Secret Superpower Aircraft: Bombers (2006)

Synopsis

This is the untold story of the cold war race to build the perfect long range bomber. Using computer graphics and rare archive footage we show the US and Soviet race to construct a nuclear powered bomber that can fly for years at a time. Our story opens with one of many Soviet cold war era Hoaxes, the airshow flyover of a massive squadron of Bison bombers, which, in reality was only 18 planes flying in tight circles. We then meet a forgotten Soviet aerospace hero, an Italian by birth, who designed the world's first super-sonic flying boat. The US, meanwhile, in pursuit of a long range bomber with extended flight capability, turns to nuclear power, converting a special Convair B-36, which we show in flight. We then visit one of Britain's finest aircraft designs, the long range TSR2 bomber, the engines of which were eventually incorporated into Concorde. We end with the most successful and capable long range bomber of the cold war, the B-2 Stealth.