Supermarine Spitfire: Fending Off the Nazis in the Battle of Britain
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Still prefer the P-51.
Please make a video about Bar Lev Line, costing around $300 million in 1973.
Can we have a video about the Harrier jet or the ww2 Fariey Swordfish Biplane bomber as it sunk countless enemy vessels
meg projects USS SEAWOLF CLASS NUKE SUB
Do the Messerschmitt BF 109 next! It’s the most mass produced fighter in history, definitely a mega project.
Excellent job for not glossing over or ignoring Ms. Schilling's contribution as almost everyone else usually does.
She rocked!
@@hankw69 Indeed, it's a shame she her achievement was hijacked by feminists claiming the spitfire was a terrible design until a women fixed it. lets not forget who actually built this aircraft and its engine
Good job by her orifice
@@Jack-hg1hq except for the part where she fixed a huge flaw with the plane, she was totally inconsequential. Also the hawker hurricane was actually more impactful, but the super marine spitfire has a much better name
@@berengerchristy6256 you mean a small flaw in a single component of the engine of that aircraft, which lead to a bad handling characteristic. And that component wasn't designed for an aircraft in the first place. I'm not putting down her contribution at all I wish more women were like her. But I am tired of having her small contribution made out to be this insane thing just cause she's female. I don't care what gender the person is they did something cool, great, move on
It’s very obvious British national pride was professionally seeping through Simon’s grin
Pietro Buonocore Hell, I’m an American & I can’t help but have a certain, allied pride for that wonderful aircraft.
I mean, it's fair. There's an equal patriotism in everyone as well as a good sense of humor to both brag of each country's successes and laugh at some of their worst blunders (technology wise). The British had the Spitfire, but they also had the absurd idea of making the Habakkuk. Ingenious at the time, but in hindsight, kinda silly. US had the M4 Sherman, a world wide versatile tank. They also made the Davey Crockett recoil-less nuke launcher.
The bad guy's won ww2. Free your mind from allied propaganda.
Indeed it was. Ironically while wearing a shirt of a Soviet, Cold-War Era made airplane.
@@steeljawX USAF born kid here, I grew up around military aircraft, the Spitfire always stood out. Even before I understood that it was the plane that it is, historically and nationally, I've always found the Spitfire a beautiful plane. Also, I'll always admire, as the US Navy and Marines do/did, the Hawker Harrier. That is also a fantastic British made plane.
Me: Alright, i really need to study for this exam now.
Simon: Hey! Want to learn about planes?
Me: ....yea....
This is making me think about getting the Spit in DCS.
@@Rex-ii2yz no balls u wont do it
The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. Wikipedia
i'm in this comment and i don't like it
Please, do the wooden wonder next. The Mosquito gave the Germans fits!
The De Havilland Mosquito, the fastest propeller shoulder-winged multirole combat aircraft during the Second World War. Especially as Simon mocked a plane made of wood (the Spruce Goose), this one would be even better as it was made out of Ply and balsa wood! Absolutely fabulous plane.
My personal favourite of the WW2 planes. What a piece of engineering.
@@tygertyger77 to think Geoffrey De Havilland built it from scraps of the war machine, and built the fastest piston engine aircraft of the time. Unbelievable!
It also just looks amazing
A plane that could be built by basically anyone, anywhere, with the moulds, wood and glue. The fact it was one of the fastest propellor planes ever built didn't hurt it to much either as well as its night fighter role, and its recon ability, bombing ability...you get the point.
Britain’s air defence system during the war was extraordinary- innovative and effective. Worthy of a mega projects episode.
I thought you said, "She refused to BURY her fiance until he lapped Brooklands at over 100mph!"!!! Poor sod didn't get a break even after his death!
Then I realised the word was MARRY!!
I heard that too😂
Same here.
lol so did I. I wondered how a stiff was supposed to bike round the track.
@@franl155 I had visions of his corpse wedged in a side-car with her on the bike.
Definitely said "bury." Tch, those lads from Kent....
I was stationed in Britain in 1983 to 1985. While I was there, I was able to tour the Battle of Britain bunker. This is the bunker that controlled the beginning of the battle. The bunker is set up just like it was at the start of the battle including the miniatures used to represent the incoming German aircraft and the ones used to represent the Spitfires. It is an amazing place to visit. When I think of iconic aircraft of WWII, I think of the RAF Spitfire and the P-51 Mustang.
(Are we going to brush past the "spitfire was the first in a brand new generation of fighter jets" lol) at 8 minutes
LOL, when I heard him say "jet" I went "wait what?"
I know the brits love their spitfire, but I don’t think it was that good lol
lol heard that too
I went "wut?" and went back to listen again. No, my ears hadn't deceived me.
I have bad hearing but that did sneak into my brain.
The engineer who designed the spitifre was dying of cancer of the pancreas while designing the airplane, he should have gotten a mention...
G'day,
Nope.
Bowel Cancer.
He had a Colostomy while the Spitfire was being designed, and was convalescing & in a titular/supervisory role until he died.
One does not treat oneself to a Bowel Resection and a Colostomy for Pancreatic Cancer...; rather one might elect to attempt a Whipple's Procedure, which takes 5 to 8 hours and wasn't done until well after Antibiotics had been invented.
Mitchell's Colostomy, back before Penicillin (even with Sulphonamide) during the 1930s - carried a 35% Deathrate from Post-Operative Infection.
Just(ifiably ?) sayin'.
Such is Life.
Have a good one.
;-p
Ciao !
That was RJ Mitchell- he WAS mentioned.
