The Wehrmacht had a joke about the Luftwaffe at Normandy: “if you see silver airplanes they’re American, if you see brown ones, they’re British, and if you don’t see any at all, they’re ours.”
My family served in Finland against Russia, in Germany, Polish volunteers in England. My grandparents are from the countries in question and were partly Jewish. So the stories Ive heard should have been recorded cause it was mindblowing tohear and should have been recorded.
The Germans had a joke about Americans trying to make the German hamburger.. the hamburger being named after it's indigenous city, Hamburg, Germany... "if you see a McDonald's, it's pink slime... if you see a Burger King, you'll get a whopper of tummy ache, and if you see a Wendy's, where's the beef?"
It was said that, after D-Day, a German pilot shot up six American airplanes on an airfield before being shot down by ground fire. The pilot was captured, and as he surrendered he motioned to the burning aircraft and asked his captors, "what do you think about that?" The next day, the pilot is taken from the air field to a POW camp. One of his guards point out six brand new airplanes sitting by the runway. "What do you think about that?"
My uncle flew a P-47 in Normandy campaign. He was an ace in that war and later in Korea. Proud of that. I have seen gun camera shots from his group but as yet none from his plane
@@gordonkayaksandwalks He crashed in the Netherlands. Apparently, his flight was on a routine patrol looking for targets, but didn't find any, possibly because it was Christmas Eve. Campbell spotted a couple of vehicles and, as he had seen them, his flight commander let him attack first. As his opened fire, his plane spun out of control. No return ground fire was seen. Perhaps it was the Typhoon tail fracture problem. Who knows?
I know the scene you're referring to and I agree with you, except I think, for the flak batteries. Many of those were Luftwaffe units, and they did some terrible damage, especially during the airborne drops the night before. I think Band of Brothers did an excellent job of depicting that aspect of D-Day.
@@benwilson6145 Yes because everyone was a facist *facepalm* your ignorance is incredible Not to mention there totally wasn't a soldiers oath or a secret police in this democratic state right? learn history
Canada wrote off the cost of the BTAC to England in 1945 to the tune of 5$00 million 1945 dollars. Russia still owes Canada for retrofitting all their ships that showed up in Canada. $400 million in 1945 dollars. The first thing Canada did was raise $1billion for the UK in 1939, which was highly unpopular in Canada at the time. Canada never used any lend lease stuff. Canada passed and transported that equipment to all the Commonwealth. To the tune of another $4billion. Canada produced another $5 billion in war equipment, which it gave away. Elsie McGill produced 1800 Hurricanes, most were given to UK. Canada paid its way, fought with volunteers.
An interesting take on it however your comment is riddled with erroneous information. The Billion Dollar Gift (0.9 billion USD) was approved January 1942. Another 2 billion CD was approved in 1943. Canadian Army used M4 tanks, halftracks and jeeps Lend Leased to Britain. Almost everything made in Canada had Lend Lease parts including engines in Lancasters, Mosquitos and Cansos (Catilina flying boats) and tires and batteries in CMP trucks. Canada had one million people in uniform, a lower percentage than Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Conscripts did not have to serve outside Canada (which did not include Newfoundland at that time) before 1945 unless they volunteered.
It's ironic and deeply tragic that having contributed so superbly to the fight for enlightenment values and freedom during both world wars, to see Canada's precipitous descent into authoritarianism.
@@nickgood8166 as someone who grew up in a communist dictatorship your comment is laughable. You know you can vote them out next election. We had no such opportunity.
Early in 1944 Doolittle changed the objective from protecting bombers to destroying the Luftwaffe, for the specific purpose of air superiority on DDay. So what was seen on DDay was the result of a months long strategy
I got to visit there in the early 80's when it was basically just a few hangars with the aircraft displayed in them. I believe back then it was called the "Battle of Britain" museum. It was incredible to get "up close and personal" with those famous aircraft. The staff was amazing! Incredibly knowledgeable about each aircraft and actually got excited the more we asked questions. For this young US Airman and aviation nerd, it was an event of a lifetime. Now that I'm "semi" retired, I need to get back there to visit Duxford!
I was born not far from Duxford. My parents took me to see the film set of The Battle of Britain scenes during filming. I try to go to the museum once a year, now.
Excellent video. All I can add is “Bad management on the part of the Germans”. Thanks for posting the video. Been to the IWM at Elephant and Castle, a great visit. Cheers from Texas.
As a Canadian, it's nice to see a production company that actually uses the Dominion Red Ensign, the Proper Canadian Flag of the day. Most haven't a clue what they are doing and use the current Canadian Maple Leaf Flag
I personally think the old Canadian flag, the Dominion Red Ensign as you call it, was one of the most attractive if not the most attractive flags in the world. It's a shame it was replaced, I read somewhere that it was to placate Quebec and prevent their potential withdrawal from Canada. I'm not saying the new flag isn't good, I believe it's taken from the maple leaf on the old flag, but it is a bit of a logo! It is, however, instantly recognisable. It is probably just my taste in these things, but I think flags with the Union flag in the top left canton are actually more attractive than the Union flag itself.
Great video! The detailed explanation of the Luftwaffe's role and what happened during D-Day is both informative and engaging. The combination of history and strategy was really well presented. Thanks for sharing this fascinating insight!
Very good video. Thank you. This was an astonishing and pivotal battle. D-Day gets the glory and the build up and delivery was unlike anything in history and since, but the Battle for France was just as crucial.
I visited the Normandy area in 2000, and visited the church at St Mere-Iglais. They had a mannequin dressed as a paratrooper hanging off the church's spire. I hope it's still there.
I met John Steele once or twice casually. He was the uncle of a boyhood friend of mine. One of my uncles my mom's brother was killed in the Normandy fighting.
Gliders?. I used to fly blanik training gliders, hardly high performance but what the insanely brave allies were flying were more winged bricks than gliders I got to read the pilot manuals for the horsa and hamiltons, their glide angles were so bad I marveled that the got down safely and having survived one semi controlled crash, they did it again these guys are under appreciated so brave that they must have been part insane to do it and battered and bruised these guys then became infantry some fought their way back to friendly lines to do it again these guy deserve to be remembered with awe
I consider anyone that volunteers to go land in hostile territory, in the dark, flying an unpowered glider Mr B*ll of Steel with little left to prove. I am a skydiver and I sometimes sit in the packed plane on the way up and imagine jumping out over an area full of enemy forces. My respect.😊
Is there any way to find out more about a clip used in this piece. At 1'42 the man on the left bears a striking resemblance to my grandfather who, as far as I know, was involved in photographic reconnaissance throughout the war. I'd love to know where the footage was shot to see if it matches where he was serving in 1944.
Rommel was already use to not having air superiority in Africa, so he knew that you don’t want to be moving troops and tanks 15/20m to the front. Normandy had plenty of locations that could hold tank battalions closer to the cost. Knocking the allies back into the sea prevents another landing until mid 1945, or having to funnel all troops through one beach. Once the allies had a secure beach the game was up.
Keeping the troops close to the beaches would subject them to naval gunfire. Air attacks will still happen. The ground force concentration will be discovered and attacked. The real concern was that the Germans not only had to worry about Normandy, they had a lot of men posted elsewhere in France: Calais and even Southern France where Operation Dragoon would take place. The Germans were fooled into thinking the invasion would hit Calais. Anytime anyone posts a "What If?" in German deployment, it always assumes they knew Normandy was THE invasion target. The Germans firmly believed Calais was the target because it made sense, as well as other deception operations to make it seem even more obvious. There was no way the Germans were going to stop a Western Allied foothold in France.
@@Warmaker01Naval gunfire cannot go deeper than 20 km or so from the coast line. A tank waiting 30 km inland can reach the beach in 1h. And anyway, the allied ships gunfire and aerial bombing completely failed even to silence the German coastal batteries (overlooking the landing beaches, big static target with well known position). These batteries engaged allied ships all D-Day and hammered the landing beaches with enfilade fire. They were taken only the following day by infantry arriving from their back. You can visit even today the well known and impressive battery of Longues sur mer, with the casemates with still the guns inside. And the aerial bombing craters still visible today. If Hitler had given permission to Rommel to keep the panzer divisions closer to the beaches then the invasion would have been smashed in the first hours. The only combat hardened German division on place (the 352nd infantry at Omaha) kept the Americans on the beach for hours until they (the Germans) ran out of bullets. And even with the panzer divisions away from the beaches, they could have been much more effective if they were ordered to reach the beaches immediately. Unfortunately Hitler was sleeping and nobody could/wanted to awake him in order to release the panzer divisions kept in reserve under his direct order.
