The Aviation Show

For forty years, NATO and Soviet Naval forces patrolled the world's oceans. Retired Tornado driver and author Michael Napier joins us to discuss his latest book, Over Cold War Seas: NATO and Soviet Naval Aviation, 1949-1989, which looks at the four-decade duel for control of the world's sea lanes and the aircraft that flew above them looking for what lurked above and beneath the waves.

Buy Over Cold War Seas: NATO and Soviet Naval Aviation, 1949-1989 by Michael Napier Bookshop.org affiliate links. 10% of each purchase supports the show:

UK Link - https...

Best-selling author and imaging specialist Andy Saunders follows up his remarkable Apollo Remastered with Gemini and Mercury Remastered. Gemini was NASA's highly ambitious 20-month sprint to prove that they could get to the moon in time to meet President John F. Kennedy's challenge.

Andy's remastering of the first space photography allows us to see our world the way NASA's Mount Rushmore of astronauts did 60 years ago.

Buy Gemini and Mercury Remastered by Andy Saunders through our Bookshop.org affiliate links. 10% of each purchase supports the show:

UK Link: https://uk.bookshop...

Over the course of 20 months, NASA flew 10 vital Project Gemini missions that proved everything needed to get to the Moon in time to meet President John F. Kennedy's challenge. Apollo 13 co-author Jeffrey Kluger joins us to discuss the unprecedented sprint that was Project Gemini.

Buy Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon - The Untold Story by Jeffrey Kluger via our US Bookshop.org or on Amazon below:

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781250323002

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/gWo00sl

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from jus...

Col. Eileen Collins, USAF Rtd., had a fantastic career before joining NASA. Her dream to go to space led her to become not only the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle but also the first woman to command a space mission. In Spacewoman, a new documentary directed by Hannah Berryman, Eileen's career and its impact on her family are brought to light through a series of very open interviews, resulting in a truly superb documentary.

Spacewoman Website: https://spacewoman.film/

Spacewoman Trailer: https://youtu.be/YnhqHdxNsgk?si=ZlGDFRTkVKBV8SVf

-----------------------------------------------------<...

In part two of our look at "The British Century Series" (not a thing), Joe Wilding and I continue iour look at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in West Sussex, England's collection and move onto the backbone of the RAF jet fighter force in the 1950s, the Supermarine Swift, English Electric Lightning and the incredible, wonderful and frankly perfect Hawker Hunter.

Visit the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum website here: https://tangmere-museum.org.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559899811674

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangmeremilitaryaviation/

X: https://twitter...

When Joe Wilding and I first took a look at the US Air Force's Century Series 18 months ago, we always wanted to take a look at their British equivalent, and now we have! In part one of our look at "The British Century Series" (not a thing), Joe and I convened at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum in West Sussex, England and had a look at some of the super unique aircraft in their collection, starting with jet engines, a record-setting Gloster Meteor and a de Havilland Vampire.

Visit the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum website here...

Our tour of the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum continues as we check out the progress on the restoration of the former Red Arrow support aircraft, Folland Gnat T.1 XR571, and the recently completed De Havilland Vampire T.11 XH313.

Visit the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum website here: https://tangmere-museum.org.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559899811674

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangmeremilitaryaviation/

X: https://twitter.com/museumtangmere

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with...

The Tangmere Military Aviation Museum is a gem of a museum located on a corner of the former RAF Tangmere, just outside Chichester, West Sussex. On a surprisingly sunny Sussex day, marketing manager Julian Bridle kindly showed us around some of the gems of the collection, including my favourite Hawker Hunter, the bright red 1953 air speed record-breaking F.3 WB188.

Visit the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum website here: https://tangmere-museum.org.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559899811674

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangmeremilitaryaviation/

X: https://twitter.com/museumtangmere<...

Author Stephen Chapis, whose new book, Poor Little Lambs, The Baba Black Sheep Story, joins us to discuss the making and flying of NBC's short-lived 1976 TV Show, Black Sheep Squadron. Stephen shares his journey rediscovering the series and interviewing pilots to capture their thrilling experiences. As his book releases for the 49th anniversary of the show, he hopes to reignite interest in this storied piece of aviation history. "Poor Little Lambs" is now available for pre-order.

📖Buy Poor Little Lambs: The Baa Baa Black Sheep Story here: https://shop.keypublishing.com/products/poor-little-lambs-the-baa-baa-black-sheep-story?_pos=1&_sid=95ec11406&_ss=r<...

After many years out of the public's view, the Rolls-Royce Aerospace Collection has a brand new home at Aerospace Bristol and thanks to the fantastic team at the museum, we got to have a quick look around this historic collection of Bristol and Rolls-Royce aero engines.

Visit the Aerospace Bristol website: https://aerospacebristol.org/

https://www.facebook.com/aerospacebristol/

https://twitter.com/BristolAero

https://www.instagram.com/aerospacebristol/

https://www.youtube.com/c/aerospacebristol

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a mo...

Bristol has been a vibrant hub for British aviation since aircraft first took to the United Kingdom's skies. While the skies of the West Country no longer hum to the aircraft and engines produced at Filton, Aerospace Bristol houses that history in an accessible and vibrant way. The Bristol Aero Collection Trust chair, Sir Iain Gray kindly showed us around the collection and talked us through Bristol's contribution to British aerospace.

Visit the Aerospace Bristol website: https://aerospacebristol.org/

https://www.facebook.com/aerospacebristol/

https://twitter.com/BristolAero

https://www...

The life and legacy of Amelia Earhart are framed by her disappearance on July 2, 1937. However, in her new book, The Aviator and the Showman, author Laurie Gwen Shapiro examines Earhart's remarkable accomplishments beyond her mysterious disappearance in 1937, focusing on her pioneering role in aviation and the significant impact of her marriage to George Putnam. Shapiro reveals how their relationship shaped their public personas, examining the dynamics of celebrity and media influence during the Jazz Age.