@@rosswhittle1910 R J Mitchell was the project leader on the Spitfire and he was indeed suffering from cancer and never saw the Spitfire enter production. But he was not "the designer". He oversaw the project and made use of the input from a whole team at both Supermarine and Rolls Royce. If any individual in the Spitfire design stands out it is Beverly Shenstone (a Canadian) who was the chap who came up with the elliptical wing and the sophisticated wing cross section - which was key to the Spitfires excellent handling capabilities. Shenstone had actually learned about the benefits of the elliptical wing when working (ironically) in Germany in the early 1930s.
Yeah and honestly the spitfire is a over glorified constantly updated racing aircraft never meant to be a fighter. As wonderful as it is and looks and sounds never ever meant for war...
@@DarkKatzy013 Sorry, that is just not true. The Spitfire had nothing to do with racing - apart from one example which was built pre-war to have a go at the world air speed record. The war intervened and the record attempt never happened. With the exception of the prototype, ALL other Spitfires were designed and built from the outset as a dedicated, heavilly armed interceptor. And it proved to be excellent at that role.
Many Spitfire histories mistakenly link the Spitfire to the racing monoplane seaplanes built by Supermarine in the late 1920s and early 1930s (the S4, the S5, the S6 and the S6B). Other than being metal monoplanes, there was very little in common between a Spitfire and these pure racing and record breaking seaplanes.
Don't malign the Spitfire. It was an excellent war machine and did the role it was originally designed to do - and evolved over 20 plus versions to keep pace with the requirements of a fast paced war.
The sound of the Spitfire is absolutely awe inspring.
Went to a show that had one flying around with an ME109 and it was amazing.
For a real treat head for an airshow that has a Hurricane, Spitfire, P-51 and the Messerschmidt flying in formation. Ya can't beat it!
I was lucky enough on the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Britain to drive Spitfire pilots to the airshow at Duxford. I will never forget seeing so many spitfires in the air at the same time. Sitting in the bar of the hotel that night with Paddy Barthropp (Wing Commander Patrick Barthroop D.F.C A.F.C) will be with me till I die.
Imagine what it sounds like from 6 feet th-cam.com/video/4iOoiEbtf2w/w-d-xo.html
And consider that a Mosquito had two Spitfire engines and a Lancaster had four ...
Er, no. The Hurricane wasn't overwhelmed in the early stages of the war, nor was the Spitfire held back because "unproven".
Spitfire was held back because the facilities to maintain it & make repairs just weren't available.
Aluminium workers just weren't around at the time, not to mention the relative complexity of the Spitfire. It would have been a nightmare to support in the field.
The Hurricanes weren't all that effective early in the war, simply because the entire front collapsed around them. Not really their fault!
That and they were relatively few, with the bulk of UK air forces in France at that time being vastly inferior aircraft like the Defiant.
Thank you. I haven't even watched the video, because i was afraid it was the usual pseudo science around the great spitfire and its ugly brother the Hawker Hurricane.
@@bergerniklas6647 Far as I can work out the Hurricane did most of the work but the Spitfire was needed to counter some of the better axis planes, or at least to give them something extra to worry about. The Spitfire has become the poster child which is understandable and I dare say back during the war it was a much needed moral boost but i like the Hurricane, and the Mosquito as it happens, something about their ruggedness and multi purpose design appeals to me more than the slick looking Spits.
Defending against an aerial offensive (alone!) is always easier than conducting one. Especially with the benefit of radar. AAA, searchlights, barrage balloons, observers, downed pilots and damaged planes land on your territory, more reliable weather forecasts... RAF learned this too during its own costly and ineffective cross-channel fighter offensive in the 1941-2 period.
Simon gives a lot of incorrect history about the Spitfire and Hurricane starting with calling it a "jet" (at 8:00). The "Spitfires go after the BF109 and the Hurricanes go after the bombers" is more of a legend than a fact. Both the Spitfire and Hurricane were short-range defensive fighters with small tanks like the BF109, it is just that the BF109 was flying longer distances to escort the bombers so they were needing to turn back almost as soon as they go to England. The shortage of Spitfires early on was in part due to the difficulty to built them which slowed production.
They did hold pilots and planes back from France however, only sending the necessary amount and often not enough as they knew they would need every one of the planes and more importantly the pilots. Pilots were the key to the battle really, if you couldn't get enough it didn't matter how many planes you had. Germany learnt this towards the end of the war quite a bit.
Beatrice, what a baller, she saved and helped so many with that ingenuity.
"Beatrice's orifice". Fighter pilots have no class. 😉
I thinks it's just "helped"
@@imouse3246
G'day,
Ahoy !
Steady up..., it was
"Miss Schilling's Orofice, matey ; we'll none of that racy informal first-name stuff from you, ye damnably dirty-minded Schoolboy Lowhound...(!).
BEHAVE !
D' y' hear that, there, then ; harrumph...!
Such is Life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Tilly's diaphram.
The Spitfire holds a special place in my heart as my great uncle Victor flew them through the battle of Britain, successfully bailing out after he was hit. He got back into another one but was sadly shot down off the channel after an attack on occupied Belgium in 1942. His body was never found. The local newspaper found out his story some years later and tried to do a feature but his brother, my grandad didn't want people to think he was hero. He was just like all the other young men who joined up to protect this country.
Here's a megaproject, the USS Monitor. She may not have been a large ship, but the impact she had on naval warfare was felt all over the world. She is the direct ancestor to all ships that were built with turrets, Including battleships.
