My father served as an air frame mechanic in RCAF 418 Squadron (Mosquitoes) and survived a close encounter with what I presume was an air launched V-1. On November 13, 1944, while Dad’s squadron was based at RAF Hunsdon, just north of London, a V-1 struck at 2:00 am. It landed in the area where the ground crews were lodged in Nissen huts. Dad recalled the bomb landing about a city block away from his hut. He was jarred awake by a loud bang, and when he and his hut mates had collected themselves they found the air in their hut was laden with dust, and heard pebbles plinking down on the tin roof. The only guy on the base that was hurt, and then only slightly, was a fellow in Dad’s hut. He happened to be awake and heard the raucous sputter of the approaching buzz bomb, and worse, he heard it go quiet - the telltale sign that it was in its final dive overhead. Without bothering to warn his hut mates, he bolted for the air raid shelter, which was conveniently just behind the hut. Dad described the bomb shelter as being like the open concrete basement of a small house with stairs leading down. Just as the guy was running down the stairs into the shelter, the bomb exploded. The blast threw him against the concrete wall, and he scraped his nose. No one else was hurt. The bomb left a crater twelve feet deep and about as wide. Dad said the next day someone jumped into the hole as a lark and had to be helped out, so deep was the hole and steep the sides. Dad was amazed that given the size of the blast crater there was very little ejected soil around the hole; the soil seemed to have been completely blasted away. After the dust settled everyone just went back to bed, even though their hut was knocked off it’s foundation, and end walls were partially blown out. There were rows of bunks along each side wall with a shelf above for personal items and now the shelves were bare, everything having been jolted off. One fellow’s spoon that was kept on his shelf was found the next day under the pillow on the bunk opposite. They had to live in the damaged hut for several more days before finding new quarters. The V-1 incident was recorded in the RCAF 418 Squadron Operation Record Book (ORB). November 13/44. “A diver landed near the Airman’s Site and a number of personnel were shaken and buildings damaged, but no casualties resulted.” I think it’s likely that this V-1 was air launched from the North Sea in the general direction of London and it, by chance, fell short on Hunsdon.
Recently read the memoirs of my great grand mother. She wrote that for a time she and her friends would hang around near "ack ack nests" in the early evenings. If the weather was clear enough it was like a free fireworks display. She never thought any more of it until one day a V-1 hit a house the other end of her street. It was still enough to tip her out of bed, thankfully that was her closest call of the war. However she stopped visiting the "ack acks" after that. They were no longer amusing
After the allies liberated France and Belgium, the V1s were targeted at Antwerp, and one of the launch sites is relatively close to my home. When it was constructed by the Germans, they ordered 4 (or 6) families out of their houses. The V1s had a tendency to fail at launch and would crash on the ground within seconds. I think there are several impact craters in the nearby forest. When Canadian forces were approaching, the German soldiers blew up the launch ramps, but it's not known who removed the remaining debris. A war memorial in a nearby village has been constructed out of the foundation blocks of the launch ramp.
I live on the dutch coast near den haag, nearly every patchs of trees and bushes got utilized by them for these rockets in the end of the war. not long ago some people found the first complete v2 control box down in a small body of water, it got donated to the overloon museam. A elderly person i spoke always said you could hear the rocket go and you knew that a minute or 2 later a aircraft would attack the position, and thus they where running around with these rockets desperatly firing them towards england.
@@linda1lee2 no, both weapons were launched from The Netherlands. In Delft there was a V1 launch ramp on the yard of a factory at Rotterdamseweg. The location chosen because the launchramp strongly resembled structures for transport in this yard. May have been a vegetable oil factory, I can’t remember that detail with certainty.
@@linda1lee2 i tried finding the video from the museum, but i cant find it, it was a very rare find indeed, remember it was the end of the war, so most of inland netherlands was under allied control. If you visit the hague you can still visit the forests and quite some bunkers are stil standing, Most likely the germans knew they where in a populated zone that would not get bombed very fast, So they shot all the V2's they had left even tho the locations where far from ideal.
My mum aged 8 at the time told us of hiding under the stairs after they'd heard the engine of a V1 cut off overhead.... They lived a few miles out from Manchester centre in Cheadle. Must have been a traumatic experience waiting for it to hit ground and hoping it wasn't on their house! Perhaps it was the one mentioned in this video that landed in Didsbury, which was only up the road.... Anyway, I did always wonder how the V1s made it that far north, and now Mark's explained it - thanks 👍
My nans sister lived the rest of her life in fear after this, she used to hear thunder and go hide under the stairs as an old woman thinking it was bombs again Us modern people would never know this and because they fought and worked for us to have this more free opportunity we have today, unfortunately many modern people don’t see it that way and take it all for granted
I used to work for Sussex Wildlife Trust. One of my old volunteer reserve managers took a party of visiting German students to a nature reserve, a wood in East Sussex on the Kent border, and showed them some twisted metal. "Do you know what this is?" he asked. "no". "Well you should do, it was made in Germany!" Then he told this story from the war, when he was about 5. The doodlebugs made a characteristic purring sound, and when it stopped it meant one was coming down. He heard the engine and heard it stop. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed his mother and said "Mummy Mummy there's a doodlebug coming down!". "Yes Dear, now go and play, I'm busy." "Mummy Mummy there's a doodlebug coming down!". Anyway, just to humour him, they got under the kitchen table. Moments later there was a huge bang and the house fell on top of them. It had been a direct hit on the house next door and the neighbouring family were all killed.
