What surprises me we must have known of the German airfields . Yet there’s no mention of British attacks on them we had the aircraft types capable of attacking them such as the Beaufighters and Westland Wirlwind both capable of attacking the aircraft that were stationed there
@@dinerouk The Finest Hour speech concludes as follows: " [...] And these very high-class forces from the Dominions will now take part in the defence of the Mother Country. [...] We have fully informed and consulted all the self-governing Dominions, these great communities far beyond the oceans who have been built up on our laws and on our civilization, and who are absolutely free to choose their course, but are absolutely devoted to the ancient Motherland, and who feel themselves inspired by the same emotions which lead me to stake our all upon duty and honour. [...] … and we are now assured of immense, continuous and increasing support ... ; and especially of aeroplanes [Canadian and Australian built Hawker Hurricanes] and pilots from the Dominions and across the oceans … [...] What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. [...] Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour. " Winston S. Churchill, 18 June 1940.
And now as of May 2020, 100 year-old Irishman John Hemingway is the LAST Battle of Britain pilot left alive. Respect and "Thank you!!" to all of whom fought in that battle. 👍
From a "Yank" to my BELOVED allies from "across the pond!!!" I wish to, sincerely "THANK ALL OF YOU" for several things. The obvious: MY LIFE AND, THAT OF MY SON'S!!! Because, were it NOT for YOUR STAUNCH defense of your beliefs homeland, we, ALL ACROSS MY COUNTRY, THE UNITED STATES, WOULD NOT BE FREE!!! Next, IF my country existed, we'd be speaking half German and, half Japanese, if YOU BLOKES DIDN'T GIVE THE NAZIS "WHAT FOR!!!!" Lastly, the late Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill said it best as he addressed Parliament AFTER you lads KICKED THE SNOT OUTTA THE LUFTWAFFE IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: "Never, in the field of human combat was SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW!!!!" Though he was speaking of the British Empire, I dare say that THE FREE WORLD, AND,,THOSE UNDER OCCUPATION OWED THE BRAVE LADS OF THE RAF, AS WELL!!!! Sirs: I salute you!!! As we in US Naval Special Warfare say to one another, as your Royal Army and, our Marine Corps say, "OOH-RAH!!!" we say, "HOOYAH!!!" Thanks, again for my life and, that of my son's!!!!! I can, never, FULLY, repay that ENORMOUS debt I owe you.
DID HE WORK AT THE CURRAHA Watched documentary with commwelth and luftwaffe pilots staying cheak by jowlHaHa the guards would rather help with how to box each other sounds like laughter to me
@AE Devereux It wasn't a novice friendly plane. Not arguing your point. The G was as good as any other fighter it was facing. The only fault I would find is the lack of a bubble canopy for better vision.
You need to write all you can remember down and submit the information to places like rootsweb, family search.com and so on. Don't let the information get lost to time.
I always like the story of a plane (possibly a Mosquito) being delivered by the ATA that "beat up" the airfield superbly. When it landed a woman climbed out. All the men were dumbfounded.
I am a United States citizen, this Battle is why I respect the United Kingdom. To the United Kingdom, the Battle of Britain was a fight for survival, to the United States, the Battle of Britain was a breathless moment in history. To me it is both because many knew that failure would've sent mankind right into a new dark age.
Thank God that Britain, for all its faults and despite standing alone, successfully resisted a barbaric, psychopathic regime which would have destroyed civilisation and enslaved everybody under its control had it not been stopped. Thank God that President Trump has the strength and courage to continue to fight against evil, toxic, far-left ideologies which are every bit as dangerous as the Third Reich ever was.
@@gerrycoogan6544 Is this what gets you to sleep at night: The belief that we weren't sold out to the Russians? Get a clue, Gerry. We will see famine like never before, rush delivered by the fake president who has opened logging in our national parks. No trees, no rain, Gerry. Get an education, Gerry
@lite azwell - You were sold out to the Russians, alright. By William Jefferson Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barry Hussein Obama, John Brennan, Robert Mueller, Bruce and Nellie Ohr, to name but a few. You have heard of the Uranium One deal? You were also sold out to the Chinese by vice-president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, for one and a half *billion* dollars. And so it goes on. Educate *yourself* while there's still time.