HMS 'Warrior' would be similarly interesting. Same period but overnight she made every other ship worldwide obsolete.. Monitor and her like were heavily influenced by Warrior though of course the turret was revolutionary as well in its way (Warrior had only moveable guns not true turrets)
@@edwilson5727 actually the Monitor was not influenced by the Warrior at all, her creation was in response to the Merrimack being rebuilt as an ironclad. In fact the only two similarities between the Monitor and Warrior is they both used steam propulsion and used iron for most of the construction. Warrior was far outclassed by the Monitor, not in size or number of guns, but by the turret, the 2 11 inch Dahlgren cannons which had more power than the Warrior's, and she was far more nimble and harder to damage. The only 2 things going for Warrior were speed and ocean going capabilities.
@Michael Jones you'd have to explain, because the spitfire technically isn't a megaproject by definition. Yet he covered it. The USS Monitor was revolutionary, ending wooden sailing warships, warships with rows of guns, was built in less half a year, and was built in the very early 1860s. It was so technologically advanced, she had upwards of 40 or more patentable components. She had the world's first under water toilets just to name one. And this ship had to be built and sailed in time to meet the Confederate ironclad Merrimack before that ship could destroy the Union blockade at Hampton Roads. If this ship isn't a megaproject, than most of the things Simon talks about aren't megaprojects either.
I will always love the Spitfire. My father, who was in the RAF in 50's, always love the plane and I figured it was just national pride. In 2000, I went to Duxford Air museum with my dad, his sister, and her husband. There was a couple Spitfires there that day. He said to me, "Do you know why I so love the Spitfire so much?" I said, "No I just know that it is the best-known RAF plane of WWII and I figured that was it." He said, "Yes, but when I and my sister had been shipped to Ipswich during the war, we would hear the air raid sirens and the nuns would shuttle us inside." "I would stay looking up at the air. When I saw the silhouette of the Spitfire, I knew that we were safe." He said that for the rest of his life he got a warm safe feeling whenever he saw a Spitfire on TV or a book or anywhere." Of course, all four of us we were tearing up as emotions flooded us. He passed in 2005 but to this day I love to see the Spitfire. Now I get that safe nostalgic feeling.
Sounds like Beatrice Schilling led a fascinating life. Maybe she should have her own video on Biographics?
Yes I’d like to hear more about to ... come on Simon biographic on Beatrice please
Good Call. Definite watchability.
Seriously, do the Vulcan.
Full disclosure, my dad flew the Vulcan, so I’m biased.
But honestly, without the Vulcan, you’d have had no Concorde.
Roland Falk - who you should definitely do a biographics video on based solely on him wearing a business suit whilst flying - sold the Vulcan by performing a barrel roll completely off-script.
There are amazing stories from the technical to the personal - such as how, for a short time, the greatest known pilot in the RAF was Joe L’Estrange’s grandmother (given the fact that he was a preeminent flight instructor on the Vulcan whose catchphrase was “my grandmother could fly better than that!”).
The bomber was a force of nature.
Even after decommissioning, it’s presence at an air show was reputed to significantly increase the numbers of attendees, mostly just to hear its howl as the throttle was thrown wide open.
It had the ability to fly slower than most contemporary aircraft, which allowed it to slow down past the stall speed of enemy fighters - basically slamming on the brakes and watching your foe glide past and into your sights without them even knowing what happened.
It was a bomber that could handle almost as well as a fighter - and in some respects outperform any fighter.
The Vulcan that sat at Blackpool airport (XL391) was the one my dad flew the most.
We used to go visit it, because you could climb up and get in the cockpit.
It was the largest thing ever sold on eBay, when a pub landlord decided to try to put it in his beer garden as an attraction (unfortunately he didn’t think the logistics through and it went to scrap).
Fun bonus fact, the guy looking after it at the airport once told my dad that a family said they’d had fun going into the aircraft and thought it was a nice touch for them to put some apple juice in there for the kids.
There wasn’t any apple juice.
You can imagine being in a long range bomber, pilot’s gotta do what a pilot’s gotta do.
The piss tank had never been cleaned out, basically, and the straws the kids had sucked on for the apple juice weren’t straws.
My dad, who flew with 35 squadron, is still involved with the Vulcan, and can be seen up at Solway showing people around the Vulcan there (which you can also climb into the cockpit), sometimes in his full flight suit.
(This is just to show I am who I say I am, by the way, nothing else. Also I want to see a video on the Vulcan, not a video on “here’s what one of our viewer’s dads did”).
I really could go on, but I’m a biased source.
Go check it out and PLEASE do a video on it.
I’d love to show it to my dad, it’d make his day! That plane has been such a big part of my family’s life, as it’s been a massive part of British aviation history - and is still an inspiring part of our country’s history for many even today.
Love your channels, I binge watch them way too much.
Keep up the good work.
@@arthyualagao8279 I'm not certain, but I believe Megaprojects did a video on the Vulcan.
@Olwydd My my. Someone took an extra dose of grumpy today?
So when is the Biographics video for Beatrice Schilling coming out?
The moment you realize that Simon has like 8 channels
I have some binging to do
A fantastic plane but not the only iconic British WWII aircraft. Would love to see an episode dedicated to the Lancaster bomber as I live close enough to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum that I get to see one of the only two airworthy Lancasters fly over my house regularly. It makes the most wondrous noise!!!
Sean, with respect, it ain't noise, it is music! ;-}
Lancaster, mosquito and the Wellington would all be worthy of attention, the Wellington was the backbone for a good number of years and had a special construction method courtesy of Dr barnes Wallace.
Saw one at an airshow about 10 years ago. Neat plane.
@@wampuscat7433 Agreed! It’s my sound of summer because she doesn’t fly after Remembrance Day here in Canada.
The coming about of the Radar that helped win the Battle of Britain is worthy of a Megaprojects topic
Just watched a great documentary on Disney+ today about the radar.
The moment you realize that Simon has like 8 channels
I have some binging to do
Simon is not on TH-cam, he is the TH-cam :D
Business blaze is the best
CBJ!
