Take Cover

Season 1Episode 430 minJul 17, 2007
Take Cover
In Take Cover, James looks at how warfare drives ingenuity and gets to fly in the RAF’s latest supersonic jet. It’s an experience that he describes as "the most amazing thing I have ever done". The film begins by looking at the early days of air war at the start of the 20th Century. James flies in a biplane to get to grips with how difficult it was for the early aviators to hit any targets. Using flour bombs, he tries to hit a target on the ground. It’s a lot more difficult than he imagined. He also meets a group of ex-Paras to try some "make up for men", camouflage paint. When he fails to spot the Paras hidden in the woods he turns to modern technology for help. James moves on to look at "the biggest art show of the century", one of the most curious innovations to come from the military world. It’s called dazzle camouflage, and it involved painting warships in a confusing series of lines and stripes. Thousands of ships were painted like this to confuse German U boats during the First World War. Finally James meets up with Squadron Leader Paul Godfrey. He’s been invited to fly in the Typhoon, the RAF’s latest jet fighter. He has a private pilot’s licence - but only at 4,000ft at 120 knots. The Typhoon is a plane that can go from a standing start to six miles high in 150 seconds. After landing James admits he was slightly emotional: "Well, I admit I was a bit nervous when we set off but, absolutely unquestionably and not anything to do with bigging it up for television, that was the best thing I have ever experienced. It is, it is breathtaking, it really is, I can’t really describe what it’s like. It’s life-changing, frankly."
Take Cover has aired on Jul 17, 2007 at 10:30 PM
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
The Great British Sewing Bee
Running

The Great British Sewing Bee

Amateur sewers take on challenges as they compete to be named Britain's best home sewer.

Halloween Baking Championship
Running

Halloween Baking Championship

Making everything from spider cupcakes to mummy macarons, seven of the country's top bakers will compete to create Halloween's spookiest confections on Halloween Baking Championship, premiering Monday, Oct. 5 at 9|8c. To survive this haunted competition, hosted by Richard Blais, contestants must prove their baking abilities and impress judges Ron Ben-Israel, Carla Hall and Sherry Yard. Only one winner will take home the grand prize of $25,000 and earn the title of Halloween Baking Champion.

GenreFood
Lioness
Running

Lioness

Lioness, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade and Donald Westfield, enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

The Diplomat
Running

The Diplomat

In the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she's unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.

Dark Matter
Running

Dark Matter

Hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, Dark Matter is a story about the road not taken. The series follows Jason Dessen, a physicist, professor, and family man who – one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago – is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the multiverse of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of mind-bending realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.