My mum had a similar experience - she was out walking my uncle (then a baby) in his pram when she heard the tell-tale cut out of a doodlebug engine. She managed to get herself and the baby into a nearby air raid shelter before the thing exploded quite near by. This was in Gravesend in Kent, they had v1s aimed at London that fell short, plus perhaps? ones aimed specifically at the docks
@@highpath4776they had factories all over but a lot of it was coming from mainland Germany, we started bombing the Germans flat too aiming specifically for the factories but more would pop up somewhere else further and further away soon everything was done underground so they could pump out equipment Those German bastards where exactly that but by god they could band together and work hard and get things done, same with the British at that time the way people banded together and got the work done suffered through no food kids being bussed away from their parents so they have a better chance at living not seeing them for ages, it’s such an amazing show of humanity and live and will to fight and keep on fighting
I lived in Moston Manchester. My grandfather worked at the Avro factory there. The factories and docks of Manchester and Salford May have been the targets. My grandfather went on to the RAF and saw action in North Africa and Europe. Those people had tough lives.
Thanks for posting this since it helps solve a puzzle. My father was a doctor in the US Army and arrived in England shortly before Christmas in 1944. i don't know where they stored him while he was waiting to cross the Channel but for years, we had a small (maybe 1 inch square) bit of metal that I was told came from a V1 that had landed across the road on the morning of Christmas Eve.
Fascinating! My grandfather was living in Manchester at the time and he told me that he could remember the noise it made and that it circled before falling to earth. I later learned that it was the very last V-1 attack on Britain during the war.
My mam and aunties used to speak of the Blitz. Back then I was a kid and the ear was 15 or 20 years back in time. But they never forgot the Blitz. There was also plenty of "during the war', type stories but I remember the Blitz stories stood out as quite an event in our time.
I would have never guessed that there were air-launched Cruise Missiles during World War II. Fascinating to think about. Thank you Dr. Felton and Merry Christmas!
@@reecedoughty7334 I suggest you look up the Interstate TDR - a carrier launched “assault drone” used to attack Rabaul in off the carrier USS Marcus Island. The submarine and air launched Republic JB-2 Loon came a little later in 1944 and the antiship McDonnell LBD-1 followed a bit behind.
@@allangibson8494 Wrong - The U.S. experimented with many different types of PGMs, most of which did not see combat. Took me 10 seconds to google it.. Grow up!
Wow a Christmas Eve special this indeed is! Did you know I used to live on Bow Road where the first V1 landed in 1944 (every time I walk past that plaque I thought of you!) Have a great Christmas and happy New Year Mark! Look forward to more of your videos in 2024 and hopefully getting to meet you in 2024!
Any British losses of life or civilian/military injuries, negligible or not is unfortunately unacceptable. God bless them who have suffered on that Christmas 🎄 Eve 79 years ago. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you who live under the British flag. From a American Scottish man living in Pennsylvania.
My nan and my uncle and mum were evacuated from London to Oldham during the blitz. They were in Abbey Mills road on that day when a v1 struck a house a few doors up. My uncle who was 14 at the time was upstairs and the explosion blew the roof apart and the floor collapsed. He fell from the upstairs to the downstairs. When he came to he said there was dust and debris everywhere and he made his way outside where he was grabbed by a warden and reunited with his family. When my Grandad came home on leave he said they may as well go back to London if they were not out of range from the German bombers.
Mark, you have made some great and memorable videos over the years. I hope you and your family have a great Christmas, and I'm sure we will get some great content next year. Thanks for the videos!
Thanks for another great video Mark. One of the V1's on that night crashed in a small town named Stubbins just north of Manchester. There's a small garden created where it crashed now. Merry Christmas to you , and have a happy New Year.
The fact that Britain stood strong during so many attacks is amazing. Not once was the moral or will deminished by the Germans. Our grandfathers and grandmothers were brave. Thanks Mark for another great video.
Yeah, agreed, it was probably a closer run thing than many would like to admit. Churchill was not a popular man with a lot of Londoners during the blitz. Not to take anything away for the population though.
The other side is true also. Even before the large scale raids by the RAF/USAAF there was some doubt as to whether they would have an impact on the will of the German people to continue working their lives, as after all the raids by the Luftwaffe hadn't had the desired effect as they had hoped. And as has been explored in other media the raids on Germany never really dented their ability to manufacturer armaments until the very end of the war.
Dr. Felton, thank you for this Christmas surprise. When I visited Manchester for the first time in 1975 as a teenager, my British hosts - professors at UMIST - had told me of this attack. Now, almost fifty years later , you reminded me of it with greater detail. I congratulate you on your success as a historian and a highly respected multi media professional. Warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and peace and health in the new year.
