Italians in the Battle of Britain - Biplanes vs Spitfires (Pt3)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ค. 2024
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Watch parts 1 and 2 if you missed them:
• Italians in the Battle...
• Italians in the Battle...
Although the Italian Air Corps (Corpo Aereo Italiano) faced heavy losses when they faced RAF fighters during their daylight bombing raid on England on 11 November 1940, they still continued with fighter sweeps in English airspace. Spitfires from 603 Squadron attacked the Italian Fiat CR.42 biplanes and a large dogfight developed. Both sides claimed having shot down many enemy fighters but what really happened? Find out in this video.
Main sources:
- Håkans aviation page
surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/falco_...
- Håkan Gustavsson and Ludovico Slongo - Fiat CR.42 Aces of World War 2
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#battleofbritain #italianairforce #militaryaviationhistory - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Facing Spitfires in a Biplane takes a special type of courage.
The Italians had a lot of faith in their planes. Well, to start with, anyway. The designer had deliberately chosen a bi-plane as he believed that the trend for monoplanes was to be proved wrong and the manoeuvrability and lift of the hi plane would be superior. The Italian pilots practised dog fighting and turning fights with lots of aerobatics and believe that their planes were a match. As mentioned in the video, they could turn inside a spitfire and trying to dog fight a cr42 was the wrong tactic. When the spitfires bounced the cr4s and attacked ‘boom and zoom’ they shot two down straight away. But they then made a mistake and tried to get on close. Had they repeatedly carried out boom/zoom attacks the Italians would have been massacred as they would have been almost helpless. Bizarrely, the FAA Fulmar could turn inside a CR42 by using its landing flaps! But to top that a Lockheed Hudson could too! If you cut and feathered one engine and then stood it on its wing tip with the dead engine lowest the Hudson would whip around. A kiwi pilot shot one down and drove two off doing that. (Well, between the pilots two 303s and the dorsal gunner pair they did).
@@geordiedog1749 The success of the earlier Fiat C.R.32 against the more advanced Russian monoplane I-16 during the Spanish Civil War had a lot to do with continued confidence in the biplane formula.
There was some issues with the replacement monoplanes and for a couple of months in late 1940 during the period when the Italians had started attacking Malta the C-200 was withdrawn from service due to crashes due to uncontrollable spins leaving the Italian air force far more reliant on the earlier CR-42 until those issues were resolved. Also the ability for the Italian air craft industry to build aircraft was far more limited than for example the UKs.
@@Thermopylae They had success against the I-16 because the flight characteristics were not too dissimilar. Both slow , both poorly armed, equal (ish) turning circles.
Or an overconfident fool lol
Even with inferior aircraft, simply having radios would have improved their situation immensely. This series was very informative. Good job.
Thank you for the positive feedback! Yes, radios would have bee a giant step forward.
Is there a new video today?@@showtime112
Under equipped, against all odds and severely out-matched.
Poor guys didn't have a lot of chances and yet they tried their best.
History tends to judge these situations too harshly, merely looking at the stats and often forgetting the other circumstances.
Great video!
Thank you for commenting! I hope that these videos shine some light on the details and individual stories of those involved.
Yes, the average Italian soldier/sailor/airman was judged by the incompetence of their leadership. The Italian armed forces had a severe problem with it's senior officers being there for who they knew, who they were, nothing to do with competency. A lot of nations go through that problem through their history
As a rule, when people aren't just making memes, the make a distinction between "Italian" performance in the war, that is the bad equipment, bad leadership, bad industry, and Mussolini being a fat idiot, from the performance of individual Italian soldiers, who are usually regarded as exceptionally brave for even putting up the fight they did when accounting for how badly they were failed by their state and leaers. Italian pilots and Italian divers especially did some incredible things with their limited capabilities.
"If that bother you then please watch something else." 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Making a good disclaimer is always useful 😁😁😁
Sozzi survived three bullets in his lungs and managed to land!
That's what the sources say. He was one tough dude!
The way the Italians smoke it probably helped him to breathe more easily.
Great video! Thank you! Luigi Gorrini gets a mention! He became an ace! He described his career as "212 air combats, 24 solo air victories, 5 parachute jumps."
I appreciate the comment! Gorrini might get more attention in the future, who knows.
