

Trade deadly blows with
the luftwaffe in the sky,

A flotilla of every imaginable
british boat steams to dunkirk.

Hoping to evacuate just
45,000 of 300,000 troops

Trapped on the beaches,

The british manage to rescue
almost every single soldier.

Darlow: The fact that 300,000
men were brought back

From the beaches of dunkirk

Meant that they could
fight on another day.

Britain was not defeated.

Hackett: I think the air force
was as successful

As it could be over dunkirk.

We managed to extract over
300,000 troops from dunkirk.

And that never
would have happened

If the luftwaffe had had
free rein at dunkirk

And had the ability
to truly bring bombers in

And air power in

To harry and destroy
those troops on the ground.

That was considered an absolute
miracle at the time.

Narrator: Most of western europe
is now in nazi hands.

Britain is still in the fight,

But is now alone
in hitler's crosshairs,

As british prime minister
winston churchill warns...

Winston churchill:
The battle of France is over.

The battle of britain
is about to begin.

Upon this battle
depends the survival

Of christian civilization.

Darlow: Most of europe was
being overrun by the nazis.

Britain is now standing alone.

Freedom, democracy,
the western world is at stake.

Hitler is going to look to
prepare to cross the channel

To invade britain.

He needs to defeat britain,

But before
they can cross the sea,

They need to defeat
the royal air force,

So that the luftwaffe
has the opportunity

To protect the seaborne assault,

And it can also attack
the royal navy,

Should that become involved.

Narrator: Hitler plans
to invade and conquer britain

With operation sea lion.

Darlow: If the luftwaffe
can gain air superiority

And defeat the royal air force,

Their seaborne assault is
going to be unchecked.

They're going to be able
to land troops

On the southern coast
of England.

They're going to be able
to advance,

And they're going to win.

[bell ringing]

Narrator: The only thing
holding back a german invasion--

The raf and its handful
of fighter planes.

[bell ringing]

July 1940.

The battle of britain begins.

After hammering
british shipping and ports,

The luftwaffe turns
its attention on the raf.

Now hitler's bombers aim
to pound them into oblivion.

July 1940.

German bombers pummel british
airstrips and command centers.

Rebecca grant:
In the summer of 1940,

Everything is at stake
for britain.

Narrator: Dr. Rebecca grant
is one of the foremost

Civilian experts on air force
history and aircraft.

Grant: Operation sea lion
was the german army's plan

To invade britain.

It was a fully fleshed-out plan
with nine divisions

Scheduled to land somewhere
between sussex and kent.

Hitler hoped that
he could land that force

By the autumn of 1940,

But the one thing he needed
was control of the air.

The luftwaffe's strategy is
to target raf fighter bases

And raf fighter command centers,

Hoping to knock the raf
out of the war.

Hackett: The luftwaffe was very
confident they could do this.

Their leader goering
had convinced hitler

It would be an easy task to do
and it was just a matter of time

Before he delivered
air superiority

Over the south of England.

Narrator: The raf is outnumbered
roughly two to one.

And the hawker hurricane

Forms the bulk
of their fighting force.

Hackett:
During the battle of britain,

The air force had two airplanes
to choose from:

The spitfire and the hurricane.

The hurricane was
a very rugged airplane.

It took a lot of battle damage.

It was a very stable platform,

Meaning when the pilot
pushed the trigger,

The guns would keep
pointing at the enemy,

So it was very easy
to employ your weapons

Once you were in
an advantageous position.

It was a slightly slower
airplane than the opposition.

It's fair to say, though,
that in the battle of britain

We needed both airframes.

We couldn't have done
without either.

Narrator: Rushed into battle,

Many pilots
have little training,

And few have seen combat.

Hackett:
When you go into combat,

That is the true test
of a fighter pilot.

And so it was very critical

That we could get guys
to the front line,

Get them through their
first early combats

Where they experienced
what it was going to be like,

Keep them alive
during that phase,

And then start to capitalize
on their experience

As they got more skilled
and more versed

In the tactics of war.

