Heroes of World War II
A series of documentaries about people that made a major difference to the outcome of World War II. Narrated by Robert Powell and including interviews with the people themselves and/or those that knew them well. These interviews are mixed with a lot of contemporary footage showing the significant events covered.
- 2004-2004
- 1 season
- Documentary, Action & Adventure
A series of documentaries about people that made a major difference to the outcome of World War II. Narrated by Robert Powell and including interviews with the people themselves and/or those that knew them well. These interviews are mixed with a lot of contemporary footage showing the significant events covered.
Season 1 Episode Guide
14 Episodes 2004
Episode 1
The Men Who Invented Radar
23 mins
The story of the boffins and experimenters who developed the first workable radar system, just in time to help defeat the Nazi attacks in The Battle of Britain.
Episode 2
The Man Who Designed the Spitfire
23 mins
The story of R J Mitchell and his team, who developed the Spitfire just in time to defeat the Nazi attacks during the Battle of Britain, despite Mitchell's rapid deterioration due to the cancer that killed him.
Episode 3
The Man Who Stood Up to Hitler
23 mins
The story of Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg and the other German officers who, in the bomb plot of July 1944 tried to kill Adolph Hitler.
Episode 4
The Men Who Cracked Enigma
23 mins
The story of the men that cracked the Nazi's Enigma code. From the Polish mathematicians who made the first breakthroughs to the establishment at Bletchley Park and the work of Alan Turing and many others.
Episode 5
The Men Who Stopped the Bismarck
23 mins
The story of the Nazi heavy cruisers and battleships during World War II and particularly the Bismarck. How she managed to get into the Atlantic and the steps taken to defeat her.
Episode 6
The Man Who Saved Britain's Cities
23 mins
The story of the blitz on Britain and how the Nazi bombers were guided to their targets by electronic beams. Then how this was defeated in The Battle of the Beams by Dr R V Jones and the team from British Air Intelligence.
Episode 7
The Man Who Hoodwinked Hitler
23 mins
The story of Ewen Montagu and Operation Mincemeat, where the Nazis were fooled into thinking that the initial landings on the European mainland would be through Greece rather than Sicily and Italy.
Episode 8
The Men Who Liberated Belsen
23 mins
The story of the liberation of Belsen concentration camp by the British army. What they found there, how they were determined to let the world know and how they treated the survivors.
Episode 9
The Men Who Lit Up Germany
23 mins
The story of the pathfinder squadrons who marked the way for the bombers attacking Nazi Germany.
Episode 10
The Men Behind D-Day
23 mins
The story of the planning, support and deception necessary to mount the largest amphibious assault that the world had ever seen.
Episode 11
Tanks
Episode 12
Midget Submarines
23 mins
From attacks on Pearl Harbor and Sydney Harbour, to the British Mediterranean Fleet and the Tirpitz, midget submarines played their part in some of the most gripping stories of the war. This programme recalls the heroic encounters of the men who piloted these midget craft towards their giant quarries.
Episode 14
Aircraft Carriers
23 mins
Giant aircraft carriers dominated the Pacific War between Japan and the USA. Pearl Harbor was launched to destroy US carriers but failed, while the battle of Midway - the turning point in the Pacific War - was won by US carriers delivering tremendous air strikes against Japanese battleships. This programme shows them in dramatic action.
Episode 15
Fighter-Bombers
23 mins
By 1944, the Allied fronts in both western and eastern Europe had become faster moving and a new form of aircraft was needed to deliver swift, powerful attacks against German lines. This programme looks at the key fighter-bombers on all sides, including the American Thunderbolt, the Russian Sturmovik, and the British Hurricane developed to carry bombs and rockets for ground attack purposes.