Well Dr Felton has just made my Christmas!!. I know a small bit about this, my home town on Teesside, Christmas eve 1944 a V1 was heard chugging along...it is mentioned in the north east war diaries and i think the bombing of Stockton , the big town up the road. As stated the V1 was launched over the north sea bound for Manchester but went off course. It exploded in mid air over Tudhoe cricket ground near spennymoor. When i was in primary school one of my teachers told the tale of being a child herself in rural county durham during ww2 when the 'doodlebug' exploded over her village....so there you go...thanks for this episode Dr Felton....the other wierd thing is my house is of pre ww2 vintage....it might of flown over my rooftop...😊😊😊merry Christmas to all fellow ww2 history buffs 😊😊😊
Not sure if you know more than me. My house in Redcar had bomb damage and 2 houses close by were actually destroyed. I’d assumed it was conventional bombing
@@andydunn5673 cheers Andy , check out the North East war diaries online , they have a load of info on bomb attacks and incidents throughout ww2 all local to the North east. So you might find out what happened in your area, I found out the street I used to live in was bombed during ww2, cheers m8, all the best .🙂🙂🙂
Very interesting, but the really interesting point about the late V1 campaign was that it was more effective than the one of the more advanced V2. This was because the V1 could be shot down by airplanes and air defense. Therefore, the population demanded that the military deployed these assets to defend Britain. Something that would have been pointless against the V2. This meant that the V1 campaign successfully diverted British assets from the continent to the home front.
Actually while V1 missiles were deployed more numerously due to its simpler design and deployment compared to V2, thus leading to more widespread bombing (and more air defense assets), when the Allies finally liberated most of France and Belgium coast near England by late 1944, the shorter range V1 campaign was pretty much dead in the water without the launch site there. Only V2 missiles allowed the continuation of London bombing and the British did diverted its aircraft forces (something more valuable than static AA guns) to specifically attack these V2 facilities, launch sites and such.
Every time I watch one of Dr. Felton's videos I marvel at the immense level of research, detail and insights they provide at absolutely no cost to the viewer. What an incredible contribution to WWII history. Merry Christmas Dr. Felton.
Wow, Mark ! The stories you come up with on WW2 are incredible. I thought I knew all about the V1 campaign, but never knew about the air-launched V1 campaign. How prescient of the Germans, when one looks at how modern cruise missiles are launched. My mother and father actually saw a V1 when walking out in Piccadilly, London. They were engaged to be married and whilst walking in a fairly crowded Piccadilly, they heard the unmistakeable sound of a V1. My father said everybody was panicking, and crowding down into Piccadilly Underground station, but typical of my father, he didn't. He apparently told my mother, "it's only a danger if the engine stops" !! Fortunately it didn't and they were married in June 1945 !
If anybody I ever meet says history is dull and boring the first place I will send them is this channel! Such a brilliant way with making history feel alive thanks as always Mr Felton
My nans and her sisters used to have to run under the stairs and hide for cover, my nans sister was heavily effected by this for the rest of her life, after the war it was hard for her to settle down when ever it was thundering outside she would be terrified and hide under the stairs thinking it’s the Germans again and a bomb is going to hit, she struggled all her life with that PTSD
Thank you Dr Felton for another great year of learning about WW2 and the men and woman who gave all in the name of peace. Merry Christmas & a happy healthy New Year😃
My mother, who was 18 in 1944, and who survived the Blitz in London, told me that whilst the V1 or 'Doodlebug' attacks were traumatic, you could at least hear them and knew when they were going land when the engines stopped. However, she found the subsequent V2 attacks terrifying and felt that Londoners would have not coped with a prolonged campaign.
There has to be a story out there about Great Grandad's V1 that he found wedged in the roof of the barn. Or some such. Thank you Mark, that was a great doco.
Just when I think there are no more obscure campaigns of WW2 to learn about, Mark comes up with another one. Fascinating as always. Thanks for all the great videos, and looking forward to learning even more next year!
Those V1 flying bombs look very similar to Shahed drones russians launch against Ukraine on a daily basis. Thanks for another interesting video. Merry Christmas from Poland!
My neighbor who was 8th AF told me about bombing V1 sites in France. He didn't talk about combat much, but I do remember him explaining how they targeted V1 sites in France and the Holland etc. When he passed in the late 1980s, his obituary knocked us for a loop. Three distinguished flying crosses, US, UK, FR, a slew of medals and nearly 100 missions. Not even his wife knew his war record.
I remember my grandmother who was living in England at the time told me back in the 90s that she remembered the V1 rockets and apparently it had this distinct noise that everyone hated, people were a lot tougher back then!!
Was looking forward to seeing this and it gives us American citizens something to think 🤔 about before I get to Church this morning. Good morning and Merry Christmas to you !!!
The V1s hitting London in 44 and 45 would have given the Americans an inkling of what the Blitz was like. Seeing it on news reels is not the same as experiencing it yourself, even if it was only seeing the fresh damage. How Hitler thought this would break the British or the Allies after the Blitz had failed to do so, escapes me.