7:39 Code name Window was amazing as the Dambusters had to fly very precise paths backwards and forwards across the English Channel or the ruse would not succeed. I saw an interesting documentary on this mission - sorry can't remember the name.
@@Warmaker01 Yes, the Allies had a huge intelligence coup in convincing Hitler that the "real" invasion was going to happen at Calais, and Normandy was just a diversion. In a similar vein, the Gulf War happened a similar way in which the U.S. military allowed CNN to film them practicing amphibious landings because they knew that Saddam Hussein watched a lot of CNN. The Iraqis became convinced that the U.S. military would invade from the Persian Gulf when instead they did a land invasion from Saudi Arabia on the other side of Kuwait.
Fighter Ground Attack (FGA) had evolved into a sophisticated system by 1944: Squadrons of Typhoons and Tempests (mostly) circled in the Division Rear 'on call' to Forward Air Controllers (FAC), usually an RAF squadron leader attached to leading Battlions. This made FGA quick and reliable. My uncle was killed in a Typhoon in 1943.
Lord Beaverbrook "The Packhard Rolls-Royce engine is an example to the whole world. There was a very good American aeroplane called the Mustang. The engine of the Mustang was giving good service, but some genius had the idea of putting Rolls-Royce engines into the Mustangs, and the result is a very good aeroplane, one of the best in the world-some people will say the very best. That was the result of this project in America over which the Ministry had no supervision, although the contract was made here by the Minister." FLEET AIR ARM. HL Deb 27 January 1943 vol 125 cc794-829
@@flybobbie1449 And then the presses were sold to South Africa where they are still used to manufacture new cars reliably ( British Clearing anyone?), like Holden Australia's production line machinery.
Fitting Merlin engines to a good plane didn't guarantee getting a better plane. The Bristol Beaufighter was a very good heavy fighter bomber but fitting Merlins to it was a total failure.
My Uncle Charlie Huff was a Tail-Gunner in Bomber in the European Theater. My friend Rob Denzel's Dad, who was a Jewler by profession, designed the Bombardier site for precision bombing campaigns. My Uncle Sammy was captured in the Battle of The Bulge, and held prisoner. Both my Uncle's survived the War! My Dad and his family lived in Manila Philippines (He was born in 1934, and he was just a boy during WWII), He has some amazing stories though!
01:25 if you are crossing a river you establish a bridgehead. if you are landing on a beach, you establish a beachhead. although I wouldn’t normally quibble this slip-up, this *is* the Imperial War Museum, and I figure they should get it right. to be fair, towards the end 14:07 the correct term was used.
bridge·head noun noun: bridgehead; plural noun: bridgeheads a strong position secured by an army inside enemy territory from which to advance or attack.
My grandfather was a navigator with 51 sqn and flew most of his combat missions during the Normandy campaign. Most of them were against V weapon sites.
Glad to see the B-26s shown and mentioned. My father piloted two missions on D-Day, as well as bombing preparing for the invasion and missions afterward. Eventually his group moved over into France, and he continued until his 65 missions were completed and he returned stateside. He stayed in the air force and retired after 23 years.
I remember a classic anecdote with one of Hitler's adjutants during one of their meetings. Hitler was annoyed because of a fly, so the adjutant was tasked of dispatching it. But being a funny man, he said that since it was flying, it was the responsibility of the Luftwaffe. Unfortunately, the mustache guy did not like the joke, and the adjutant was immediately sent to the Eastern Front
The tail sounds invented, but it's very entertaining. Nonetheless. I do hold out a sliver of Hope that at least one brave jokester did not take Hitler as seriously as the rest of the boot licking general staff
@@uncletiggermclaren7592 oh then it is true. I have the same irresponsible sense of humor like I'll make Sly jokes on zoom meeting calls, and I can definitely see myself getting shipped to the Eastern fronts along with the jokester officer
@@decimated550 I would probably be sitting in the train with you. Because I would laugh at the joke and then say "You need to cultivate a sense of humour, Arsedolf".
My family lived near Tarrant Rushton This was a glider base, my mother said that aircraft were going overhead all night. As an ATC cadet we used to watch the activity at Tarrant. Flight Refueling Limited used the base in the 70s for product testing
The aircraft losses were, if I recall correctly, one book quoted that there were over 1000 Luftwaffe and 2000 Allied aircraft lost over and near Normandy .But many hundreds of Allied fighters roamed over Normandy attacking anything that looked German. A victory, but an expensive one.
At 9:07 she says that the C-47 could carry jeeps and light trucks., That doesn't seem possible to me, both from the carrying capacity and also lack of any large cargo-door. Am I wrong ?
Yes, you're wrong. The spacious left-side rear-fuselage cargo doors on the C-47 could accommodate jeeps, light trucks, or anything else of equivalent bulk and weight. The left side had double doors [a normal & a very wide door] around 9 ft wide total that could load vehicles via a ramp so they faced forward. The trucks were small say a Dodge 4x4 or an artillery piece such as a Bofors AA gun.
The Allies began a campaign early in 1944 to destroy the Luftwaffe so it could not interfere with the invasion. A thousand B-17's and B 24's escorted by P51's flew every day that the weather was good. Directly challenging the Luftwaffe in the sky. The cost was heavy but by the time D Day came around the Luftwaffe was a shred of what it had been
Great video! Very informative especially your discussion of the resistance of both RAF Bomber Command and the 8th Air Force assisting in the preparation for the Normandy landings.
Don't know if you have been since your comment and I'm assuming you mean the one in London but ive been twice, first time in 1992 and lastly a few years ago. First visit was excellent, second time it was a bit disappointing, dumbed down and just full of school children which spoilt the whole visit. It's worth visiting the IWM in Manchester which was much mire pleasant and you must go to RAF Duxford if you already haven't, that's excellent.
Great Video! My Dad Was There, 101 Airborne. He Told Me About The Guy On The Steeple 60 Years Ago. I'd Love To Visit Your Country's World War Two Museums. Thank You.
A bit OT but not that much, in view of the difficulties Spaatz and Harris had with Leigh Mallory: how come Sir Hugh Dowding was replaced by the latter after the end of BoB?
I think it was something to do with Dowding being seen as overly cautious and pessimistic. It's a long time since I read that though so not sure on its accuracy
I believe it was political dealings, having won the BOB, Mallory and Park stabbed him in the back. Dowding retired, Mallory took over fighter command, then the AEF and was killed in a plane crash en route to take command of RAF in South East Asia. Reading books by Tom Neil, Mallory was not that popular. He had hoarded aircraft such as the latest models of spitfire long after the BOB, while the DAF were making use of battered and patched up Hurricane etc.
Jealousy by Leigh Mallory; Fighter Command was seen as the poor cousin within the RAF (The Bomber will always get through). Dowding planned for the future and husbanded his forces carefully. His critics all wanted "Big Wings" and mass aerial combat; his policy of incessant "Hit & Run" attacks destroyed German morale. The Big Wing never produced the huge enemy losses its proponents hoped but it totally shattered the German morale; hit & run raids across England, then a huge RAF force, followed by hit & run raids aon the way home; and then do it all again after lunch. Dowding was side-lined to a "non-job" in the USA but the Americans were actually quite keen to get the benefit of his experience. Dowding was regarded as a bit odd; he was very proud, and fond, of his young pilots; he believed in life after death and claimed to have been visited by young deceased pilots; well regarded by his pilots, but not his contemporaries.
@Riccardo_Silva Sholto Douglas and Leigh-Mallory had friends in high places. Dowding and Keith Park did not. As soon as the Battle of Britain was the Air Ministry put in their own men in and shunted Dowding and Park out of the way. Dowding to the British Air Mission in the USA, where he was responsible for buying aircraft, and Park was sent to Training Command, Egypt and then Malta.
IIRC Dowding was basically due for retirement anyway. Keith Park was definitely stabbed in the back, figuratively speaking. He went on to Malta, succeeded there with the same strategy as he'd used in the BoB. Leigh Mallory attacked the Luftwaffe, who used the same strategy against *him* that Park had previously used, with the same result - victory for the defenders.
