Airships

It is hard to imagine, but there was a time when airships blimps, dirigibles and zeppelins were the most dominant military aircraft of all. In this age of high-tech, high-speed planes and powerful, agile helicopters, the military airship has gone the way of the dodo, but it took many years before the world's governments abandoned the idea of turning these massive craft to military applications. AIRSHIPS tells their riveting story. From bombing runs to the high-flying spy balloons that soared out of the reach of enemy planes and guns, see how airships affected World War I. Trace the remarkable advances that made them among the most sophisticated aircraft in the world during the years between the wars. See rare footage of the USS LOS ANGELES, which the United States hoped to use as an airborne aircraft carrier, and see how Germany deployed its storied zeppelins as part of the Nazi war machine. From the birth of aviation to the death of a dream, this is the compelling story of airships at war.

• documentary