Mark Felton Productions never disappoints! This reminds me of an account of a P 61 Black Widow I think from the 422 Night Fighter Group, (I could be wrong) in which the fighter diving to close range was hit by debris as it shot down the V1. Dr Felton, I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
My grandma survived the V1 onslaught. As a minor who wasn't evacuated in Sutton she remembered one landing in the allotment the other side of the fence of her garden and said after it hit it forced the fire in their living out into the room before sucking it straight back up the chimney - also damaging the roof. I have found a map of all the places they landed and can literally see the one she talked about (on Gander Green Lane). Also one which destroyed a house down the road - there is a gap in the row of houses still which you would never know was because the house there before was blown up! She died last year sadly. I only discussed it with her the year before. RIP.
Heard so many stories about the "Doodlebug" from my grandparents ... really did bring terror. V1 you heard, so when it went silent, that was the time to worry - V2 you just never heard.
Remember my Dad telling me about a Christmas V1 that landed in Worsley (now a upmarket Salford/Manchester suburb) as he lived in Eccles about 4 miles away at the time.
Santa came early we get a Dr Felton vid on Christmas Eve. You're the history goat 🐐 sir! We're blessed by you. Thanks for your content and Merry Christmas!
The East German Aero journal "Flieger Revue" mentioned the "Robot bomb war". Some malfunctions were caused by slave worker sabotage, manufacturing V1s in underground facilities. A huge amount of workers died because of the horrible living conditions. "Flieger Revue" also mentioned the heroic fight of RAF pilots to down the bombs. Never forget the French pilot Jean Maridor, who developed the technique to disable the bombs by tipping it on its wings with their aircraft. Jean Maridor eventually gave his life when destroying a V1 that was almost about to hit a hospital full of wounded from the invasion.
Thank you for a wonderful year of extra unusual tales and events from a war that most of us have had family and friends involved in from all country's around the globe......Many thanks Mark....You have a wonderful Christmas and all the people around the Earth
Another eye opener well done Mark , very well researched,happy Xmas and may next year be as mouth watering as 2023...all the best mate,if you could do a piece on the scuttling of the French Fleet in TOULON from a Mark FELTON point of view or a piece on the Surcouf submarine ❤❤.
My father served as an air frame mechanic in RCAF 418 Squadron (Mosquitoes) and survived a close encounter with what I presume was an air launched V-1. On November 13, 1944, while Dad’s squadron was based at RAF Hunsdon, just north of London, a V-1 struck at 2:00 am. It landed in the area where the ground crews were lodged in Nissen huts. Dad recalled the bomb landing about a city block away from his hut. He was jarred awake by a loud bang, and when he and his hut mates had collected themselves they found the air in their hut was laden with dust, and heard pebbles plinking down on the tin roof.
The only guy on the base that was hurt, and then only slightly, was a fellow in Dad’s hut. He happened to be awake and heard the raucous sputter of the approaching buzz bomb, and worse, he heard it go quiet - the telltale sign that it was in its final dive overhead. Without bothering to warn his hut mates, he bolted for the air raid shelter, which was conveniently just behind the hut. Dad described the bomb shelter as being like the open concrete basement of a small house with stairs leading down. Just as the guy was running down the stairs into the shelter, the bomb exploded. The blast threw him against the concrete wall, and he scraped his nose. No one else was hurt.
The bomb left a crater twelve feet deep and about as wide. Dad said the next day someone jumped into the hole as a lark and had to be helped out, so deep was the hole and steep the sides. Dad was amazed that given the size of the blast crater there was very little ejected soil around the hole; the soil seemed to have been completely blasted away.
After the dust settled everyone just went back to bed, even though their hut was knocked off it’s foundation, and end walls were partially blown out. There were rows of bunks along each side wall with a shelf above for personal items and now the shelves were bare, everything having been jolted off. One fellow’s spoon that was kept on his shelf was found the next day under the pillow on the bunk opposite. They had to live in the damaged hut for several more days before finding new quarters.
The V-1 incident was recorded in the RCAF 418 Squadron Operation Record Book (ORB). November 13/44. “A diver landed near the Airman’s Site and a number of personnel were shaken and buildings damaged, but no casualties resulted.”
I think it’s likely that this V-1 was air launched from the North Sea in the general direction of London and it, by chance, fell short on Hunsdon.
Recently read the memoirs of my great grand mother. She wrote that for a time she and her friends would hang around near "ack ack nests" in the early evenings. If the weather was clear enough it was like a free fireworks display. She never thought any more of it until one day a V-1 hit a house the other end of her street. It was still enough to tip her out of bed, thankfully that was her closest call of the war. However she stopped visiting the "ack acks" after that. They were no longer amusing
After the allies liberated France and Belgium, the V1s were targeted at Antwerp, and one of the launch sites is relatively close to my home. When it was constructed by the Germans, they ordered 4 (or 6) families out of their houses. The V1s had a tendency to fail at launch and would crash on the ground within seconds. I think there are several impact craters in the nearby forest.
When Canadian forces were approaching, the German soldiers blew up the launch ramps, but it's not known who removed the remaining debris. A war memorial in a nearby village has been constructed out of the foundation blocks of the launch ramp.
Due to its proximity & being a port for Allied supplies, Antwerp received a copious share of V1s/V2s up until the very end.