I really like the videos from IWM but the on-camera narrators are clearly reading a script and are subject to awkward camera angles. I think it would be much more effective to have them look into the camera and not pretend they are looking off-camera at a non-existent audience.
I agree wholeheartedly about the use of second cameras which the presenters aren't looking at. It's a distraction and adds nothing to the video, though it's very fashionable on youtube.
It's seriously distracting - if the presenter isn't talking to me, it's like they don't care. Obviously they do care, but the camera angles do them no favours.
Everyone involved had enormous courage but i've always thought being an advance paratrooper dropping behind enemy lines ahead of an invasion that may be repulsed must have been terrifying!
There is some debate amongst historians as to whether a parachutist did in fact land on the Sainte Mere Eglise church tower. It is shown in the excellent movie The Longest Day, and till this day the town itself has a dummy parachutist hanging from the tower, but upon closer inspection it was seen that it would have been impossible to get the man down as there was no access to where he was hanging.
You are correct. Current scholarship puts in doubt that story. It appears the story of the hung up paratrooper did not come up until well after the war.
The location of the parachute & dummy para is on the wrong face of the bell tower - it was placed on the wrong face because it's most visible there from a distance. The real parachute & para were hanging in front of the openings for the bells & the tower was used as an OP by the Germans - a German soldier, Corporal Rudolph May, was up in the church’s bell tower when the airborne attack came. [...] QUOTE: “There was a man hanging there, suspended. He hung there like he was dead - but after a while he started moving. Then we also heard him sighing. May’s comrade raised his weapon as if to shoot him, but May stopped him. He decided to try and cut the suspension lines of Steele’s chute. After he had cut several, he threw Steele a rope tied to the tower by which he could lower himself to the ground and be taken prisoner. That's the story as I understand it - it is obvious that the bell tower was manned & that solves the problem of access if one allows that the parachute caught on a different facade.
I couldn't find anything saying there was a debate about that parachutist being stuck on the tower. John Steele was one of the few paratroopers who survived the drop. Unfortunately, he was wounded in the foot by a burst of flak. His parachute caught on one of the pinnacles of the church tower in Sainte-Mère-Église, leaving him hanging there limply for two hours. To avoid being shot, he pretended to be dead. Eventually, the Germans took him prisoner. However, Steele managed to escape four hours later when U.S. troops from the 505th’s 3rd Battalion attacked the village, capturing 30 Germans and killing another 11. For his bravery, Steele was awarded the Bronze Star for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat. Throughout his life, Steele continued to visit Sainte-Mère-Église, and he was even made an honorary citizen of the town. The Auberge John Steele, a tavern adjacent to the town square, maintains his legacy through photos, letters, and articles hung on its walls. I would say it is a true story and that there is no debate over it.
Pointblank Directive, issued jointly by Churchill and FDR June 1943, tasked RAF BC and USAAF 8th AF (and later 15th AF Italy) with reducing the Luftwaffe on the ground and in the air to the point it would not be a factor during D Day. "Redrafted by the Air Ministry, the directive tasked the 8th US Army Air Force with attacking the aviation industry; RAF Bomber Command would work towards 'the general disorganisation of German industry', as before." BBC Berlin Air Offensive page
Actually since 1939. Of course with smaller and fewer planes. Since early 1942 the policy was area bombing I.e. genocide by bombing. America mostly attacked industrial targets but not always and fighters strafed lots of women and children intentionally.
I read once the Château that OKW High Command was using was blasted by Rockets from RAF Tempests. And it took a few days to get Western Front command back into action repairing lines and communications and maps back up . But I cant find any thing to repeat that
The 370th's group commander Howard F. Nichols and a squadron of his P-38 Lightnings attacked Field Marshal Günther von Kluge's headquarters in July 1944; Nichols himself skipped a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb through the front door. wiki
The Allies did all of that terrain mapping but still didn't seem to realize that they would have to fight in the bocage? Maybe they did understand that but underestimated how hard it would be.
Reading a book by James Holland. He says Allies expected Germans to fall back to Seine if beach head was established. Fighting close to Normandy exposed German units to more Allied air and sea fire power.
The Bocage was pretty much undetectable from aerial reconnaissance photos, they just looked like standard hedges lining the roads, not huge tree sized monoliths along side huge ditches next to the roads.
Beaten into the ground, literally; there was a determined policy of destroying the Luftwaffe in the years prior to the invasion; it involved destroying fuel supplies, bombing the factories, fighter sweeps and drawing them into a constant war of attrition; the 8th paid dearly (Schweinfurt, Regensburg, etc) for their success.
there is no "mosquito pr", its a pr.iv,pr.ix or pr xix but there are differences between each , also no mention of british night raid escort fighters like mosquito nfxviii or fbvi
Major railway junctions were a priority target. Followed with the bombing of Airfields . Bridges across French Rivers , important but harder to knock out. The Allies had need to be concerned , because on the 2nd December 1943 the German Luftwaffe attacked shipping at anchor in Bari harbour , sinking 17 ships and damaging five.
Correction to the comments about the D H Mosquito. It was originally rejected by the Air Ministry because it had no defensive rear firing guns, the only way D H could get an order was for 50 only of the Photo recon. version - that was until the RAF saw the Mosquito flying as fast as spitfires.
Because they didn't cycle pilots out. American pilots did tours and got sent home. German and Japanese pilots fought the whole war, which for Japan started in early 30s. If u flew for 10 years ud rack up kills too
The Germans and Japanese left them flying til they died, the Allies cycled them home to train new pilots, the Allied rookie pilots were far better than the Axis.
GERMAN AND JAPANES pilots where like cr7 and Messi every single season 60 or 50 goals The Alies where injury prone players who cant Finish even in a single Game kkkkk
Can I just say I greatly respect this video to acknowledge that there's a lot of civilian casualties caused by the Allied bombings? Common people suffer the worst in wars
I find it amazing that the Allied troops were able to overcome the defenses at Normandy and gain a foothold. They could have easily been pushed back into the sea if the Germans had responded quicker.
I used to occasionally pick up a magazine from grocery store racks called (I think) Military Aviation History. The story I've always remembered was about Germans on the ground at the time of Normandy., when the Allies completely controlled the air. They had taken to saying "If the planes we saw overhead were silver, we knew thy were American. If they were camouflaged we knew they were British. And if they weren't there at all we knew they were German!.
@@matthewlewis2072 Most French troops fought very hard and bravely during the battle for France. France fell for a number of reasons, but a lack of courage and valour was not one of them. It can be assumed that the vast majority of French victims of the Allied landings were neither responsible for the defeat and occupation of their country nor pro-German.
The first troops into France, on the 6th of June, Were not Paratroopers. They were Ox and Bucks regiment in Hawser gliders. Who were later reinforced, at Pegasus and Hawser bridges, by paratroopers from 6 para.
Technically it was paratroopers- Pathfinders, who were dropped ahead of the rest of the airborne forces to lay down beacons to help guide the incoming air fleets onto the planned drop zones
Shortly after midnight, the first waves of 23,000 British and American paratroopers landed in France. The Ox and Bucks regiment were part of the initial part of those landings as the Gliders followed the Paras in.
Actually the first that technically landed on the beach were swimmers with a light to mark the edge of the landing. Vessels out to sea had lights too to help the invasion fleet funnel onto the beaches. The swimmers had landed on the night of 4th June. But the MTB which had landed them had to pick them up when the invasion was postponed. They bobbed around the channel and landed the swimmers again the next night. I recently found out that there were mud flats to the east of the beaches and therefore important that landing there was avoided. Once the light was on, the swimmer had been under a sand coloured hide, their job was to demine any obstacles nearby. My great uncle quickly realised his own side may shoot at him so he said he made himself scarce until he could be recognised as friendly. An amazing generation.
RAF bomber command handled night attacks while the 8th air force handled daylight bombing. It’s much harder to launch intercept missions at night, so the Lancaster’s rarely ran across enemy fighters.
