Beat The Ancestors

In this episode, the team sets out to build a medieval machine gun known as a Ribauldequin. The toughest and most dangerous part will be casting the barrels, dealing with molten bronze in excess of 1,000 degrees Centigrade. They are also making bullets and playing with gunpowder. What could possibly go wrong?

This week, Dick challenges the team to build a Catapulta, one of the most formidable weapons in the Roman arsenal. The Romans spent centuries perfecting their design of this enormous bolt throwing siege engine, and the team has three days to do it. Once proceedings are underway, Dick explains the original machine and reveals, with the aid of CGI, how this impressive weapon changed history.

The Byzantine flame-throwing boat once saved the Byzantine Empire from almost certain defeat, but the team is literally playing with fire when they construct it. The wooden boat is highly flammable and they are next to a vat of napalm!

The team works on the biggest build of the series - the Gothic Mega Crane. Its invention changed the skylines of Europe, enabling the building of towers higher than the world had ever seen. The team's blueprint is based on the design of the crane that built Salisbury cathedral, the tallest medieval spire in Europe.

The team is set to work on the most explosive build - Churchill's Rocket Parachute. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill asked a secret team of scientists to come up with an ingenious way of making supply drops reach the ground quickly and on target. Troops desperately needed ammunition and equipment, and conventional parachute drops were constantly being shot down by the enemy.