Machinery of War

Bigger is better. As the scale of war grew over the centuries, so too did the size of machinery used to create war. From the first moments, the British heavy tanks of WWI broke through the stalemates of trench warfare, the shape of war was changed forever.

Warfare has changed dramatically over the years, and the advancement of communication and surveillance technologies has played a large part in that progress.

With the ever-increasing destructive output of weapons, appropriate countermeasures had to be developed over time.

This episode tells the story of how machines have been used, and are being used, to transport armies and all of their equipment over land, across the sea, and in the air - from giant freighters to the image that became an iconic representation of action in Vietnam, the helicopter.

This episode looks at everything fast and maneuverable and the ever-increasing pace of warfare over the years.

This episode looks at the destructive capability of machinery across all scales, the inventions designed to unleash maximum carnage then and now; from the portable Mk2 Grenade maximizing the destructive potential of infantry to the ultimate weapon that ended WWII.