History Channel - Ancient Discoveries Collection (2009-2011) Part 16 Airborne Assault

Ancient Discoveries Collection Changes the way we think about the distant past. While we entertain visions of a simpler, unsophisticated time, the truth is much more complicated and fascinating than we imagine. This fresh, eye-opening series – filmed on location where historical events actually happened and using brilliant, lifelike computer animation – applies the latest scholarship to reconsider common beliefs about ancient times. Reconstructions of ancient machines and hands-on demonstrations bring ancient times to life.

Part 16: Airborn Assault

In this episode we investigate the kite bomb - a never-before-built medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. We build one and test it with startling new insights and success. Next we investigate ancient bouncing bombs that actually skip across water - the fore-runners of the famous Dam Buster projectiles - that terrorised shipping in Turkey in 1453. We also learn the secrets of ancient China's whistling arrows - used by commanders to direct the flow of a battle. We investigate the world's earliest rocket-powered explosive missile from the ancient battlefields of China, dropping an ancient experimenter 6000 feet from a balloon with only a pair of umbrellas. We build the earliest known successful parachute and drop a skydiver from 6000 feet in one of the most dramatic and successful tests we've ever done.