0:00:15 > 0:00:19I've been researching and writing about the Second World War for years.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Along the way, I've interviewed veterans
0:00:21 > 0:00:23from almost every theatre of war.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Each one has been a privilege to meet but, for me,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27one man stands out -
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown,
0:00:29 > 0:00:32probably the best pilot this country has ever produced.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38He didn't fly for the RAF though.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43Captain Brown was in the Fleet Air Arm, a pilot for the Royal Navy.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46His career spans a remarkable period in aviation,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50from wood and canvas biplanes through to experimental Nazi jets
0:00:50 > 0:00:53and onto nuclear bombers at the height of the Cold War.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59But his experience extends way beyond his achievements in the air.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02From visiting Germany as a teenager in 1936,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05he witnessed some of the most extraordinary events leading up to
0:01:05 > 0:01:07and during the Second World War.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Captain Brown is a truly remarkable man.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15This is his story.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29To achieve supersonic flight was the Holy Grail
0:01:29 > 0:01:32of aviation in my time.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42Here you had a new airplane, more power, more thrust,
0:01:42 > 0:01:44more aerodynamic refinement.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48I got down to 4,000ft.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Suddenly, the aircraft went into a violent oscillation.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I was beginning to lose consciousness.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02One thought was survival.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04"How do I get this sorted out?"
0:02:07 > 0:02:11What I did was hold the throttle, hold the stick,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15just hold both back gently together.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26My name is Captain Eric Brown.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31My last job was chief naval test pilot to the Fleet Air Arm.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56My first actual flight was with my father.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I would be about ten years of age,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04much to my mother's absolute horror.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I suppose she wanted to preserve her young son.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09Mothers do.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21We were in a single seat biplane. I was allowed to hold the stick
0:03:21 > 0:03:26but, of course, obviously, I couldn't reach the rudder pedals.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31So it was just a gentle experience, if you like.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36But he had pressed the right button.
0:03:40 > 0:03:46I've always had in my life a tendency to try something hazardous.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I was the only one at school that had a motorbike,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53a 500cc Norton.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I used to make my summer money
0:03:58 > 0:04:01by being a motorbike rider on the wall of death.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Then, in 1936, the big event happened in my life
0:04:11 > 0:04:13that persuaded me to take up flying.
0:04:16 > 0:04:21My father had been a Royal Flying Corp pilot in World War I.
0:04:21 > 0:04:28The Germans had a society of World War I combatants.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31They decided to invite the opposition over
0:04:31 > 0:04:33to have a shindig
0:04:33 > 0:04:38during the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41TRUMPET FANFARE
0:04:43 > 0:04:49...der elften Olympiade neuer Zeitrechnung als eroffnet.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51There was Herr Hitler announcing it open.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Now they're all cheering him
0:04:53 > 0:04:55and the whole crowd have raised their right arm.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The great event of course was the wonderful Jesse Owens.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Here was a man who won the 100m and 200m,
0:05:12 > 0:05:17the long jump and the 4x100m relay.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Four gold medals.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27Not exactly what Hitler with his Aryan ideals had wanted.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33I've read many stories that said Hitler ignored him.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Now, this is quite untrue because I actually witnessed
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Hitler shaking hands with Jesse Owens
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and congratulating him on what he had achieved.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Ernst Udet became famous in World War I,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06the top-scoring pilot after Richthofen.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19He had many lady friends.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23Cigar smoking, champagne drinking sort of chap.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Bigger than life.
0:06:28 > 0:06:33He said, "Now we're going flying," and I was in the front cockpit,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35he was in the rear.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42He took particular attention to strap me in very carefully.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45I thought, "Oh, that's just... "How nice of him," you know,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48but there was a purpose in it, as I found out.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56He really threw that thing around. He turned it inside out.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06We came into land. On the approach,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08he turned it onto its back.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12I thought, "Well, he'll turn it over before." But nothing happened.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15He kept coming on and I thought, really,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19"I think the silly old fool's had a heart attack,"
0:07:19 > 0:07:23and I really thought that was going to be my demise.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28But he turned it round
0:07:28 > 0:07:30and it literally fell onto the runway.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34This is how good a pilot he was.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40He slapped me on the back
0:07:40 > 0:07:46and said the German fighter pilots' greeting, "Hals und Beinbruch."
0:07:46 > 0:07:49He said, "You'll make a good fighter pilot."
