On June 8, 1940, the British aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and its two escort destroyers were ambushed by the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Norwegian Sea.
On June 8, 1940, the HMS Glorious, along with its two escort destroyers, encountered the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in the Norwegian Sea, leading to one of World War II's most controversial naval battles. This incident is notable for being perhaps the only time battleships directly destroyed an aircraft carrier.
With four exhibition halls, over ninety aircraft, more than 2 million records, and 30 thousand artefacts, the Museum is Europe's largest naval aviation museum.It is also home to the first British Concorde and the award-winning Aircraft Carrier Experience.
This film, inspired by actual events, tells the story of the defense of the island of Malta during WWII. Malta, part of the British Commonwealth, is actually a small group of islands in the Mediterranean Sea, about half way between Sicily and the northern coast of Africa. On June 12, 1940, the day after Italy declared war on Britain, the Italians began a prolonged campaign of aerial bombardments against Malta. This film highlights the early phase of that conflict as it follows the lives of three RAF pilots: George Burges, John Waters and Timber Woods. These pilots flew Gloster Sea Gladiator biplanes in the heroic defense of the island against more modern Italian fighters and bombers. In all, about six Gladiators were involved in the fighting some were cannibalized for parts but only three could ever be scrambled for a single sortie. The legend that arose from that conflict immortalized three of the Gladiators, nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity.