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  • BRITAIN'S GREATEST MACHINES WITH CHRIS

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Britain's Greatest Machines: 1910s
Host Chris Barrie kicks off proceedings with the 1910s - the decade that industrialised the First World War. Chris looks at pre-war inventions, from a three-wheeled Morgan runabout to massive moving bridges, before charting the new weapons, trucks, planes and ships of World War I. Find out how technology changed warfare forever, before seeing Chris climb into the cockpit for an exhilarating flight on the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic.

Britain's Greatest Machines: 1920s
After the horrors of World War I, the 1920s boom-and-bust years were about speed, glamour, and power. But the modern world didn't just exist, it had to be invented. Chris explores the motorbikes, articulated lorries, petrol pumps and planes that came off the drawing board to redefine an exciting new world. See Chris recreate the decade's new obsession with motor racing, and explore the massive building where Britain produced the biggest flying machine the world had ever seen - the R101 airship.

Britain's Greatest Machines: 1940s
Roaring into the 1940s Chris finds out there's nothing like a war to create technological change. He mans a fire pump to tackle a Blitz-style blaze and steps into an RAF control centre to discover how radar helped win the Battle of Britain. From spy planes to powerboats, jet engines to shrapnel-proof fire engines, Chris shows how new innovations helped defeat Hitler. But then we needed brand new tractor and car designs to help build the peace that followed...

Britain's Greatest Machines: Trains
Grab your anoraks and climb onboard the 1820s, one of the most revolutionary decades in history. In just ten years transportation evolved from foot and horse to the first passenger railway, forever changing British society. Chris follows this breakthrough, heading down a mine to witness rail's beginnings and taking a spin on the Trevithick Puffing Devil - the world's first high-pressure steam engine. Finally, our intrepid presenter climbs on to the footplate of some of the earliest and most famous trains in the world. TV icon and vintage machine enthusiast, Chris Barrie, serves up a big dose of nostalgia in this exclusive series celebrating British design.

EPISODE GUIDE

  • Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris: 1930s The Road To War
    Chris Barrie drives an A4 Gresley the world's fastest steam locomotive and takes a flight in a Dragon Rapide, one of the first airliners, as he seeks out the greatest British machines of the 1930's. This was the dawn of mass production in Britain and an era of fantastic speed machines and in this episode Chris investigates how the great engineering feats of the decade helped Britain prepare for war. Chris also takes the original 1930's driving test in one of Britain's first mass -produced cars and finds out how the lessons learned by Morris were put to use to mass produce one of the fastest tanks of WWII - the Crusader. He drives a Sentinel steam lorry used for the massive road building programme of the day and finds out how the Schneider Trophy winning Supermarine S6-B laid the groundwork for Britain's war-winning Spitfire.
  • Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris: 1950s A New World Order
    Chris Barrie takes a Routemaster bus down to his local skidpan and fires up a Vulcan bomber as he investigates the stories behind the greatest British Machines of the 1950's. This was an era in which Britain was determined to remain a world leader in engineering and a military power in a new world order dominated by the Cold War superpowers. Chris takes the controls of a Deltic Diesel locomotive as he finds out how wartime technology and materials were used to build groundbreaking new machines. He visits the Lovell Telescope to find out how a peaceful post-war radio telescope became embroiled in the Cold War. He re-visits the superb but ultimately doomed design of the world first jet airliner before taking to the original "Jungle" Test Track with one of the Britain's greatest international successes, the Land Rover.
  • Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris: 1960s Revolution by Design
    Chris Barrie relives the Monte Carlo rally at the wheel of a Mini Cooper and recreates Sir Ranulph Fiennes exploration of the Nile by hovercraft as he enjoys the greatest British Machines of the 1960's. This was a decade of revolutions and Britain's best designers and engineers weren't going to be left out. Chris gets his hands on some revolutionary trucks, charts the birth of the white van man and investigates the secrets of the iconic Post Office Tower. And in honour of the launch and raging success of Miss World, Chris organises his own Miss World competition - for beautiful Sixties sports cars.
  • Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris: 1980s The Future Has Landed
    Chris Barrie takes a ride in a "Back to the Future" DeLorean DMC and revisits the critical battles of the Falklands War as he seeks out the greatest British Machines of the 1980's. This was the decade in which Britain bounced back from a decade of oil crises, strikes and the decline of traditional manufacturing industries, embracing computerisation, electronics and new materials. Chris tells stories of machines that were ahead of their time including Sinclair's unforgettable C-5 and gets hands on with some high performance cars that came out of an emerging industry in which Britain was taking a world lead - motorsport
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