0:07:49 > 0:07:52And he said, "Now, do two things for me.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56"Learn to speak German and then learn to fly."
0:07:58 > 0:08:01It was a pivotal point in my life.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10- ARCHIVE:- German troops made a formal entry into the demilitarised zone
0:08:10 > 0:08:12on the left bank of the Rhine.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Herr Hitler confirmed the reoccupation of the Rhineland.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49I had achieved the two things that Udet had challenged me to do,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52so I wrote him and he said,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55"Yes, I'll book you into a little guesthouse
0:08:55 > 0:08:58"and we'll show you a bit of Berlin."
0:09:13 > 0:09:18I was, in my teens, politically naive.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I really was just having a wonderful experience.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27It seemed a very vibrant country.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Lots of uniforms could be seen around.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40The Hitler Youth seemed to offer
0:09:40 > 0:09:43slightly more than the Boy Scouts offered,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45if you like to put it that way.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48FANFARE
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Nuremberg was a rallying point.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59What's the biggest thing we do here?
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I suppose it was like...
0:10:02 > 0:10:04the coronation...
0:10:04 > 0:10:05with knobs on.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15The only thing that drove me to want to see it was curiosity.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21People said, "Oh, it's a fabulous show. You must go and see it."
0:10:21 > 0:10:27There were so many people packed into one place...
0:10:28 > 0:10:31..all hugely enthusiastic.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39Flink wie Windhunde, zah wie Leder und hart wie Kruppstahl.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42CROWD ROARS
0:10:42 > 0:10:47I began to wonder, "How does this man attract all these people?"
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I thought there must be some strange charisma.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56He's like the Pied Piper of Hamelin and they're all following him
0:10:56 > 0:10:58as he rants along.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06For the triumphs of Hitler, his annexation of Austria,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08the crushing of Czechoslovakia,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12it has been a year of crises and we can hardly ignore them.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15But it has also been the year of The Lambeth Walk
0:11:15 > 0:11:17and we may be grateful to that dance phenomenon which has helped
0:11:17 > 0:11:19to preserve our sense of values,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22for even gas masks and ARP have been unable to still
0:11:22 > 0:11:24that undaunted "oi!".
0:11:40 > 0:11:43A little group from the Foreign Office asked me
0:11:43 > 0:11:47if I was interested in joining the Diplomatic Corp.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50And I said I was and they said, "Right.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54"We will send you to Germany for six months."
0:11:58 > 0:12:03In early September, I decided to go up to Munich for a weekend
0:12:03 > 0:12:05and I'd drive up in my car.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17On 3rd September, at about six in the morning,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20there was a thunderous knock on my door.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Two SS officers
0:12:23 > 0:12:26said, "I have to tell you, you're under arrest
0:12:26 > 0:12:29"because our two countries are at war."
0:12:30 > 0:12:35Now, technically, this was untrue because 11 o'clock was the time,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39but I wasn't in a strong position to argue.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45- ARCHIVE:- The same hour that chimed for armistice
0:12:45 > 0:12:47tolls the signal for another war.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55They took all clothes I had,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58books, etc, and off we went.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04I was in a little SS jail.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I wasn't at all ill-treated.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14On the third day, one young SS lieutenant came to me and said,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17"We're taking you down to the Swiss frontier."
0:13:23 > 0:13:27When we arrived, the lieutenant said to me, "You're free to go
0:13:27 > 0:13:29"and you can take your car."
0:13:29 > 0:13:35So I said, "You've taken my clothes, my books, my money.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37"Why are you giving me my car?"
0:13:37 > 0:13:41And he said in German, "Because we have no spares."
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Very Teutonic attitude.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- WINSTON CHURCHILL:- But now one bond unites us all,
0:13:50 > 0:13:55to wage war until victory is won
0:13:55 > 0:13:59and never to surrender ourselves to servitude and shame,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03whatever the cost and the agony may be.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09I was taken to Bern and the ambassador said,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13"Of course, I've been told to return you as soon as possible
0:14:13 > 0:14:15"because you've been called up."
0:14:22 > 0:14:25I was keen to get back at the Germans.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I was a bit piqued about being locked up
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and I was young, raring to go.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Suddenly, on the notice board, there went a thing saying,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40"The Navy have lost a lot of pilots. There's a shortage..."
0:14:43 > 0:14:47"..and if you're interested in moving over to the Fleet Air Arm,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50"append your name to the board."