I live on the dutch coast near den haag, nearly every patchs of trees and bushes got utilized by them for these rockets in the end of the war. not long ago some people found the first complete v2 control box down in a small body of water, it got donated to the overloon museam. A elderly person i spoke always said you could hear the rocket go and you knew that a minute or 2 later a aircraft would attack the position, and thus they where running around with these rockets desperatly firing them towards england.
My grandmother wrote many letters and kept a diary. Many launches from The Hague, date and hour, and also if it failed, were recorded.
It must've been a V1 control box because they had to launch closer to England vs. the V2.
@@linda1lee2 no, both weapons were launched from The Netherlands. In Delft there was a V1 launch ramp on the yard of a factory at Rotterdamseweg. The location chosen because the launchramp strongly resembled structures for transport in this yard. May have been a vegetable oil factory, I can’t remember that detail with certainty.
Uiiuuuu
@@linda1lee2 i tried finding the video from the museum, but i cant find it, it was a very rare find indeed, remember it was the end of the war, so most of inland netherlands was under allied control.
If you visit the hague you can still visit the forests and quite some bunkers are stil standing, Most likely the germans knew they where in a populated zone that would not get bombed very fast, So they shot all the V2's they had left even tho the locations where far from ideal.
My mum aged 8 at the time told us of hiding under the stairs after they'd heard the engine of a V1 cut off overhead.... They lived a few miles out from Manchester centre in Cheadle. Must have been a traumatic experience waiting for it to hit ground and hoping it wasn't on their house! Perhaps it was the one mentioned in this video that landed in Didsbury, which was only up the road.... Anyway, I did always wonder how the V1s made it that far north, and now Mark's explained it - thanks 👍
My nans sister lived the rest of her life in fear after this, she used to hear thunder and go hide under the stairs as an old woman thinking it was bombs again
Us modern people would never know this and because they fought and worked for us to have this more free opportunity we have today, unfortunately many modern people don’t see it that way and take it all for granted
I used to work for Sussex Wildlife Trust. One of my old volunteer reserve managers took a party of visiting German students to a nature reserve, a wood in East Sussex on the Kent border, and showed them some twisted metal. "Do you know what this is?" he asked. "no". "Well you should do, it was made in Germany!"
Then he told this story from the war, when he was about 5. The doodlebugs made a characteristic purring sound, and when it stopped it meant one was coming down. He heard the engine and heard it stop. He ran into the kitchen and grabbed his mother and said "Mummy Mummy there's a doodlebug coming down!". "Yes Dear, now go and play, I'm busy." "Mummy Mummy there's a doodlebug coming down!". Anyway, just to humour him, they got under the kitchen table. Moments later there was a huge bang and the house fell on top of them. It had been a direct hit on the house next door and the neighbouring family were all killed.
My mum had a similar experience - she was out walking my uncle (then a baby) in his pram when she heard the tell-tale cut out of a doodlebug engine. She managed to get herself and the baby into a nearby air raid shelter before the thing exploded quite near by. This was in Gravesend in Kent, they had v1s aimed at London that fell short, plus perhaps? ones aimed specifically at the docks
was everything made in germany, or did they used pressed into use factories in occupied countries ?
@@highpath4776they had factories all over but a lot of it was coming from mainland Germany, we started bombing the Germans flat too aiming specifically for the factories but more would pop up somewhere else further and further away soon everything was done underground so they could pump out equipment
Those German bastards where exactly that but by god they could band together and work hard and get things done, same with the British at that time the way people banded together and got the work done suffered through no food kids being bussed away from their parents so they have a better chance at living not seeing them for ages, it’s such an amazing show of humanity and live and will to fight and keep on fighting
The amount of footage of the V 1 and V 2 rockets really is incredible
I lived in Moston Manchester. My grandfather worked at the Avro factory there. The factories and docks of Manchester and Salford May have been the targets.
My grandfather went on to the RAF and saw action in North Africa and Europe. Those people had tough lives.
Thanks for posting this since it helps solve a puzzle. My father was a doctor in the US Army and arrived in England shortly before Christmas in 1944. i don't know where they stored him while he was waiting to cross the Channel but for years, we had a small (maybe 1 inch square) bit of metal that I was told came from a V1 that had landed across the road on the morning of Christmas Eve.
Fascinating! My grandfather was living in Manchester at the time and he told me that he could remember the noise it made and that it circled before falling to earth. I later learned that it was the very last V-1 attack on Britain during the war.
The best historian on TH-cam strikes again! Fantastic work Mr Felton, thank you ever so much for your efforts.
Why he doesn’t have his own 13-part documentary series on BBC-4 is beyond me…
My mam and aunties used to speak of the Blitz. Back then I was a kid and the ear was 15 or 20 years back in time. But they never forgot the Blitz. There was also plenty of "during the war', type stories but I remember the Blitz stories stood out as quite an event in our time.
I would have never guessed that there were air-launched Cruise Missiles during World War II. Fascinating to think about. Thank you Dr. Felton and Merry Christmas!
And sea launched ones…
(The Americans had precision guided cruise missiles operating off aircraft carriers in 1943).
@@allangibson8494wrong
@@reecedoughty7334 I suggest you look up the Interstate TDR - a carrier launched “assault drone” used to attack Rabaul in off the carrier USS Marcus Island.