Buy The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon by Laurie Gwen S...

In 1942, a group of American women arrived in Liverpool, England. This group of aviatrixes, led by the remarkable Jackie Cochran, were joining the Air Transport Auxiliary to help deliver the latest aircraft to frontline RAF Squadrons. Author Becky Aikman joins us to discuss these intrepid women and their legacy.

Buy Spitfires: The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II via the links below:

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfires-American-Women-Danger-During/dp/1635576563

US - https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781635576566

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Pat...

The Bristol Brabazon was conceived at the height of the Second World War. With the tide of the conflict turning, the British Government set up a committee to examine the nation's future civil airliner needs post-war. The Brabazon I was the first aircraft specified and the first to fly. Its legacy is complicated, and author Alan J Porter joins us to argue the case for the Brab and the legacy it left following its scrapping.

Buy Bristol Brabazon: The Ocean Liner of the Skies and Its Ongoing Legacy by Alan J. Porter at The Aviation Bookshop! 10...

As Scott Marchand and Andrew Boehly, CEO and Director of Collections of the Pima Air and Space Museum, respectively, were in town, I had to drag them to the pub to find out what the future holds for the expanding Museum. With the arrival of Philippine Mars, the opening of the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum, and a raft of projects on the go, Scott and Andrew bring us up to speed with all the latest from Pima and the current trends affecting aviation museums. Welcome to the Pima Pubcast!

Many thanks to  @boneyardsafari  for the footage of...

In an Aviation Show first, we teamed up with Paul Woodadge of  @WW2TV  to do a multi Live Stream! This is the audio from our discussion with Dr Victoria Taylor. Victoria joins us to discuss her new book, Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Eagles Days looks at the long summer of 1940 from the other side of the channel and offers some surprising insights into one of the most discussed battles of WW2.

Dr Victoria Taylor, BA (Hons), MRes, AFHEA is an award-winning aviation historian, broadcaster and writer wh...

80 years ago, on the 3rd May 1945, Hawker Typhoons of the RAF's 2nd Tactical Air Force attacked German shipping in Lubeck Bay, north of Hamburg. They succeeded in sinking three large ships and damaging another. Tragically, these ships were crammed with Concentration Camp prisoners that had been evacuated from the Neuengamme concentration camp; over 7000 were killed in the last days of the Second World War.

Join us as we look into what happened on that terrible day 80 years ago.

Sources:

- A Disaster in Lübeck Bay: An Analysis of the Tragic S...

🛩️Welcome to part 2 of our tour of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee, with Museum President, Charles Parish. In this episode we look into Beechcraft's WW2 aircraft like the venerablke AT-11 and bring the story up to date with the latest Beechcraft aircraft.

🛩️Visit the Beechcraft Heritage Museum website at: https://beechcrafthm.org/

🛩️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beechcraftheritagemuseum

🛩️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beechcraftheritagemuseum/

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here...

🛩️The Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tennessee, is my new favourite aircraft museum in the world. The museum is dedicated to the story of the Beechcraft and Travel Air brands and the incredible couple that drove the brand forward, Walter and Olive Ann Beech. Museum President, Charles Parish, very kindly gave us a tour around this huge collection of Beechcraft aircraft from the very first through to today.

🛩️Visit the Beechcraft Heritage Museum website at: https://beechcrafthm.org/

🛩️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beechcraftheritagemuseum

🛩️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beechcraftheritagemuseum/

...

Just down the road from Washington, DC, is the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia Triangle. Here, they tell the story of The Corps, from its founding to its future. Dr Larry Burke is the aviation curator, and he showed us what goes into telling the tale of Marine Corps aviation before handing off to the arms and armor curator, my buddy Jon Bernstein, to show us the gems in the rest of the museum.

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt...

Dr. Jennifer Levasseur, the Space Shuttle and International Space Station curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, joins us for a walkaround Space Shuttle Discovery in her home at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center. Jennifer tells us all about caring for objects as big as a Space Shuttle and as personal as the watches the astronauts wore to space. Join us for an out of this world episode! (Yes, I went there)

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt...

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

-----------------------------------------------------

Malcolm Collum, Chief Conservator at the Air and Space Museum, joins us to discuss the nuanced distinction between conserving and restoring artifacts, emphasizing the importance of understanding an object's historical context and condition. We discuss the Flak Bait's status and check out what is going on in the Conservation Lab at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Cente...

The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. To call it an annex is misleading, this place is massive! Home to an incredible collection of aircraft, this episode, our 101st, is just me trying to talk you around the place while trying to take it all in, especially when confronted with Enola Gay.

----------------------------------------------------- 

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for m...

Here it is, our 100th Episode! And the first under the new name! In February, my daughter and I headed to the USA and visited several aviation museums to celebrate reaching our 100th episode. So went for the OG of museums for the 100th, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. While it is still undergoing the renovations, it was my first time back in nearly 35 years. Join us as we look around.

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and...

We are re-branding and broadening out! The Damcasters is no more, welcome to The Aviation Show. This video explains why I've changed the name and we also have a sneak preview of our #CentennialSeries of episodes, which we filmed in the USA in February. Exciting times!

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

-----------------------------------------------------

✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum b...

🛫Ben Smotherman was a B-17 pilot who was shot down on his 7th mission over occupied Europe in 1943. He was captured and ended up in the POW camp Stalag Luft III. While he was interned, he drew and painted his experiences in the camp. He also created the intrepid war correspondent Penny, the star of one of the camp newspapers comic strips. His daughter, astronaut Dr Jan Davis, joins us to tell us about her father through the pages of his war log.

📖Get your copy of Air Born: Artistic Musings of a WWII Pilot and POW by...

This week, we examine the mysterious crash of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator AL-523 on July 4, 1943, which claimed the life of General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the Polish Prime Minister in Exile. Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard, authors of the book "Sabotage! An In-Depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator Crash that Killed Polish General Sikorski " join me to delve into the myriad of conspiracy theories that have surrounded this incident for decades and the theory my guests have to explain what happened.

