Back in the 1930s, two giant airlines began to span the globe, flying firstly mail and then passengers around the world. Pan American flew to Latin America and eventually across the Pacific to Asia. Britain's Imperial Airways linked the empire from Europe through the the Middle East to Africa, India and beyond. But crossing the North Atlantic, although potentially one of the most lucrative routes, proved more difficult.
The flying boats themselves were glorious glamour pusses, transporting a handful of lucky souls around the world in fabulous luxury, standard bearers of a now mythical golden age of flight.
This episode tells the story of the rivalry between Pan Am and Imperial Airways to get the first commercial airline service flying across the Atlantic - a race won just weeks before the outbreak of World War Two.
