The Dam Busters

James Holland presents a fresh analysis of the legendary 1943 Dam Busters raid, a low-level night mission that took 19 Lancaster bombers deep into the heart of enemy territory to destroy German dams with a brand new weapon - the bouncing bomb. Of the many extraordinary things about the Dams raid, the biggest is that it almost never happened. When finally green lit, it set off an incredible race against time to form and train a new squadron. Their mission was to deliver a weapon that did not yet exist. Unprecedented by any scale, and even more remarkable because the crews were not the experienced elite that legend sometimes suggests, Holland believes this truly is the greatest raid of all time.

Comedian and history buff Al Murray is joined by historian Dan Snow, writer Natalie Haynes and broadcaster and film expert Matthew Sweet for a fresh look at a subject very close to his heart - the great British war movie. This roundtable discussion looks at both the films themselves, from A Bridge too Far to Zulu, and uses them as a lens on British history, cultural attitudes and our changing views on conflict over the decades.

A look back at the great British war films that boosted the nation's morale in the postwar years and launched the careers of some of our best-loved actors and directors. Including contributions from Noel Coward, Richard Attenborough, David Lean, Alec Guinness, Kenneth More and John Mills, the programme examines classic films like In Which We Serve, Reach for the Sky, Bridge on the River Kwai and The Dam Busters. Narrated by Sylvia Syms, this episode also includes her own memories of the making of one of the most enduring films of the genre, Ice Cold in Alex.