Buy Sabotage! An In-Depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator Crash that Killed Polish General Sikorski from The Damcasters bookshop...

🛫Join us as Joe Wilding helps us explore the store of the McDonnell-Douglas F-110A Spectre, which became the legendary F-4 Phantom II, filmed at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum. We have a look at how the lessons learned in the development of the F-101 Voodoo shaped what could be the perfect fighter aircraft.

Find out more at the Wings Over the Rockies website: https://wingsmuseum.org/

Check out their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Wings_Museum

Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wingsmuseum/

...

Joe Wilding returns to explore the rich history of the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, filmed at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum. We discuss the significance of the F-101's twin-engine design, comparing it with other Century Series aircraft and shedding light on its influence on the F-4 Phantom's design.

Find out more at the Wings Over the Rockies website: https://wingsmuseum.org/

Check out their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Wings_Museum

Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wingsmuseum/

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Become a D...

✈️ This week, we examine the Wings Over the Rockies Museum's Rockwell B-1A Lancer in depth. Joe Wilding explains the differences between the B-1A and the operational B-1B and highlights the design changes made to the A-model to accommodate the evolving role that the B-model continues to fulfil today.

Find out more at the Wings Over the Rockies website: https://wingsmuseum.org/

Check out their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Wings_Museum

Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wingsmuseum/

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫...

✈️Stewart Bailey is the Curator of the Wings Over the Rockies museum in Denver, Colorado. Join us as he discusses Lowry Air Force Base's history and the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum's amazing aircraft collection.

Find out more at the Wings Over the Rockies website: https://wingsmuseum.org/

Check out their YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@Wings_Museum

Follow them on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/wingsmuseum/

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-f...

Don Bennett was rated by the future Bomber Command boss, Arthur Harris, as "the most efficient airman" he had ever known. In part two of our chat with Bennett's biographer, Ian Campbell, curator of the Bennett/Vial Archive at the Queensland Air Museum, we get into the incredible record-breaking flights Don flew in Mercury and his return to the RAF at the outbreak of war.

Relentless Skies: Volume 1 - The Most Efficient Airman (1910-1942) by Ian Campbell is out now! Buy your copy from The Damcasters bookshop and support the pod (UK only): https://uk.bookshop...

Air Vice Marshall Don Bennett CB, CBE, DSO was a singular man. His story of leading the Path Finder Force in the Second World War has gone down in legend. But what led him to that command? Ian Campbell, curator of the Bennett/Vial Archive at the Queensland Air Museum, has published the first volume of his biography of Bennett, Relentless Skies, which is superb. Ian joins us to discuss Bennett's life and career as we look at the making of the man who would become one of the RAF's foremost commanders.

Relentless Skies: Volume 1...

How did cultural perceptions influence Western assessments of Japanese military potential? Justin Pyke joins us to discuss the Allies' capabilities assessments of Japan in the years before hostilities started in December 1941. Join us as we delve into the intelligence failures and misconceptions that contributed to the underestimation of Japanese air power leading up to World War II.

Join us on BlueSky!

Justin Pyke - https://bsky.app/profile/justinpykehistory.bsky.social

The Damcasters - https://bsky.app/profile/damcasterspod.com

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫Become a Damcasteer today on Pat...

🛫Visit the Ekster website today via my partner link: https://partner.ekster.com/Damcasterspod and use my code THEDAMCASTERS to get up to a 55% discount in the Ekster Black Friday Sale!!!

-----------------------------------------------------

Join us for Part 2 of our look at the Combat Bullseye tests with author Chris Gibson. Phase 2 of Combat Bullseye would see the Covair B-58 Hustler used as a conventional bombing platform as both a pathfinder and solo bomber. But, another aircraft was looming on the horizon, the General Dynamics F-111A. This would be the Hustler's last chance to prove itself and...

🛫Visit the Ekster website today via my partner link: https://partner.ekster.com/Damcasterspod and use my code THEDAMCASTERS to get up to a 55% discount in the Ekster Black Friday Sale!!!

-----------------------------------------------------

Join us for Part 1 of our look at the Combat Bullseye tests with author Chris Gibson. In 1967, the US Air Force's Tactical Air Command reached out to their counterpart in the Strategic Air Command for some help. Bombing results in North Vietnam were poor, and the F-4s, F-100s and F-105s were suffering losses. Could SAC's speedy Convair B-58 Hustler be...

🛫Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and a welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/thedamcasters

-----------------------------------------------------

Welcome to a new show on The Damcasters, where Andy Wright of Aircrew Book Review and I will discuss the latest in aviation books!

🛩️Check out the Aircrew Book Review site here: https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/

🛩️Join the Aircrew Book Review Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aircrewbookreview/

🛩️Follow Andy on Twitter/X here: https://x.c...

Join us for Part 3 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the evergreen B-52 Stratofortress!

🛩️Watch all of our Boeing's Fortresses mini-series as they drop here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpytFew7euhmG92JX9NVUkl4ZbgZ7VmSU

🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters on Civil Aviation's First 100 Years right here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/podcast/100-years-of-civil-aviation-with-ben-skipper/

🛩️Buy Ben's Flight Craft books from Pen and Sword at The Damcasters Bookshop (UK Only) here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/boneyabroad

👉Follow Ben on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/WriteB...

Join us for Part 2 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the remarkable B-29 Superfortress! Ordered from Boeing's drawing board and costing $3b in 1940s money, the delivery system for the atomic bomb cost even more than the weapon itself. But that is only part of the remarkable tale Ben Skipper has to share with us.

🛩️Catch all the Boeing's Fortresses Mini-Series as they drop here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/tag/boeing-fortresses/

🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters on Civil Aviation's First 100 Years right here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/podcast/100-years-of-civil-aviation-with-ben-skipper/

🛩...