This series has really shown me just how bad the Italian bullets were of all things. I had heard that the Breda machine guns were weak, but the light damage caused by the CR.42s combined with the small armament really puts this in perspective.
Yes, Italian aircraft mostly suffered from lack of firepower.
The CR42 had 2 x 12.7 mm Breda heavy machine guns - the same calibre as the American Browning M2 0.5 inch machine gun. Unfortunately, the Breda had a much slower rate of fire (partly because it was always synchronised with the propeller), and also had a slower muzzle velocity (because the Italian cartridges were shorter). However, the Breda was just as heavy as the Browning M2 at 29 kg.
The CR42's firepower was about half as destructive as that of the Hurricane I, and only 1/4 as powerful as a P-51B Mustang with 4 x 0.5 inch Browning M2's.
The Breda 12.7mm was equipped with explosive bullets. There is an account of them by a Spitfire pilot that was hit by quite a few. One hit his main wing spar, and nearly broke it. Another hit the radiator and blew it apart. They were quite powerful.
@@mr.samurai901vero ma erano disponibili solo in quantità minime...il solito problema dell Italia durante la 2ww..troppo poco e troppo tardi.
It still blows my mind in the mists of the sleek Bf-109 Emils and Spitfires, the rugged Hurricanes. That the CR 42 shared the same skies as the rest and still managed a couple of kills themselves.
None of these kills can be verified with RAF losses but essentially, in the two major clashes with Spitfires and Hurricanes, only three or four of them were clearly shot down by RAF pilots. That's not too bad considering the technological gap.
I'm not envy those Italian guys, flying clearly outdated technics against the era's bests. They were brave guys for sure.
Can you cover the Japanese bombing raids on Australia and the spiritfire and p-40 squadrons that held the line against them
It should probably be an interesting subject, it is in my long term plans. I'm not sure if there's any reasonably close map in WT that might look like Australia.
@@showtime112 The closest one there is is Port Moresby, perhaps some ground units maps
@@showtime112 I'd love to see you do a series on the Port Moresby squadrons, 75 & 30sqn. I have an uncle buried there. I will be visiting his & 75SQN CO's graves next year.
The Fiat CR.42 are no match against the Spitfire and Hurricane over Britain but did have a match with the Gladiator over Malta and Africa in fact a Restored Fiat CR.42 is at duxford still waiting for it’s first test flight great video.
As explained in part 2 of this video series the CR.42 at Duxford was brought down by Hurricanes earlier in the battle
Thanks for the comment!
Radios would have helped the Italian fighters more than any performance gap between the Falcos and the Spitfires.
What a waste of lives and men in this theatre.
An excellent video.
Thank you for the comment! I agree that lack of radios was a huge disadvantage.
Imagine leaving the sunny Mediterranean to fly through rainy British skies in an open cockpit.
As Italian myself I thought the same... and that was in November-December....
When Fiat took on Rolls-Royce.
Sure, when you put it this way.... 😁😁😁
Spitfires unable to get on their tails as the biplanes turned inside them. This a precursor to the defence of Malta by the three Gladiators Faith, Hope and Charity, which used the same maneuverability. Ironically, had the Italians stayed longer, it may well have been that the best aircraft to use against them were the Gladiators and possibly ex WW1 and 1920s biplanes. Noting the number of aborted missions and losses due to malfunctions, one must ask the standards of engineering and logistic support to the squadrons. Italy was not next door to France/Belgium and even if made available, it is unlikely the Luftwaffe had a wide range of suitable parts.
Top channel. Great historical research. The visuals are totally captivating. Overall, twelve out of ten.
That is an awesome comment, thank you very much!
It's interesting how little casualties there were in such large engagements, with about 40 planes involved you'd imagine more than 3 shot-downs and two damages.. I wonder if it was due to the low caliber guns used in the beginning of the war or something else.
Partly, it must have been due to relative lack of firepower. But on the other hand, CR.42s were very maneuverable and they could deny their opponents a clear shot as long as they were aware of them. On the other hand, Spitfires were much faster and could stay out of range.
Great production value in your series. Very engaging to say the least. I learn something new in each episode. thank you.
Glad to hear it! Thank you very much for the supportive comment!
Is surprising how good are you getting at this, those last videos look very professional!