My Great-grandad fought in the war. My Grandma tells me that when he came home, she hardly recognised him. He was so skinny and you could see his bones. He had been a prisoner to the Germans for 20 months. God bless the ones who were lost. ✨
"Why must I fight against an enemy I don't want to fight against?" Very profound. Therein lies one of the biggest reasons that, I think, Britain won the battle. They were fighting for the defense of their realm, their home. You have to imagine that as a German pilot, would you be as invested in your actions as a man defending his home? Really evocative statement from Hans Ekkehard Bob.
@@markharrison2544 In the Battle of Britain, the British Empire, and the British Commonwealth was fighting to save you. Thank you, A. Gysbert Malan of South Africa (DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar) better known as Sailor Malan and his No. 74 Squadron, RAF.
My Polish father put his life on the line for Britain and Poland during WW2. He would never talk about the war. My watching this documentary brings me closer to him. I owe my life to the bravery of the Allied Forces. Thank You. I had the good fortune to meet Wojtek in Edinburgh Zoo (the soldier bear)
My grandad refused to ever talk about what he saw in France.. I guess it was there way of coping with the awful things they had to live through.. Till the day he died he never mentioned it not even to nan...
@array s really?, if we had lost there could have been no Normandy landing, there would have been no north Africa campaign, no convoys to Russia, I suggest you read some real history and not believe the Hollywood version of the war, and I have no idea from what country you hail
My apologyses for my poor english, I just want to show to the british people how mush proud I feel for them about that war. Good save the Queen !!! salute from Brazil.
I'm a bloody southern yank an ill admit the British gave us the following the Merlin powered P-51 mustang Broke the German code system Fixed the F4-U corsair for carrier ops Gave us the special air service and special boat service today's special operations forces Radar The jet engine The angled flight deck for carriers I could go on
@@jarekbednarz7721 , yes they handed over the Enigma device, and until 1940 the poles had broken it, once the Germans changed it the brits had to start again. But this time the Germans had made it impossible to break, or so they thought.
@Real Thailand He did a lot more. He stuck to single squadron attacks and discarded "The Big Wing" theorists, he rotated squadrons in/out of 11 Group so they got some R & R (Goering did n't do that). He also stood up to the PM relative to holding back squadrons for the attack on Britain he knew was coming
@@glennpickard2239 wrong. The Big Wing was probably the biggest psy ops victory of the battle. It's time had come with the increased production of Spitfires. Unfortunately, they always had to wait for the slower Hurricanes to climb.
The significance of Radar in the Battle of Britain cannot be understated. Dowding created what was the worlds 1st rapid response air defense system. This gave Britain a tremendous edge which allowed for the discrepancy in numbers aircraft a mute point in the battle.
Given the head in the sand attitude of the British Government before the war, I am alway amazed that he was able to get the money and resources to construct the radar and set up and train the tracking stations.
Kudos for recognizing the importance of the whole system. The Germans failed to grasp the impact of the integrated system, although they knew RDF. Is it in this doc, or another, that even multiple telephone lines were used so that a station was not 'down' if a line got cut? Internet before the internet.
145 Polish airmen fought in the Battle of Britain. ONE Polish airman commanded the title of "Ace of the day" for shooting down 5 enemy bombers in one day.
@@rayman46 Yes. I only knew him casually. We both worked for the former Wallace Computer Services. I worked at a facility in NC and he in IL. He designed equipment and came to our facility many times to set up and instruct myself and a few others on their operation. One day we were working together and we started talking about the military. He had some fascinating stories.
@@johnivkovich8655 Not true, those pilots were not 'sent back' after the war. Those who went back to Polish or Czech commmunist states did so of their own volition.
@@kieranororke620 the Resetlement act of 1947 was a face saving measure. After the Yalta Conference those who went back to Poland and Czechoslovakia did so knowing that they would be sent to gulags but hoped their families would not suffer the same fate. Those who stayed in England knew that their families were sacrifice. 30 committed suicide hoping to prevent reprisal.
@@johnivkovich8655 Thousands went home, but tens of thousands refused to do so. Indeed the post war mining industry in Britain became entirely dependent on Polish labour in order to prperly function. Whether the 1947 settlement was face saving is a matter of perspective. It hardly changed the reality of the new Soviet eastern block or made weatern immediate post war attitudes to the Soviets demands look any better, but it did provide a much needed workforce in Britain. No doubt many Poles and Czechs felt & some still feel a sense of betrayal after Munich, the lack of aid to Poland in 1939, the seeming abandonment of the Warsaw uprising, and the Yalta agreements, but the reality was there was often little to be done; it was the 'Realpolitik' of 300 Soviet divisions in eastern Europe that decided the issue. The Attlee government certainly thought they should go back & rebuild their countries but they refused to compel them to do so, so no they did not send anyone back forcibly from Britain. Eastern Europeans caught working for the Germans was another matter.