The submarine and air launched Republic JB-2 Loon came a little later in 1944 and the antiship McDonnell LBD-1 followed a bit behind.
They were truly a wunderwaffe.
@@allangibson8494 Wrong - The U.S. experimented with many different types of PGMs, most of which did not see combat. Took me 10 seconds to google it.. Grow up!
Wow a Christmas Eve special this indeed is! Did you know I used to live on Bow Road where the first V1 landed in 1944 (every time I walk past that plaque I thought of you!) Have a great Christmas and happy New Year Mark! Look forward to more of your videos in 2024 and hopefully getting to meet you in 2024!
Ya I knew. Been following your life religiously...
I've got a tankard awarded to a fellow, maybe a fire guard at the laminate factory in the bow Road area commemorating the V1 attack you mention
@@evanray8413 thats a figure of speech... Internet warrior strikes again! You really got em this time
Haha yeah we all already knew where you used to live. Just kidding, Merry Christmas friends
I thought I knew you ! Come on over for a spot of tea sometime.
What a great Christmas gift: another Mark Felton video. Thank you for the incredible content!
Great video as always Mark - my Grandad could recall this attack on Manchester. I’m from Didsbury.
Any British losses of life or civilian/military injuries, negligible or not is unfortunately unacceptable. God bless them who have suffered on that Christmas 🎄 Eve 79 years ago. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you who live under the British flag. From a American Scottish man living in Pennsylvania.
Happy Christmas
My nan and my uncle and mum were evacuated from London to Oldham during the blitz. They were in Abbey Mills road on that day when a v1 struck a house a few doors up. My uncle who was 14 at the time was upstairs and the explosion blew the roof apart and the floor collapsed. He fell from the upstairs to the downstairs. When he came to he said there was dust and debris everywhere and he made his way outside where he was grabbed by a warden and reunited with his family. When my Grandad came home on leave he said they may as well go back to London if they were not out of range from the German bombers.
Mark, you have made some great and memorable videos over the years. I hope you and your family have a great Christmas, and I'm sure we will get some great content next year. Thanks for the videos!
Mark Felton could find a WW2 angle on literally any topic 😂
You're not wrong!
One of the most educational channels on youtube. Merry Christmas Dr Felton.
Indeed.
Frohe Weihnachten und danke für die objektiven Videos. Grandiose Arbeit von Mark Felton.
Thanks for another great video Mark. One of the V1's on that night crashed in a small town named Stubbins just north of Manchester. There's a small garden created where it crashed now. Merry Christmas to you , and have a happy New Year.
Wow, that far off mark?! Sure it was a surprise.
The fact that Britain stood strong during so many attacks is amazing. Not once was the moral or will deminished by the Germans. Our grandfathers and grandmothers were brave. Thanks Mark for another great video.
If you read some of the official government documents about British moral during the war you will probably reassess your rosy views!
@@Landsturmyet they kept fighting. That alone says alot about their moral.
Yeah, agreed, it was probably a closer run thing than many would like to admit. Churchill was not a popular man with a lot of Londoners during the blitz. Not to take anything away for the population though.
The other side is true also. Even before the large scale raids by the RAF/USAAF there was some doubt as to whether they would have an impact on the will of the German people to continue working their lives, as after all the raids by the Luftwaffe hadn't had the desired effect as they had hoped. And as has been explored in other media the raids on Germany never really dented their ability to manufacturer armaments until the very end of the war.
@@Montycat78 Britain was seriously never going to surrender, and it wasn't a close run thing at all.
An unexpected early Christmas treat from Dr. Felton. Thanks so much for all the videos and historical lessons throughout this year.
Dr. Felton, thank you for this Christmas surprise. When I visited Manchester for the first time in 1975 as a teenager, my British hosts - professors at UMIST - had told me of this attack. Now, almost fifty years later , you reminded me of it with greater detail. I congratulate you on your success as a historian and a highly respected multi media professional. Warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas and peace and health in the new year.
Well Dr Felton has just made my Christmas!!. I know a small bit about this, my home town on Teesside, Christmas eve 1944 a V1 was heard chugging along...it is mentioned in the north east war diaries and i think the bombing of Stockton , the big town up the road. As stated the V1 was launched over the north sea bound for Manchester but went off course. It exploded in mid air over Tudhoe cricket ground near spennymoor. When i was in primary school one of my teachers told the tale of being a child herself in rural county durham during ww2 when the 'doodlebug' exploded over her village....so there you go...thanks for this episode Dr Felton....the other wierd thing is my house is of pre ww2 vintage....it might of flown over my rooftop...😊😊😊merry Christmas to all fellow ww2 history buffs 😊😊😊
Not sure if you know more than me. My house in Redcar had bomb damage and 2 houses close by were actually destroyed. I’d assumed it was conventional bombing
@@andydunn5673 cheers Andy , check out the North East war diaries online , they have a load of info on bomb attacks and incidents throughout ww2 all local to the North east. So you might find out what happened in your area, I found out the street I used to live in was bombed during ww2, cheers m8, all the best .🙂🙂🙂
Thank you for the videos and Merry Christmas Mark, and blessings for the years to come!
