Aviation

Black-and-white photograph of Nikola Tesla sitting in a chair reading beneath an enormous electrical apparatus, surrounded by dramatic branching electrical discharges.

General History

14 famous inventors: the technological pioneers who reshaped the world

A pair of World War II‑era Supermarine Spitfire fighter planes fly in formation along a bright coastline. Below them, tall white chalk cliffs drop to turquoise water, with green fields stretching inland above the cliffs. The aircraft have elliptical wings, camouflage paint, and Royal Air Force roundels. The scene is clear and sunlit, evoking the historic defence of Britain.

Membership

Did the Spitfire really save Britain in WW2?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A drawing depicting a German monoplane dropping bombs on Paris in 1914

Membership

Creating fake Paris: why did one man build a hoax French capital?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a plane with Japanese characters written on its side

Membership

He shot down 3 planes in 4 minutes: meet the WW2 pilot you won't have heard about. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two pilots dressed in military uniform sit in the cockpit of a small war plane. Both are looking out the window the right of the picture

Membership

"England is invincible": How the Luftwaffe lost the Battle of Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Aeronauts James Glaisher (left) and Henry Coxwell (right) pose in the basket of their hot air balloon

Victorian

The balloon-riding Victorians who courted disaster: the true story behind The Aeronauts

Membership

Video podcastEric 'Winkle' Brown: Britain's most extraordinary pilot. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Amelia Earhart in 1928, standing in front of her biplane 'Friendship'

20th Century

Amelia Earhart's disappearance: who was American aviator, and what happened to her?

Membership

The race across the Atlantic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American aviator Bessie Coleman pictured in c1922, around the time she made her debut flight. Her astonishing aerial stunts would earn her the monikers ‘Queen Bess’ and ‘Brave Bessie’ (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

20th Century

Bessie Coleman: a boundary-breaking pilot who fought for her dream

Membership

Pioneering women pilots: from ballooning spectacles to flying escapades. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Membership

War in the air: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The first controlled, powered and sustained human flight on 17 December 1903 by the Wright Brothers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

20th Century

Flying into history: the Wright Brothers' Flyer and the world's first flight

Stuka dive bombers fly in formation over France in May 1940

Second World War

The making and breaking of the Luftwaffe

A Hawker Hurricane of Fighter Command on its way to intercept German bombers as they crossed the south coast of England during the Battle of Britain, 1940. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Membership

6 Battle of Britain myths. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Da Vinci's sketch 'The Vitruvian Man'. Da Vinci's talents ranged from anatomy to military engineering, and many of his innovations were not explored further for several centuries. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

Medieval

Your guide to Leonardo da Vinci: his life, inventions and milestones in his career

Spitfires under construction at the Vickers Supermarine works in Southampton, around 1940

Membership

The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ed Caesar on the HistoryExtra podcast.

Membership

An extraordinary Everest adventure. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Membership

The Falklands War in the air. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

London burns behind Tower Bridge on 7 September 1940

Second World War

Days of destiny: 5 key dates in the Battle of Britain

A Hawker Hurricane in flight over Britain

Second World War

Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe

German Heinkel HE-111 bombers fly over Britain during a mission in September 1940

Membership

8 reasons why the Luftwaffe didn’t stand a chance of beating the RAF in the Battle of Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A group of fighter pilots of No. 32 Squadron relax beside their Hawker Hurricane Mk I fighters at RAF Hawkinge in July 1940

Membership

The Few: who exactly were the heroes of the Battle of Britain?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Membership

The Lancaster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Members of 617 squadron, known as the Dambusters

Second World War

How successful was the Dambusters raid?

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation), holding a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow Airport, 17 March 1969. (Photo by Jim Gray/Keystone/Getty Images)

General ModerngalleryIn pictures: the history of London’s Heathrow Airport