@@ISAF_Ace "Against Bomber Command by night the Luftwaffe, by means of improved airborne radar devices, was beginning to make of darkness a tattered cloak. After a period of trial and error extending over the years 1941 and 1942 its pilots had been equipped with two standard night fighters, the Messerschmitt 110 and the Junkers 88. The first was easy to maneuver, possessed a high rate of climb and, owing to mass production was available in quantity. Its main disadvantage was its short tactical endurance, which prevented prolonged pursuit. For these reasons it was gradually superseded by the Junkers 88,which though slower and more difficult to handle, had an endurance of five hours. It was constantly modified and for a time was disliked by pilots. Gradually, however they came to see that its advantages outweighed its defects and in their skilled hands it became a formidable weapon." page 2 Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Vol III
@@Poliss95 "Against 20 Russians trying to shoot you down, or even 20 Spitfires, it can be exciting, even fun. But to curve in towards 40 Fortresses and all your past sins flash before your eyes. And when you yourself have reached this state of mind, it becomes that much more difficult to have to drive every pilot of the Geschwader, right down to the youngest and lowliest NCO, to do the same." Hans Philipp, 4 October 1943 Died 8 October 1943
Excellent and informative short video of D-Day's air power aspects. Glad that it gives some emphasis to the high Allied casualties and also the unfortunate civilians caught in the crossfire. One small point though; do try to pronounce French and German words correctly.
I don’t want to ever take anything away from the brave men of WWII but it should not ever be underestimated how bad the fuel shortage was hitting the German Armed Forces.
The situation must have been pretty bleak in the Eastern front as well with the Germans only having 1,300 air craft to oppose over 8,000 Soviet air craft. German air superiority was non existant everywhere by 1944.
At the time of the invasion, the Fuhrer's orders forbade any discussion of whether the jet aircraft were to be used as fighters or bombers. During a demonstration of the Me 262 in Insterburg in December 1943, Hitler is said to said to Goring and Adolf Galland: "In this aircraft, which you are presenting to me here as a fighter, I see the lightning bomber with which I will defeat the invasion in the first and weakest phase." However, Hitler neglected to issue a Fuhrer order for this decision and, above all, the conversion of the aircraft, which had been designed as a fighter, into a bomber. In April 1944, Hitler stated that the design had not been changed by then, that no devices for carrying bombs had been fitted and that the ongoing work related exclusively to the fighter version. From this point on, Hitler placed the project under his personal supervision. As a result, neither the bomber nor the fighter version was operational at the time of the invasion. It was not until August 30 that Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, General Kreipe, obtained the use of every twentieth Me 262 for testing purposes in the fighter sector. These aircraft could therefore no be used in the Battle for Normandy.
I love hearing about when the Allies used their bombers for tactical use like in Operation Cobra, and I wonder if it was used more often in the war if it would have been more effective than strategic or should I say the terror bombing campaign that Bomber Harris insisted on waging.
@@adrianbruce2963 I understand what your saying but Harris's goal of area bombing was to bring the German people to it's knees hoping to make them revolt against Hitler or at least cause the people's morale to plummet. He should have known better as it didn't work with Britain. So think about it, if he used the bombers to attack more troop formations as well as fuel, weapons, aircraft, submarine stations it might have been better used.
"The Channel Stopped You, But Not Us" Caesar laughed hysterically at this tribal banter between the Celtic and Germanic barbarians after he conquered both.
I thought that a lot of the gliders used in the landing were overloaded, sometimes with jeeps and troops and when released from the tow lines, they dropped like rocks, killing most of the people on board? I'm pretty sure I heard that a long time ago.
That's not how gliders work (I flew gliders for 25 years). Overloading would mean they descend faster and have to fly faster, but they would still fly. I suspect many casualties were when landing - a military gilder wasn't maneuverable enough to have the luxury of selecting the best landing site, and even modern recreational gliders, which do have that choice, are sometimes damaged landing in fields. There are reliable reports for WWII of jeeps and other heavy kit breaking free on landing and causing casualties.
@@chrisreed1907 That sounds very much like what I heard. That the jeeps and small trucks broke free on landing, but it also said that some were so overloaded at the last minute, they couldn't fly on their own at all.
It's truly a miracle how the Germans kept fighting for so long inflicting losses to the American 8th Airforce - some 60.000 airmen died - while in the same time fighting a war of survival against soviet Russia. No need to talk about fuel shortages - the Americans had fuel of better quality - and shortages in other strategic resources.
The allies didn't destroy the Luftwaffe before DDay. Most of the Luftwaffe was withdraw from the area to fight massive American daylight bombing of the German cities. Forward airfields had been under attack along the Coast as well as Trains and military depots and supplies.
By the time of the invasion, many of the so called "Experten", the German term for the fighter-aces, were either KIA or woundet in the hospitals. The first 6 month of the year in the" "Reichsverteidigung " had been extreamly brutale and was finaly taking its toll. A squardron were usualy led by 2 or 3 old hands, the rest were fresh young lads, with 10-15 hours in the 109 or 190 's. The accidents and crashlandigs were as high as 50 procent for some Squadrons. Most airfields they were send to had concrete runways. Something most of the new pilots were unfamiliar with. The result was a disaster.
Every rational human being, including any German, can see that winning against the US, Soviet Union, Great Britain and its Commonwealth, France and the rest of the world, is extremely unlikely. The fact that AH thought otherwise already says a lot about how far detached his mind was from reality.
The capital line is "what happened to the Luftwaffe?" That however was not explained at all during 16 minutes. The whole report focused to 99% on allied air fleets or other topics.
The Wehrmacht had a joke about the Luftwaffe at Normandy: “if you see silver airplanes they’re American, if you see brown ones, they’re British, and if you don’t see any at all, they’re ours.”
My family served in Finland against Russia, in Germany, Polish volunteers in England. My grandparents are from the countries in question and were partly Jewish. So the stories Ive heard should have been recorded cause it was mindblowing tohear and should have been recorded.
If the plane is burning it’s Russian
@@strikerorwell9232 hope as more is uncovered, we will hear your grandparents history 🙏
The Germans had a joke about Americans trying to make the German hamburger.. the hamburger being named after it's indigenous city, Hamburg, Germany... "if you see a McDonald's, it's pink slime... if you see a Burger King, you'll get a whopper of tummy ache, and if you see a Wendy's, where's the beef?"
It was said that, after D-Day, a German pilot shot up six American airplanes on an airfield before being shot down by ground fire. The pilot was captured, and as he surrendered he motioned to the burning aircraft and asked his captors, "what do you think about that?"
The next day, the pilot is taken from the air field to a POW camp. One of his guards point out six brand new airplanes sitting by the runway. "What do you think about that?"
"The channel stopped you, not us" is a pretty sick flex, in the modern lingo...
My uncle flew a P-47 in Normandy campaign. He was an ace in that war and later in Korea. Proud of that. I have seen gun camera shots from his group but as yet none from his plane
My mother was engaged to a chap named Alasdair Campbell. He flew Typhoons. He died on Christmas Eve 1944.
@@richardwilton722 so no dad
That's sad
So no dad
That's sad loser
@@defyboygang No. She met my dad on the rebound.
Battle of the bulge?
@@gordonkayaksandwalks He crashed in the Netherlands. Apparently, his flight was on a routine patrol looking for targets, but didn't find any, possibly because it was Christmas Eve. Campbell spotted a couple of vehicles and, as he had seen them, his flight commander let him attack first. As his opened fire, his plane spun out of control. No return ground fire was seen. Perhaps it was the Typhoon tail fracture problem. Who knows?
The scene in "The Longest Day" summarizes the Luftwaffe's influence during D-Day.
I know the scene you're referring to and I agree with you, except I think, for the flak batteries. Many of those were Luftwaffe units, and they did some terrible damage, especially during the airborne drops the night before. I think Band of Brothers did an excellent job of depicting that aspect of D-Day.
@@truthseeker9454 True
One of the best accounts of the air campaign in Normandy I have seen. It completely agrees with every book I’ve read on the subject 👍
Imagine being in a Panzer division without air cover. D day was a foregone conclusion. Unbelievable that German forces continued to fight.
Fascists are like that
They had to fight, they didn't really have much of a choice.
@@benwilson6145
Yes because everyone was a facist *facepalm* your ignorance is incredible
Not to mention there totally wasn't a soldiers oath or a secret police in this democratic state right? learn history
@@benwilson6145 World War II was not anti-fascist.
The Allied insistence on unconditional surrender extended World War II.