0:14:50 > 0:14:51So I did that very thing.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02DRONE OF AIRCRAFT
0:15:04 > 0:15:07BABY CRIES
0:15:10 > 0:15:14- ARCHIVE:- Here comes the Luftwaffe. Hundreds of planes.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Bombers, fighters.
0:15:16 > 0:15:21The RAF came and dove in, shouting the old hunting cry,
0:15:21 > 0:15:22"Tally-ho!"
0:15:49 > 0:15:53HMS Audacity originally was a banana boat
0:15:53 > 0:15:55operating in the Caribbean.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Churchill, it was his original idea.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02He thought, "Right. Cut everything off
0:16:02 > 0:16:07"so that we can lay a flat flight deck on it to operate aircraft."
0:16:12 > 0:16:16The Wildcat, as the Americans called it,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19was an aircraft that had a bigger punch
0:16:19 > 0:16:22than the British aircraft of that time.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Instead of .303 guns, it had .50 guns.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33Far out in the grey Atlantic, the big Focke-Wulf bombers
0:16:33 > 0:16:35range far and wide across the ocean,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38seeking out the convoys approaching British shores.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44The courier was probably the most heavily-armed
0:16:44 > 0:16:47German aircraft in the sky.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52It had machine guns firing out the side windows,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57cannon, two turrets on top and a complete gondola underneath.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59All told, it was very heavily armed.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Realising what I was up against, I had studied this very carefully.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Worked out how the guns could depress or elevate.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21There was only one blank spot which they couldn't reach
0:17:21 > 0:17:26and that was if you came in flat towards the pilot's cockpit.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41When I opened fire, you could see the windscreen
0:17:41 > 0:17:44just disintegrating, so the pilots must have been killed.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Your own grave danger was colliding with your target
0:17:52 > 0:17:55and you had to break away,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57either up or down.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06You get that exhilarating feeling that you've nailed him.
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- ARCHIVE:- The U-boats lie in waiting.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Like wolves, they will stalk a convoy for days at a stretch,
0:18:22 > 0:18:25biding their time until the chance of wind and weather
0:18:25 > 0:18:28offers the fattest prize for their torpedoes.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45We realised we were going to be under attack,
0:18:45 > 0:18:47so the captain of Audacity thought,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50"We'll zigzag at full speed for the night."
0:18:53 > 0:18:56A lone submarine let fly at us.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59Caught the rudder.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05We were in darkness by this time.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12We'd barely stopped when the submarine surfaced
0:19:12 > 0:19:16about 200 yards away on our port side.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It was an eerie sight. As it popped out of the sea,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25it was covered in phosphorescence.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32It was almost as if it was Christmas tree lights on it, all over.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The commander came up onto the conning tower.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44We could see the gold braid on his hat. We were that close.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48He just leant over the tower surveying us.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52We just stood and watched each other.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Somebody's nerve broke, one of the seamen,
0:19:58 > 0:20:04and he leapt to a 20mm Oerlikon gun
0:20:04 > 0:20:06and started firing at the submarine.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I thought, "He'll irritate the U-boat captain,"
0:20:13 > 0:20:16which is what he did, of course.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20And the next thing was he just fired off a bevy of torpedoes at us.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Our carrier reared up.
0:20:27 > 0:20:34I heard the twang of the hawses holding the aircraft breaking.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37The six aircraft just broke loose,
0:20:37 > 0:20:40mowed down the deck into all these guys standing there
0:20:40 > 0:20:44and it was absolute chaos.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53We were all swimming as fast as we could to get away from the vessel.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Turned round and she plunged down very rapidly.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Tremendous booming as things imploded.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08There were a hell of a lot of people in the water,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10of course, by this time.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18Another pilot called out and he said, "Let's tie ourselves together."
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I think we were 24 altogether.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Now, at first, we were all fine, we talked to each other
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and everything but, after about three quarters of an hour,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33everybody stopped talking and...falling asleep.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41These chaps were falling forward
0:21:41 > 0:21:44cos there was nothing to support their heads
0:21:44 > 0:21:46and were drowning.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56My section leader said, "The only thing we can do is
0:21:56 > 0:21:59"cut them off from us, otherwise we'll all go down together.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01"The whole 24 of us."