Join us for Part 1 of our series on Boeing's Fortresses, the incredible B-17 Flying Fortress!

🛩️Check out Ben Skipper's first visit to The Damcasters on Civil Aviation's First 100 Years right here: https://youtu.be/upQyb-yEvzc

🛩️Catch all the Boeing's Fortresses Mini-Series as they drop here: https://www.thedamcasterspod.com/tag/boeing-fortresses/

🛩️Buy Ben's Flight Craft books from Pen and Sword at The Damcasters Bookshop (UK Only) here: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/boneyabroad

👉Follow Ben on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/WriteBenSkipper

👉Follow Ben on Bluesky here: https...

Following an uncomfortable debate about a news article in Aeroplane Monthly on Duxford's future plans, Matt reflects on how the Avgeek community communicates. He also looks at the challenges of online discourse within the aviation community, the need for constructive criticism and civil debate, what that means for our aviation publications and how he will try to engage with everyone going forward. NOTE: I made this a full-numbered episode in the end!

★Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!

Website: https://pimaair.org/

https://www.fa...

Tuesday, 19th September 1944, was Black Tuesday for the 1st Airborne Division trying to take and hold the road bridge at Arnhem. It was the day Operation Market Garden failed. Comedian and historian Al Murray joins us to discuss the efforts of the RAF's 38 Group to resupply the Paras and understand why the defeat still grips us 80 years later.

★Buy Arnhem: Black Tuesday by Al Murray at The Damcasters bookshop here (10% of each purchase supports the pod) UK only: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9780857506566

★Follow Al on Twitter/ X here: https://x.com/almurray

In 1945, the RAF and USAAF flew two remarkable operations. Mana and Chowhound were missions to deliver food and vital medical supplies to break the 'Hunger Winter' famine in Occupied Holland. A truce with the Nazis was agreed and the bombers flew unopposed to drop their vital cargo. In Hilversum, south of Amsterdam, was 14-year-old Lucy Hanson, who saw food fall from the sky. Today Lucy joins us to tell her incredible story of life under Nazi occupation and the day she no longer feared the bombers.

★View the Nationaal Archief 'Hongerwinter' photo collection here: https://www.na...

Propwash is the summer Festival of the Air at Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome and we were delighted to be there! Following the museum's CEO Ian Flint's kind invitation to visit, we headed out to Essex to see First World War aircraft flying, tour the museum, its exhibits and, of course, indulge in the museum's renowned quiche. Join us as we tour Stow Maries and discover a true gem of destination.

★Support the Stow Maries Crowdfunder here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-story-alive 

★Visit the Stow Maries website here: https://www.stowmaries.org.uk/ 

On the 10th of August 1944, Harry Hardy joined 440 "City of Ottawa" Squadron RCAF in Normandy, flying Hawker Typhoon 'Bombphoons'. Harry flew 96 sorties (missions) through France, Belgium and Holland and was the pilot of The Pulverizers. In 2006, Harry gave this talk to the Royal Canadian Legion in White Rock, BC.

The original footage has kindly been allowed to be reproduced here by his grandson, Rick Tunstall, and the Hardy Family.

You can watch Harry give his presentation and see his slides on our YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/4LXDacpBH30

Harry's...

#Catch-22 is one of Scott Marchand and I's favourite books, so when the opportunity came up to chat with Stoney Stonich, who, as a young pilot, signed on to be one of the B-25 pilots for Mike Nichols' adaptation in 1969, we jumped at the chance. Stoney tells us all about the production, the challenges and the excitement of filming aerial scenes, including THAT hair-raising takeoff and hanging out with the late great Bob Newhart. Stoney also is a T-6 man and helped form the North American Trainer Association. He has had quite the career, and it was fantastic to...

Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome is the largest surviving Great War aerodrome in Europe, and it needs your help! Following roadworks that blocked access to the museum, they need your support to survive the funding black hole caused by the hole in the road. The Museum's CEO, Ian Flint, joins us to discuss Stow Maries' history and hopeful future.

★Support the Stow Maries Crowdfunder here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-story-alive 

★Visit the Stow Maries website here: https://www.stowmaries.org.uk/ 

Find out about the Stow Maries Great War Living History Weeken...

It has been nearly 40 years since the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into its 10th flight on January 28, 1986, killing her crew and shocking the world. Author Adam Higginbotham's new book, Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space, looks at the long chain of events that led to the Challenger disaster and its aftermath, in which a small group of engineers stood up against NASA and their employers.

★Visit Adam's website here: https://www.adamhigginbotham.com/

★Follow Adam on X/Twitter here: https://x.com/HigginbothamA

★Buy Ad...

The Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II is slated to be the mainstay of the US Air Force and NATO's air forces for years to come. But as Bill Sweetman, veteran aerospace journalist and independent analyst, dissects in his new book, "Trillion Dollar Trainwreck: How the F-35 Hollowed Out the United States Airforce", the program's lack of oversight and leadership has left the aircraft and its operators in a dangerous position.

Buy Bill's book, Trillion Dollar Trainwreck: How the F-35 Hollowed Out the United States Airforce at Amazon via the links below:

★UK - paperback edition: ht...

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Warthog, has been earmarked for retirement for over a decade, but what is happening today with the men and women who keep the Hogs flying into their sixth decade? Col Nick 'Stoli' Radoescu is the commander of the 355th Operations Group based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He oversees the operations of four squadrons of A-10s and their support units, including the training of the next generation of Hog drivers. Stoli kindly sat down with Boney to chat about his career, the A-10 today and the future of the Close Air...

The Century Series was the name given to the series of second-generation US Air Force fighters that took the USAF beyond the sound barrier and towards Mach 2. With the F-100 Super Sabre, F-101 Voodoo, F-102 Delta Dart, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart and F-107A all on display at the Pima Air Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, aircraft designer Joe Wilding shows us around the design of these early jet fighters.