You continue to expand WWII history like no other historian. Thank you Mark.
Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for all of the gifts you have given Dr. Felton! 🎄
Very interesting, but the really interesting point about the late V1 campaign was that it was more effective than the one of the more advanced V2.
This was because the V1 could be shot down by airplanes and air defense. Therefore, the population demanded that the military deployed these assets to defend Britain. Something that would have been pointless against the V2.
This meant that the V1 campaign successfully diverted British assets from the continent to the home front.
Actually while V1 missiles were deployed more numerously due to its simpler design and deployment compared to V2, thus leading to more widespread bombing (and more air defense assets), when the Allies finally liberated most of France and Belgium coast near England by late 1944, the shorter range V1 campaign was pretty much dead in the water without the launch site there. Only V2 missiles allowed the continuation of London bombing and the British did diverted its aircraft forces (something more valuable than static AA guns) to specifically attack these V2 facilities, launch sites and such.
@@sthrich635 That's true but not my point.
best ww2 historian out there for sure... thank you mr. felton and mary chrismas!
Yet another snippet of WW2 history I was totally unaware of! And I thought I was fairly well read on this subject. Thank you Dr Felton.
Every time I watch one of Dr. Felton's videos I marvel at the immense level of research, detail and insights they provide at absolutely no cost to the viewer. What an incredible contribution to WWII history. Merry Christmas Dr. Felton.
Wow, Mark ! The stories you come up with on WW2 are incredible. I thought I knew all about the V1 campaign, but never knew about the air-launched V1 campaign. How prescient of the Germans, when one looks at how modern cruise missiles are launched.
My mother and father actually saw a V1 when walking out in Piccadilly, London. They were engaged to be married and whilst walking in a fairly crowded Piccadilly, they heard the unmistakeable sound of a V1. My father said everybody was panicking, and crowding down into Piccadilly Underground station, but typical of my father, he didn't. He apparently told my mother, "it's only a danger if the engine stops" !! Fortunately it didn't and they were married in June 1945 !
If anybody I ever meet says history is dull and boring the first place I will send them is this channel! Such a brilliant way with making history feel alive thanks as always Mr Felton
My nans and her sisters used to have to run under the stairs and hide for cover, my nans sister was heavily effected by this for the rest of her life, after the war it was hard for her to settle down when ever it was thundering outside she would be terrified and hide under the stairs thinking it’s the Germans again and a bomb is going to hit, she struggled all her life with that PTSD
Always good to get a Mark video on Christmas
merry Christmas Dr. Felton and family. always a nice surprise to see a Christmas eve post. 🎉
We won't think bad of you if you take a break over Christmas like most other people Dr Felton !
Thank you Dr Felton for another great year of learning about WW2 and the men and woman who gave all in the name of peace.
Merry Christmas & a happy healthy New Year😃
Half the casualties from this raid were inflicted by a single V1 on my home town Oldham when a row of houses was destroyed on Abbeyhills Road
Cheers and Merry Christmas to the UK from Pennsylvania!!
My mother, who was 18 in 1944, and who survived the Blitz in London, told me that whilst the V1 or 'Doodlebug' attacks were traumatic, you could at least hear them and knew when they were going land when the engines stopped. However, she found the subsequent V2 attacks terrifying and felt that Londoners would have not coped with a prolonged campaign.
There has to be a story out there about Great Grandad's V1 that he found wedged in the roof of the barn. Or some such. Thank you Mark, that was a great doco.
Thanks Mark for all videos this year, excellent work, look forward to 2024 content, all the best for Christmas.
I previously had never heard of air-launched V1s. Thank you for another fascinating account.
I find I always learn something new from this channel. Thank you Mark.
Growing up in London there have been times when I looked up at the sky knowing what took place in those skies and Merry Christmas to you Sir.
Just when I think there are no more obscure campaigns of WW2 to learn about, Mark comes up with another one. Fascinating as always. Thanks for all the great videos, and looking forward to learning even more next year!
Those V1 flying bombs look very similar to Shahed drones russians launch against Ukraine on a daily basis.
Thanks for another interesting video.
Merry Christmas from Poland!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Mark! I adore this channel, one of the very best.
Merry Christmas from the USA, Mark! Hope you have a peaceful Christmas!
My neighbor who was 8th AF told me about bombing V1 sites in France. He didn't talk about combat much, but I do remember him explaining how they targeted V1 sites in France and the Holland etc. When he passed in the late 1980s, his obituary knocked us for a loop. Three distinguished flying crosses, US, UK, FR, a slew of medals and nearly 100 missions. Not even his wife knew his war record.
I’m always happy to see another Mark Felton upload! Thanks for the years of the best history content on TH-cam.
Truly a Merry Christmas when Dr Felton gives us another splendid episode!
I remember my grandmother who was living in England at the time told me back in the 90s that she remembered the V1 rockets and apparently it had this distinct noise that everyone hated, people were a lot tougher back then!!
Was looking forward to seeing this and it gives us American citizens something to think 🤔 about before I get to Church this morning. Good morning and Merry Christmas to you !!!