He's good eh?
@@isee7668 kinda: there's a few different sets of people putting together content which he delivers on., he's a decent orator/figurehead/etc but he doesn't actually know much about most of the content he puts out unless he gets time and interest to research it himself before making the video (which does seem to happen, this is some neat stuff afterall).
inotherwords he's an actor, and a decent one at that.
Even as an American, Simon's conclusion gave me goosebumps. As a lifelong Air buff, The spitfire and the mustang are equal, and I'd be happy to take a ride and either one of them.
I think the Battle of Kursk the largest Tank battle in History deserves a Megaprojects video
@Large Moving Box he made one about D-Day, i just thought it would make sense
@Large Moving Box well, the whole battle was a project from both sides
Probably Geographics. Actually now that I think about it I think he has yet another channel for historical events
See Greatest Tank Battles on Documentary House 2.0 Channel. There is a 2-parter on Kursk. Also see Military History Not Visualized channel for true and honest German perspective analysis.
@@heatherjones6647 Thank you
While we are on a subject of British planes do a megaproject Harrier jump jet.
I think he did one
I asked about the Harrier too! Chuck in its action in the Falklands and that's the receipe for an epic video!
@@jonathanwigmore2323 Yes better looking then F35 as well Eh
@@sglenny001 It's not hard to look better then Fat Amy haha
@@steekle7 lol
Spitfires and lancasters flying give me goosebumps the sound is unbelievable i also love the vulcan
8:00 - Fighter **JETS**? Oh, come on, now, Simon: FOCUS!
I heard that too.
A Mega project suggestion, how about the I-400 Class Submarines of the IJN. It is basically a huge, doubled hull, Aircraft carrier hybrid of a submarine.
I knew I saw a video on it here. Not Mega Projects, but this also a great channel. Hope this helps: th-cam.com/video/gxyk84t4Q8w/w-d-xo.html
Seriously, do the Vulcan.
Full disclosure, my dad flew the Vulcan, so I’m biased.
But honestly, without the Vulcan, you’d have had no Concorde.
Roland Falk - who you should definitely do a biographics video on based solely on him wearing a business suit whilst flying - sold the Vulcan by performing a barrel roll completely off-script.
There are amazing stories from the technical to the personal - such as how, for a short time, the greatest known pilot in the RAF was Joe L’Estrange’s grandmother (given the fact that he was a preeminent flight instructor on the Vulcan whose catchphrase was “my grandmother could fly better than that!”).
The bomber was a force of nature.
Even after decommissioning, it’s presence at an air show was reputed to significantly increase the numbers of attendees, mostly just to hear its howl as the throttle was thrown wide open.
It had the ability to fly slower than most contemporary aircraft, which allowed it to slow down past the stall speed of enemy fighters - basically slamming on the brakes and watching your foe glide past and into your sights without them even knowing what happened.
It was a bomber that could handle almost as well as a fighter - and in some respects outperform any fighter.
The Vulcan that sat at Blackpool airport (XL391) was the one my dad flew the most.
We used to go visit it, because you could climb up and get in the cockpit.
It was the largest thing ever sold on eBay, when a pub landlord decided to try to put it in his beer garden as an attraction (unfortunately he didn’t think the logistics through and it went to scrap).
Fun bonus fact, the guy looking after it at the airport once told my dad that a family said they’d had fun going into the aircraft and thought it was a nice touch for them to put some apple juice in there for the kids.
There wasn’t any apple juice.
You can imagine being in a long range bomber, pilot’s gotta do what a pilot’s gotta do.
The piss tank had never been cleaned out, basically, and the straws the kids had sucked on for the apple juice weren’t straws.
My dad, who flew with 35 squadron, is still involved with the Vulcan, and can be seen up at Solway showing people around the Vulcan there (which you can also climb into the cockpit), sometimes in his full flight suit.
(This is just to show I am who I say I am, by the way, nothing else. Also I want to see a video on the Vulcan, not a video on “here’s what one of our viewer’s dads did”).
I really could go on, but I’m a biased source.
Go check it out and PLEASE do a video on it.
I’d love to show it to my dad, it’d make his day! That plane has been such a big part of my family’s life, as it’s been a massive part of British aviation history - and is still an inspiring part of our country’s history for many even today.
Love your channels, I binge watch them way too much.
Keep up the good work.
My Grandfather was an engineer working on Vulcans, it's one hell of an aircraft, and hearing about operation Black buck makes me even more impressed with it.
@@hallben371 Black Buck deserves a video all by itself - especially the flight of 607.
I still can’t believe nobody’s turned it into a movie given all the close shaves that flight involved, including nearly ditching in the sea after the raid until by luck finding the refuelling aircraft. It’s rife with suspense.
Your grandad was involved in working on one of the greatest aircraft ever built. My family is filled with stories of what it could do - often exceeding what was expected of it.
It’s fair to say my family owes a massive debt of gratitude to people like your grandad for their amazing work - they are the reason my dad made it home safely after every flight (and god knows he and his crew practically did everything they could to make that outcome less than inevitable 🤦♂️🤣).
Still, as great as Black Buck was, I’ll never forget the story about how my father’s crew “sank” a US flag ship during an exercise.
They went rogue. The US navy and airforce required “enemy” units in exercises to fly high and continually radio their position and altitude so that their fighters could intercept them.
My dad’s crew basically went “sod that for a (literal) game of soldiers”, cut contact and dived down to sea level.
They noticed a blip on the radar that looked like the island on the map had an extension.
Figuring out it was a battleship, they flew low, then rose up from behind the island opening their bomb bay doors and declaring “splash” over the radio (basically indicating they’d just nuked the ship), and watched every gun on the ship suddenly burst into life swinging round to follow them.
