Decisive Weapons

Episode 2

The Bell Huey - Vietnam War Horse

The Bell-Huey helicopter was designer and built for air mobility, the rapid transport of troops and the provision of gun and rocket support. It gave the Americans an early advantage in the jungles of South Vietnam, but the North Vietnamese soon learned to lure the Hueys to the places they wanted to fight. Through such films as Apocalypse Now, the Huey came to symbolise the American involvement in the Vietnam conflict.

Episode 3

The P-51: Cadillac of the Skies

In 1943, the large and slow Flying Fortresses, used in the US Air Force's daylight bombing raids, were being shot out of the sky at a rate of up to 60 per day. Only one fighter plane could save them - the single-seat P51 Mustang. The P51 enabled American pilots to fly eight-hour missions - by the end of the war, it accounted for half of all German planes destroyed, either in the air or on the ground. American and German veterans recount the legend that was the Mustang.

Episode 4

The Bayonet - Cold Steel

Episode 5

The Longbow - Wood Against Steel

The longbow was the lethal weapon of the Middle Ages, a killing machine that could stop a fully-armoured knight dead in his tracks. Its simple form and devastating power made it the ideal weapon for the English when they invaded France in 1415 and, at Agincourt, faced a massive French army.

Episode 6

The Harrier - Jumping Jet Flash

Untested in combat and generally derided by the British military establishment, the Harrier proved itself in the Falklands conflict when just 20 of them took on a 200-strong Argentinian air force.