Canada wrote off the cost of the BTAC to England in 1945 to the tune of 5$00 million 1945 dollars. Russia still owes Canada for retrofitting all their ships that showed up in Canada. $400 million in 1945 dollars. The first thing Canada did was raise $1billion for the UK in 1939, which was highly unpopular in Canada at the time. Canada never used any lend lease stuff. Canada passed and transported that equipment to all the Commonwealth. To the tune of another $4billion. Canada produced another $5 billion in war equipment, which it gave away. Elsie McGill produced 1800 Hurricanes, most were given to UK. Canada paid its way, fought with volunteers.
Over $11 billion, and 1 million volunteers. Canada had 11 million in population at the time. I am so PROUD.
An interesting take on it however your comment is riddled with erroneous information.
The Billion Dollar Gift (0.9 billion USD) was approved January 1942. Another 2 billion CD was approved in 1943.
Canadian Army used M4 tanks, halftracks and jeeps Lend Leased to Britain. Almost everything made in Canada had Lend Lease parts including engines in Lancasters, Mosquitos and Cansos (Catilina flying boats) and tires and batteries in CMP trucks.
Canada had one million people in uniform, a lower percentage than Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Conscripts did not have to serve outside Canada (which did not include Newfoundland at that time) before 1945 unless they volunteered.
It's ironic and deeply tragic that having contributed so superbly to the fight for enlightenment values and freedom during both world wars, to see Canada's precipitous descent into authoritarianism.
@@nickgood8166 as someone who grew up in a communist dictatorship your comment is laughable. You know you can vote them out next election. We had no such opportunity.
@@peterkratoska4524 the authoritarians in Canada are not the present government
Goering also asked for postcards from British seaside towns but all he learned was how to say 'Kiss Me Quick' and 'Wish You Were Here'.
My brother's father-in-law was a RCAF guy, his favourite plane to fly? The completely stripped down Mosiquito he flew on reconnaissance missions.
Early in 1944 Doolittle changed the objective from protecting bombers to destroying the Luftwaffe, for the specific purpose of air superiority on DDay. So what was seen on DDay was the result of a months long strategy
Amazing video as always, it's great to have seen all the planes at Duxford in this video in person!
Been there. Better than anything in The States.
I got to visit there in the early 80's when it was basically just a few hangars with the aircraft displayed in them. I believe back then it was called the "Battle of Britain" museum. It was incredible to get "up close and personal" with those famous aircraft. The staff was amazing! Incredibly knowledgeable about each aircraft and actually got excited the more we asked questions. For this young US Airman and aviation nerd, it was an event of a lifetime. Now that I'm "semi" retired, I need to get back there to visit Duxford!
I was born not far from Duxford. My parents took me to see the film set of The Battle of Britain scenes during filming. I try to go to the museum once a year, now.
Excellent video. All I can add is “Bad management on the part of the Germans”. Thanks for posting the video. Been to the IWM at Elephant and Castle, a great visit. Cheers from Texas.
As a Canadian, it's nice to see a production company that actually uses the Dominion Red Ensign, the Proper Canadian Flag of the day. Most haven't a clue what they are doing and use the current Canadian Maple Leaf Flag
I personally think the old Canadian flag, the Dominion Red Ensign as you call it, was one of the most attractive if not the most attractive flags in the world. It's a shame it was replaced, I read somewhere that it was to placate Quebec and prevent their potential withdrawal from Canada. I'm not saying the new flag isn't good, I believe it's taken from the maple leaf on the old flag, but it is a bit of a logo! It is, however, instantly recognisable. It is probably just my taste in these things, but I think flags with the Union flag in the top left canton are actually more attractive than the Union flag itself.
Great video! The detailed explanation of the Luftwaffe's role and what happened during D-Day is both informative and engaging. The combination of history and strategy was really well presented. Thanks for sharing this fascinating insight!
Very good video. Thank you. This was an astonishing and pivotal battle. D-Day gets the glory and the build up and delivery was unlike anything in history and since, but the Battle for France was just as crucial.
I visited the Normandy area in 2000, and visited the church at St Mere-Iglais. They had a mannequin dressed as a paratrooper hanging off the church's spire. I hope it's still there.
It's still there!!!
I met John Steele once or twice casually. He was the uncle of a boyhood friend of mine. One of my uncles my mom's brother was killed in the Normandy fighting.
I've read it's a permanent placement.
Gliders?. I used to fly blanik training gliders, hardly high performance but what the insanely brave allies were flying were more winged bricks than gliders I got to read the pilot manuals for the horsa and hamiltons, their glide angles were so bad I marveled that the got down safely and having survived one semi controlled crash, they did it again these guys are under appreciated so brave that they must have been part insane to do it and battered and bruised these guys then became infantry some fought their way back to friendly lines to do it again these guy deserve to be remembered with awe
I consider anyone that volunteers to go land in hostile territory, in the dark, flying an unpowered glider Mr B*ll of Steel with little left to prove. I am a skydiver and I sometimes sit in the packed plane on the way up and imagine jumping out over an area full of enemy forces. My respect.😊
Is there any way to find out more about a clip used in this piece. At 1'42 the man on the left bears a striking resemblance to my grandfather who, as far as I know, was involved in photographic reconnaissance throughout the war. I'd love to know where the footage was shot to see if it matches where he was serving in 1944.
Rommel was already use to not having air superiority in Africa, so he knew that you don’t want to be moving troops and tanks 15/20m to the front. Normandy had plenty of locations that could hold tank battalions closer to the cost. Knocking the allies back into the sea prevents another landing until mid 1945, or having to funnel all troops through one beach. Once the allies had a secure beach the game was up.
Keeping the troops close to the beaches would subject them to naval gunfire. Air attacks will still happen. The ground force concentration will be discovered and attacked. The real concern was that the Germans not only had to worry about Normandy, they had a lot of men posted elsewhere in France: Calais and even Southern France where Operation Dragoon would take place.
The Germans were fooled into thinking the invasion would hit Calais. Anytime anyone posts a "What If?" in German deployment, it always assumes they knew Normandy was THE invasion target. The Germans firmly believed Calais was the target because it made sense, as well as other deception operations to make it seem even more obvious.
There was no way the Germans were going to stop a Western Allied foothold in France.
@@Warmaker01Naval gunfire cannot go deeper than 20 km or so from the coast line. A tank waiting 30 km inland can reach the beach in 1h. And anyway, the allied ships gunfire and aerial bombing completely failed even to silence the German coastal batteries (overlooking the landing beaches, big static target with well known position). These batteries engaged allied ships all D-Day and hammered the landing beaches with enfilade fire. They were taken only the following day by infantry arriving from their back. You can visit even today the well known and impressive battery of Longues sur mer, with the casemates with still the guns inside. And the aerial bombing craters still visible today.
If Hitler had given permission to Rommel to keep the panzer divisions closer to the beaches then the invasion would have been smashed in the first hours. The only combat hardened German division on place (the 352nd infantry at Omaha) kept the Americans on the beach for hours until they (the Germans) ran out of bullets.
And even with the panzer divisions away from the beaches, they could have been much more effective if they were ordered to reach the beaches immediately. Unfortunately Hitler was sleeping and nobody could/wanted to awake him in order to release the panzer divisions kept in reserve under his direct order.
7:39 Code name Window was amazing as the Dambusters had to fly very precise paths backwards and forwards across the English Channel or the ruse would not succeed. I saw an interesting documentary on this mission - sorry can't remember the name.
@@Warmaker01 Yes, the Allies had a huge intelligence coup in convincing Hitler that the "real" invasion was going to happen at Calais, and Normandy was just a diversion. In a similar vein, the Gulf War happened a similar way in which the U.S. military allowed CNN to film them practicing amphibious landings because they knew that Saddam Hussein watched a lot of CNN. The Iraqis became convinced that the U.S. military would invade from the Persian Gulf when instead they did a land invasion from Saudi Arabia on the other side of Kuwait.
Fighter Ground Attack (FGA) had evolved into a sophisticated system by 1944: Squadrons of Typhoons and Tempests (mostly) circled in the Division Rear 'on call' to Forward Air Controllers (FAC), usually an RAF squadron leader attached to leading Battlions. This made FGA quick and reliable. My uncle was killed in a Typhoon in 1943.
Lord Beaverbrook "The Packhard Rolls-Royce engine is an example to the whole world. There was a very good American aeroplane called the Mustang. The engine of the Mustang was giving good service, but some genius had the idea of putting Rolls-Royce engines into the Mustangs, and the result is a very good aeroplane, one of the best in the world-some people will say the very best. That was the result of this project in America over which the Ministry had no supervision, although the contract was made here by the Minister."