Turned out it was the flag ship of the fleet - the base of US operations for the exercise.
Needless to say, the yanks went ballistic.
The crew was called in after landing by their CO to get a bollocking in front of the American commanders (“how dare you break protocol and go silent! If anything had happened to the aircraft, we’d never had found it!” Etc)
When the Americans left the room, the CO shook the crew’s hands and had a good laugh with them 🤣
Yes, absolutely.
My grandfather was the AEO on the Vulcan, and getting to see it in flight has been a highlight every time.
@@ToaArcan by jesus, the electronics of that aircraft were so incredible and ahead of their time that it would have taken an Einstein to be an AEO.
Kudos to your grandad. Honestly, he must have been a genius.
@@MahraiZiller He's a pretty smart guy, all things considered. Certainly knows his planes.
Loved the spitfire, but there's also a special place in my heart for the DeHaviland Mosquito, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, and the Consolidated PBY Catalina.
Hi Simon, I'm once again asking you to cover Denver International Airport.
It's the second largest airport in the world, fifth busiest in the USA, and one of the top 25 busiest in the world.
In true mega projects fashion, it went over budget, took too long to build, and has a host of conspiracy theories around it.
I think you'd enjoy covering it, and I'd love to see a hometown landmark shown on this channel!
The Rolls Royce Merlin engine was the key. For example, the P51 Mustang was in development but was only a pretty good plane. Then they put Merlins in them and suddenly it was a great plane.
Actually it was the high octane American gas that made it posable to run higher compression in that engine.
Not that I don’t like this episode, but the Hurricane was the plane that won the Battle of Britain, there weren’t very many Spitfires at the time.
They both won it.
The cane left alone against those 109s would have been shredded in short order. She simply cannot compete against the Emil, let alone the Franz and Gustav.
The Spit was nowhere near as good as the cane at taking bombers. The cane's gun were setup like a chainsaw to deal lots of damage to large, un-maneuverable airframes while the Spit's were setup like a scattergun so as to maximize the chance of hitting something vital in a small, highly maneuverable airframe.
Hitler and Goering shifted the focus of the Luftwaffe offensive in Britain because of a series of events. A single Luftwaffe squadron (or Dorniers I think) got lost and dropped their bombs, then returned to their bases. Entirely by accident, they had bombed London. Bomber Harris immediately ordered a squadron (at least) of Lancasters to bomb Berlin in reprisal. Before any of that had happened, Goering had famously said “If planes drop bombs on Germany, you can call me Meyer”. With Berlin bombed both Hitler and Goering were infuriated and humiliated and the Battle of Britain now became a campaign of civilian terror. At that point RAF Fighter command had been 3 days away from total collapse. Had the Luftwaffe continued with the original battle plan for another week, Operation Sea Lion (the invasion of Britain) would have proceeded.
Simon, you also forgot to mention how the design was based on the Schniider Trophy winning Supermarine S-6... :)
The Merlin engine also has the most amazing sound of any engine that ever graced the skies.
Great vid as always.. just a quick correction @ 8.00 mins... the Spitfire was not "part of a new generation of Fighter Jets" 😉 it had a prop.
By far the most beautiful and pleasing aircraft ever flown.
A beautiful plane no doubt. But I think the P51 mustang was more appealing. Imho
@@k.cashman427 Spitfire gang
You spelled Me 262 wrong
@@DefinitelyNotEmma #AvroLancaster
@@sglenny001 come on, the Lancaster is big and impressive, but it's really ugly. Like most WW2 bombers. The fighters were definitely more elegant, like the Spitfire, the Mustang, the Würger or the Zero.
I'm happy you mentioned the Hurricane. It's wrongly overshadowed by the Spitfire.
Well, perhaps not entirely wrongly, the Spitfire was better aeroplane but the Hurricane's contribution was greater; there were more of them.
@@tonyb9735 As the saying goes, quantity is its own form of quality. 🙂 My point is that the Hurricane was the great workhorse and deserves more credit than the pittance it gets.
8:03 Spitfire was part of a new generation of fighter jets . . .
Did I miss something or did it just get more MEGA?
Spitfire fighter jet confirmed. Mega.
Funny, that doesn't look like a Gloster E. 28/39 at all: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_E.28/39
People make mistakes, what else is new? I suppose you're always perfect? If you want to nit pick every error, go get your own 10 channels with millions of subs and get everything right all the time then you can come back and complain about Simon's writers errors.
@@slcpunk2740 Bruh. Yes, people make mistakes, but there is room for correction. Stuff like this is constructive criticism, not an all out attack on someone. If we are never allowed to learn from our mistakes, we will never approve. Out of all top 10 type TH-camrs, Simon would be able to handle this. He has thick skin, and doesn't need people shielding him from minor criticism. Please, use your brain and not your emotions.
@@slcpunk2740 I was just making a bit of a joke, I love his channels and content. Lighten up, we have enough things to be worry about.
Another WW2 Megaprojects idea: The USS Wolverine and the USS Sable. They were two mock aircraft carriers built to operate in Lake Michigan to train new pilots to land on aircraft carriers away from hostile submarines and planes. The two ships were responsible for training over 17,000 pilots over the course of just 3-4 years.
So, those German planes, when shot down, showed that Germany was able to produce airplane parts via a large-scale "Whole Forged" process - via some MASSIVE Forging Presses - at the end of the war, those presses were split between the Soviets and USA - leading to the USAF Heavy Press program - which is something you should TOTALLY do an episode on! DO IT!
The Me.109 and Bf109 had upside down engines. Oil pan was on the top.
I would love to see more videos about the massive presses that drove the... Well, all the industries.
