Jet! When Britain Ruled the Skies celebrates the British aviation industry which got a boost because of the expertise that got together in World War 2. After the war with all the different aviation companies in existence Britain did lead the world into the jet age with a new generation of fighters and bombers.
The first episode is entitled Military Marvels. As we entered the atomic age, those quickly made fighters gave way to state of the art jets as test pilots took the new planes to its limits. There was the Gloster Meteor Britain's first jet fighter, the Canberra was Britain's first jet fighter. There were fighter planes with thrilling names such as the Vulcan bomber, Valiant, Lancaster and Javelins.
The sound barrier was being broken. Daring feats were performed in airshows by test pilots but there were also disasters in the same air shows as well resulting in the loss of life of the pilots but also the spectators in some cases.
However in the 1960s the costs of the new generation of jets were taking a toll. Government ministers were interested in guided missiles and reducing costs which stalled the pioneering spirit.
The last hurrah was the Harrier Jump Jet with its vertical take off and landing and went on play a major role in the Falklands war.
Contributors included Norman Tebbit who was a pilot before turning politician.
