As the early morning mist began to lift from the verdant rainforest of Malaya, a trio of de Havilland Hornet DH.103s from No. 45 Squadron RAF vaulted into the tropical skies, their twin Merlin engines roaring in unison as they set off to hunt down their Communist enemy.

While the Hornet had originally been conceived as a high-speed fighter for World War 2’s Pacific Theater, by the early 1950s, it was at the forefront of Britain’s campaign to put down the insurgency that had erupted in their Southeast Asian colony, breaking out from its intended role to prove it was just as adept at ground attacks.

Looking down upon the endless green below as they zoomed over the thick jungle, the DH.103s’ pilots knew they had a difficult task ahead, their target hidden somewhere beneath the dense canopy.

With only their maps to guide them, the three Hornets surged into the marked area before swooping down like the predatory insects for which they were named. One by one, their lethal 1000-pound bombs plummeted through the treetops before shattering the tranquility of the undergrowth below with deafening explosions. Leaving little but a sea of smoke and chaos in their wake, the Hornets disappeared into the horizon, eagerly awaiting their moment to strike again.

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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.

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