Narrator: Losses mount at
a shocking rate on both sides.

And the germans are confident

The british can't
build spitfires

As fast as the luftwaffe
is shooting them down.

The spitfire's manufacturer,
supermarine,

Has struggled with the plane
from the start.

Hackett: So the supermarine
aircraft company

Primarily designed
seaplanes, floatplanes,

That captivated the imagination
of the world at the time,

From the late 1920s
to the early 1930s.

Narrator: In the mid-1930s,

The raf struggles to improve
its aging fleet of planes,

While its clearest rival,
germany, develops and builds

The fastest and deadliest planes
in the world.

To close the gap, the raf forms
a competition for a plane

That can intercept
the speedy german bombers.

Hackett: R.J. Mitchell
was a chief designer

Of the supermarine
aviation company.

He was, um, a very direct man,
a very talented man.

He designed superb airplanes

That were really quite fast
and maneuverable.

So, he was used to working
with new technology,

But more than that,
he saw the storm clouds of war

Rising within germany,

And he knew europe
would be at war.

He was a very sick man.

He was dying of cancer,
and he knew that.

But he felt he was keen to
ensure that the royal air force

Had the best airplane
that they could have

Before he passed away.

His first few attempts
to design an airplane

To meet that specification

Were not particularly
successful,

But he kept going.

Narrator: Mitchell
and his design team

Hit on a radical idea:

Giving the plane a thin,
elliptical-shaped wing.

Darlow: The problem
the design team had

Was to combine power
with speed and agility

And have a formidable weaponry

To down the enemy fighters
and bombers.

The solution the design team
came up with

Was this thin elliptical wing

That met the performance
requirements

But could allow
a retractable landing gear

And an array of weaponry.

Four machine guns per wing

That could be adapted
to accommodate cannon.

Narrator: Mitchell and his
design team create the airframe,

And rolls-royce
builds its heart:

A new super-powered engine
called the merlin.

Darlow: Marrying
mitchell's designs

With the rolls-royce merlin
is going to create

One of the greatest aircraft
in the history of warfare.

Narrator: Racing at speeds
over 350 miles per hour,

Climbing 2,500 feet per minute,

And able to out-turn
most german planes,

The spitfire is a pilot's dream.

Hackett: So the spitfire
first and foremost

Is a graceful-looking airplane.

That doesn't
hide the fact, though,

That it's a sleek
killing machine.

It fits you well,
you sit in the airplane,

You feel like you
wear the airplane,

You feel like you're part of it.

She smells good, you know.

She's quite hot, that big
rolls-royce merlin engine,

It's only a few feet
in front of your feet.

You just have to think, "I want
to go in that direction,"

And you just gently
move the stick,

And she responds
beautifully for you.

She gives you confidence.

And that's one of the key things

As somebody going into war
in an airplane,

You've got to be at one
with your machine,

You've got to be confident
in that machine,

Your ability to operate it.

Narrator: The spitfire's
unique silhouette

And the rolls-royce merlin
engine's distinctive growl

Become the symbol
of british resistance.

While the spitfire is
revolutionary in design,

It's also a challenge to build.

Hackett: Those curves are
beautiful to the eye,

But they're very difficult to
mass produce in times of war.

So, each airplane was
effectively almost handmade.

From a production perspective,
it was quite a challenge

To churn them out in the numbers
that we needed them churned out.

Narrator: The raf orders
as many spitfires

As supermarine can make,

But can this pretty plane

Really duke it out with
the mighty german air force?

They're about to find out.

Early September 1940.

Hitler believes
he has broken the raf,

And his bombers are free
to focus on a new target.

Darlow: So, in September 1940
the luftwaffe changes direction

And begins an assault
upon london,

Trying to force terror
upon the british people,

Maybe even force a surrender.

Narrator: September 15, 1940.