0:22:02 > 0:22:06So, this continued right throughout the night,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09cutting one or two away and letting them drift off.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13It really was a very nasty business.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19By the morning, all the seamen had drowned.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22There was only two of us left.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30MUSIC: Snow by Yuki Murata
0:22:51 > 0:22:56Unknown to me, the captain of the Audacity said I had
0:22:56 > 0:22:58a facility for deck landing
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and the Admiralty should make use of it.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10I got a telegram asking me to undertake a series of trials
0:23:10 > 0:23:13on various carriers.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23- ARCHIVE:- Hellcat comes in too quickly.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28The pilot seems none the worse.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30This landing is particularly bad.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36With this machine coming in, one would think all is well.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Deck landing, one has to accept, is quite a hazardous business.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46A Firebrand bent on destruction.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Accidents were ten a penny.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Here you see another aircraft.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58If it doesn't have an accident, it'll be a very unusual affair.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05- INTERVIEWER: - Did you crash many times?
0:24:05 > 0:24:09No. I only had one crash caused by a hook not lowering
0:24:09 > 0:24:12and the batsman not having seen it.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17A picture-by-picture analysis of the slow-motion film proved very useful.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23As you go off on the catapult, like you're doing here,
0:24:23 > 0:24:28you do get a pretty big kick in the pants.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31You are very hopeful that there's enough wind
0:24:31 > 0:24:32for you to get off cleanly.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05- ARCHIVE:- The story of the DH.98, or Mosquito, is one of brilliant success.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09At the moment, the fastest aircraft in operation in the world.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17The Mosquito is a superb aeroplane.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22I was asked to put it aboard an aircraft carrier.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27It was twice as heavy as any aircraft that had ever
0:25:27 > 0:25:31been landed on a carrier. It was twice as big.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38The top entry speed that we could land was 86mph.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44The stalling speed of the Mosquito is 110.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Hence everybody said, "Impossible."
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- ARCHIVE:- This picture shows the Mosquito doing crash barrier tests
0:25:52 > 0:25:54in HMS Triumph.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00By all appearances, wooden-constructed aeroplanes
0:26:00 > 0:26:03would just seem to be unsuitable for this treatment.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10But when you're young and confident, you say brash things.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24This de Havilland Mosquito was the first two-engine machine
0:26:24 > 0:26:26to land on an aircraft carrier.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32The pilot was Lieutenant Commander EM Brown.
0:26:35 > 0:26:40This really changed my life because the director of the RAE
0:26:40 > 0:26:45said to me later, "Frankly, I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Then I was promoted
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and became the chief naval test pilot at Farnborough.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21- ARCHIVE:- V-1, the flying bomb, the robot bomb, the buzz bomb.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26You're a passenger on a bus
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and this is the end of your last trip.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33You're the man on the street
0:27:33 > 0:27:35and you do what you can.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38You're an airman on leave
0:27:38 > 0:27:40and this is your welcome mat.
0:27:45 > 0:27:50I was on duty. A V-1 crashed in the garden of our house.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55The house collapsed like a pack of cards.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58My wife was concussed
0:27:58 > 0:28:03and our cleaning lady lost an eye and had 96 stitches.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Poor thing. She came out of it rather badly.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15The problem with attacking the V-1 is it came over
0:28:15 > 0:28:19at a steady speed of 400mph.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23Even if you caught up with it and fired,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27the debris from it was likely to damage your own aircraft.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36- ARCHIVE:- Between sorties, the pilots got together to discuss
0:28:36 > 0:28:38the best methods of attack.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41We devised a method of flying alongside it
0:28:41 > 0:28:46and putting your wing under the V-1's wing
0:28:46 > 0:28:48then, if you raise your wing,
0:28:48 > 0:28:54you'll tilt their V-1 over in the other direction and away it'll go.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08The best plane, I would say the Tempest V.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11It had the speed to overtake.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14It was a pretty rugged aeroplane too
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and it had the control to do the tipping.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28I was doing a series of trials and the engine blew up
0:29:28 > 0:29:31and the propeller went absolutely solid.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37I saw the engine was on fire outside.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42I didn't realise I was burning inside until my feet cooked.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44I realised that I had to get out.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Bailing out is not as easy as many people think
0:29:50 > 0:29:54and, when I stood up in the cockpit to get my legs over the side,
0:29:54 > 0:29:59I was pinned back by sheer slipstream effect.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07So then what I did was get one leg over the side,
0:30:07 > 0:30:08one leg on the seat...
