Things We Forgot to Remember

Through the story of a German night fighter captured in Suffolk, Michael Portillo remembers the crucial electronic war waged between the Axis and the Allies. In July 1944 the crew of a Junkers JU88 night fighter, lost and without fuel, emergency landed their plane on an RAF airfield in Suffolk. This gift from the skies provided British Air Intelligence with the latest German radar secrets. Throughout the war a technological see-saw had been underway with each side trying to gain the the advantage in radar detection and evasion equipment. The radar technology in this particular night fighter explained why large numbers of British bombers were being shot down from the rear and the RAF aircraft were quickly modified as a result. Alongside distinguished historians and veterans of RAF Bomber Command, Michael pieces together the story of that fateful night. He also explores how it illuminates the vital - yet lesser known - battle front of electronic warfare

Michael Portillo examines the Georgian period. We remember the politeness, elegance, wealth and taste but forget how the Georgian regime supressed political dissent and wrote out of history those opposed to its version of Britishness.

Michael Portillo discovers an American porposal for post war Germany called the Morgenthau plan. Its punative measures aimed at deindustrialising Germany and making it a 'giant potato patch' unable to wage war. It's very different from the Marshall plan we all remember but it was signed by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

Michael Portillo discovers how we've forgotten that Magna Carta led to a civil war and a French invasion of England.

We hear a great deal about the Spanish Armada and how plucky England fought off this maritime behemoth with superior seamanship, English gumption and some helpful weather. But we forget that the very next year 'plucky' England sent an equally immense armada to invade Spain. Michael Portillo discovers the disasterous story of Francis Drake and the English Armada.

Michael Portillo discovers how romantic memories of the French Resistance created an enduring military legend which overshadowed its more important political role in shaping post war France.

Michael Portillo discovers the origins of modern-day policing in the forgotten police strikes of 1918-19.

Michael Portillo discovers what really happened in 1773 when hundreds of crates of British tea were dumped into Boston harbour. He discovers a murkier and more ambiguous tale than we've been led to believe.