Hitler aims for a knock-out blow
against the british capital.

Darlow: September the 15th
is a pivotal day

In the battle of britain;

Mass numbers of enemy aircraft

Are going to come
and assault london.

There is the belief
with german intelligence

That the raf fighter command
is on the verge of defeat.

Narrator: Hitler throws two huge
waves of bombers at london.

In the coming fight,

The germans will outnumber
the raf two to one.

Darlow:
The royal air force pilots

Were defending their homeland,

They were defending
their country now.

They were defending
their families.

As one raf pilot famously said,

He didn't want the bastards
dropping bombs on his mum.

It's a fight for survival now.

Narrator: If the german bombers
break through,

They could lay waste to london

And drive britain
out of the war.

September 15, 1940.

Hundreds of german bombers
zero in on london.

The first wave
hits the british skies

Late that morning.

Flying cover for the bombers:
German me 109s.

And rising up to meet them,

British hurricanes
and spitfires.

The plan is for the hurricanes
to focus on the bombers,

While the spitfires engage
and take out the me 109s.

This battle pits
two very different

But equally matched planes
against each other.

Built for speed, the me 109

Is all sharp edges
and squared corners,

Able to reach
340 miles per hour.

Early versions
carry two machine guns

Mounted above the engine,

And two cannons in the wings.

In contrast,
the spitfire is rounded,

With its unique
elliptical wings.

But it's just as fast
as the me 109,

And has a tighter
turning radius.

It can also deliver
a deadly punch,

With four machine guns
in each wing.

The spitfire units are now led
by experienced pilots

Like brian "sandy" lane.

Darlow: Brian lane was a regular
in the royal air force,

And he distinguished himself
at dunkirk,

And he was awarded
a distinguished flying cross.

And he was clearly
respected highly

By the men who flew with him

As a leader,

And it was something
that he would show

By example in battle.

Narrator: Against the first wave
of germans,

Lane chases and strafes bombers,
helping to break up the attack.

[gunfire]

But it's the second wave,
almost 500 german planes,

That poses the greatest danger.

And lane is on the ground,

Refueling and re-arming
when the attack begins.

Darlow:
On September the 15th, 1940,

The sky is full of aircraft,
swarms of enemy aircraft

Coming towards london,
hundreds of them.

And the various royal air force
fighter command squadrons

Are trying to get in amongst
them to break up the bombers.

There's a melee going on
above london.

Narrator: Lane describes the sky

As filled with more german
planes than he's ever seen.

He needs to head them off,

But he's starting
at a disadvantage.

Darlow: The three advantages
that the fighter pilot seeks

Is that he can
come out of the sun

So that his opponent is blinded;

Also that he can come
from altitude.

He has the height
where he can get speed

To come down on his opponent.

And then he can get in behind
to that killing position

So he can train his sights
on his enemy

And shoot him from the sky.

[gunfire]

Narrator:
Joining the fight late,

Lane has to climb
to reach the raiders

At 20,000 feet and higher.

Darlow: On September the 15th,
as lane is rising,

He's having to give up
every advantage.

He's not going to be coming
out of the sun.

He's not going to be
coming in from height.

But yet he still has the skill
to be able to maneuver

And get in behind a 109.

Narrator: High over
the outskirts of london,

Lane gets on the tail
of an me 109.

With the german in his sights,
this should be an easy kill.

Darlow: But he's not
up against a fool.

That 109 pilot is
an accomplished pilot,

And he's able to reverse
the tables.

Narrator: The me 109 pilot
gets behind lane,

And the duel is on.

Darlow: And they carry out
what lane describes

As a hell of a dance as they're
trying to turn their aircraft

To getting behind, to getting
to that killing position.

Narrator: If the 109 latches on
to the spitfire's tail,

Lane is dead.

He whips his spitfire
into a tight turn.

Lane again comes around
on the 109,

Showing just what
the spitfire can do.

