History Extra

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

History Extra

WELCOME

DANGEROUS NEW HEIGHTS • Speaking from the backbenches, Winston Churchill spent the early 1930s bemoaning Britain’s lack of power in the air. As rumours of Nazi Germany’s growing aerial capabilities swirled, parliament finally began to heed his call, says Gavin Mortimer

PART ONE TAKING TO THE SKIES

HOW THE SPITFIRE NEARLY MISSED ITS FINEST HOUR • Adored by its pilots and feared by the Germans, the Spitfire is rightly seen as the greatest British fighter ever built. However, as Leo McKinstry reveals, bureaucratic bungling meant that this iconic aircraft nearly remained on the ground

TIMELINE The making of an icon

THE FORMIDABLE FEW • The Battle of Britain has long been hailed as the triumph of the plucky underdog over the Nazi goliath. Yet, says James Holland, when rival fighters clashed over England in 1940, it was the RAF that held all the aces

WHERE THE GERMANS WENT WRONG • Ten reasons why the Luftwaffe didn’t stand a chance of beating the RAF in 1940

THE FLYING HELL-RAISERS • Living in close proximity to the civilian population enabled the Battle of Britain pilots to be warriors by day and playboys by night. Martin Francis reveals how they drank, danced and fell in love

BACK DOWN TO EARTH • As the summer waned, so did the hedonism

WHEN WOMEN FLEW SPITFIRES • Giles Whittell shares the stories of three intrepid women who flew the RAF’s legendary fighter and helped blaze a trail for female pilots in Britain

THE VIEW FROM BELOW • The Battle of Britain was a time of fear, excitement and danger for those on the ground as well as in the skies. Brett Holman takes up the story

A HOSTILE RECEPTION • How Britons greeted downed German pilots

Out of sight

THE MAKING AND BREAKING OF THE LUFTWAFFE • Feared, reviled and revered, few military organisations have carried a reputation quite like the Luftwaffe did during the Second World War. Victoria Taylor reveals how the Nazis shaped this formidable air force – and the reckless mistakes that underpinned its demise

FIVE PLANES THAT DEFINED THE LUFTWAFFE • From jet fighters to dive bombers, these aircraft helped heighten the Luftwaffe’s fearsome reputation in the skies

Melitta Schiller von Stauffenberg (1903-45) • Few women - and only with Jewish ancestry - flew for the German Third Reich. Clare Mulley tells the story of a groundbreaking engineer, test pilot and anti-Nazi patriot

PART TWO FIGHT AND FLIGHT

THE DANGERS OF THE BLITZ SPIRIT • The stoicism of the British people in response to the Luftwaffe raids of 1940-41 is seen as heroic, but their defiance resulted in needless deaths. Richard Overy reveals why civilians were surprisingly brazen about the bombs

WHEN HELL RAINED DOWN ON HAWAII • The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shocked the United States, transforming what had previously been a neutral nation that embraced isolationism into one that was baying for war. Gavin Mortimer revisits the explosive episode

POWER TO THE PEOPLE • The Japanese believed that attacking Pearl Harbor would obliterate American morale - but it had the opposite effect

BOMBER BOYS • Patrick Bishop tells the story of Britain’s bombing offensive...