FLEET AIR ARM.
HL Deb 27 January 1943 vol 125 cc794-829
Let's face it, US could buy new machines to build the engines, we still had WW2 presses in 1980's. I suspect RR had machine tools from the Great war.
@@flybobbie1449 And then the presses were sold to South Africa where they are still used to manufacture new cars reliably ( British Clearing anyone?), like Holden Australia's production line machinery.
@@nickdanger3802 And all the machine tools from Holdens production line are now in South Africa. Holden bought them from Hyundai.
Fitting Merlin engines to a good plane didn't guarantee getting a better plane. The Bristol Beaufighter was a very good heavy fighter bomber but fitting Merlins to it was a total failure.
It's called great collaboration.
These are are concise and information packed videos, slickly done. 👍
Apart from the weird camera angles.
@@AndrewBlucher yes, I do wish they'd stop filming the speaker from sideways on so they're not looking at the camera when talking.
Except for Zero Lip Sync...
Looking forward to Duxfords D day show on Saturday!
Any where to see picture from it?
My Uncle Charlie Huff was a Tail-Gunner in Bomber in the European Theater. My friend Rob Denzel's Dad, who was a Jewler by profession, designed the Bombardier site for precision bombing campaigns. My Uncle Sammy was captured in the Battle of The Bulge, and held prisoner. Both my Uncle's survived the War! My Dad and his family lived in Manila Philippines (He was born in 1934, and he was just a boy during WWII), He has some amazing stories though!
01:25 if you are crossing a river you establish a bridgehead.
if you are landing on a beach, you establish a beachhead.
although I wouldn’t normally quibble this slip-up, this *is* the Imperial War Museum,
and I figure they should get it right.
to be fair, towards the end 14:07 the correct term was used.
bridge·head
noun
noun: bridgehead; plural noun: bridgeheads
a strong position secured by an army inside enemy territory from which to advance or attack.
Really well put together video. Informative and entertaining. Top effort.
My grandfather was a navigator with 51 sqn and flew most of his combat missions during the Normandy campaign. Most of them were against V weapon sites.
Glad to see the B-26s shown and mentioned. My father piloted two missions on D-Day, as well as bombing preparing for the invasion and missions afterward. Eventually his group moved over into France, and he continued until his 65 missions were completed and he returned stateside. He stayed in the air force and retired after 23 years.
Always interesting. Thank you IWM. 👍
I remember a classic anecdote with one of Hitler's adjutants during one of their meetings. Hitler was annoyed because of a fly, so the adjutant was tasked of dispatching it. But being a funny man, he said that since it was flying, it was the responsibility of the Luftwaffe.
Unfortunately, the mustache guy did not like the joke, and the adjutant was immediately sent to the Eastern Front
The tail sounds invented, but it's very entertaining. Nonetheless. I do hold out a sliver of Hope that at least one brave jokester did not take Hitler as seriously as the rest of the boot licking general staff
It was Nicolas Von Below, the adjutant for the Navy.
@@decimated550 I have read this anecdote from quite likely sources, Max Hastings for one, took it seriously.
@@uncletiggermclaren7592 oh then it is true. I have the same irresponsible sense of humor like I'll make Sly jokes on zoom meeting calls, and I can definitely see myself getting shipped to the Eastern fronts along with the jokester officer
@@decimated550 I would probably be sitting in the train with you. Because I would laugh at the joke and then say "You need to cultivate a sense of humour, Arsedolf".
An excellent production.
My family lived near Tarrant Rushton This was a glider base, my mother said that aircraft were going overhead all night. As an ATC cadet we used to watch the activity at Tarrant. Flight Refueling Limited used the base in the 70s for product testing
The aircraft losses were, if I recall correctly, one book quoted that there were over 1000 Luftwaffe and 2000 Allied aircraft lost over and near Normandy .But many hundreds of Allied fighters roamed over Normandy attacking anything that looked German. A victory, but an expensive one.
At 9:07 she says that the C-47 could carry jeeps and light trucks., That doesn't seem possible to me, both from the carrying capacity and also lack of any large cargo-door. Am I wrong ?
Yes, you're wrong. The spacious left-side rear-fuselage cargo doors on the C-47 could accommodate jeeps, light trucks, or anything else of equivalent bulk and weight. The left side had double doors [a normal & a very wide door] around 9 ft wide total that could load vehicles via a ramp so they faced forward. The trucks were small say a Dodge 4x4 or an artillery piece such as a Bofors AA gun.
It would have been good to include the Horsa gliders that were there to take charge of Pegasus Bridge and Horsa bridge.
The Allies began a campaign early in 1944 to destroy the Luftwaffe so it could not interfere with the invasion. A thousand B-17's and B 24's escorted by P51's flew every day that the weather was good. Directly challenging the Luftwaffe in the sky. The cost was heavy but by the time D Day came around the Luftwaffe was a shred of what it had been
Great video! Very informative especially your discussion of the resistance of both RAF Bomber Command and the 8th Air Force assisting in the preparation for the Normandy landings.
So nice to watch this birthday video... Would love to visit the IWM on my birthday (6th of june) one day...
Don't know if you have been since your comment and I'm assuming you mean the one in London but ive been twice, first time in 1992 and lastly a few years ago. First visit was excellent, second time it was a bit disappointing, dumbed down and just full of school children which spoilt the whole visit. It's worth visiting the IWM in Manchester which was much mire pleasant and you must go to RAF Duxford if you already haven't, that's excellent.
Great Video! My Dad Was There, 101 Airborne. He Told Me About The Guy On The Steeple 60 Years Ago. I'd Love To Visit Your Country's World War Two Museums. Thank You.
good of you to include ( friendly) civilian casualty figures in this video
A bit OT but not that much, in view of the difficulties Spaatz and Harris had with Leigh Mallory: how come Sir Hugh Dowding was replaced by the latter after the end of BoB?
I think it was something to do with Dowding being seen as overly cautious and pessimistic. It's a long time since I read that though so not sure on its accuracy
I believe it was political dealings, having won the BOB, Mallory and Park stabbed him in the back. Dowding retired, Mallory took over fighter command, then the AEF and was killed in a plane crash en route to take command of RAF in South East Asia. Reading books by Tom Neil, Mallory was not that popular. He had hoarded aircraft such as the latest models of spitfire long after the BOB, while the DAF were making use of battered and patched up Hurricane etc.
Jealousy by Leigh Mallory; Fighter Command was seen as the poor cousin within the RAF (The Bomber will always get through). Dowding planned for the future and husbanded his forces carefully. His critics all wanted "Big Wings" and mass aerial combat; his policy of incessant "Hit & Run" attacks destroyed German morale. The Big Wing never produced the huge enemy losses its proponents hoped but it totally shattered the German morale; hit & run raids across England, then a huge RAF force, followed by hit & run raids aon the way home; and then do it all again after lunch. Dowding was side-lined to a "non-job" in the USA but the Americans were actually quite keen to get the benefit of his experience. Dowding was regarded as a bit odd; he was very proud, and fond, of his young pilots; he believed in life after death and claimed to have been visited by young deceased pilots; well regarded by his pilots, but not his contemporaries.
@Riccardo_Silva Sholto Douglas and Leigh-Mallory had friends in high places. Dowding and Keith Park did not. As soon as the Battle of Britain was the Air Ministry put in their own men in and shunted Dowding and Park out of the way. Dowding to the British Air Mission in the USA, where he was responsible for buying aircraft, and Park was sent to Training Command, Egypt and then Malta.
IIRC Dowding was basically due for retirement anyway. Keith Park was definitely stabbed in the back, figuratively speaking. He went on to Malta, succeeded there with the same strategy as he'd used in the BoB. Leigh Mallory attacked the Luftwaffe, who used the same strategy against *him* that Park had previously used, with the same result - victory for the defenders.
I really like the videos from IWM but the on-camera narrators are clearly reading a script and are subject to awkward camera angles. I think it would be much more effective to have them look into the camera and not pretend they are looking off-camera at a non-existent audience.
I agree wholeheartedly about the use of second cameras which the presenters aren't looking at. It's a distraction and adds nothing to the video, though it's very fashionable on youtube.
It's seriously distracting - if the presenter isn't talking to me, it's like they don't care. Obviously they do care, but the camera angles do them no favours.
