23. Three V-bombers and one atomic bomb

The Empire might be in decline so to remain relevant in the post war reality Britain not only needed to develop its own ‘bomb’ but a way to deliver it.  In a flurry of invention the country would end up with not one but three modern futurist bombers, it almost had four, but with missile technology just over the horizon they would have a short ‘nuclear’ career.

Listen to Episode 23

22. The Decline and Fall of the British Aircraft Industry

The post war years are seen by many and with some justification to be a golden age of British aero engineering. But with too many companies chasing a dwindling number of contracts and a Government that didn’t know the first thing about jet aircraft the ‘golden age’ wasn't going to last long.
Listen to Episode 22

21. What Goes Up Must Come Down

The British Government is desperate to offload the national debt and with that in mind the South Sea Company bribes enough people to make sure they get to take it on.  Their plan?  An pyramid scheme to make money from an ever rising share price but someone forgets to mention that bubbles always burst.  The parallels with todays financial crisis are too many to mention.
Listen to Episode 21

20. When is a Trading Company not a Trading Company?

War maybe Hell but it’s also very, very expensive and like almost every other country European country in the early 1700s England was deeply in debt.  Enter the South Sea Company and a story that mixes avarice, corruption, deceit, international intrigue and vast sums of other people’s money all topped off with political infighting and an unpopular monarch. 

19. The Putney Debates

During the latter part of 1647 a small church at Putney on the banks of the Thames saw ordinary soldiers and their civilian supporters call for not just for political and religious toleration, but also for the franchise to be extended beyond the landed gentry.  The Putney Debates paved the way for many of the civil liberties we value today but seems largely forgotten.

18. 1914 to the decline of Empire

World War One was the most significant event of 20th Century and amongst other things marked the beginning of the end of Pax Britannia.  The vacuum left would be readily filled by others but it wasn’t going to be plain sailing.  Almost a hundred years after World War One the future of the Royal Navy is as uncertain as it’s ever been.

17. Ironclads, Big Guns and the road to World War 1

Sails are finally done away with as steam power takes over and the race between armour and guns gets under way.  Pax Britannia turns maps of the world red as the Americans, Japanese and Germans aspire to have navies just like the British; the road to World War One begins.