Ancient Discoveries (2003) - 6x01 - Airborne Assault

Assault from the air didn't begin with the era of the airplane. Take a look back at early methods of airborne attack. The kite bomb was a medieval siege weapon that dropped bombs from a kite over cities. We'll build one and test it with startling new insights and success. Ancient bouncing bombs that actually skipped across water--the forerunners of the famous Dam Buster projectiles--terrorized shipping in Turkey in 1453. Learn the secrets of ancient China's whistling arrows--used by commanders to direct the flow of a battle. Investigate the world's earliest rocket-powered explosive missile from the ancient battlefields of China. Finally, in one of the most dramatic tests ever conducted, we'll build the earliest known successful parachute and drops a skydiver from 6,000 feet.