Footage of the 6-engined XB-70 Valkyrie, a 1960s coldwar supersonic strategic nuclear bomber. Features footage of it's maiden flight, wheel lockup and flameout, and it's infamous collision with an F-104 in 1966.
Formed in 1946 under the directive of Admiral Chester Nimitz, the Blue Angels are the US Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron. In the course of their history they have used the F6F Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F9F Panther(first jet), F9F-8 Cougar, F11 Tiger, F-4 Phantom, A-4 Skyhawk and shown here the F/A-18. Hornet. Music: FC Kahuna - 'Hayling'.
09/08/1945 Codename "Fat-Man", the 2nd and last nuclear weapon to be used in combat. The weapon at 11:02 local time 500 meters above the city with a yield equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT.
The Abrams is the US's main battle tank, and arguably the best of it's type in the world. With its sophisticated electronics and 120mm smoothbore main gun, it is capable of a 95% hit rate at distances of over 4km. It is powered by a 1500hp gas turbine, it is protected by state-of-the-art armour which can incorporate depleted uranium. Music: H-BlockX - The Power
The Lightning was an all-British Mach 2 capable supersonic Cold War fighter/interceptor. RAF pilots described it as "being saddled to a skyrocket". Designed as an air superiority fighter, it's role was to defend mainland Britain against bomber attacks. The Lightning served RAF and the Royal Saudi Air Force between 1957 and 1988.
Music: Ian Brown - "Northern Lights".
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is a multi-role stealth heavy bomber. The B-2's composite materials, special coatings and flying-wing design all contribute to its "stealthiness." One of the most expensive planes ever built: estimates for the costs per plane range from 1.1 to 2.2 billion USD. Music: Massive Attack - 'Future Proof'.
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine supersonic interceptor aircraft that served with the USAF from 1958 until 1967, and the first combat aircraft capable of sustained speeds above Mach 2. A highly inovative plane designed by Kelly Johnson to meet demands generated by the Korean war, it featured many design firsts.
Music: Massive Attack - Teardrop
The Tupolev Tu-144 Charger was a supersonic transport aircraft AKA Koncordski, on 15/07/69 it became the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2, and the fastest commercial airliner ever. Includes footage of the the Paris Air Show 03/06/73 when the aircraft crashed killing all six crew.
Today marks the 62nd anniversary of the first atomic weapon used in war, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on this day, 6th of August 1945. It exploded 600m above the city at 08:15 local time with the approximate force of 15,000 tons of TNT, destroying the entire city in an instant.
The F-111 is a supersonic multipurpose tactical fighter bomber capable of carrying conventional as well as nuclear weapons . The two crew members sit side-by-side in a pressurized cockpit module that serves as an emergency escape vehicle and as a survival shelter on land or water.