0:30:10 > 0:30:13..lean in, get hold of the stick,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15pull it hard over towards me
0:30:15 > 0:30:17and that catapulted me out.
0:30:24 > 0:30:30You don't get much time to worry about the finer points of it.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33The thing is to get out and move out.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53In test flying, we had a high casualty rate.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Year after year, 25% of the pilots
0:30:56 > 0:30:59involved in high-speed flight were lost.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03This was for a very great cause -
0:31:03 > 0:31:06to keep our aircraft ahead of the enemy.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12It was them today. It might be me tomorrow.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18One just had to shrug it off and say, "War is on.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22"There are huge casualties. They are just part of the cost."
0:31:36 > 0:31:40- CHURCHILL:- This is your victory,
0:31:40 > 0:31:45victory of the cause of freedom in every land.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50We have never seen a greater day than this.
0:32:06 > 0:32:12The director of the RAE formed a mission to go to Germany
0:32:12 > 0:32:17after the capitulation and find out more about their technology.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28I was more than impressed, I was shocked by what we found...
0:32:28 > 0:32:31because they were so far ahead.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53- ARCHIVE:- This is the Messerschmitt 262, the world's first operational jet fighter.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58It was more than 100mph faster than the best piston engine fighter.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01This was a lightning-fast aeroplane.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05It looks in body form like a shark,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07swept-back wings
0:33:07 > 0:33:09and the under-slung engines.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12It really looks power, power, power.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19When I got the Me 262 into the air,
0:33:19 > 0:33:24it was so fast, it was virtually untouchable.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30It had four 30mm canon
0:33:30 > 0:33:33which is a huge punch.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Batteries of rockets.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43I saw an American Marauder aircraft
0:33:43 > 0:33:45being attacked by an Me 262.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52One minute, there was this beautiful-looking Marauder
0:33:52 > 0:33:55in the sky. A minute later, confetti.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04I've flown almost all the World War II aircraft
0:34:04 > 0:34:09and I rank it as the most formidable aircraft of World War II.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18- ARCHIVE:- Amid the ruins, the dazed people wander here and there.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26Battered and shell-swept, not much remains.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36One of the first war criminals is captured - Hermann Goering.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Goering was Hitler's right-hand man. Head of the Luftwaffe.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I was quite taken aback
0:35:01 > 0:35:06at how slimmed down from all the pictures I'd ever seen of him
0:35:06 > 0:35:10as a rather porky gentleman.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18The Americans had weaned him off drugs.
0:35:18 > 0:35:19They'd stripped him of all insignia.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24He had been interrogated day in and day out.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26But the invigilating officer said to him,
0:35:26 > 0:35:31"Now you're going to be interrogated by a pilot,"
0:35:31 > 0:35:36and literally he brightened up instantly.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43The first question I asked him was, "What, in your opinion,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46"was the outcome of the Battle of Britain?"
0:35:46 > 0:35:49And he said, "It was a draw."
0:35:49 > 0:35:54He said, "If you look at the analysis of the battle,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58"you will find that, in the last week, for the first time,
0:35:58 > 0:36:03"the German causalities were lower than the British."
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Now, this is perfectly true, if you look at the records.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13And he said this showed a turning point had arrived.
0:36:13 > 0:36:18- ARCHIVE:- The jaws of the Nazi whale were set to swallow Jonah.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22But he said, "Unfortunately, we couldn't continue
0:36:22 > 0:36:28"because Hitler ordered all fighter units back
0:36:28 > 0:36:30"for the invasion of Russia."
0:36:34 > 0:36:37I've told many people this and nobody's said,
0:36:37 > 0:36:39"Oh, no, you got that wrong."
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Many of them have said, "My God, weren't we lucky?"
0:36:46 > 0:36:52At the end, he came over and stuck his hand out to shake hands.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56Now, I couldn't, under any circumstances, shake hands.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59So I thought, "What the hell do I do now?"
0:36:59 > 0:37:03Very quickly, I suddenly said to him, "Hals und Beinbruch,"
0:37:03 > 0:37:06the old fighter pilot's greeting.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12He half smiled and just dropped his hand.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15- INTERVIEWER:- What does "Hals und Beinbruch" mean?
0:37:15 > 0:37:17"Broken neck and broken legs" was the greeting.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20"Go in there and do your stuff.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23"Maybe that's what you'll get, but as long as you survive."