Lane maneuvers to get off
a killing shot,

And the 109 pilot decides
he's met his match.

Darlow: So, the 109 inverts,
lane lets off a short burst,

But he doesn't know
if he shut it down

And he can't follow it down.

Narrator: The me 109 can dive
more quickly than the spitfire.

So lane gives up the chase.

He's already pushed himself
to the brink.

Darlow: It's been about
a minute of combat,

But sweat is just
pouring out of his body.

Narrator: Lane has out-dueled
one germany's top pilots,

But he can't pause
to catch his breath.

Until he runs out of ammunition,

He throws his spitfire
at every german plane he sees.

It's a chaotic breakneck brawl.

Hackett: So when you meet
an enemy airplane in the sky,

Closing speeds at up to 600,
700, 800 miles an hour

Can happen.

You see this little speck
on the horizon

Growing very quickly at you.

As you're pointing at them,
they come rushing past you.

Narrator:
In the skies around lane,

German bombers fight
their way to london,

And slam up against almost
suicidal resistance.

Hackett: There's one
particular instance,

Ray holmes trying to shoot down
a dornier bomber

As it made its way over london,

On the face of it heading
towards buckingham palace.

Narrator: In his hurricane,

Holmes empties all of his
ammunition into the bomber,

But still, it flies on
toward buckingham palace.

Eyewitnesses gather
to watch the fight,

And can't believe holmes'
next desperate move.

Hackett: And with
nothing left to do

Other than watch this airplane
soldier on

And bomb our royal family,

He took the decision
to ram that airplane

And knock the tail of it.

Narrator: The german bomber
spirals to the ground;

A feat almost too incredible
to believe,

Except that it's
captured on film.

Holmes loses control
of his own plane

And parachutes to safety.

His damaged hurricane crashes
into a london street.

Hackett: I think that just gives
you a feeling for how focused

Our pilots were for
defending their homeland.

They were gonna fight
to the very last inch,

Never thought defeat
was an option.

Narrator: By day's end,
the raf loses roughly 29 planes,

But the cost is much steeper
for the luftwaffe.

Darlow: And by the end
of the day, claims come in

That about 180 aircraft
had been shot down

By the royal air force.

In fact, history is now showing
that the number is more like 70,

But a lot of returning
german aircraft would have had

Wounded airmen on board,
killed airmen on board.

And it was clear at that point,
on that day,

To the german high command,

The luftwaffe had not got
air superiority

And fighter command
was not defeated,

And the invasion was going
to be too perilous.

Narrator: September 17th,

Hitler calls off his plan
to invade britain.

The raf and its spitfire

Have won the greatest
air battle in history,

Scoring a key victory
for freedom.

Darlow: There's a heroic aspect
about the whole story

Of britain was standing alone.

But just this group of young,
determined, enthusiastic airmen

Were able to check
the hordes of germans.

Narrator: Britain's few
have saved the nation.

But hitler isn't done.

To punish london,

He orders the luftwaffe to
conduct night bombing raids

In the blitz.

Darlow:
Around about 40,000 civilians

Lose their lives
during that period.

It was a desperate time
for the british people.

During the blitz, areas of
london were turned into rubble.

Coventry was turned into rubble.

It was destroyed.

The devastation was all around.

But instead of actually making
the british people weaker,

It actually made them stronger,

And they came together
more in defiance

Against what was
being done to them.

Narrator:
With the failure of the blitz,

Hitler's attention shifts east
to the soviet union,

And south, to malta,
a british-held island fortress

In the middle
of the mediterranean.

The german air force and navy
have cut off malta

And aim to starve or bomb it
into submission.

Grant: Malta was important
because of its location.

It's a fantastic base.

You can't ship anything
north, east, south, or west

Without going past malta.

Narrator: Italy and germany
need to ship food and fuel

To their armies in north africa,

And malta threatens
their supply lines.