The V1s hitting London in 44 and 45 would have given the Americans an inkling of what the Blitz was like.
Seeing it on news reels is not the same as experiencing it yourself, even if it was only seeing the fresh damage.
How Hitler thought this would break the British or the Allies after the Blitz had failed to do so, escapes me.
In fact, it drove the Allies forward so as to put an end to the launches.
The best Xmas gift i can get is a new Mark Felton video.
Mark Felton Productions never disappoints!
This reminds me of an account of a P 61 Black Widow I think from the 422 Night Fighter Group, (I could be wrong) in which the fighter diving to close range was hit by debris as it shot down the V1.
Dr Felton, I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Fighters taking damage from an exploding V-1 was far from uncommon.
@@tz8785 Yes I know.
My grandma survived the V1 onslaught. As a minor who wasn't evacuated in Sutton she remembered one landing in the allotment the other side of the fence of her garden and said after it hit it forced the fire in their living out into the room before sucking it straight back up the chimney - also damaging the roof. I have found a map of all the places they landed and can literally see the one she talked about (on Gander Green Lane). Also one which destroyed a house down the road - there is a gap in the row of houses still which you would never know was because the house there before was blown up! She died last year sadly. I only discussed it with her the year before. RIP.
Happy Christmas, Mark! Well done as always.
Heard so many stories about the "Doodlebug" from my grandparents ... really did bring terror. V1 you heard, so when it went silent, that was the time to worry - V2 you just never heard.
wow the fact that in 1944 they could still do such a thing is pretty impreseive
Merry Christmas to Mark and all history fans out there 😊
Thank you Dr. Felton for the early Christmas present! Cheers!
Remember my Dad telling me about a Christmas V1 that landed in Worsley (now a upmarket Salford/Manchester suburb) as he lived in Eccles about 4 miles away at the time.
Amazing how tenacious and dangerous were the germans till the end...
Probably not as tenacious as the Japanese. But as dangerous I would say yes
When they get around to voting on this, Mark needs to win "Most Iconic Intro Music"
Thank you for the early Christmas gift. Excellent episode as always!
Merry Christmas Mark and to your family. Many thanks for all of your hard work. I hope you know how truly grateful we are🙂
I hated history at school. But Dr Felton makes this a fascinating and absorbing topic.
Merry Christmas Mark. Always look forward to your productions.🇬🇧🏴
Thank you very much for all your hard work, Sir. Appreciate it a LOT 👍
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
🇳🇱T.W.
Merry Christmas 🎅🏻 Thank you Mark, I love these videos! Always so well written and stories you just don't find out about anywhere else.
Thank you once again Dr. Felton . Happy Holidays to you and may your 2024 be the best year ever.
Informative video once again Dr Felton. Happy Christmas to you and look forward to more new work in 2024.
history channel should give mark his own show
Congrats on 2 million subscribers!!!
Have a fantastic christmas, Mark. Thanks for the great vids.
Congrats on 2m subs. I wish you happy holidays and an amazing 2024
Wonderful work master Felton.
Great historic video Professor Felton and thank you !!!! Happy holidays to you and your family.
Merry xmas to both you and anyone else reading this!
Merry Christmas Dr Felton, really appreciate these videos!
Merry Christmas Mark, thanks for all your hard work. Best content on TH-cam.
Santa came early we get a Dr Felton vid on Christmas Eve. You're the history goat 🐐 sir! We're blessed by you. Thanks for your content and Merry Christmas!
The East German Aero journal "Flieger Revue" mentioned the "Robot bomb war". Some malfunctions were caused by slave worker sabotage, manufacturing V1s in underground facilities. A huge amount of workers died because of the horrible living conditions. "Flieger Revue" also mentioned the heroic fight of RAF pilots to down the bombs. Never forget the French pilot Jean Maridor, who developed the technique to disable the bombs by tipping it on its wings with their aircraft. Jean Maridor eventually gave his life when destroying a V1 that was almost about to hit a hospital full of wounded from the invasion.
Thank you for a wonderful year of extra unusual tales and events from a war that most of us have had family and friends involved in from all country's around the globe......Many thanks Mark....You have a wonderful Christmas and all the people around the Earth
Hitler gave the worst Christmas presents. Thanks for the history Mark, Marry Christmas all!
Cheers, Mark! Here's to another educational year in 2024!
Merry Christmas Mark. Have a Great New Year as well! Cheers! 🎉🥃🌲⛄
This felt like a night att@ck with the release of a night video..Mark Felton as always another great video!
Another eye opener well done Mark , very well researched,happy Xmas and may next year be as mouth watering as 2023...all the best mate,if you could do a piece on the scuttling of the French Fleet in TOULON from a Mark FELTON point of view or a piece on the Surcouf submarine ❤❤.
Merry Christmas from Wisconsin. thanks Mark!
They underestimated the British people! Thank you Dr. Felton for this amazing story! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Dr. Mark Felton aka. The GOAT!
Merry Christmas Mark! Thank you very much for all of your hard work. Please do take some time off to be with friends and family and enjoy the season!
Great story. I hadn’t heard about the attack on Manchester before today. Thanks for posting. Happy New Year!