Yes indeed.
@@johnbockelie3899 Me109 and Bf109 are two designations for the same aircraft. Bf109 was its real designation, but the allies called it Me109. The Daimler-Benz DB600 engine was an inverted-V12, but it was not upside down. It also did not have an oil pan on top. In fact, it did not have an oil pan. Like pretty much every aircraft piston engine, including the Spitfire's Rolls-Royce Merlin, it used a dry sump lubrication system in which the oil is carried in a tank separate from the engine.
The sound of the Merlin engine... the sound of Freedom
War Fighter01 Amen!
Leno did a great piece on it. th-cam.com/video/GYcKdK7hmEo/w-d-xo.html
The Merlin is what made the P-51 Mustang a legend as well.
Not really... Go to Minute 4, German planes sound was terrifying
th-cam.com/video/CDeglorsv_8/w-d-xo.html
@keith moore have a word with yourself pal you joined late we were already fighting while you lot were sat debating, and if the R2800 is so good why was the Merlin chosen for your best fighter of the war, the Mustang. don't worry ill wait for you
LOVE that you mentioned Beatrice Shilling! Badass, motorcycling, leather clad, aircraft engineer. I always try to squeeze this historical tidbit into my lesson plans when teaching carburetors to aviation students.
Spitfire and P-51 Mustang, awesome WW2 Aircraft, favorites as a kid, along with the F-14 Tomcat and A-10 Warthog (Thunderbolt).
Two thirds of RAF"s fighters at the start of the Battle of Britain were Hurricanes and Hurricanes shot down about two thirds of the German planes in the Battle of Britain..The Hurricane was an older aircraft and slower than the German BF 109 but in a dogfight it was more maneuverable .Hurricanes were far cheaper to make then Spitfires, could take more battle damage and was easier to repair.Pilots said it a more stable "gun platform". The strength of the Spitfire was the capacity for farther development throughout the war . It was still a front line fighter in 1945. The hurricane couldn't be developed much farther after 1940.
I suggest as a mega project the jet engine.
The race between all main countries involved at the end of WW2, getting their first fighter jets in the sky
Culminating in the race for the sound barrier would be a good cut off point probably
My alltime favorite scene in the movie Battle of Britain is when Gehreng asks his men what do they need to turn the tide and one pipes up and says "A Spitfire", the look on Gehrengs face was priceless.
also you're doing a great job Simon, love all the channels
He works so hard, it is inspirational
Cmon, there are barely a dozen 😆
Far too many mistakes.
I was really hoping for a mega Project on the United States SOSUS System or possibly the James Webb Space Telescope. Both have got to be Mega of all Mega Projects.
Rather see one on China's FAST (Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope), a superb piece of modern engineering and twice as powerful as the defunct Arecibo.
@@anarchyantz1564 that Telescope may be large. But its simple in design. The cost alone shows that. 170 million US dollars. The technology and well the delays associated with it puts the Webb Telescope pushing close to 10 billion US dollars. And that maks it Mega
@@anarchyantz1564 Not twice as powerful, just a big receiver. It's a valuable instrument, no question, but the biggest loss with the decommissioning of Arecibo will be the active radar... something FAST lacks.
Could you look into the Il-2 please?? I think it would definitely be a megaproject
Simón, awesome videos! Warm cheers from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷!
I've watched maybe 30 of these megaprojects now but none have given me goosebumps like this one. Such a beautiful plane. Sometimes the design is just right for purpose; like a Fender Strat or an E-type. This is such a design...
The best complement the famous Spitfire ever had was a German officer that turned to his commander and said: If you want me to beat the English give me a squadron of Spitfires !!
Major Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (1912-1996) -' I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron."
@@BlackKnight344 He always denied having said that
I love that plane. Sexy before its time, like the Jaguar E-Type.
Exactly! And that elliptical wing shape is like a symbol that represents the Battle of Britain.
Love this channel, and the great work that you are doing. I was wondering if you looked into the ironclad ships of the civil war yet?
8:00 "fighter jets" and 10:32 "Ms. Shlling's orifice"
That's why I love Simon's channels.
Coincidentally, I'm drinking spitfire ale tonight.
Just don’t do it while driving a Triumph Spitfire. That would be bad.
Love this so much and I’m only halfway in. Question: has Simon ever done a video on the Bouncing Bomb, how the Arctic Convoys were protected or the St. Nazaire raid (a.k.a. Operation Chariot). Surely all three are worthy of MegaProject videos
Megaprojects: Aircraft Megaprojects
Sideprojects: non-Aircraft Megaprojects
The Hurricane won the Battle of Britain. The Spitfire won the hearts.
...that's correct...!
@@Packless1 umm no, the Spit knocked down more than it's fair share and it took on the 109's. The Hurricane was more numerous and was a solid platform, but the Spitfire was in the end the better plane
I'd say radars and coordination won BoB. Both planes did their best, but it was the coordination that let them hold on long enough
it was the radar an the RAF defensive system won the Battle of Britain
The Polish won the battle of Britain
One of the first models I ever constructed as a kid in the early 1970s was a Spitfire, which became my favorite plane of that era -- largely because I thought the plane was so cool, I started reading books about Spitfire, Great Britain's heroic defense of itself from the Germans, and the war itself.
Thanks also for mentioning Beatrice Schilling. I do not recall every having read anything about her back then.
I would really like to see a Megaprojects episode on the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber. From their bent dihedral wings to the air brakes and Jericho sirens, these were exceptionally unique and interesting aircraft. There are only two surviving Ju 87s left in the world, one of which is in the Royal Air Force Museum there in London. I had the great honor of seeing that plane while I was there. I didn't actually know it was there before I visited the museum, but I recognized it immediately from the IL-2 Sturmovik game. Needless to say, that was a delightful surprise.