Mcmanus:
So this little rock island

Out there in the middle
of the mediterranean

Becomes so
strategically important,

So pretty quickly, this becomes
a major battleground

Of here come these axis
air raids against malta.

Narrator: Every day, as many as
170 bombers pound the island,

Dropping over a million pounds
of explosives in April alone.

Grant: By early 1942, malta was
the most bombed location

In the european theater.

It had been bombed
more than london.

It was almost like the germans
were trying to sink the island.

Mcmanus: Malta has to be
defended by air power.

I mean, it has to be defended
by fighters in particular,

Otherwise it's going
to be defenseless.

The spitfire takes
a leading role

Because it is the number one
fighter in the british forces

At this point in time.

Narrator: June 9, 1942.

Spitfires take off
from an aircraft carrier

And head to malta.

Among them, canadian pilot
george beurling.

Darlow: Into the battle of malta
comes george beurling,

A maverick, a lone wolf,

Does not really
respect authority,

But a very, very accomplished
fighter pilot.

He has the ability
to pick out enemy aircraft

Before anyone else in the sky.

And he has no hesitation in
peeling away and engaging them.

He's a fighter.

He wants to get into the battle.

He wants to shoot down germans.

Narrator: Beurling hits
the skies over malta

Like a human wrecking ball.

Darlow: You take a spitfire

And all its potential
as a fighter aircraft,

And you put it in the hands
of someone like george beurling

Who's becoming a master
of the craft of aerial combat,

And they're going to be able
to shoot anything down.

The luftwaffe does not
have anything

That's going to be able to
counter something like that.

Narrator: July 1942,

In beurling's own words,
"hell lets loose."

[gunfire]

The germans attack
almost every day,

And beurling shoots down
15 planes in quick succession.

[gunfire]

But on August 9th, he tackles
more than even he can handle.

Dueling with 15 me 109s,
he peppers one, and it drops.

Then, when three germans attack
from out of the sun,

His spitfire takes
two hits to the engine

And seizes up.

Beurling glides without power
toward malta.

But there's no way he can
make it to an airfield in time.

August 9, 1942.

George beurling maneuvers
his damaged spitfire

Toward the besieged
island of malta.

He crashes, but walks away
from the wreck.

The following day,
he's back in another spitfire.

Malta needs fighters
like beurling.

He's a crack shot who's mastered

The art of hitting
an enemy plane as it turns.

It's called a deflection shot.

Hackett: So when you
take in deflection,

There are many things you need
to take into account,

And one of them is the gravity
drop of the bullet.

If you're a long, long way away,
something akin to 800 yards,

The drop of that bullet
can be quite marked,

So not only do you
have to predict

Where the airplane
will be in the sky

When your bullets get there,

You've got to predict how much
those bullets are gonna drop.

[explosion]

Narrator: On July 6, 1942,

Beurling puts his skills
to the test.

He attacks a pair of me 109s,
and one tries to run.

From half a mile away,

Too far for most pilots
to even consider,

He takes his shot.

He knocks the german fighter
from the sky.

Darlow:
Beurling is able to picture

Exactly where the enemy aircraft
is going to be

In space and time

And make sure that his gunfire
gets there.

And he proves this
in an extraordinary combat

Where he's able to fire at
approximately 800 yards range

And shoot down an enemy fighter.

Narrator: But as the siege
of malta grinds on,

Beurling's health
starts to fail.

Hackett: When you're in combat
day after day,

The fatigue builds up
on the pilot slowly.

Combat's a very physical thing.

But it's not just the combat;

It's an emotional rollercoaster.

They wake up every morning,

They wait to be scrambled.

They can be held
on the ground for hours,

Just waiting for that fight,

Just wondering if it's going
to be their last fight,

So they can go
from sometimes boredom

And waiting
for something to happen...

[bell ringing]
to absolute mayhem in the sky.

I think malta was
a particularly challenging

Theater of war.

Their water supplies
were not good,

Their food supply was bad.

