The Shape of Things to Come
Series celebrating the British aviation industry looks at how, by 1960, the UK's passenger airline industry was the largest in the world.
In the heady years following World War II, Britain was a nation in love with aviation. Having developed the jet engine in wartime, British engineers were now harnessing its power to propel the world's first passenger jets. By 1960 the UK's passenger airline industry was the largest in the world, with routes stretching to the furthest-flung remnants of Empire.
And the aircraft carrying these New Elizabethans around the globe were also British - the Vickers Viscount, the Bristol Britannia and the world's first pure jet-liner, the sleek, silver De Havilland Comet, which could fly twice as high and twice as fast as its American competitors. It seemed the entire nation was reaching for the skies to create the shape of things to come for air travel worldwide. But would their reach exceed their grasp?
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Music Played
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The John Barry Seven and Orchestra
The James Bond Theme
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Narrator | Barbara Flynn |
Executive Producer | William Lyons |
Series Producer | Gerry Dawson |
Broadcasts
- Wed 29 Aug 2012 21:00
- Thu 30 Aug 2012 03:20
- Tue 4 Sep 2012 22:00
- Wed 19 Dec 2012 20:00
- Wed 19 Dec 2012 23:30
- Sun 15 Dec 2013 20:00
- Fri 20 Dec 2013 00:00
- Sat 5 Apr 2014 23:50
- Mon 18 Aug 2014 20:00
- Tue 19 Aug 2014 02:00
- Mon 27 Oct 2014 20:00
- Thu 30 Oct 2014 23:30
- Thu 21 May 2015 22:00
- Tue 23 Feb 2016 23:00
- Wed 6 Jul 2016 21:00
- Thu 7 Jul 2016 03:00
- Wed 8 Mar 2017 20:00
- Mon 7 May 2018 20:00
- Tue 8 May 2018 00:15
- Sat 13 Jul 2019 20:00
- Mon 14 Sep 2020 20:00
- Thu 6 Apr 2023 20:00
- Fri 7 Apr 2023 01:40
- Sat 20 Jan 2024 19:00
- Sun 21 Jan 2024 01:05