I'm very happy you feel this way! I accumulated a number of hours producing this stuff 😁
Italy drew all the wrong lessons from their time in Spain. They were sure the bi planes would be cutting edge for years. Unfortunately they were wrong.
There is an expression that in every victory, there's a seed of defeat. Seems to be one such case.
The CR.42 is a sesquiplane btw. A type of biplane which has one wing shorter than t'other.
Great 3 part series on a topic that is rarely discussed . Thank You .
- In context , Kieth Park's policy was to avoid fighter sweeps , and focus on the bombers .
- RAF Fighter Command probably would not have known they were the Luftwaffe or the Regia Aeronautica
unless they were seen by the Observer Corps or Fighter Command .
- Dec 7th , 1940 - Park was pushed out by the Air Ministry , and replaced by the careerist Leigh Mallory
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- Kieth Park would later be reassigned to be in charge of the RAF in the defense of Malta .
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Thank you for the comment and for providing additional information!
@@showtime112 Thinking about this a bit more , RAF Fighter Command Chain Home RDF detected when the Luftwaffe left the ground , speed , attitude , direction and approx numbers .
3:19 Turns out the cruising speed of a CR.42 was 248 mph ( 400 Km / h ) so it would be interesting to know what was showing up on a RDF screen for 2 groups of CR.42 biplanes.
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Tienes toda la razón. Otro grave error de Mussolini y creo cómo tú que los pilotos italianos lo hicieron lo mejor posible que pudieron
Gracias de nuevo por tu trabajo
I'm glad you think so, that seems the most logical explanation. Thank you for the comment!
It certainly appears as though the G50's did their utmost to AVOID any involvement. They knew only too well that the odds were stacked against them. No radios = Insanity!
Well, you could get that impression.
Thanks this is a really good history short. Lot of detail in a bite sized presentation.
That's the goal! Thank you for the feedback!
Again you made it. Great video and another WW2 lesser known chapter was learnt
I'm happy to hear your positive comment, thank you!
I don't know if you can do it,but can you cover the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse during the Pacific campaign?
Possibly. I have to check the availability of these ships in War Thunder and try the exact damage models. An interesting thing to investigate in the future.
I can't get over how good the graphics are in these videos. Interesting sight on the Falco. I wonder if those two dots on either side of the center dot were for deflection shots?
Thank you for liking the graphics :) As for the sights, I'm not sure if they are historically accurate in War Thunder. I believe the dots are there to help with deflection shots but I don't know how to use them 😁
Amazing work! Cr-42s dancing with arguably superior aircraft and not being massacred. Completely breath taking! what an amazing series!
I'm glad you appreciate it. A biplane whose pilot fights well is not an easy target at all as he can deny you a chance for a clear shot as long as he is aware of you.
@@showtime112 that's why there is truth that a skilled pilot flying a so-called below average plane can defeat a mediocre pilot in a superb plane
Arguably😂
@@pfinnigan70 just goes to show what better pilots can do even in "crappy" biplanes... History is aways written from the view of the victor.
The Italians went into battle with one hand tied behind their back, very little, if any radio comms and under gunned - out dated aircraft even for 1940/41 standards. Mussolini would have fared better by leaving his forces in North Africa.
Or by avoiding the war altogether 😁
@@showtime112 Impossible, he had to get Hitler to bail him out twice, once in North Africa and the other time in Greece. If he would have tried to do a Francisco Franko, Hitler would have invaded Italy.
Great video! Those antiquated biplanes are not something to trifle with.
Thank you very much!
Interesting to see how the Italians had a huge numerical superiority but were unable to use it due to their lack of radios. Although the CR42 is usually rated as about equal with a Hurricane but definitely inferior to a Spitfire, the British planes weren't in much danger anyway due to the Italian's lack of firepower. The Germans gave the Italians some Me 109s before they went back to Italy.
True, lack of radios really limited their tactics and made them prone to getting surprised.
The poor italians were not enought efficient at this period but their material was useless against the english planes which are more modern.
But fot the english, it's very hard to shoot a plane which goes slower and more maneuverable than yours. It's like shooting an helicopter with jet plane using your cannons.
When you say "English", I presume you mean "British"? In reality, "RAF" would be more accurate, as pilots from many other nations flew for them.
If the biplane pilot is aware of you and he knows what he is doing, a monoplane pilot might have lots of difficulties hitting him. Thanks for another comment!