Simon called the Spitfire a "Fighter Jet" at 8:00.
Ima gonna head over to the businessblaze comments to troll about this and compose an email to Simon about this because I have nothing better to do... Allegedly.
Well yeah. Spitfire on the cool planes channel
Thank you for a no-nonsense video. I have always loved the spitfire. The sound of the Merlin sends shivers through me still today. Thank you again
Definitely unrelated to this topic, but I'd love to see a mega or side projects video about the relocation of Abu Simbel to save it from being drowned in a reservoir, super crazy undertaking.
I was under the impression that the Hurricane was the vanquisher in the Battle of Britain
That's what James May taught me.
It was slightly more nuanced than that. The Group based around London had mostly Hurricanes, and its' command staff believed in getting squadrons up and engaged as soon as possible, in order to prevent bombing raids today. The Group based in Lincolnshire had most of the Spitfires, and its' commanders were proponents of the Big Wing concept, whereby you aimed to get much larger, multi-squadron groupings together, and attacked the bombers when you could, even after the raid, because once a plane was shot down, it would never perform any more missions, and you tended to get more pilots/crews that way, too, as it was also much harder for damaged planes to escape and get repaired. When the Big Wing worked, it was devastating, but it too often took too much time to get the interceptors together, and they sometimes only managed to catch a few stragglers, or occasionally nothing, but it did produce much better kill ratios when it worked.
Suggestion: Arecibo telescope, especially with it soon to be demolished.
Sad news. I visited it in 2002. Truly awesome.
I’m always fascinated by the details of WW2, especially The Battle of Briton. So, thank you adding Beatrice Shilling to the story, as I was ignorant. That got my nerd giblets tingly!
Well done.
I was a little curious how the spitfire was considered a mega project but it made more sense as the video went on. Love the work.
James May and his preference for the Hurricane should take note.
The Spitfire became a legend acting as a defender of the British isles, and through the twists and turns the war took, ended up becoming a contributing escort and attacker over the Japanese home islands in the closing month of the Pacific war, thousands of miles away (as the Seafire).
Imagine being a spitfire pilot flying home over the English Channel.
The R.A.F. lost more pilots during WW2. than any nation at the time.
@@johnbockelie3899
G'day.
Bullshit.
"During WW-2 the RAF lost more pilots than any other Air Force..."
Really...?
So, Germany & Italy & Japan won the Air War - did they ?
Clearly you haven't ever checked out the USSR's Aircrew Losses in WW-2.
Go back to Primary School Munchkin, and learn to read & to count.
;-p
Ciao !
@@WarblesOnALot no, Britain had the most pilots
@@WarblesOnALot plus, just because you lost more doesn’t mean you lost the war. There were more allied deaths then axis ones in ww2 and I don’t think anybody is living under the third Reich right now.
@@ssik9460
Bullshit.
Britain's total Deathtoll in WW-2 was 332,000, the USA had 292,000 killed in WW-2..., Oz had 30,000 killed in the Second World War.
Out of those dead, 271,000 were British Military, 292,000 were US Military & 26,500 were Oz Military...
Japan had 2.048 MILLION Killed, 1.14 million of which were in Uniform ; & Germany had 6.3 MILLION Killed - of whom 170,000 were Jewish Germans and 4,000,000 were in the Armed Forces.
Six million more Germans died than Britons did in WW-2 - so in WHAT Universe do you live in..., in order to claim that Britain's RAF suffered more Casualties than did any other Air Force....?
Apparently you cannot count, read, research, nor reason...; but the Numbers exist, nevertheless.
There there, nivertheemoind.
Such is Life,
Have a good one..
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Thank you Simon, it was a great salute to a great aircraft and I was glad to see its counter part the Hurricane got a nod too. The Spitfire is one of the most iconic aircraft to fly along with Concorde and the 747. 🧡
Love it, Simon. Love the plane. Didn't know about Ms. Schilling. What a great video!
8 minutes in you call it a “fighter jet”, just saying.I like your channels, watch them a lot!
duuuude just finaly do ThrustSSC first land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier it is not worthy?
How about the Mercedes T-80 record vehicle. AFAIK it was never measured and driving on the Autobahn instead of a salt late would have been a detriment but was supposed to reach 600 something kph. In the 30s!
Neither of these sound like megaprojects or even side projects. Designing a car is not anything close to a plane and he already gets enough people complaining every time he does a plane.
@@slcpunk2740 he did canons 3times and bombs twice i think that its harder to come up with vehicle that can break sound barrier while riding on ground that make those that i mentionet before. btw its not up to you or me to decide what is or is not megaproject so cheers ;)
channel is popping simon , keep em up man we love rhem
I recall having my gran round for Sunday dinner when there was VE Day celebration taking place. We were sitting there chatting and we both heard this very raw, throaty sounding engine. My nan's eyes widened and she said, 'Spitfire.' We both got up. I lived in a tower block and was on the 7th Floor. We looked out of the balcony windows and doors to see a little single prop plane whizz past. My gran smiled fondly but sadly. Fondly for that little plane that became such a legend and something she associated with knowing that everything would be alright, but sadness over the war where so many died and friends lost. Just prior to the war she had had very good friends who were Germans who had moved to and were happy living in England. They were deported and nan never saw them again, never knew what became of them and missed them dearly. She had worked at a garment factory during the war making RAF uniforms. Her husband, my grandfather, who died a year before I was born had gone to war, but his position had been engineering so he never fought directly on the front. It was an interesting and touching moment as we both watched that beautifully gutsy sounding little plane fly past and she shared her memories with me.