@Mahboud Khezaei. "don’t forget that Britain" ? they do not care... @Peter Fairhurst so... England goes to war because of Poland , you say ... USSR invades Poland as well : England ? crickets... Later that year USSR invades Finland Another democratic country. England ? crickets again... then USSR invades Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, all democracies : England ? crickets all the way ... you ask: "Would you have done that to us?" Then the Battle of Britain arrives : ... more than 1/4th of the RAF was Polish and Czech pilots. One in four ! Yes they did fought and died for you. And finally the end of the war comes. ....Poland, ....Czechoslovakia ? given to the USSR , more millions of Poles nd Czechs vanished in Soviet pogroms. The Polish and Czech pilots that fought for you, England ? You extradited them to the USSR, ... almost all were executed on spot upon arrival !!! Then the entire East Europe would fall under Soviet control. 10 pre-War Democratic countries , were gifted to the USSR by you , England ! And more millions would die because of ? well ....British ( and USA) pride and prejudice, I suppose ?
@ Peter Fairhurst Well it kind of is: UK followed it's own political interests As any country would have done. but ,It is the absolute disrespect (like your answer) for thousands of Poles that fought and died for you, UK... and then after, you send them to USSR to be executed or die slowly in Soviet gulags...
@ nuff said Agree with both your comments. "the germans would have treated you so much better if you had not escaped" For Sure ! Does that excuse the Ally that you fought and bled for , to sent you at the end of the war to your Arch Enemy to die in horrific ways? @Justin B The Polish people paid millions of lives two times, what am I saying : three times: 1st Under the Germans AND the Soviets (1 year ) 2nd Under the Germans alone ( 5 years ) 3rd Under the USSR and the Communism ( 45 years ) Tell us Poland : How many did you lose ? @ Martin James well boomer , who would have thought ?! _____ Nations do not have friends , they have interests ...
My father was in the army in ww2 and my grandfather died in Europe during ww2 that generation simply loved the British the respect they had for England was unmatched
I think in 2020 we all can also remember the German pilot in The Luftwaffe just kids as well , I respect the order and bravery of soldiers of all nations . Spesielt over 75 year later.
@Zuhdi Murich yes they did, twin train and bus bombings, driving cars and trucks at innocent people walk g along with their family. Then we can go further, twin towers, airplanes, night clubs, etc etc etc.
My grandma looks 70 but is 82 and still remembers the sound of air raid sirens as a baby, it’s her earliest memory. It’s crazy how close in time this still is to us all.
That's the TOTAL number of aircrafts available to the two forces, Germany couldn't put all 2000 of them to attack Britain but barely a fraction of it. Also add to it the fact Britain just defended itself rather than ever attacking. So in reality, Britain was at advantage if pure numbers are concerned. Trust me dude, every single one of these documentaries out there just portray USA or UK as invincible armies when in truth Germany was BY FAR the strongest if single countries were concerned.
@Real Thailand Brush up on your history of the Battle of Britain, mate. I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 76 used external fuel tanks... And Bf 110s flying from French coastal airfields didn't need auxiliary fuel tanks given their normal on-board capacity. And RAF pilots were in action from day one of the French campaign.
@Real Thailand If you rely on Wiki, then you are looking at the wrong things. To state this: "...the 110 was pretty useless as a fighter,..." shows that you are looking at decades old incorrect information. Research has moved on since the 1970s... This is interesting: "...During the past 40 yrs I've read every book/ watched every video on WW11 that I can find..." Can you be more specific? I would be MOST interested to know which Battle of Britain books you have read. Many inexperienced pilots were fed into the Battle on both sides. I presume you know as much about the German side as the RAF side...?
As an island, if we lost control of the air and sea we would have been utterly screwed. All respect to RAF without forgetting the navy and Fleet Air Arm.
Had they invaded Britain afterwards, there would be no means of organising an invasion of Europe to fight the Germans, as there would be no place to do it!
I was born in 1941, and lived about ten miles from the Spitfire factory, at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham. At the age of 2 to 4, One of my earliest memories, is of sitting in my Pushchair, in the garden, and seeing , hearing, very noisey and fast planes, roaring over our house. With no other airfields nearby, these were without doubt, new Spitfires being tested, and /or flown, by those heroic ladies of the ATA.
