First of three programmes
The story of flying boats is one of ingenuity and enterprise; of style during the dying days of Britain's imperial grandeur; of Coastal Command's war against the U-Boats and of post-war scepticism that hastened their end. For all those who flew in them the flying boat was a part of aviation history that was unique and unforgettable. In this first programme David Lomax tells of the early days when Britain's first flying boat landed on the Solent in 1913, of First World War patrols in the North Sea and of RAF long-distance pioneering flights to open up routes to the Empire.
(Part 2 tomorrow at 3.50 pm)