0:37:23 > 0:37:27If you'll just answer my questions, we'll save a great deal of time.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Concentration camps was one of the things you found
0:37:30 > 0:37:34immediately necessary upon coming to power, is it not?
0:37:34 > 0:37:39'Having been to Belsen, I realised that Goering
0:37:39 > 0:37:44'had a huge responsibility for the concentration camps.'
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Your answer is yes, I take it?- Ja.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06- ARCHIVE:- As the Allied procession moved onward,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08prison camps were broken open.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18When we arrived at the gates, we could see the soldiers
0:38:18 > 0:38:20waiting for us.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26The Germans had discovered there were 20,000 cases of typhus
0:38:26 > 0:38:31in Belsen. They thought, "If the guards, the inmates, escape,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35"we'll have a plague which could be worse than the war."
0:38:42 > 0:38:46I spoke to one or two, but they were like zombies.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48When you stopped them, they would stop.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52They wouldn't look at you, they would just look at the ground...
0:38:53 > 0:38:55..not reply at all.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59When you finished, they would move aside and move on.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03They were literally dying zombies.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10I could see huts.
0:39:10 > 0:39:16These had originally been built to accommodate 60 inmates.
0:39:16 > 0:39:21When we got there, there were about 250 in each hut.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31These people were theoretically still alive.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37But...I say alive...
0:39:37 > 0:39:39..brackets.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43- ARCHIVE:- To a British military tribunal has brought assorted assortment
0:39:43 > 0:39:47of Nazi war criminals, headed by the notorious Josef Kramer,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50charged with responsibility for torture and mass murder
0:39:50 > 0:39:54of 50,000 prisoners at the German death camp at Belsen.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Kramer was absolutely straightforward.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13He realised the game was up.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17He didn't make excuses, like, "I was obeying orders."
0:40:17 > 0:40:22He just said, "I had a job to do and I did it."
0:40:22 > 0:40:26Belsen's women, as savage as any of the men.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Kramer's chief assistant, 21 years old
0:40:28 > 0:40:32and a veteran of five years of atrocities, Fraulein Irma Grese.
0:40:34 > 0:40:40Irma Grese, she was the female camp commandant at Auschwitz.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Had a dreadful reputation for cruelty
0:40:43 > 0:40:46to the female inmates there.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50Cruelty seemed to be a second part of her nature,
0:40:50 > 0:40:53gave me an overpowering sense of evil
0:40:53 > 0:40:58and right away I classed her as the worst human being I had never met.
0:41:09 > 0:41:15My experience of the Germans before the war was a very friendly one.
0:41:15 > 0:41:18I admired them for their disciplined way of life.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21They were hard workers.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28But my attitude totally changed
0:41:28 > 0:41:32when I witnessed what I did in Belsen
0:41:32 > 0:41:35because I thought, "If these people are capable of this,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38"they are just an evil race."
0:41:43 > 0:41:48I began to query them. Did they know about these concentration camps?
0:41:48 > 0:41:50How did they justify them?
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Their excuse was they had been offered something
0:41:56 > 0:41:59to put their country back
0:41:59 > 0:42:03to where it had previously been by Hitler.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08And they would have followed anybody that offered them this.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- ARCHIVE:- Outside Hitler's bunker are five petrol cans
0:42:19 > 0:42:22used for burning his body.
0:42:23 > 0:42:27The whole of this Reich Chancellery has fallen to pieces.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31In the centre of Hitler's study stands his chair,
0:42:31 > 0:42:36in a confusion of smashed woodwork, of filth and rubble.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01- ARCHIVE:- The Me 163 is a rocket jet plane.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04It carries its own oxygen supply. Therefore is not hampered
0:43:04 > 0:43:07by thinning atmosphere and high altitude.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11Me 163 was a rocket interceptor.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Everything about it was new and different.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19Swept back, semi-tailless, skid landing,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22almost like an expanded bullet.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26But above all, it was rocket powered.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Oh, it's dangerous to fly, extremely,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35because of the volatility of the fuels.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39- ARCHIVE:- Mit einer Pipette wird eine kleine Menge T-Stoff entnommen.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Its operational record was terrible.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52The number of its own pilots it killed was huge, really.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01It could go up to a very high Mach number
0:44:01 > 0:44:06but, once you'd passed that number, you'd lost control of the aircraft
0:44:06 > 0:44:07and it would tuck under.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11There was no way out until it made a hole in the ground.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- ARCHIVE:- Das krieg fahrt lauft allein.
