Watch World War II in Colour online: Episode 3 Air War

Of all the assignments a serviceman might find himself undertaking during WW2, flying seemed to offer the greatest promise of glory. The world's air forces were relatively new and elite. Aviation was the wave of the future and new aircraft were built that employed equipment and designs that were on the cuttingedge of technology. Many strategists even predicted that air-power would be the decisive factor in the waging of modern warfare. What was not apparent to anyone in the early years of the conflict was that flying would become the most dangerous job of the war. Indeed, a flyer had less chance of survival than any other serviceman in any other branch of the military. This was an aspect of the air-war that no one had anticipated, particularly the men who flew the planes. During the war, over 130 thousand allied airmen perished whilst those who survived were permanently changed by the experience. Their perseverance in the face of daunting circumstances is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

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