Nice video overall, and kudos for including Miss Schilling’s orifice! My only comment would be around the quoted 1,470 HP from the Merlin engine - The first Mk.1 Spitfires actually only had a little over 1,000 HP. It was only by the time the Mk.VB was released that the Merlin’s output had been boosted to about 1,470 HP, but the Mk.VB had little (if any) involvement in the Battle of Britain, IIRC.
Also, F1 cars don’t have anywhere near 1500bhp these days - it’s believed to be closer to 1,000bhp. You’d have to go back to F1’s turbo era of the early 1980’s to see engines with ~1,500bhp (and which had a tendency to fail in spectacular fashion).
Spitfire may not be the best of WWII fighters, but surely it is the most beautiful one.
No, sorry
@@fury4539 which one is it, then? Of course, beautifulness is highly subjective :)
It was the best. Defensive fighter for high, medium and low altitudes, photo high and low altitude reconnaissance, Seafire aircraft carrier fighter, experimental seaplane. You name it, it did the job.
Simon, and everyone who's associated with your content creation,, congrats. I'd just like to commend and thank you. The world is a better place when people make it their life to spread and distill knowledge. You guys are great! I hope people like you guys, real engineering and timeline keep growing and inspiring others. All the best!
The Spitfire was a great aircraft, but the Hurricane did a really wonderful job, especially in the early years of the conflict. Typhoons and Tempests also worked well in certain roles but were let down by the underpowered Napier Sabre engines, but the aircraft the Germans truly feared the most, especially towards the end of the war, was the Mosquito, a quite superb aircraft that will still in service long after the Spitfire had left RAF service but is really very much overlooked. A video on the Mossie would be great!!
14:15 This bit isn't quite right. Germany didn't switch to civilian targets because they thought the RAF was on it's last legs. While the RAF was on it's last legs, Germany was unaware, and when an allied bombing run aimed at industrial targets accidentally hit civilian targets Hitler was so outraged he ordered the Luftwaffe to start targeting civilian targets instead. Had they known the state of the RAF they would have likely been able to cripple Britains air defences, opening the door to an invasion.
To add onto your correction, I believe it also started as a result of Luftwaffe bombers accidentally jettisoning their payload over what they thought was the sea/Channel but was actually London on their return to their airbases. Poor visibility led to their return home and they didn’t want to return and attempt to land with bombs still onboard but their bombs actually hit civilian London. In response, RAF Bomber Command bombed Berlin which **then** led to Hitler ordering the full scale bombing of London.
I am not at home and can therefore not verify all of this from my research, but this is to the best of my recollection.
That lady was certainly proud of her orifice, and it's not often you can say that without being slapped... :P
Well since people are suggesting things, then I will add mine to the mix. In your video about the MiG-31 you mentioned its predecessor the MiG-25. It would be nice if you did an episode about the USAFs response to the MiG-25, the McDonald-Douglas F-15 Eagle. From what I've heard its a good story and a fantastic aircraft.
The Spitfire and the SR-71 are the two planes that always send a tingle down my spine.
you can't forget the greatest fighter of all time!
(Boulton Paul Defiant)
I'm kidding lmao
A perfect companion for the Fairey Battle, the best light bomber of the early days of World War II. (Large, Slow, Flying Target.)
@@Otokichi786 agreed!
but another good partner for the Boulton Paul Defiant would maybe be the Supermarine Walrus?
Shhhh... don't tell the Russians they used Spitfires.
They liked the P-39 better.
The spitfire was a new generation of Fighter Jets(8:00). And all this time I thought they had piston engines with a propeller to pull them through the air. It appears I was wrong. LOL Nice video Simon I look forward to more Megaprojects.
This plane is simply beautiful.
And 10:25, this little bits of history are the reason I'm subscribe. Love it.
The Rideau Canal in Ottawa would be a great idea for a video! Vote Canada!
Megaproject Suggestion. Longest deep bore ice core in Antarctica. Took years, loads of drama with it and they found some cool stuff like a fresh water lake under the ice containing previously unknown lifeforms. Would go Well with the other hole projects that are popular
Speaking of deep holes, how about the Kidd Mine as well?
When I read "Speaking of deep holes" I was definitely expecting a comment about someone's mother
i was taught that the spitfire was a direct descendant of the schneider trophy winning supermarine s6b but i bow to your superior knowledge.
The engine that ran in the trophy races was good for about an hour or so then needed total rebuilding. While RR can certainly take a bow for what it became, the serious Merlin engine production bottlenecks impacting the rearmament program in the late 1930s were solved by the industry as a whole. Especially those who were experienced in mass production of auto engines.
With the impending demise of the arecibo radio obervatory, seems like a perfect time for a megaprojects video about it?
1:30 I was born in the UK but raised in the US. When I think WWII aircraft, the B-17 is the first thing that comes to mind. Hmmm🤔
I'm German and for me it was Stuka, Bf109, Fw190, Spitfire, Mustang and then B-17 in that Order... :D
Well that is what US TV pushes 24/7.
I'm 100% USA and I think of the Mosquito... I am a failure at national pride.😶
@@johnburns4017 Amazing Stories Season 1 Episode 5. You might have nailed it
Bless Mrs Shilling's orifice.
The spitfire has always been my favourite plane of all time. An awesome machine which isn’t a computer controlled machine but piloted by a man very fast and armament that blew the me109 out of the sky
Short, sharp, sweet. Thanks.
An airplane: Megaproject
Lifting and moving the entire city of Chicago: Sideproject
Gotcha
Simon recently did a Sideprojects video The Raising of Chicago: Manually Lifting The Windy City in the 19th Century
@@Laura-S196 Thanks for explaning the joke =/
when you defeat Germany but can't even flip over