Almost the same as you, I was bn '37 and lived between AVRoe's Lancaster Bomber Factory and numerous shadow factories producing Aero engines in Leeds and the great TANK Factory at Kirkstall Forge Nr Leeds.
What a pleasure to see video footage of my grandfather Percival Graham Leggett at 25:04. He preferred to be called Graham. His memoir of the war is available to listen to on IWM website for free. I will always remember his incredible ability to recall the most finite detail about the aircraft he flew, that was the reason for which he applied to join the RAF, he just loved flying - they all did
My father was Polish and at 18 fought with the French, the rear guard at Dunkirk. Then forced marched to the Spanish boarder to meet the RN. Joined the RAF and spent the war fighting in the air. After the war Churchill bared Polish fighters from the Victory Parade and gave Poland to the Russians.
John Cornell Britain went to war to stop the German take over of Europe then the UK. No need to ban them from the Victory Parade. The Brits should be grateful there was someone holding the jerry back at Dunkirk and adding to the experienced pilot numbers in the BofB. OK sorry will rephrase the statement. Only a half-hearted protest against Russia. Although Palestine is another issue.
LE Bear There was a General Election in the UK on July 5th 1945. Churchill was voted out of office and Clem Atlee became PM. The Victory Parade was in 1946! Why do you think Churchill had ANYTHING to do with the Poles being barred? Almost reminds me of Margaret Thatcher taking the salute at the Falklands Victory Parade in 1982. She "apparently" forgot to invite the Queen? Also, the Russians had OCCUPIED Poland and East Europe by 1945. What do you suggest should have been done to evict them: continue the war?
Terry Shulky This was told to me by my father who was a Polish Flyer in the RAF during the war. History is written by the victories and I tend to believe a first hand account rather then what is presented to me by (as history has shown) a lying government.
@James Henderson WHY? It was Germany who from the mid 1930s was gobbling up territory in central Europe and ignoring warnings. Would I be mistaken if I wonder if you think concentration camps and extermination camps were holiday camps for the regimes opponents?
I would just like to say.........There seems to be , on this page and others dealing with the war, a misconception among people that the British never give recognition to other nationals who fought with the RAF. Just to put you all straight, ...British kids were always taught about these "other nationals when this subject comes up in history...in my case it was back in the mid 50s.....and the RAF and official organisations have never failed to acknowledge the contribution of these people. So get it right
@Derek Stairs watch the film this documentry is based on, the Polish pretended they didn't understand the squadron leaders orders & after the ensuing battle were given a full operational wing
I was in form 3/4 after the war and I'll be damned If I can recall history lessons which concerned the war, as by that period (still with rationing) people wanted to forget the war.Many of the nations who assisted and the menfolk of the (then) Colonies, e.g Ian Smith of Rhodesia were totally overlooked) and see what occured to Rhodesia, with Ex Fighter Pilot Ian Smith as its leader, made redundant by the British Govt., Disgraceful.
@@charleswood7001 No the UK has not. Not as a United People and Nation. Parts of England have been invaded yes. The only reason Normandy had any success was due to the fact that the Anglo Saxon Army was depleted after just defeating the Viking King. Never has the UK as a United people been defeated.
@@Anglo-Brit Yes, you are right in the sense of military invasions but I am referring to proxy, stealth invasions. The people here are not united at all, Brexit shows that. The media is extremely globalist and progressive leftist. Traditions, culture, history of the actual British people is constantly under attack and being demonized. Children in schools and unis are taught their heritage was bad, to be ashamed. Today people are being jailed for wrong think, our capital, London is now minority native British and you want to tell me everything is rosy in our garden?
"He was treated very badly after the Battle of Britain." Whereupon he promptly and increasingly became a lunatic. P.S. Dowding was a brilliant military thinker and commander. I'm not knocking his military service. However, his becoming an eccentric nut later in life doesn't fill me with confidence that his military career and authority should have increased later in life. He did his bit and he did it well. He served his purpose. The British government were probably right in cutting his career short there.
@John Cornell You seem rather deluded and out of touch. At the last census, 2011, the white population was recorded at 85%. Back in the 1980s it was 98%, still. Today, with the ceaseless, mass immigration, much from the third world, 500.000+ per year at times, thanks to the evil Tony Blair, Theresa May etc, I dread to think what the demographics are now. I would estimate we are down to 80%, with all the illegals who knows, maybe 75%. You are utterly out of touch on your road trip through sparsely populated areas that have been largely untouched by mass immigration and are still mostly white, British. Try another road trip through North London or Bradford, Birmingham, Luton etc. Get in to the real world. Most of the population live in urban areas, not along your rural, road trip. The Romans didn't change the ethnic make up of Britain much at all, barely impacted it and besides, they are Europeans, Italians mostly with the same haplotype DNA as us, Rb1. Very similar ethnicity and culture etc. A person from Mogadishu or Karachi is infinitely different, culturally and genetically.