@@narabdela Yes British, sorry.
@Pax.Alotin But a lot of courage !!!
@@jeannezehner9450 Commonwealth countries are regarded as "British" when there is something really nasty going for the Brits. At other times, not so much so!
Awesome as always!!!!
Nice to hear it, thank you!
Thanks! Outstanding job as always
I appreciate your continuous financial support, thank you!
Can you cover the German excursion to Iraq in 1941?
I think so. I covered the Italian involvement (they sent some aircraft too) in a Patreon exclusive video. But there's more to cover and I might get back to it someday. Thank you for the suggestion!
Aaaah I love the FIAT G.50 Freccia (and the Macchi C. 200 Saetta). Unfortunately, all these aircraft were too lightly armed.
With a CR. 42, maybe using his superior manoeuvrability to escape British fighters ? No victory but at least you can go home alive.
Again a very interesting video ! Thanks a lot 👍
PS: if one day, if you have some time... 😜 Talking about the fights between Italians bombers and fighters and French fighters in the South of France (over the Var) in 1940... I know you have already a lot of projects for future videos..
Thank you for another comment! The Italian campaign against the French might be quite interesting. Many of the pilots involved in this battle had participated in that campaign as well. Of course, so many ideas and so little time 😁
@@showtime112 I understand you, I have the same problems 😅
Excellent work! Thank you!
It's still shock me that just 3 years earlier, Italian Air Force was considered the most feared Air Force in the world due to their huge presence in Spain and the efficiency of which they carry out their mission with high successful rate.
By the time of Battle of Britain or even during the earlier Battle of France, Italian Air Force become a joke flying outdated aircrafts.
Operating without radio, armoured seats and self-sealing tanks had its problems. Not to mention being at the end of their combat radius.
I'm sorry but you are going to have to provide some accompanying evidence to back up this claim. I have never read or seen anything that would even suggest the Italian air force being feared by anyone, let alone 'the most feared air force in the world'. I've read many a ridiculous propaganda piece over the years but that one is another level.
@@razgriz380 The victims of the mustard gas attacks in Ethiopia would disagree.
@@WgCdrLuddite Yes, they thought they were very big when attacking undefended and vulnerable peoples, such as Ethiopia, Catalonia etc, but they eventually suffered humiliation over the UK and just for political and propaganda reasons largely!
@@razgriz380 Some of the trimotors were extremely fast when they entered into service a few years earlier, faster than any fighter plane! For a moment, Regia Aeronatica had a number of fast bombers who would have seemed, at the time, as a very capable force. Also, Italian pilots gained experience in the Spanish Civil War and in the Ethiopian war. Yet, progress in the aeroplane field was advancing very fast, and Italian engagement in the two conflicts, paired with the industrial aim of favouring the development of the more-easily-marketable biplanes, let Italy slip behind in technology, not just in the skies (sticking mostly to biplanes, no radio, no pressurization), but also on the seas (not developing a radar, not developing electronics for submarines) and on land (lack of heavy tanks, missed motorization of divisions). Add to that the very delicate switch between tertiary divisions and binary divisions, which had just begun, abd which required years to form many new Army officers adequately. When Italy entered the war in 1940, it was grossly unprepared, as all three commanders of the Armed Forces branches openly advised Mussolini. Sadly, by late May 1940 Mussolini was so convinced that the war would have ended within a couple of months that, even if he knew of the unpreparedness, he decided to "bet" his Country in exchange for some spoils of the victory and, probably more importantly, to avoid "marginalization" in the overall exchequer.
There was a slight hiccup in the sound, so the Boulton-Paul Defiant came out as the Paul Defiant, apart from that, very informative, well done!
Thank you for commenting!
The wrong way of using air resource and poor Strategic by the Italian Air force.
Superb as always if you are looking for ideas -SAAF vs Regia Aeronautic in East Africa in 1940-41 might make an interesting and relatively unknown topic to cover
I absolutely love these three episodes ^w^
it really is nice to hear all of these stories, thank you for making these! I really appreciate this.
I'm happy to hear it, thank you! Second (or third) parts almost always get fewer views than the first ones but still I find it the best solution to make episodes like this.
Love the videos my friend. Its cool to see battles. Thanks
I appreciate your support!
Very watchable.