It’s an unpleasant affectation, second only to shaky cam
very interesting topic
Everyone involved had enormous courage but i've always thought being an advance paratrooper dropping behind enemy lines ahead of an invasion that may be repulsed must have been terrifying!
Great video!
There is some debate amongst historians as to whether a parachutist did in fact land on the Sainte Mere Eglise church tower. It is shown in the excellent movie The Longest Day, and till this day the town itself has a dummy parachutist hanging from the tower, but upon closer inspection it was seen that it would have been impossible to get the man down as there was no access to where he was hanging.
@ukmediawarrior So how did they get the replica up there?
You are correct. Current scholarship puts in doubt that story. It appears the story of the hung up paratrooper did not come up until well after the war.
@@scottgrimwood8868Please name a source.
The location of the parachute & dummy para is on the wrong face of the bell tower - it was placed on the wrong face because it's most visible there from a distance. The real parachute & para were hanging in front of the openings for the bells & the tower was used as an OP by the Germans - a German soldier, Corporal Rudolph May, was up in the church’s bell tower when the airborne attack came. [...] QUOTE: “There was a man hanging there, suspended. He hung there like he was dead - but after a while he started moving. Then we also heard him sighing. May’s comrade raised his weapon as if to shoot him, but May stopped him. He decided to try and cut the suspension lines of Steele’s chute. After he had cut several, he threw Steele a rope tied to the tower by which he could lower himself to the ground and be taken prisoner. That's the story as I understand it - it is obvious that the bell tower was manned & that solves the problem of access if one allows that the parachute caught on a different facade.
I couldn't find anything saying there was a debate about that parachutist being stuck on the tower.
John Steele was one of the few paratroopers who survived the drop. Unfortunately, he was wounded in the foot by a burst of flak. His parachute caught on one of the pinnacles of the church tower in Sainte-Mère-Église, leaving him hanging there limply for two hours. To avoid being shot, he pretended to be dead.
Eventually, the Germans took him prisoner. However, Steele managed to escape four hours later when U.S. troops from the 505th’s 3rd Battalion attacked the village, capturing 30 Germans and killing another 11. For his bravery, Steele was awarded the Bronze Star for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat.
Throughout his life, Steele continued to visit Sainte-Mère-Église, and he was even made an honorary citizen of the town. The Auberge John Steele, a tavern adjacent to the town square, maintains his legacy through photos, letters, and articles hung on its walls.
I would say it is a true story and that there is no debate over it.
Love your work IWM.
The appointment of Tedder over Leigh-Mallory and the bomber mafia was a stroke of genius
I wonder how long it took to fill in those craters just behind the beaches? Years? Months?
3:02 I was under the impression that the RAF had being bombing Germany continuously since 1940 and not just since 1943 with the Americans?
Pointblank Directive, issued jointly by Churchill and FDR June 1943, tasked RAF BC and USAAF 8th AF (and later 15th AF Italy) with reducing the Luftwaffe on the ground and in the air to the point it would not be a factor during D Day.
"Redrafted by the Air Ministry, the directive tasked the 8th US Army Air Force with attacking the aviation industry; RAF Bomber Command would work towards 'the general disorganisation of German industry', as before."
BBC Berlin Air Offensive page
@@nickdanger3802 ah I misunderstood, thank you 👍
@@MadMatt13 No trouble
Actually since 1939. Of course with smaller and fewer planes. Since early 1942 the policy was area bombing I.e. genocide by bombing. America mostly attacked industrial targets but not always and fighters strafed lots of women and children intentionally.
@@Dilley_G45Nonsense.
I read once the Château that OKW High Command was using was blasted by Rockets from RAF Tempests. And it took a few days to get Western Front command back into action repairing lines and communications and maps back up . But I cant find any thing to repeat that
The 370th's group commander Howard F. Nichols and a squadron of his P-38 Lightnings attacked Field Marshal Günther von Kluge's headquarters in July 1944; Nichols himself skipped a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb through the front door.
wiki
The Allies did all of that terrain mapping but still didn't seem to realize that they would have to fight in the bocage? Maybe they did understand that but underestimated how hard it would be.
Reading a book by James Holland. He says Allies expected Germans to fall back to Seine if beach head was established. Fighting close to Normandy exposed German units to more Allied air and sea fire power.
The Bocage was pretty much undetectable from aerial reconnaissance photos, they just looked like standard hedges lining the roads, not huge tree sized monoliths along side huge ditches next to the roads.
Thank you.
11:38 so where was the luftwaffe? Basically, outbeaten by the allied airforce?
Beaten into the ground, literally; there was a determined policy of destroying the Luftwaffe in the years prior to the invasion; it involved destroying fuel supplies, bombing the factories, fighter sweeps and drawing them into a constant war of attrition; the 8th paid dearly (Schweinfurt, Regensburg, etc) for their success.
@Samuftie Basically wiped out on the Eastern Front.
3:40 gives some info.
I have always said that the Mosquito, was one of the sexiest planes in WW2. If you don't like sexy, then most beautiful planes of WW2
The safest place to be to avoid bombing was Juno Beach, which got no aerial or naval bombardment prior to the troop landings.
there is no "mosquito pr", its a pr.iv,pr.ix or pr xix but there are differences between each , also no mention of british night raid escort fighters like mosquito nfxviii or fbvi
Major railway junctions were a priority target. Followed with the bombing of Airfields . Bridges across French Rivers , important but harder to knock out.
The Allies had need to be concerned , because on the 2nd December 1943 the German Luftwaffe attacked shipping at anchor in Bari harbour , sinking 17 ships and damaging five.
Correction to the comments about the D H Mosquito. It was originally rejected by the Air Ministry because it had no defensive rear firing guns, the only way D H could get an order was for 50 only of the Photo recon. version - that was until the RAF saw the Mosquito flying as fast as spitfires.
Can you do a video on big week
Please make sure to correct the graphic and put the British 3rd infantry division on Sword beach and the 50th on Gold :) Other than that, well done!!
Thank you for this.
Can you make video about why german and japan aces had high rate of destroying enemy aircraft than allied ace ?
Because they didn't cycle pilots out. American pilots did tours and got sent home. German and Japanese pilots fought the whole war, which for Japan started in early 30s. If u flew for 10 years ud rack up kills too
The Germans and Japanese left them flying til they died, the Allies cycled them home to train new pilots, the Allied rookie pilots were far better than the Axis.
GERMAN AND JAPANES pilots where like cr7 and Messi every single season 60 or 50 goals The Alies where injury prone players who cant Finish even in a single Game kkkkk
They lost though
Can I just say I greatly respect this video to acknowledge that there's a lot of civilian casualties caused by the Allied bombings?
Common people suffer the worst in wars
I find it amazing that the Allied troops were able to overcome the defenses at Normandy and gain a foothold. They could have easily been pushed back into the sea if the Germans had responded quicker.
I used to occasionally pick up a magazine from grocery store racks called (I think) Military Aviation History. The story I've always remembered was about Germans on the ground at the time of Normandy., when the Allies completely controlled the air. They had taken to saying "If the planes we saw overhead were silver, we knew thy were American. If they were camouflaged we knew they were British. And if they weren't there at all we knew they were German!.
Luftwaffe is the mother of all MACH standards, modern aerodynamics, signal communication and slender light weight fighter jets of the modern era
The people of normandy payed the highest price for the liberation of france. A lot of the cities were still destroyed in the sixtees.
To quote a French witness...'The Americans were very generous with two things... High Explosives and Hershey Bars'
Freedom isn't free
Maybe if they'd fought a bit harder in 1939/40...
@@matthewlewis2072 Most French troops fought very hard and bravely during the battle for France. France fell for a number of reasons, but a lack of courage and valour was not one of them. It can be assumed that the vast majority of French victims of the Allied landings were neither responsible for the defeat and occupation of their country nor pro-German.
The first troops into France, on the 6th of June, Were not Paratroopers. They were Ox and Bucks regiment in Hawser gliders. Who were later reinforced, at Pegasus and Hawser bridges, by paratroopers from 6 para.
One of whom was the actor Richard Todd which is why he was dead keen to play the part of Major John Howard who he had met.
*Horsa*
Technically it was paratroopers- Pathfinders, who were dropped ahead of the rest of the airborne forces to lay down beacons to help guide the incoming air fleets onto the planned drop zones
Shortly after midnight, the first waves of 23,000 British and American paratroopers landed in France. The Ox and Bucks regiment were part of the initial part of those landings as the Gliders followed the Paras in.