I suggest you watch the iTV drama 'Piece of Cake' about one particular Spitfire Squadron, and how during those 6 episodes the original few became fewer.
A message to both of you, guys - there is a few good docs of BoB, from a very few Polish /famous anyway/ fighters. If only they can speak under Stalin's boots... and other impediments...
This documentary is actually part 1, there are actually 3 episodes of this, detailing the later weeks of the battle and how we won, it's on sale on dvd as I have the dvd and have watched it on numerous occasions
Alex Henshaw (featured) was the chief test pilot at Castle Bromwich where most Spits were manufactured. My Mom worked there and told me of his legendary status, his book Sigh for a Merlin is essential reading.
@Albert Clarke 303 were the highest 'claimers', but modern research shows that their claims did not equate to actual German losses. In recent years 603 are considered to be the most accurate, and highest claimers, of the Battle of Britain.
I'm glad that this film continues to get attention on cable, home video and pieces like this. At the time it was a box office and critical disappointment, but its footage can be seen in any number of feature films and TV shows since there is no way you can get practical shots of Heinkel and Messerschmitt squadrons in flight.
Few know this. An Icelander went to England and flew Hurricanes and spitfire in WW2. As a true Viking..he flew with drop tanks on the plain going to France. In them was..Dark Beer..and Blond Beer in the other..for the pilots there. Top Secret Mission..lol
@RumbleOfDrums I've also heard of that. The other one I liked was the story of a FAA Swordfish pilot in Italy who lashed a German motorcycle to the underside of his aeroplane and liberated it!
Installation of Radar towers along the coastlines of Britain and the secret breaking of Germen unbreakable code machine ''Enigma '' had played the significant role in this !
The courage and skill of the RAF pilots was amazing. They certainly deserve recognition. I hope I don't offend. I would like to think a lot of the metals and fuels that made it possible to build those awesome planes was sent to England by the US. Even though the US was reluctant to enter the war so soon after WW1, they did send a lot of materials that helped Britain fend off the Nazis. Many Americans now think the US should have declared war when the Nazis attacked Poland.
Oui beaucoup vendu le brevet de l essence synthétique a base de charbon le brevet du caoutchouc synthétique buna standard oil a continué de livrer du pétrole à l Allemagne jusqu’en 1943 ibm a collaboré etc@@cmgfilmsempiremcgirt9992
Take a lesson from the British. Do not ever let a bully who appears to be bigger or more powerful than you get the best of you. Continue to stand up for what you know is right and true (I also know this from personal experience).
*Sir Hugh Dowding, should be rightfully be on the new £20 note to be issued in 2020* I can hear the Millenium Snowflakes howling now ! I would bet 90% have never heard of him.
The only time my very 'proper' Victorian grandmother was know to swear was the night she saw the Germans destroying the city of Coventry. In the process she was so angry she broke her false teeth !
I love these Timeline documentaries, they give me a perfect chance to test my knowledge and post my opinions, not always popular and sometimes I get things wrong, but I still do it, watch this space. As good as both the Spitfire and Hurricanes were the one major weakness they initially had was their lack of firepower, the .303 machine guns just didn’t pack a big enough punch, once that weakness was rectified then they, and later types, were formidable and combined with excellent pilots they were the most effective fighters we had in the RAF. Good old British weather, foiling the Luftwaffe, and getting Goering all upset and throwing teddies out his cot.
The change to the fuel system (stopgap as it was) really helped both. I can't imagine the guilt the one man who was so anti-fuel injection must have lived with over how much a single fools stubborn dislike of fuel injection cost.
@@towgod7985 Absolutely incorrect....Squadron 303 saved london..British pilots had 1 week flying time before London raid...Look it up on you tube...read one of the books..it was the Polish pilots who out gunned the Germans and save London,...then were thrown under the bus after the war..a true travesty of justice on England and USA part...Totally ungrateful,shameful conduct from Limeys and yanks.......Thank you Poland, with out you we would be speaking German today...