So they were effectively
malnourished.

Narrator: Many pilots
suffer from dysentery,

Which they call "the malta dog."

Darlow: The situation in malta
was...Was desperate

And getting
more and more desperate.

Everybody was suffering,
including the pilots.

George beurling
was suffering terribly--

Extraordinary weight loss
through dysentery.

Narrator: Bitten by the dog,
beurling loses 50 pounds,

And can't fly for much
of August and September.

In October, he's back in the air

When the germans make
one last push

To force malta into surrender.

In just three days, he takes out
another seven german planes.

Darlow: Beurling was able
to shoot down enemy aircraft

One after the other,

And he became the leading ace
in malta.

Narrator: He destroys
25 axis planes over malta.

But his string is
about to run out.

Grant: October 14, 1942,

Germany launches yet another
major attack on malta.

Beurling takes off to intercept
the bomber formations.

Narrator: He dives on one bomber

And tears it apart.

Then he spots several me 109s
chasing another spitfire

About 450 yards,

Or almost a quarter mile away.

Grant: Beurling takes
a long-range shot on an me 109

And splashes it.

Narrator:
But while battling the me 109s,

His own plane
takes over 30 hits.

Grant: Now beurling
is fighting in a melee.

He's already taken hits
to his aircraft,

And another me 109
has beurling in his sights.

Narrator: A cannon shell rips
through beurling's spitfire.

And he plunges toward the ocean.

At the last second, beurling
parachutes free of the plane.

Half-starved and wounded,
his war is over for now.

Darlow: Beurling probably
wanted to continue,

But it was time for him
to have a rest.

So, when beurling
returns to canada,

He's given this persona
of being a knight of malta,

Defending the island
against the all-evil enemy.

[applause]

Narrator:
Though beurling is sent home,

His fight was not in vain.

October 16th,

Just two days after beurling's
last fight in malta's defense,

The germans halt
their air offensive.

And in November,

Allied relief convoys begin
reaching the island.

The siege is broken.

Darlow: Beurling and his
colleagues had done enough

In the last few months of 1942

To ensure that the luftwaffe
has not subjugated the island.

Narrator: In the mediterranean,
the tide is shifting.

And over France,

The raf has already been taking
the fight to the germans.

Hackett: So the battle
of britain was over.

We defeated the germans
over our home territory,

We prevented the invasion.

Our next thing was to prepare

For the inevitable
invasion of europe

Where we wanted to take back
the continent and defeat hitler.

Narrator: So the raf goes
on the offensive,

Led by men like douglas bader.

Darlow: The raf is still
spoiling for a fight,

In particular,
people like douglas bader.

He's already had
considerable success

During the battle of britain,

But that's not enough,
he wants more.

Hackett: Bader was
an aggressive personality.

He very much wanted to lead
from the front.

I think all fighter pilots,
you need to believe in yourself.

You cannot be
a shy and retiring person

And go to war
and just hope for the best.

You've got to be confident,

And he was certainly
very confident.

Narrator: Bader is also
one of the raf's

Most experienced pilots.

Darlow: Douglas bader
is smitten with flying

From an extremely early age,

And when he gets
the opportunity to fly,

He liked to take part
in aerobatics.

Narrator:
Bader joins the raf in 1928,

Almost a decade before war
is on the horizon.

Three years later,

While training with
the raf acrobatics squad,

Bader attempts a risky maneuver,
and crashes.

Darlow: Unfortunately, that
results in a serious injury,

And he loses his legs.

Narrator: With a pair
of metal prosthetic legs,

He relearns how to walk,

And then to fly.

Darlow: And he pressures,
pressures the royal air force

To get back into a cockpit

And to be involved
in the forthcoming fight

During the second world war.

Narrator: Even with tin legs,
bader is an excellent pilot.

And in 1939, the raf allows him
to reapply for service.

Darlow: Douglas bader is clearly
an accomplished pilot,

And the raf needs pilots.

