Warbird Workshop: Season 2, Episode 2

2 - 2: Waterbird

The epic battle to rebuild The Waterbird, the Royal Navy's first seaplane.

In 1911 Waterbird made history by taking off from Lake Windermere using a revolutionary float that inspired the design of every successful seaplane built over the following century. The Waterbird was championed by Winston Churchill who saw it as a war-winning weapon against the Kaiser's Germany.

Filmed over 12 years and beset by financial problems, the labour intensive project tests veteran engineer Gerry Cooper as each component has to be cut from wood by hand before, eventually, the Waterbird is ready to fly.