0:44:15 > 0:44:21If you landed with as much as a half a cup full of fuel,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25the impact of landing, it would explode the whole thing.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35I'm sitting in the cockpit, ready to go.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44The noise is thunderous
0:44:44 > 0:44:48and you are given a bit of a shake-up on the take-off.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56The acceleration is unbelievable.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05I thought the performance was...
0:45:05 > 0:45:08There's only one word for it, phenomenal.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15I felt that I was flying in a tin coffin
0:45:15 > 0:45:19because your chances of bailing out were virtually nil.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26I took it on in the full knowledge of what the risk was.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28But at the end of the day,
0:45:28 > 0:45:33I felt a tremendous satisfaction in having beaten the odds.
0:45:36 > 0:45:42I think this is one of the most attractive aspects of flying,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45taking on danger and winning,
0:45:45 > 0:45:50because you know what waits for you if you don't win.
0:45:55 > 0:46:00A few months after war ended, trials of the tailless DH 108 began
0:46:00 > 0:46:03with Geoffrey de Havilland's flight at Woodbury.
0:46:05 > 0:46:13To achieve supersonic flight was the Holy Grail of aviation in my time.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21At the end of the war, the de Havilland team
0:46:21 > 0:46:25visited Germany and were fascinated by the 163.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32So de Havilland swept the wings back 45 degrees,
0:46:32 > 0:46:37upped the jet engine to about 3,500 pounds of thrust.
0:46:41 > 0:46:45They decided to prepare for an attempt
0:46:45 > 0:46:48on the world speed record.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Their chief test pilot was Geoffrey de Havilland,
0:46:55 > 0:46:58the son of the founder of the company.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03I knew Geoffrey very well, saw a lot of Geoffrey.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07To me, Geoffrey was more of the Hollywood type of test pilot.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13The way he was going to work up for it was to start
0:47:13 > 0:47:17with high-speed runs at 10,000ft...
0:47:19 > 0:47:22..come down 1,000ft at a time,
0:47:22 > 0:47:24keep full throttle on each run.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30He was running at seven when,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34suddenly, the aircraft disintegrated.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47The aircraft debris
0:47:47 > 0:47:51and Geoffrey's body fell on Egypt Bay
0:47:51 > 0:47:53near the estuary of the Thames.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59Geoffrey was still in his parachute,
0:47:59 > 0:48:03but it had never been attempted to be opened.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09So, right away, there was the first mystery.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12Secondly, it was found that Geoffrey had a broken neck.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19The cause of the disintegration was to be investigated
0:48:19 > 0:48:21and this was given to Farnborough.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32I started to follow the same pattern of flight
0:48:32 > 0:48:34that he had gone on.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38I got down to 4,000ft.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Suddenly, the aircraft went into a violent oscillation.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45It did three cycles a second...
0:48:47 > 0:48:53..and, in each cycle, I was subjected to plus 4 g and minus 3 g.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00The medics say that a pilot will stand this
0:49:00 > 0:49:03for ten seconds before going unconscious.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08The one thought was survival.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11"How do I get this sorted out?"
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I was beginning to lose consciousness,
0:49:16 > 0:49:20so what I did was hold the throttle,
0:49:20 > 0:49:25hold the stick and...this was pure instinct,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28just hold both back gently together.
0:49:37 > 0:49:42As suddenly as it had happened, after seven seconds, it stopped.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55I was pretty pleased about it, I can tell you.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01I could see clearly that
0:50:01 > 0:50:06Geoffrey's head had probably violently struck the canopy.
0:50:06 > 0:50:11Broken his neck and...that was it.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24When you take on a job like that, part of it is a dare,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28part of it is a professional challenge.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Somebody's done an analysis of my flying
0:50:31 > 0:50:36and they say I've had 13 that might have finished up fatal
0:50:36 > 0:50:37but, erm...
0:50:40 > 0:50:42..I don't know.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45I think two things have contributed to my survival.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52I was a stickler for preparation before a flight.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56There was a type of pilot who was a bit gung ho.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00A great saying would be, "Kick the tyres, light the fires
0:51:00 > 0:51:03"and the last one off's a sissy."