Narrator:
The raf takes him back,

And confident as ever,

Bader puts on a display
of his acrobatic skills

In an older biplane.

Two years later,
on August 9, 1941,

With the war in full swing,

Bader leads his 62nd
fighter sweep over France.

He's already shot down
21 german planes,

And he's hungry for more.

Hackett: The fighter pilots,
bader in particular,

Felt he wanted to take the fight
across the channel

Into northern France.

Narrator:
At the head of three squadrons,

Bader is on the hunt.

Over France, he spots
roughly 50 me 109s.

Darlow: On this particular day,

Douglas bader sees
the enemy aircraft below him,

And his aggressive nature,
he wants to get after them,

So he dives at them.

Narrator: The aggressive style
that makes bader

Such a good pilot
is a double-edged sword.

Diving on the me 109s,

He overshoots and flies
past his prey.

Even worse, bader has left
his wingman behind.

And the hunter is about
to become the hunted.

August 9, 1941,

Raf ace douglas bader gets
separated from his squadron.

Without another set of eyes
looking for enemy planes,

Bader has made himself
vulnerable.

But always aggressive,
he won't turn back.

Darlow: Then he sees enemy
aircraft in front of them,

And he goes into the attack
against those.

Narrator: He takes out one
and closes in on a second,

When he realizes
he's under attack.

Bader breaks sharply,
and disaster strikes.

Hackett: Now, the fog of war,
it is an intense thing at times.

You as a fighter pilot

Only can see what you can see
out of your cockpit.

So for one pilot to take in
all that information,

Under the stress, the heat,
and the fatigue of battle,

And to get a fully recognized
air picture

Was a big challenge indeed.

Narrator: Bader claims
he sideswipes another plane,

While witnesses say
he's shot down.

Whatever the cause,
the result is the same:

Bader's spitfire plummets
to the ground.

He barely bails out in time.

Captured, bader tries to escape
by tying sheets together

And lowering himself
to the ground.

Recaptured, he makes
several more attempts,

But won't stop even after
the germans threaten

To take away
his prosthetic legs.

Finally, they confine him
to colditz castle,

The prison for
incorrigible pows,

Where he spends the remainder
of the war.

For the rest of europe,
the fighting rages on.

By early 1944, the allies
have germany in retreat.

And hitler grows desperate.

He launches
the most brutal assault,

Unleashing the wunderwaffe,
or miracle weapons.

They are self-guided
missiles and bombs,

Launched from europe

And aimed straight
at the heart of England.

The first: The deadly v-1.

Grant: The v-1 was
a terror weapon designed to do

What the luftwaffe had
failed to do in 1940,

And that was to inflict more
and severe damage on britain,

Knock out morale,

And change
the balance of the war.

Narrator: Hitler aims
to batter britain

Into negotiating peace terms.

Darlow: There's two sides
to the v-1.

There's the physical damage
that it can do,

But also there's
the damage to the morale

Of hearing that sound
coming overhead.

If you could still hear it,
you're gonna be ok.

But if the engine cuts out,
you know you're in trouble,

And it's gonna fall,
and it's gonna explode,

And it's gonna
shatter buildings,

And it's gonna destroy people.

The v-1 assault on london
could take place at any time,

Day or night,

So there's that
constant tension.

Mcmanus: It's really the first
example of an unmanned aircraft,

You know, sent into enemy skies
to do major damage.

It's a flying bomb,

It carries about
2,000 pounds of explosives,

So it really packs a wallop.

So, imagine it landing on
a densely populated city block.

It could do some
significant damage.

How do you stop it from getting
to where it may do damage?

[explosion]

Narrator: England is helpless

Against this monster
from the future.

So british engineers try
to do the impossible:

Use existing spitfires
to take on the flying bomb.

The supermarine company

Has adapted the spitfire
several times,

And one of
the biggest advances comes

When they add the new
rolls-royce griffon engine

To create the mark xiv variant.

