Showdown: Air Combat
Fighter pilots...warriors of the sky. Jousting on aerial steeds made of steel, speeding through the skies at hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles per hour. Their goal? To get the other guy before he gets them.
- 2008-2009
- 1 season
- Documentary, Action & Adventure
Fighter pilots...warriors of the sky. Jousting on aerial steeds made of steel, speeding through the skies at hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles per hour. Their goal? To get the other guy before he gets them.
Season 1 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 2009
Episode 1
Jet Ace: F-86A vs. Mig-15
Sun, Jun 15, 2008 45 mins
In 1950 the Korean War brought two jet fighters face-to-face. One-the Russian Mig-15-was designed as an airborne defender to shoot down bombers. The other-the North American F-86 Sabre-was built as a multi-purpose offensive weapon.
Episode 2
Birth of an Ace: P-38 Lightning vs. Zero
Sun, Jun 22, 2008 45 mins
Speed and maneuverability are the most important features in a combat fighter. The Japanese Zero had both, making it the deadliest plane in the Pacific during the early months of World War II.
Episode 3
Zero vs. F4F Wildcat
Tue, Jul 1, 2008 45 mins
In the Pacific during the early days of World War II, the dominant fighter plane was the legendary Japanese Zero. For the US Navy, the top fighter at the beginning of the war was the Grumman F4F Wildcat.
Episode 4
P-51 Mustang vs. ME-109
Tue, Jul 1, 2008 45 mins
Among all the fighter planes of World War II, the P-51 Mustang and the Messerschmitt Me-109 fly at the top of the list. The 109 provided the backbone of German fighter forces. And when the Mustang entered service, it riddled Germany with bombing raids.
Episode 5
F-22 Raptor Vs. the World
Fri, Jul 3, 2009
Episode 6
Episode #1.6
Episode 7
F4F Wildcat vs. Zero
Sun, Jun 29, 2008 45 mins
A US naval aviator named John Thach devised tactics that allowed the F4F Wildcat to fight the technologically superior Zero on equal terms.
Episode 8
Episode #1.8
Episode 9
P47 Thunderbolt Vs. Fw-190
Sun, Oct 19, 2008 45 mins
During World War II the last thing a Thunderbolt pilot wanted was to get in a dogfight with a Focke-Wulf 190 at low altitude. But in early 1944, that's exactly what happened to Don Gentile. The result was a heart-pounding dogfight.
Episode 10
F4U Corsair Vs. Zero
Sun, Oct 19, 2008 45 mins
Ace "Pappy" Boyington scored most of his victories flying one of the best combat aircraft of World War II the F4U Corsair. But the Japanese Zero was still a formidable opponent. On January 3rd 1944 Pappy tangled with a group of Zeros in a dramatic fight.