★Follow Joe on X(Twitter) at: https://twitter.com/joe_wilding

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Mu...

The Hump was the air bridge between India and China during the Second World War. The men of the Air Transport Command would face then unknown weather systems flying between Himalayan mountains that forever towered over them. New York Times bestselling author Caroline Alexander joins us to tell us about the men who flew The Hump, which is the subject of her book, Skies of Thunder.

Buy Skies of Thunder: The Deadly World War II Mission Over the Roof of the World at The Damcasters Bookshop (UK Only) - 10% of each sale goes to supporting the...

In this second part of our interview with WW2 Veteran Bob Reierson, Bob tells us about heading to the Pacific, flying the A-20 in combat over the Philippines, and, after 80 years, Bob climbs into the cockpit of the Pima Air and Space Museum's Douglas A-20G Havoc.

Catch up on part 1 here: https://youtu.be/6uWN_vN7FyI

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below:

★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/

★Learn more about the Titan...

Bob Reierson joined the USAAF at age 18 and would find himself flying the Douglas A-20G Havoc in the Pacific. On my last visit to the Pima Air and Space Museum, director of collections Andrew Boehly arranged for Bob and I to sit down and discuss flying the A-20. In Part 1 of this 2-part interview, we discuss Bob joining up, learning to fly the PT-19, the BT-13, the UC-78, the B-25, and finally getting his hands on the A-20.

To get early access to part 2 to hear about Bob flying the A-20 in combat and climbing...

David and Lindsey Goss run the fantastic GossHawk Unlimted in Casa Grande, Arizona. There they build incredible warbirds like Fw-190s (see part 1!) and care for the world's last airworthy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer. Join us as Lindsey shows us around the Privateer and find out how you, if you are an engineer, are wanted at GossHawk

★Listen to part 1 here: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/building-focke-wulf-fw-190s-at-gosshawk-unlimited

★Watch part 1 here: https://youtu.be/KxTgQ_XbMbI

★Visit the GossHawk Unlimited website here: https://gosshawkunlimited.com/

★Fancy working at GossHawk...

Father and daughter team David and Lindsey Goss run one of the world's leading warbird restoration and maintenance companies, GossHawk Unlimited. Back in February, they kindly welcomed us to have a tour around the shop, learn about how GossHawk came about and, this week, what goes into rebuilding Focke-Wulf Fw-190s.

Next week, we tour the world's last airworthy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer.

Watch the video version on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/KxTgQ_XbMbI

★Visit the GossHawk Unlimited website here: https://gosshawkunlimited.com/

★Fancy working at Goss...

When filmmaker Mary Haverstick started pre-production on a film about the Mercury 13, which selected and tested women for spaceflight, she knew the key was the legendary Jerrie Cobb. Mary's relationship with Cobb led to her uncovering much more about the aviator and a trail that led to the CIA and the Kennedy assassination. Mary's 10-year journey resulted in her book, A Woman I Know, which chronicles her journey to uncover the secrets held by a very secretive woman.

★Buy A Woman I Know: Female Spies, Double Identities, and a New Story of the Kennedy Assassination, at Th...

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, was a joint program by NASA and the German Space Agency at DLR which put a 2.5m reflecting telescope in the back of an ex-Pan Am Beoing 747SP. Dr Dörte Mehlert, head of education and public relations at the German SOFIA Institute (DSI), joins us to take us through the incredible discoveries SOFIA made.

★NASA's SOFIA Mission Page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sofia

★Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI) Mission Page: https://www.dsi.uni-stuttgart.de/en/

★NASA/IPAC SOFIA Media Portal: https://irsa.ipac.caltech...

The oldest Boeing B-52 Stratoforetress in the world, 52-0003 "The High and Mighty One", has just been lovingly restored at the Pima Air and Space Museum and is now on public display once again. On our recent visit, Matt and aircraft designer Joe Wilding (who is also a fabulous Damcasteer on Patreon) were allowed to crawl around the aircraft and check out the time capsule that is the X-15 Mothership.

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below:

★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https...

On the 80th Anniversary of the last major RAF Bomber Command attack on Aachen (11/12 April 1944), Dr Philip Blood returns to discuss the raid that lasted all of 7 minutes. For those on the ground, it would be seven minutes in hell. Phil takes us through the raid and the implications of the orders for it, as well as the wider context that has become a major part of his new book, War Comes to Aachen.

★Follow Phil on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/HistorianBlood

★Phil's Academea.edu page with his thesis, papers and reviews can be f...

Convair's B-36 Peacemaker was intended as an intercontinental bomber and was the size of a small continent. Join us for this bonus episode as the Pima Air and Space Museum's CEO, Scott Marchand, as he tells us the tale behind the museum's monstrous B-36J 52-2827 “City of Fort Worth”.

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below:

★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/

★Learn more about the Titan Missile Museum here: https://titanmissilemuseum.org/

★Find out who is in th...

We return to the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum to tour their Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 'I'll Be Around' with the museum's Business and Operation Manager Alex Chambers and Executive Director Bill Buckingham. While this B-17 didn't see combat, her service history makes her a unique survivor. We then head upstairs with Director of Archives and Collections Keith Cook to check out the museum's remarkable collection of original A-2 flying jackets from the men of the 390th Bomb Group.

★Be sure to check out the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum's website at: https://www.390th.or...

This week, we explore the fascinating background of aircraft that have undergone restoration, rebuild, or are newly built, focusing on their representation in museums and the complexity of their historical authenticity. We highlight the stories of four specific aircraft in the museum's collection: the Bristol Bolingbroke, the Curtiss P-40E Warhawk, a P-51 Mustang, a Hawker Hurricane and a B-24J Liberator named 'Star of India.' With each aircraft, Pima's CEO Scott Marchand and Director of Collections Andrew Boehly explain the careful considerations behind the paint schemes and in representing their history. Together, they shed light on the...