Actually the first that technically landed on the beach were swimmers with a light to mark the edge of the landing. Vessels out to sea had lights too to help the invasion fleet funnel onto the beaches. The swimmers had landed on the night of 4th June. But the MTB which had landed them had to pick them up when the invasion was postponed. They bobbed around the channel and landed the swimmers again the next night. I recently found out that there were mud flats to the east of the beaches and therefore important that landing there was avoided. Once the light was on, the swimmer had been under a sand coloured hide, their job was to demine any obstacles nearby. My great uncle quickly realised his own side may shoot at him so he said he made himself scarce until he could be recognised as friendly. An amazing generation.
6,098 enemy aircraft claimed by 8th AF heavies.
320 by Lancasters.
RAF bomber command handled night attacks while the 8th air force handled daylight bombing. It’s much harder to launch intercept missions at night, so the Lancaster’s rarely ran across enemy fighters.
@nickdanger3802 Claims and reality are two different things.
@@ISAF_Ace "Against Bomber Command by night the Luftwaffe, by means of improved airborne radar devices, was beginning to make of darkness a tattered cloak. After a period of trial and error extending over the years 1941 and 1942 its pilots had been equipped with two standard night fighters, the Messerschmitt 110 and the Junkers 88. The first was easy to maneuver, possessed a high rate of climb and, owing to mass production was available in quantity. Its main disadvantage was its short tactical endurance, which prevented prolonged pursuit. For these reasons it was gradually superseded by the Junkers 88,which though slower and more difficult to handle, had an endurance of five hours. It was constantly modified and for a time was disliked by pilots. Gradually, however they came to see that its advantages outweighed its defects and in their skilled hands it became a formidable weapon."
page 2 Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Vol III
@@Poliss95 "Against 20 Russians trying to shoot you down, or even 20 Spitfires, it can be exciting, even fun. But to curve in towards 40 Fortresses and all your past sins flash before your eyes. And when you yourself have reached this state of mind, it becomes that much more difficult to have to drive every pilot of the Geschwader, right down to the youngest and lowliest NCO, to do the same."
Hans Philipp, 4 October 1943
Died 8 October 1943
After the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, the USAAF claimed that they shot down 309 German fighters... Luftwaffe records show 40 aircraft lost.
My dad was 9th AAC as a gunner on a B26 though still in the States on D Day.
Excellent and informative short video of D-Day's air power aspects. Glad that it gives some emphasis to the high Allied casualties and also the unfortunate civilians caught in the crossfire.
One small point though; do try to pronounce French and German words correctly.
Sir John Keegan said it was 13000 to 327 on D-Day.
15:40
'We saved you'
'Going to need an asterisk on that one'
Many of the SS and Wehrmacht troops in Normandy felt as if their own tactics were being used against them.
Always own the air, the decisive factor in the invasion of France!
No land power is. The air war is pointless unless the ground elements are there.
My father fought in WWII. His only words were: "...Bloody wars...".
My great grandfather was in Wehrmacht, fighting in Italy.
I don’t want to ever take anything away from the brave men of WWII but it should not ever be underestimated how bad the fuel shortage was hitting the German Armed Forces.
The situation must have been pretty bleak in the Eastern front as well with the Germans only having 1,300 air craft to oppose over 8,000 Soviet air craft. German air superiority was non existant everywhere by 1944.
Hey, the lady narrator looks and sounds like an awesome TH-camr from Belgium!
At the time of the invasion, the Fuhrer's orders forbade any discussion of whether the jet aircraft were to be used as fighters or bombers. During a demonstration of the Me 262 in Insterburg in December 1943, Hitler is said to said to Goring and Adolf Galland: "In this aircraft, which you are presenting to me here as a fighter, I see the lightning bomber with which I will defeat the invasion in the first and weakest phase."
However, Hitler neglected to issue a Fuhrer order for this decision and, above all, the conversion of the aircraft, which had been designed as a fighter, into a bomber. In April 1944, Hitler stated that the design had not been changed by then, that no devices for carrying bombs had been fitted and that the ongoing work related exclusively to the fighter version. From this point on, Hitler placed the project under his personal supervision. As a result, neither the bomber nor the fighter version was operational at the time of the invasion.
It was not until August 30 that Chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, General Kreipe, obtained the use of every twentieth Me 262 for testing purposes in the fighter sector. These aircraft could therefore no be used in the Battle for Normandy.
14:40 the shockwave tho
I love hearing about when the Allies used their bombers for tactical use like in Operation Cobra, and I wonder if it was used more often in the war if it would have been more effective than strategic or should I say the terror bombing campaign that Bomber Harris insisted on waging.
Problem was that initially the RAF simply couldn't deliver bombing of tactical targets - Harris actually had no choice at the start.
@@adrianbruce2963 I understand what your saying but Harris's goal of area bombing was to bring the German people to it's knees hoping to make them revolt against Hitler or at least cause the people's morale to plummet. He should have known better as it didn't work with Britain. So think about it, if he used the bombers to attack more troop formations as well as fuel, weapons, aircraft, submarine stations it might have been better used.
"The Channel Stopped You, But Not Us"
Caesar laughed hysterically at this tribal banter between the Celtic and Germanic barbarians after he conquered both.
I thought that a lot of the gliders used in the landing were overloaded, sometimes with jeeps and troops and when released from the tow lines, they dropped like rocks, killing most of the people on board? I'm pretty sure I heard that a long time ago.
That's not how gliders work (I flew gliders for 25 years). Overloading would mean they descend faster and have to fly faster, but they would still fly. I suspect many casualties were when landing - a military gilder wasn't maneuverable enough to have the luxury of selecting the best landing site, and even modern recreational gliders, which do have that choice, are sometimes damaged landing in fields. There are reliable reports for WWII of jeeps and other heavy kit breaking free on landing and causing casualties.
@@chrisreed1907 That sounds very much like what I heard. That the jeeps and small trucks broke free on landing, but it also said that some were so overloaded at the last minute, they couldn't fly on their own at all.
Soviets had the biggest airforce also thanks to land lease so they had priorities
The scattered paratroopers formed one of the most effective fighting forces ever - the LGOPs (little groups of paratroopers)
We are getting Me 262 during D-Day with This one! 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥
It's truly a miracle how the Germans kept fighting for so long inflicting losses to the American 8th Airforce - some 60.000 airmen died - while in the same time fighting a war of survival against soviet Russia. No need to talk about fuel shortages - the Americans had fuel of better quality - and shortages in other strategic resources.
The allies didn't destroy the Luftwaffe before DDay. Most of the Luftwaffe was withdraw from the area to fight massive American daylight bombing of the German cities. Forward airfields had been under attack along the Coast as well as Trains and military depots and supplies.
Tne Luftwaffe was shot out of the sky trying to prevent allied bombers bombing Germany.
Exactly - the real air war had already been fought and won over Germany in 1943 - by RAF Bomber Command. Never forget that..
Great again thanks After all don't forget, Hitler was a silly mad man We can' blame Rommel
Rommel was in charge and he went home!
My father navigated rc-47's in Vietnam.
Air superiority is directly proportional to morale. Once the Allies gained air superiority, the Axis was finished. And, the Axis troops knew it.
By the time of the invasion, many of the so called "Experten", the German term for the fighter-aces, were either KIA or woundet in the hospitals. The first 6 month of the year in the" "Reichsverteidigung " had been extreamly brutale and was finaly taking its toll. A squardron were usualy led by 2 or 3 old hands, the rest were fresh young lads, with 10-15 hours in the 109 or 190 's. The accidents and crashlandigs were as high as 50 procent for some Squadrons. Most airfields they were send to had concrete runways. Something most of the new pilots were unfamiliar with. The result was a disaster.
The Nazis biggest mistake, not understanding the American we're all in industrial might, just look at the Tennessee valley hydro-electric project,
Every rational human being, including any German, can see that winning against the US, Soviet Union, Great Britain and its Commonwealth, France and the rest of the world, is extremely unlikely. The fact that AH thought otherwise already says a lot about how far detached his mind was from reality.
The capital line is "what happened to the Luftwaffe?" That however was not explained at all during 16 minutes. The whole report focused to 99% on allied air fleets or other topics.
He was later forced to commit his end!