Well done, Timeline. I've never heard of Timeline before but it reminds me of the 'Battlefield' series which were the best thing on US TV 15-20 years ago.The Hurricane and Spitfire pilots more than anyone else saved Britain. The Spitfire is a sleek powerful fighter but it took way too much historical attention away from the Hurricane that did the lion's share of the work. Wonderful documentary. This authentic footage is spectacular! The pilot interviews are illuminating! The master tactician Dowding knew what to do and Churchill was wise to listen.
A sincere "Thank You" to all of the 'Veterans' whose contribution to this brought it to life. I loved the bit about the Radar Pylons ! (at 20:50) If the names "Spitfire" and "Hurricane" had been reversed, it could truly be said that *"Spitfires"* Won the Battle. (29:50)
As I understand it, Dowding didn't invent radar -- he wasn't a "boffin." But he created the whole system of using radar (and ground observations) to direct the battle. He "conceived the whole setup, the whole layout" for tracking enemy planes, directing RAF planes to respond, keeping a constant picture of whose planes were where, and managing the battle. A brilliant display of generalship.
10:31 There is no recoil on the stick. the eight machineguns are mounted in the wings and that much recoil would make your aircraft nearly impossible to fly.
Age range of those. Pilots were 18 all the way up to a few at 30, The average age of allied pilots was 20yrs if age. No matter how skilled you are, it must have been nerve racking at that age, amazing,
Germany had no navy and their air force wasn't much. Small 2-engine bombers. I don't think they could have ever pulled off an attempted invasion despite their great army. Certainly not while they had their hands full with Russia. Look at the huge fleet and air support used by the allies in Normandy. Germany didn't have anything like that. However, they could inflict a lot of logistical and psychological damage, and they did.
Stuffy Dowding's my fave hero of the early part of WW2. Pity he was shoddily treated by Churchill, listening too much to tactically and strategically misguided, or downright ambitious, others in Fighter Command.
@@mikebritcom3171 RAF bombers in 1940 weren't up to much until the 4-engined bombers came in. The Wellingtons and Hampdens were badly mauled by the Luftwaffe when used during the day and the Whitley was only used to drop leaflets for the majority of the Phoney War.
"Empty RAF planes, pilots dead, flew and fought themselves." As late as the 1960's when I was in history class (U.S.) our teacher said there had been many such instances, verified. "Of course," he added "that can't be true." Still those types of legends tell us about British morale. They were NOT going to lose. Even ghosts would fight for Britain.
Having watched the whole of the film when it was first released, I still think one of the best sequences just after the Dunkirk debacle sequence was when Ribbentrop played by Curt Jurgens had given Hitler's demands to Britains ambassador, played by John Gielgud, in Switzerland it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Would that we had someone, like that ambassador, in Europe now!!! Watch that sequence and you'll understand.🇬🇧
Sir Keith Park was the New Zealander RAF vice Air Marshal who was solely responsible for the aerial defence of Britain. Dowding only created the infrastructure and vision - Sir Keith Park executed it. It’s in the history books and online if you need to research it. Britain was never alone during this fight. 127 New Zealand pilots were in the battle not counting those in bomber command and the ground crews.
Did u know when they engaged in a dogfight they were pulling 6G's and the pilots heads had roughly 70 pounds of force to fight against, some pilots struggled to lift their heads to keep a enemy plane in their gun sights
Thank you BBC for recovering that footage, beautiful to see high-quality video of those planes over the English Channel. I don't care if the Messerchmitts were Spanish knockoffs with Merlin engines. There's plenty of power-mad dictators today, but where are the Churchills, Roosevelts and Dowdings? We need to find them.
We (the U.S.) have them but voters keep being fooled ... as Trump conned so many. For example, Trump kept saying his health care would be "sooo much better" and no one asked for any details. The voters just believed him, those who voted for him.
We've got a power-mad Churchill biographer (readable, in a Boy's Own way) but not really a dictator; just tells people what they want to hear. I really do worry if another Roosevelt would get elected. Concerned about the disadvantaged despite being from a privileged background (hypocrite), dog-whistle "not able to stand up to..." headlines, unhealthy leanings towards what might be right rather than popular yet agonizing over the consequences of momentous decisions on ordinary young people. Nope, can't see that winning a UK election (or even party leadership).
I always wanted to bee in a ww2 fighter .been interesting in ww2 from a young age and that dream has been there all the time soaring over the fields with the sun in my back high up looking for victims.