Friend of the show Joe Wilding returns to discuss the first aircraft we worked on as an aircraft designer, the Adam A500. Conceived as a composite business aircraft, Joe takes us through the process that went into the design and the features, and issues, the aircraft faced.

Images: Erik Johnson

★Follow Joe on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/joe_wilding

★Check out 909 Apparel's full range of great aviation-themed t-shirts, hoodies and more here: https://linktr.ee/909apparelco

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum thro...

Pima's Director of Collections, Andrew Boehly, takes us on an in-depth look at the Pima Air and Space Museum's vast collection and brings out some of the hidden gems of the Pima collection. Also, Boney realises he's been doing something silly...

★Check out 909 Apparel's full range of great aviation-themed t-shirts, hoodies and more here: https://linktr.ee/909apparelco

Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum through the links below:

★Visit the Pima Air and Space Museum’s website here: https://pimaair.org/

★Learn more about the Titan Mi...

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor was a savage airliner. Kurt Tank's elegant design evolved from a luxurious civil aircraft into a feared maritime reconnaissance bomber and transport aircraft. Naval air historian Matthew Willis joins us to look at the operational life and legacy of the Condor.

★Buy Matt's book, Eagles of the Luftwaffe: Focke-Wulf Fw 200, at The Damcasters Bookshop. 10% of each sale goes to supporting the podcast: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9781911658658

★Follow Matt on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/navalairhistory.bsky.social

★Visit Matt's website at: https://navalairhistory.com/

★Che...

Welcome to the SPOILER FREE Damcasters review of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hank's new Apple TV+ war series, Masters of the Air. In this review, Boney looks at the first two episodes, out on the 26th January, and his feelings about the series. Get subscribed for episode deep dives each week! Many thanks to the Apple TV UK Press Team for all their help.

★ Sign up for Apple TV+ here or via the app: https://tv.apple.com/

★Check out 909 Apparel's full range of great aviation-themed t-shirts, hoodies and more here: https://linktr.ee/9...

War historian James Rogers joins us to discuss his new book, Precision: A History of American Warfare, as we look into what precision actually means and what lengths have been gone to achieve it over the last 100 years.

★ Follow James on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/jamesrogershistory/

Check out James' website at: https://www.jamespattonrogers.com/

Buy Precision: A History of American Warfare at the Manchester University Press shop here. Use code WARFARE30 for 30% off: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526125880/precision/

★Check out 909 Apparel's full range of great aviation-themed t-sh...

How has the portrayal of the fighter pilot on film reflected and refined the image of the pilot we know today? Military historian Abby Whitlock joins us as we look at the OG flying films Wings (1927), Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels (1930) both Dawn Patrols (1930 and 1938) and Aces High (1976) to see how the First World War in the air shaped the image of the fighter pilot down to Top Gun and Blackadder.

★Check out 909 Apparel's full range of great aviation-themed t-shirts, hoodies and more here: https://linktr.ee/909apparelco

★Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from...

Host Matt Bone tackles a variety of topics from a different perspective, adopting an 'Ask Me Anything' format. Following a brief discussion about delayed scheduling and cyberpunk 2077, Matt responds to listeners' questions via Patreon and Twitter. The conversation ranges from general queries about Matt's background and interest in the Typhoon to more complex queries about his research for the podcast episodes.

★Check out 909 Apperal's full range of great aviation-themed t-shirts, hoodies and more here: https://linktr.ee/909apparelco

★Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episo...

We are back! It is a new year, and I'd love your feedback as the planning spreadsheet gets filled up. There are also updates to our Patreon levels, so now is a great time to become a Damcasteer! Plus, with Masters of the Air mere weeks away, we highlight a great novel of the 8th Air Force, Robert Radcliffe's Under An English Heaven.

★Become a Damcasteer today on Patreon! Join from just £3+VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt and grab some merch. Click here below for more info: https://www.patreon.com/the...

Historian John Concagh joins us to look at the experience of Black volunteers in the RAF in the Second World War. This episode delves into the experiences of Black West African and Caribbean volunteers in the RAF during WWII. John explains their hardships, victories, and post-war influence in their home countries' fight for independence.

★Follow John on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/BadSocialism

★Follow John on Bluesky at: https://bsky.app/profile/badsocialism.bsky.social

★Check out John's Linktree here: https://t.co/XEdwqEqd4y

★Have a listen to I Quit Sta...

Dr Kit Chapman, a science historian from Falmouth University, takes us into the historical context and significance of atomic cloud sampling, a dangerous method employed during the Cold War era. The focus is on the Ivy Mike nuclear test in 1952, where pilots flew into a thermonuclear bomb cloud to gather data, contributing to element discovery and the development of atomic science. The ramifications and loss experienced due to this risky operation are also discussed, shedding light on the high stakes of this secret procedure.

★You can follow Kit on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ChemistryKit

...

The Convair B-58 Hustler is regarded as one of the USAF's missteps in strategic bomber design from the 1950s and 60s. The claims that it was expensive and dangerous to fly led to its removal from service in the 1970s in favour of the Boeing B-52. But is that really the case? Former B-58 Navigator/Bombardier Col. Geroge Holt Jr. Rtd. joins us to reflect on his time on the Hustler and do some well-needed myth-busting.

★You can buy George's book, The B-58 Blunder: How the U.S. Abandoned its Best Strategic Bomber, at Amazon.

...

Paul Crickmore has been chronicling the story of the Lockheed Blackbird family of aircraft, the A-12, YF-12 and SR71, for over 35 years. Paul has had incredible access to the designers, maintainers and pilots of the Blackbird over the years. Paul joins us today to tell us some of the stories he has captured in his final book, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Mission - The Missing Chapters, which is out in the UK on the 23rd November and the 5th December in the US and Canada.

★You can buy Paul's book, Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Mi...