That is a pretty good compliment 😁 Thank you!
There will always be nitpickers that nitpick. I always enjoy your videos. Ignore the self righteous critics.
Thank you for the support!
Fantastic.!..This channel is amazing🇬🇧👍
I'm happy to hear it, thank you!
Thank you very much! Excellent video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great presentation as always. You're absolutely right - a dictator not using their resources correctly. We see it even today in modern conflicts. Thank you for all you do! Excellence by Showtime 112. ♠️🎩🎯🎱🇺🇲🏁🇮🇱🇺🇦🔱🌻🏵️🌸💮🌼🏴☠️🏹
Thanks once more! Yes, dictators haven't changed much in 80 or so years.
Can you do a video on RAF South East Asia in 1945
Thanks!
Thank you very much once again!
TY 🙏🙏
I would go along with the idea of the Italian pilots taking part in the Battle of Britain when you look at the amount that did fly bombing missions against Britain and the massive fighter escorts . I would like to thank you for these three videos that have shone a light on this little known history of Italian involvement in Bombing Britain and technically taking part in the Battle of Britain.
It's surprising how bad spits performed..
Wow, fighting in biplanes with fixed landing gear. Probably slower then a Stuka! Thanks for the history!
Thank you for watching!
Great video. Looking forward to seeing more about the Italians in the Balkan campaign later if you can produce something.
Thank you! That might be a topic for the future. Although I'm more leaning towards fighting in the Mediterranean theater or North Africa.
Showtime 112, the mark felton of aerial war
That's a very strong compliment, thank you!
Excellent series. Thoroughly enjoyable. Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you very much for the feedback!
Again, excellent video and series!
Thank you very much for the positive feedback!
Obožavam tvoje objave.
Stvarno dobar komentar 😁 Hvala!
On night-fighting; the exhaust pipes on the bombers glowed red. Center up underneath and pull up firing. Front to back.
I like to hear about more axis air forces like the Romanian's Hungarian's Slovakian Bulgarian or Croatian I got a book by Hans Warner Neulen called In the skies of Europe that talk about Air forces Allied to the luftwaffe
Thank you for the feedback! I intend to cover some more of the lesser Axis air forces in the future.
Again an excellent video.
Thank you!
Biplane v Spitfire a bit like a rat v a lion.
Not quite that much of a difference. Biplane can be dangerous if underestimated.
One more Masterpiece about the REGIA AERONAUTTCA . I never heard about that NIGHT OPERATION'S . ❤ Your Brilliant Channel !!!
Amazing feedback, thank you very much!
Great video 👍
Glad you enjoyed it Chups!
Great video, thanks for having described the poor equipment of italian pilots during codename "Operazione Cinzano". By the way, Hurricanes Spitfires and Fiat fighters had other encounters during the african campaign.
Thanks for the positive comment! Yes, they often fought over North Africa and I believe also Malta.
Could you make some content on aerial Warfare during the civil war?
It's been in my plans for a while. I have a general idea about the aerial warfare, I just need to go a little deeper to find specific stories I want to cover. Technically, lots of it is possible as we have some of the airplanes that participated in it in WT.
Kao i do sada, Showtime na visini zadatka! Bravo! Za neki od sledećih klipova predlažem sukob italijana i britanaca iznad Grčke...
Puno hvala! Dobra tema, slažem se. Ionako sam planirao nastaviti priču o Pattleu koji je nakon Afrike prebačen u Grčku. Ima tamo zanimljivih borbi na Gladiatoru i Hurricaneu.
Were the Italians successful in anything during ww2??? Their courage was unmistakable but the level of amateurism in tactics and equipment is simply laughable.
yes, even underequipped they made a cavallary charge against sovjet tanks which had to retreat. They sank a british warship by using divers. Even though captured afterwards the british admiral admired them. Guess those were the first SEALS. Attacked british tanks with molotows in Aftica allowing Rommel to escape. Plenty of Italians using german equipment and were very succesful. There is a well known one commanding a Tiger Tank. Give us good equipment and we fight like our roman ancestors. Don`t forget lot of Italo-Americans fighting on the other side or the Partisans. Italy was a young nation. Mussolini was only good in propaganda.
the conquest of British Somalia
Thank you.
It's a classic case of taking part because you're part of an alliance & feel an obligation, rather because you should.
