Episode 3 - Taking to the Skies

Observing the first manned balloon flight, Benjamin Franklin believed that the balloon would be such a potent weapon that it would bring about an end to war. If only that had been the case. Balloons played a role in numerous conflicts, from the French Revolutionary Wars and the American Civil War up to World War One, but they and their proponents often sat uncomfortably in the strict military hierarchy of their armies, leading to conflict and personality clashes. On this episode, we examine the role that balloons have played in military history and look and why, ultimately, they were not as effective as some hoped they would be. We also pick up the thread of airship history, looking at attempts, sometimes fatal, at solving the biggest problem of early flight - how to build an aircraft that could actually be steered. We look at the first ever powered flight and the different approaches to building a useful airship.