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne Got to get up for the coming attack. Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines Remove all the wheel blocks There's no time to waste Gathering speed as we head down the runway Gotta get airborne before it's too late
Some of the dogfighting scenes in this movie were filmed over my house. In 1968, my family was living at RAF Feltwell, a WWII RAF bomber base that still had a grass airfield. Some of the scenes were also filmed on and over RAF Duxford, which is now the British War Museum's air museum - and not far from my old home. And, if the Luftwaffe's planes look odd? They're not Messerschmidts. They're licensed copies; Spanish Hispano-Aviation HA-112M1L Bouchons. When the movie was made, there were only a couple of airworthy BF 109s in the world. The Heinkel bombers are also Spanish copies. In a final irony, all of them are powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. none of that spoils the movie, though. It's one of my favorites, and I watch it often...
I thought I'd create a simple "visual aid" in order to assist people learning about the history of the battle of Britain. There is much ongoing debate about the nationalities and proportions of RAF fighter pilots who took part in the battle, with a furtive aspect which attempts to portray the battle as a victory of mostly "Foreign pilots". Below is an accurate graphical representation of the proportion of pilot nationalities serving within RAF Fighter Command during the summer of 1940. Each flag is roughly equivalent to 30 pilots. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧UK (2342) 🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱 Poland (145) 🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿 New Zealand (127) 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Canada (112) 🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿 Czechoslovakia (88) 🇦🇺 Australia (32) 🇧🇪 Belgium (28) 🇿🇦 S. Africa (25) (1940 flag emoji not available) 🇺🇳 Other nations (France (13), R o Ireland (10), USA (9), Rhodesia (3), Newfoundland (1), Jamaica (1), Barbados (1)) (And just to preempt the idiot lefty "Identity warriors" from protesting about "The lack of credit given to the black pilots who fought in the battle of Britain"... the two pilots from the Caribbean were both of white British descent).
we all owe them so much, it is the same sort of determination and spirit that makes us British and the one thing the EU have never understood and still don't
The Brits, like their American counterparts back then were incredibly brave & talented. No matter how bleak things looked, they leaned into the task ahead & refused to say surrender. Where do such people come from ? With today's kids I shudder to think what would happen if we found ourselves in that situation again. A recent poll over here showed a majority would run. Escape the country if we were invaded like Ukraine has been. So sad. God bless the pilots of the RAF back then. I salute you gentlemen & RIP . 🙏 ❤🙏❤🙏❤
Don't forget Susannah York in stockings! She was hot in those days. She even looked good with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.................... 'DON'T YOU YELL AT ME MR WARWICK!!'
The Brits had some important advantages. They were flying over their own territory, they had excellent fighters, the Spitfire, they had broken the German code.
I think that the code breaking would be developed and used later than 1940 so would be of little use then, but was invaluable later, shortening the war by some 2 years, some say 3 years!
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
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Ok...
Im sorry but i have an critic its actually bf 109 it isnt me 109
What surprises me we must have known of the German airfields . Yet there’s no mention of British attacks on them we had the aircraft types capable of attacking them such as the Beaufighters and Westland Wirlwind both capable of attacking the aircraft that were stationed there
@@claymarquess.2213 ¹qĺ
The way the British people held it together and kept their cool is extraordinary. Churchhill’s speach still gives me chills.
speech!
@@dinerouk
The Finest Hour speech concludes as follows:
"
[...] And these very high-class forces from the Dominions will now take part in the defence of the Mother Country.
[...] We have fully informed and consulted all the self-governing Dominions, these great communities far beyond the oceans who have been built up on our laws and on our civilization, and who are absolutely free to choose their course, but are absolutely devoted to the ancient Motherland, and who feel themselves inspired by the same emotions which lead me to stake our all upon duty and honour. [...]
… and we are now assured of immense, continuous and increasing support ... ; and especially of aeroplanes [Canadian and Australian built Hawker Hurricanes] and pilots from the Dominions and across the oceans …
[...]
What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. [...] Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour.
"
Winston S. Churchill, 18 June 1940.
And now as of May 2020, 100 year-old Irishman John Hemingway is the LAST Battle of Britain pilot left alive. Respect and "Thank you!!" to all of whom fought in that battle. 👍
Wonder what he is thinking about the disaster that is happening in the world today?
What he fought against has come true throughout most of the world.
John Allman Hemingway still going strong in November 2021 aged 102 :)
So sad the rest have died ! We all owe them a lot !
