Wings (1988)
Overview
Aviation history series which aired on the Discovery Channel family of networks. Originally called Great Planes.
StatusReturning Series
TypeDocumentary
Original LanguageEnglish
Network
Seasons
Great Planes
1988 | 39 Episodes
Great Planes of Wings premiered on April 6, 1988
Great Planes was the original subset of Wings episodes which focused on one particular aircraft type. The original Great Planes program was initially produced by Aviation Video International in Australia, and distributed by the Discovery Channel. When it initially aired in America, the majority of episodes were narrated by the program's Australian writer and director, Luke Swann, with some others written and narrated by John Honey and Phil Chugg. In 1991 (notably following the first Gulf War), episodes were re-edited to include interviews with pilots of the profiled aircraft types before and following commercial breaks, and the narration was re-dubbed with American narrators Ron David and Tom Hair.
Strange Planes
1990 | 7 Episodes
Strange Planes of Wings premiered on August 29, 1990
A series of six episodes, entitled Strange Planes (and later released on VHS video), focused on several unusual aircraft types.
Wings Over the Gulf
1991 | 4 Episodes
Wings Over the Gulf of Wings premiered on October 2, 1991
Following the Gulf War of 1991, Discovery produced a new short-run program, Wings Over the Gulf, profiling the air war over Iraq before and during Operation Desert Storm, and select aircraft types used by coalition forces. The program was narrated by Will Lyman, and was released on VHS.
Wings of the Luftwaffe
1992 | 13 Episodes
Wings of the Luftwaffe of Wings premiered on April 8, 1992
Wings of the Luftwaffe was a 1992 separately-branded program that focused on Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. It was narrated by Helmut Bakaitis.
Wings of the Red Star
1993 | 13 Episodes
Wings of the Red Star of Wings premiered on February 4, 1993
Wings of the Red Star was a separately-branded program that focused on Soviet Air Force aircraft from World War II to the modern era. It was narrated by actor Sir Peter Ustinov.
SeaWings
1994 | 11 Episodes
SeaWings of Wings premiered on September 1, 1994
SeaWings, narrated by Edward Easton, was a separately-branded program that focused on United States (and some foreign) naval aircraft from World War II to the present day.
Wings II
1995 | 23 Episodes
Wings II of Wings premiered on May 5, 1995
Starting in the mid 1990s, newer Wings episodes, sometimes referred to as Wings II, would focus on the history or operations of a particular foreign air force, such as the Israeli Air Force, a foreign aviation company or design bureau such as France's Dassault or Russia's Mikoyan, or the aircraft of a particular conflict such as the Korean War or the Afghan-Soviet War. These episodes, narrated by Stuart Culpepper, often had interviews with the aircrews and famed aviation historian/writer Jeffrey Ethell, the "Fighter Writer".
Wings Over Vietnam: The Missions
2002 | 8 Episodes
Wings Over Vietnam: The Missions of Wings premiered on October 20, 2002
In 2002, this eight-episode program was aired, hosted by David Scott. During the course of the Southeast Asian war, the United States developed many new types of air tactics that had never previously been needed. New missions were devised, often under bizarre code-names. Some of these missions have gone on to become legends, while others have simply faded. What does remain are the men who flew the missions, the planes that were involved, and incredible stories of determination, triumph and tragedy. Wings Over Vietnam compares rare combat footage with first-hand accounts, to create a captivating portrait of these unique missions.
Flying Boats
1996 | 6 Episodes
Flying Boats of Wings premiered on January 1, 1996
First seeing service in the First World War, flying boats quickly adapted to peacetime when they became the world's first airliners. When the Second World War broke out, flying boats swiftly reverted to their military roles in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters - but it was becoming increasingly obvious that their days were numbered. Discovery Wings tells the story of these beautiful and spectacular aircraft with rare action archive footage and stills featuring dozens of different designs.