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Now, if you have that attitude in test flying,
0:51:06 > 0:51:10you are not going to last very long.
0:51:10 > 0:51:15And secondly, the fact I am small helped my survival.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19For example, I had a crash in a Vampire. If I'd been 6ft,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21I'd have lost my legs.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24I survived purely because I was small
0:51:24 > 0:51:27and I curled myself up in the cockpit.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43- ARCHIVE:- De Havilland were developing a jet fighter, the Vampire,
0:51:43 > 0:51:47and there was a strong desire to operate jet aircraft from carriers.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03We knew the Americans were trying to be the first to land a jet
0:52:03 > 0:52:09on an aircraft carrier and it was nothing but a friendly rivalry.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15The sea was so rough, the carrier was moving...
0:52:15 > 0:52:19enough to make life difficult, certainly for a first landing.
0:52:22 > 0:52:26So the signal had been sent out, "Return to base."
0:52:28 > 0:52:31But I didn't get that,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35so I screamed overhead and that was the first they knew I was there.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58- ARCHIVE:- Another page of history was written on December 3rd, 1945,
0:52:58 > 0:53:04when LZ 551 landed on and took off from HMS Ocean,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07the first jet aircraft ever to operate from a ship at sea.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13- ARCHIVE:- And the pilot, Lieutenant Commander Brown, "Winkle" to his friends.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18The event is the cause of interest.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Some very considerable interest.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27There it is. Coming up from below.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30Still surrounded and commanding attention.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33The pilot can be seen in the foreground without a helmet.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39Where does the urge come from? Feeling's believing.
0:53:43 > 0:53:49The Goofers Gallery, as we call it, was filled with brass, top brass,
0:53:49 > 0:53:54and they all flooded down onto the flight deck.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00The sailors who operate the arrestor gear, etc,
0:54:00 > 0:54:04they all came round and the one thing they wanted to do
0:54:04 > 0:54:07was warm their hands from the jet engine.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16Running up at full power before taking off.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19The spectators, a little more distant,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22behind something, somewhere.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24There was no trouble with a free take-off.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27A new era had started and the aircraft had come to stay.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59'Two-two-zero. Seven-zero.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02'Can't see it in my radar. Down you go.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05'OK. Standard descent.'
0:55:09 > 0:55:12By the mid '60s, I was moving up the seniority ladder.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15It was likely that I'd get an air station.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19Being a good Scot, I was praying that I'd get Lossiemouth,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22the training ground for nuclear bombers.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32When I first went to the Fleet Air Arm,
0:55:32 > 0:55:37the first aircraft I flew was the biplane Gladiator.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44You finish up at the end of my career, the Buccaneer.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48They were as different from that early era as chalk from cheese.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57War had pushed progress along so fast, at a huge cost, of course,
0:55:57 > 0:56:00in money and in lives.
0:56:03 > 0:56:08When you compare these two eras, with the biplane and the Buccaneer,
0:56:08 > 0:56:12you are talking about destructive loads
0:56:12 > 0:56:17being delivered with accuracy that was unbelievable in those early days.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Science fiction, almost.
0:56:54 > 0:56:57At first, when I had to retire from flying,
0:56:57 > 0:57:02I think it was a feeling similar to a drug addict
0:57:02 > 0:57:06when he no longer can get his drugs.
0:57:07 > 0:57:12Withdrawal symptoms were fierce for about a year
0:57:12 > 0:57:16and then I came to terms with it,
0:57:16 > 0:57:19after a year, but it wasn't easy.
0:57:24 > 0:57:29One thing I learned about myself was I was prepared to give up anything
0:57:29 > 0:57:32to stay in test flying.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39For six years at Farnborough, I virtually never had a day's leave.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46That is a terrible imposition on your family,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50so there are prices to be paid.
0:57:59 > 0:58:04It did become an obsession with me and it was something
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I felt I had to do
0:58:07 > 0:58:10otherwise I was...
0:58:10 > 0:58:14My soul, if you like to put it that way, would never be at peace.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23MUSIC: Wings Over The Navy by Lew Stone and His Band
0:58:28 > 0:58:31# Wings over the Navy
0:58:31 > 0:58:35# Wings over the sea
0:58:35 > 0:58:39# We're top of the service
0:58:39 > 0:58:43# The Navy's cavalry
0:58:43 > 0:58:47# High over the ocean
0:58:47 > 0:58:51# Flying wide and free... #