I believe that the Blenheim's were the fighter version with four fixed 303 forward firing Brownings. They had range, but weren't fast.
Very educational.
Glad you think so, thank you!
Love your work, makes sense of lots we read, thankyou! The Italian aircraft looked amazing and I reckon a well handled G50 would give a Spit Mk.1 a proper battle.
I'm happy to hear it, thank you! G.50 could be potentially dangerous in a dogfight.
Great video as always.
Next subject: The CR-32 operations in East Africa during WW2.
Thank you for the feedback! East Africa is a pretty good topic to consider, thank you!
I cannot understand why the RA did not send the MC 200 & the G-50? While they would still be obsolescent against the Spitfire Mk 1 & Mk 2 they would not be so bad against the Hurricane. Though of course their firepower would still be inadequate l.
They sent G.50s. And they patrolled over Britain but somehow, never engaged RAF fighters.
Yes.
Here you have things that were common else where.
Faster fighters trying to dog fight biplanes have them turning inside them just like Allied Fighters going against A6M's in the pacific. The British had pilots with BoB experience, where they had engaged the Germans in Turning Dogfights and tried that with the Japanese to their displeasure.
Pilots (or anyone else) without radios are at a severe disadvantage. Japanese radios were so bad - a lot of their pilots took them out to save weight - but at least they had them.
This is all typical of the Italians efforts.
They did have an Air Force just like the had a Navy - but - they were not the technological equals of the British, Germans and Americans - and suffered for it.
Here - the Axis - really suffered in comparison to the Allies where the Americans could manufacture excellent equipment - with radios - for the use of their Allies - such as the French.
The Germans couldn't equip their own forces to their own standards - much less anyone else.
You have to respect the courage and dedication of the Italian military to continue to fight using equipment that was just behind the curve of their opponents. Also - their Government had the good sense to switch sides after removing Mussolini from power. For one thing - that removed the possibility of them having Soviet Occupation troops.
Lack of Radios cost the Russians dearly as well. At least the Italians Fascist Government didn't hobble their troops with Political Commissars the way the Soviets did.
The Fascists were bad but the Communists were worse.
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Thinking about this 3 part series , everything presented about RAF Fighter Command , matches up with the strategic doctrine of Dowding and Park .
At the Beginning of the BoB , the Luftwaffe out numbered RAF Fighter Command by 4 to 1 .
As Hugh Dowding dictated in August 1941
" The destruction or paralysis of Fighter Command was therefore an essential prerequisite to the invasion of these Islands. Their immediate objective might be convoys, radio - location stations, fighter aerodromes, seaports, aircraft factories, or London itself. Always the underlying object was to bring Fighter Command continuously into battle, and to weaken its material resources and intelligence facilities. "
Add to this , Park emphasized the importance of stopping the Luftwaffe before bombers reached their targets.
So Dowding and Park understood the objective was for Fighter Command to continue to exist , in order to stop the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority , which was a prerequisite for an invasion . Further , to bring fighter command continuously into battle ... and to stop the bombers before they reached their targets .
Actually , Kieth Park was actually using a form of gorilla war fare - Vector 1 or 2 squadrons to attack the bombers from above, shoot for 15 seconds , get in and get out .
Where as in 1938, Shoto Douglas wrote
" It is immaterial in the long view whether the enemy bomber is shot down before or after he has dropped his bombs on his objective. Our object is not to prevent bombers from reaching their objectives, though it would be nice if we could, but to cause a high casualty rate among enemy bombers, with the result that the scale of the will dwindle rapidly to bearable proportions. " *
Its clear from another writing on December 17th, 1940 that Douglas did not change his view.
Leigh Mallory supported this view because he thought the objective was to knock out enemy planes " en mass. "
However , on Nov 24th , Hugh Dowding was pushed out by Trenchard , Salmond , Portal , Sinclair and the Air Ministry
replaced by Sholto Douglas .
As part of the excuse to push Dowding out , was the political fall out from RAF Fighter Command of not being able to respond to night time Luftwaffe bombing raids .
Dec 7th , 1940 - Park was pushed out by the Air Ministry , and replaced by the careerist Leigh Mallory
.
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* Recall in the scene from the movie " Battle of Britain " where Leigh Mallory and Keith Park are arguing in front of Dowding .