Darlow: The design of
the spitfire was so strong,

That from the engine
firewall back,

Hardly any changes were needed,
if any at all,

To allow for a different engine.

You could go from
the mark I spitfire

With the rolls-royce
merlin engine,

Just over a thousand horsepower,

To the rolls-royce griffon
in the mark xiv.

Double the horsepower
and an increase in speed

Of around about
a hundred miles per hour.

Narrator: Now reaching speeds
of over 400 miles per hour,

The spitfire will need
all the power

This new engine can deliver.

They intend to chase and
shoot down the flying bombs.

Soon after the d-day invasion,

The germans are firing over 100
v-1s into England each day.

Grant: The fight against the v-1
presented

Some of the spitfire's most
amazing moments in combat.

The extra power of this
new engine in the spitfire

Enabled it to
chase down the v-1.

Narrator: Spitfires
race after the v-1s,

But it takes more than speed
to bring one down.

It takes an expert shot.

If the pilot is too far away,
it's hard to hit the small v-1.

But get too close,

And the 2,000-pound warhead
could blow up his own plane.

Darlow: The v-1 assault,
it was a new era in warfare.

It was a forerunner
of the cruise missile.

This pilotless aircraft,
a machine,

Against fighter aircraft,
the man.

It is literally
man against machine.

Narrator: Spitfire pilots
like australian ken collier

Have to summon
superhuman courage

To destroy these flying bombs.

Grant: June 23, 1944,

Ken collier in a spitfire

Spots a v-1 coming across
the english channel.

Collier is determined to get it.

He closes, he's in hot pursuit.

Narrator: Collier fires
two bursts, emptying his guns.

But the v-1 won't go down.

Desperate, he flies right up
to the 2,000-pound bomb.

Grant: It's an incredibly
risky move.

Collier can kill himself
doing this,

But he's determined
to kill this v-1.

Narrator: These images
capture the moment

A spitfire closes in on a v-1.

Touching the rocket's wing,

Collier forces it into
an out-of-control spin.

It explodes harmlessly
in an open field.

Other pilots adopt
collier's dangerous maneuver.

The germans fire more than
9,000 v-1s at England,

And over 1,000 are shot
or knocked out of the sky.

In may 1945,
nazi germany collapses.

And with the spitfire flying
cover from beginning to end,

The allies prevail.

Grant: The spitfire
was the only aircraft

That britain continued
to produce

Before, during, and after
world war ii.

Darlow: Once the war had ended,

You're really entering
the jet age,

And a lot of aircraft are
now becoming redundant.

But the spitfire
still has a life,

It still has that adaptability

That it can be used
for future function.

Narrator: Sweden, Italy, greece
and other european countries

Hold on to their spitfires
until the early 1950s.

During the first
arab-israeli war,

The egyptian and israeli
air forces both fly spitfires.

They duel in several battles;

The only time spitfires fight
on opposite sides of a war.

On January 1, 1951,

The spitfire sees
its last action

In an air-to-ground operation
in malaysia.

Jet-powered fighters
replace the spitfire,

But nothing can diminish
its role in history.

Mcmanus: I think the spitfire
has to go down

As one of the greatest
air-to-air fighters

In human history.

Narrator: To this day, it lives
on as the symbol of a nation

That stood alone and
refused to bow to evil.

Hackett: I think the spitfire's
place in history

Is very special
to the british people.

Every day, they would see
their spitfires take off,

They would see
the contrails in the sky

Where the spitfire is engaging
the messerschmitts.

So, the british public really
witnessed the war at firsthand.

It really made that airplane

Typify the resistance
of the british people.

Darlow: The spitfire, it holds
a unique position in history.

It is a symbol of the defense of
the free world against tyranny.

It's more than just a weapon.

It shows a willingness

That people were prepared
to fight for freedom,

And that freedom
was important.

The spitfire is freedom.