Mélanie Astles is a remarkable aerobatics pilot, is also the only woman to have won a Red Bull Air Race event at Indianapolis in 2017 and has just placed 5th at the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships in Las Vegas for Team GB. A passionate advocate for aviation and an ambassador for the Pima Air and Space Museum, it worked out that when Mel popped into the Museum last week, she found the time to chat with me about her life in aviation and just what goes into making her aircraft defy the laws of physics.

★Check out...

Following their eventful dropping of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions on D-Day, the IX Troop Carrier Command's C-47s were not ideal. Historian Adam Berry joins us to discuss the resupply operations in Normandy, the incredible medical evacuation flights, Operation Dragoon and the resupply of the 101st in Bastogne as we look at what the IX TCC did next.

★You can follow Adam on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Agrbez 

★You can follow Adam on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/agrbez.bsky.social

★Check out Adam's Website here: https://www.agrberr...

Friend of the show, historian James Jefferies joins us to discuss the much maligned Bristol Blenheim. When the aircraft was developed, the Blenheim was faster than the RAF's latest fighters. But, come the outbreak of war, fighter design and the environment the Blenheim would be operating in would be very different. So, was the Blenheim really that bad? James tries to convince us otherwise.

.

★You can follow James on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/jamesjhistory

★You can follow James on BlueSky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jamesjhistory.bsky.social

★You can follow...

Amelia Earhart looms large in aviation history, but she was one of a cohort of incredible female flyers in 1920s America who fought hard to break the mould and show that they could out-fly and out-race the men at their own game and, in Louise Thaden, would claim their highest prize. In Fly Girls, New York Times bestselling author Keith O'Brien looks at this remarkable group of women who took to the skies and opened the throttle like no woman had before.

-

★In the UK, you can buy Fly Girls at Amazon here: https://ww...

The R101 was the great hope for Imperial Air Travel in late 1920s Britain. The brainchild of Christopher Birdwood Thomson and the Imperial Airship Scheme, R101 was the government-backed of the two grand airships, the other being the Barnes Wallis-designed R100, that were to whisk the great and good between England and India. S.C. Gwynne joins us to tell the tale of the doomed airship, the man who staked everything upon her and the princess his heart was set on.

★Buy S.C. Gwynne's His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's La...

On Wednesday 21st March 1945, the RAF's 140 Wing of De Havilland Mosquito FB.VI fighter bombers, with an escort of Mustangs, attacked the Shellhus in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Shellhus was the HQ for the Gestapo in Denmark, and most of the Danish Resistance's top men were within its walls. The low-level attack would be the last in a series flown by the men of 140 Wing that feature in Rowland White's latest book, Mosquito. There is more to the tale than the aircraft and the men and women of the Danish Resistance are as remarkable as the aircraft that flew down...

Hurricane Heritage has the incredible job of operating the world's only two-seat Hawker Hurricane, BE505 'Pegs'. Starting life as a Canadian Car and Foundry-built Mark XII with the RCAF serial AG287, the aircraft was converted and restored to a Mk.IIB 'Hurribomber' configuration in 2007. Just before the pandemic hit, her second conversation to a two-seat Hurricane was complete and now she operates flights all summer all over Europe with a truly unique experience. To find out more about BE505 and what a day with Hurricane Heritage is like, I spent the afternoon at White Waltham with pilot Mike Collett...

Civil aviation is a vast undertaking and one that kept me in and out of trouble for 20 years of my working life. Author Ben Skipper has taken on the task of looking at the subject from the 1919 Paris Convention through to the end of the 747's service. From monks jumping off towers through Olive Beach being a badass to what comes next, join us as we take a whistlestop tour of flight without military interference.

★Buy Ben's Book, 100 Years of Civil Aviation, at The Damcasters Bookshop here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11015/9781399065962

★Follow Ben on T...

The RAF Museum sites at Hendon in London and RAF Cosford in the Midlands are home to a collection that tells the century-old story of the RAF. It is where my obsession with the Hawker Typhoon began and where I returned a couple of weeks ago to chat with the museum's CEO, Maggie Appleton. The RAF Museum has a broad story, so how does the museum manage the expectations of a wide variety of visitors of an ever-changing demographic? I sat down over a cup of tea and biscuits to discuss the museum's role, its present post-COVID and its...

Every Thursday, Col. Richard Bushong heads over to the 390th Memorial Museum and holds court under the nose of the museum's B-17 Flying Fortress and answers questions for all the visitors who approach him. Dick is well placed to answer them as he flew 28 missions with the 8th Air Force's 390th Bomb Group in late 1943 and early 1944. At 100 years young, Dick is a fantastic chap to chat to and offers an insight into the realities of the 8th's battle over Occupied Europe.

★Buy Dick's book, My Wars, at the 390th Memorial Museum Shop here: https://390thstore.or...

The 390th Memorial Museum is a museum within the Pima Air and Space Museum dedicated to the memory of the men of the 390th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force who were based at Framlingham in Suffolk. Bill Buckingham is the museum's Executive Director. Bill kindly sat down with me during my visit to Pima to discuss the museum, the 390th and what the memorial means to him as the director and to the visitors who pass through this superb museum.

★Visit the 390th Memorial Museum's website at: https://www.390th.org/

★Follow the...

As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, their forces raced south towards Australia. The evacuation towards Australia would prove costly for the Empire Class flying boats of Qantas. In part 3 of our look at the Empire flying boats, Phil Vabre tells us about the attacks on Darwin and Broome and his research into uncovering the fate of Circe.

You can catch part 1 here: https://shows.acast.com/the-damcasters/episodes/647e11bc73919c0011b58b36

You can catch part 2 here: https://shows.acast.com/the-damcasters/episodes/empire-flying-boats-at-war-part-2-with-phil-vabre

★You can learn more about th...

Continuing the story of the Empire Class flying boat, Phil Vabre returns to tell us about how Qantas were able to continue operating services in the Far East as the war in Europe started to get closer to home.