In the movie , Leigh Mallory basically recites Sholto Douglas' strategic doctrine .
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I agree with @trob, very informative series. Well done.
Smoke graphics are much better.
I appreciate your comment!
Excellent video, just a small correction. Night fighters did not use tracers, because they ruined their pilots night vision and gave their position away.
Thank you for the comment! True, there's that little aspect which I apparently forgot to setup in the mission editor
RAF pilots were warned not to follow enemy aircraft out over the English Channel because of the dangers of ending up in the Channel where they might not be found.
What has to be one of the strangest deaths happened when one Italian pilot baled out of his aircraft and was killed when he landed on a statue. His body was pierced right through by the statues up raised.
would have been good to know the relative performance of the aero planes.
I am interested in this, but I find them rather boring watching the same piece of CG over and over again. Also, I would like some sort of idea of the combat tactics used.
What was the turning radius of the biplanes?
Could they turn inside the turning radius of the Spitfires and hurricanes?
How were they for speed and power compared to the Spitfires and Hurricanes?
How did the experience of the Italian pilots compare to that of the British pilots?
There are many more technical and tactical questions I am curious about that would make these videos much more interesting.
Frankly, I don't like things to get too technical. That's what bores me😁 Besides, these battles are rarely described in enough details to justify that. Finally, research and production would be very significantly lengthened. But thank you for the suggestion.
I'd say that, given their equipment and their formidable enemies, the Italian pilots did pretty well.
How many mgs did the CR42 have?
Only two.
The Fiat G-50's did kick some Spitfire ass later in the med theatre, those CR-42 were very nimble , under gunned and under powered but very nimble, the Spitfire a marvelous plane was of course very boosted in the British mind for propaganda purposes, but just to give some context the second most numerous aircraft killed by the Luftwaffe throughout the war was the much vaunted British Supermarine Spitfite somewhere between 5000 to 5500 falling to the guns of the Luftwaffe, the most numerous being the Ilyushen
Il-2 Sturmovik numbering between 5500 and 6000!
I understood the total losses in Spitfires (in all air forces) in WW2 to all causes, was just over 1500 aircraft - that includes aircraft lost in accidents and destroyed on the ground in all theatres. So I do not think they did shoot down over 5000 Spitfires!
m.th-cam.com/video/S_EpB4Uth2c/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUxV2hpY2ggcGxhbmUgZGlkIHRoZSBMdWZ0d2FmZmUgc2hvb3QgZG93biB0aGUgbW9zdA%3D%3D
For political reasons, Italy began to rearm long before most other countries. They would have done better in the mid-30's, but ideas had moved on by the end of the decade, and they did not have industrial capacity to catch up with new developments.
love the camo design of the italian aircraft - maybe not the best for northern europe but who cares - they look great. la moda :)
can you make a video about the air battles fought in northern Italy between the allied forces and the forces of the National Republican Air Force (ANR) ? 🇮🇹⚔️🇬🇧🇺🇲
It is possible. I just need to get an inspiration to explore that particular part of the conflict.
@@showtime112 I noticed that there is little information on foreign sites, so I adivise you take a look at the Italian Wikipedia page called "Operazioni aeree della campagna d'Italia" which summarizes some of the air clashes that occurred in Northern Italy
Biplanes have greater manuverability for all its obsolescence. Bipanes went against monoplanes in Spain, Russia, Malta, and China.
Damn!! That was less than nothing!!
Some qualification needs to be added to all this "ah, those brave Italian pilots! commentary. They were flying for a fascist government, which helped drag the world into a war which claimed 55 million lives - and here they are flying in another nation's sovereign airspace. That's not brave - it's evil and stupid.
👏👏👏👏
Thank you for the comment!
the Cr42 was a hell of a good Biplane, it could turn inside a Spit!!!
❤
Hvala!
Feel sorry for lost lives of brave pilots facing all odds imaginable...
An Italian, Guglielmo Marconi, invented the radio, but NO, Italian planes had no radio.
FIAT corrupting the judjing commissions evaluating future Italian warplanes.
No wonder we were no match. That said, pilots, sailormen and soldiers very often behaved as heroes, very often paying with their lives.
5:09 what could go wrong
Italian figters and bombers had no chance against R.A.F. They were bad prepare to fight (not every pilot, but most of them).