You can catch part 1 here: https://shows.acast.com/the-damcasters/episodes/647e11bc73919c0011b58b36

★You can learn more about the Civil Aviation Historical Society and the Airways Museum at Essendon at their website here: https://www.airwaysmuseum.com/

★You can check out Phil's flying boat articles in The Aviation Historian, issu...

Maj Gen Russ Violett (Rtd) had a 30-year career with the USAF, flying multiple types, including the North American F-100 Super Sabre (in which he had a 2-minute flight before punching out!) and the fantastic Republic F-105 Thunderchief, the Thud. The Thud always brought Russ home in 126 missions over Laos and Vietnam. Our discussion covers the tactics of attacking missile sites, the drawback of major operations half a world away and much more.

★You can learn more about The Friday Pilots, of whom Russ is a member, who meet for lunch each Friday and put the wo...

On the 29th April 2023, the Classic British Jets Collection re-opened their doors at their Buntingthrope base for the first time this side of the pandemic. Dave Thomas and the team kindly invited me up to chat with the team and see jet fuel turned into sweet, sweet noise.

The aircraft that you will hear, in the order they pop up in the podcast, are:

★English Electric Canberra B(I)-8 WT333

★De Havilland Venom FB.50 WR470

★Hawker Hunter GA.11 WT806

★Gloster Meteor NF.11 WM167

The day was...

On the night of the 13/14th of July 1943, RAF Bomber Command returned to the German city of Aachen again. This time they were carrying what they termed an "arson load". The attack created a firestorm that would take over a day to burn out and kill hundreds. Eleven days later, Operation Gomorrah, the firebombing of Hamburg, was carried out. Historian Dr Philip Blood joins me to discuss the July raid and the many other attacks on Aachen. In this extended episode, we look at Bomber Command's procedures and the intent used to promulgate the bombing offensive and the point...

Mike Cusick was a Crew Chief on UH-1 Hueys and UH-60 Blackhawks in a career spanning five decades. Mike has seen everything from operating in the Vietnam delta to Afghanistan and Iraq, including flying into an Afghan canyon to rescue Marcus Letrell after Operation Red Wings went south. The episode was recorded onsite at the fab Pima Air and Space Museum and my chat with Mike covers a whole lot of ground. I hope you enjoy it.

★Get the full lowdown on the Pima UH-1M Huey Gunship here: https://pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/bell-uh-1m/ 

Len Deighton’s Bomber, both the original novel and the 1995 Radio 4 adaptation, have had a huge impact on both readers and listeners of the last flight of O Orange for decades. But how has this impact affected the view of Bomber Command and did Len get it right? Dr Dan Ellin the archivist and historian for the International Bomber Command Center Digital Archive and James Jefferies, PhD Candidate and Assistant Lecturer at the University of Essex, join me to discuss Bomber’s place in Bomber Command’s histography.

★Read Dan’s paper on LMF, A ‘Lack of Moral Fib...

On Saturday the 18th of February 1995, Radio 4 dedicated prime slots of its schedule for an unprecedented airing of an adaptation of Len Deighton’s Bomber. Aired throughout the day, at timings to coincide with what was happening at that moment in the drama, Bomber would be nothing like what had come before and has not been done since. Joining me to discuss the production is producer Jonathan Ruffle, director Adrian Bean, writer Jope Dunlop and actress Alice Arnold to discuss the making of Bomber and its impact nearly 30 years later.

★Follow Jonathan Ruffle on Twitter at: http...

The invisible radar war that took place over Europe is often misunderstood. While the RAF's integrated defence system, which had radar at its heart, has entered the mythos, the German side of the tale has not often been told. Along with advances in radio navigation, which would prove vital for winning or losing the air war, the electronic sphere was as closely fought as any battle. Tom Whipple, the science editor of The Times, joins us to talk about the remarkable R.V. Jones and The Battle of the Beams.

Eric 'Winkle' Brown is widely regarded as the greatest pilot Britain has ever produced. Many of the tales Eric told have gone done in legend, but in researching his friend of 40 years, historian Paul Beaver found that the story of Eric's birth holds many clues as to the man Eric would become and that this refines Eric's remarkable story.

Lt. Col. (Rtd) Jon Boyd served in the USAF through transformational times. Joining in the late 1970s, Jon would fly the venerable Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Hog to those who fly her, before joining the then Top Secret program that was working up the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk, The Black Jet as Jon refers to it. It would be flying the Stealth Fighter that Jon would see combat over Iraq during Desert Storm. Jon was very generous with his time and it was fantastic to be able to walk around one of his old aircraft, 84-0810 Dark...

Col. (Rtd) Kim "KC" Campbell USAF is a remarkable person. Her career almost never happened, as the US Air Force Academy initially rejected her. Still, her determination would see her enter the Academy and on multiple combat deployments on the venerable A-10 Hog over Afghanistan and Iraq, where she was famously hit over Baghdad, bringing her stricken Hog home safely. Kim's new book Flying in the Face of Fear, reflects on her career and the lessons she has learned and how they can be applied by anyone who wishes to lead with courage.

You can pick...

Eileen Bjorkman is a retired USAF Colonel who was a Flight Test engineer on over 25 types during her career that would see her end up in the Pentagon. Her new book, The Fly Girls Revolt, examines the journey the US Air Force's women have taken from the days of the WASPs and WAC to now flying all types of front-line combat aircraft, including the B-1B while pregnant. Yes, there is a baby out there in the world with more BONE time than me...

The Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women Who Kicked Open...

This is the audio from a recent video I made. You can watch the video on the link below. I have a love/hate/love relationship with both versions of The First of the Few. The film 'tells the story' of RJ Mitchell and the creation of the Spitfire. Well, the story that has become the story anyways. I've tried to have some fun with it, and I'm still working out this video business, so let me know what you think and if you agree with me or not.

Watch the video version here: https://youtu...