God bless that man
From a "Yank" to my BELOVED allies from "across the pond!!!" I wish to, sincerely "THANK ALL OF YOU" for several things. The obvious: MY LIFE AND, THAT OF MY SON'S!!! Because, were it NOT for YOUR STAUNCH defense of your beliefs homeland, we, ALL ACROSS MY COUNTRY, THE UNITED STATES, WOULD NOT BE FREE!!! Next, IF my country existed, we'd be speaking half German and, half Japanese, if YOU BLOKES DIDN'T GIVE THE NAZIS "WHAT FOR!!!!" Lastly, the late Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill said it best as he addressed Parliament AFTER you lads KICKED THE SNOT OUTTA THE LUFTWAFFE IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: "Never, in the field of human combat was SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW!!!!" Though he was speaking of the British Empire, I dare say that THE FREE WORLD, AND,,THOSE UNDER OCCUPATION OWED THE BRAVE LADS OF THE RAF, AS WELL!!!! Sirs: I salute you!!! As we in US Naval Special Warfare say to one another, as your Royal Army and, our Marine Corps say, "OOH-RAH!!!" we say, "HOOYAH!!!" Thanks, again for my life and, that of my son's!!!!! I can, never, FULLY, repay that ENORMOUS debt I owe you.
My grandad was responsible for 35 downed German planes in ww2. Still to this day holds the record as worst mechanic the Luftwaffe ever had.
My father died of a Heart Attack whilst flying he did not want to die like his passengers.
DID HE WORK AT THE CURRAHA Watched documentary with commwelth and luftwaffe pilots staying cheak by jowlHaHa the guards would rather help with how to box each other sounds like laughter to me
sounds like a very loveable chap, that grandfather of yours...
i salute him!
Irish humour at it's best.. lololol
@AE Devereux It wasn't a novice friendly plane. Not arguing your point. The G was as good as any other fighter it was facing. The only fault I would find is the lack of a bubble canopy for better vision.
My aunt Betty who died five years ago aged ,94 flew spitfires to the airfields around the UK she was one of a few women trained to do it
I would like to thank Aunt Betty for her service.
You need to write all you can remember down and submit the information to places like rootsweb, family search.com and so on. Don't let the information get lost to time.
I always like the story of a plane (possibly a Mosquito) being delivered by the ATA that "beat up" the airfield superbly. When it landed a woman climbed out. All the men were dumbfounded.
I read that there were 11 women trained to deliver Lancaster’s as well
That’s awesome love those planes
I am a United States citizen, this Battle is why I respect the United Kingdom. To the United Kingdom, the Battle of Britain was a fight for survival, to the United States, the Battle of Britain was a breathless moment in history. To me it is both because many knew that failure would've sent mankind right into a new dark age.
So we give the world Trump?
Thank God that Britain, for all its faults and despite standing alone, successfully resisted a barbaric, psychopathic regime which would have destroyed civilisation and enslaved everybody under its control had it not been stopped.
Thank God that President Trump has the strength and courage to continue to fight against evil, toxic, far-left ideologies which are every bit as dangerous as the Third Reich ever was.
@@gerrycoogan6544 Is this what gets you to sleep at night: The belief that we weren't sold out to the Russians? Get a clue, Gerry. We will see famine like never before, rush delivered by the fake president who has opened logging in our national parks. No trees, no rain, Gerry. Get an education, Gerry
@lite azwell -
You were sold out to the Russians, alright. By William Jefferson Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barry Hussein Obama, John Brennan, Robert Mueller, Bruce and Nellie Ohr, to name but a few. You have heard of the Uranium One deal?
You were also sold out to the Chinese by vice-president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, for one and a half *billion* dollars.
And so it goes on. Educate *yourself* while there's still time.
@@liteazwell1913 There's Godwin's Law but a name needed for online comments on any topic somehow involve Trump.
They sacrificed so much, I’m an American and I salute them.
Britannia rules the waves
True but was doing the song line
My Great-grandad fought in the war. My Grandma tells me that when he came home, she hardly recognised him. He was so skinny and you could see his bones. He had been a prisoner to the Germans for 20 months. God bless the ones who were lost. ✨
@@TheRedditMaestro You know, world wars are literally the proof no nation can rule the whole world
@@lilyalgerafi3642 I know
RAF, for a thousand years we will never forget your courage and sacrifice
"Why must I fight against an enemy I don't want to fight against?" Very profound. Therein lies one of the biggest reasons that, I think, Britain won the battle. They were fighting for the defense of their realm, their home. You have to imagine that as a German pilot, would you be as invested in your actions as a man defending his home? Really evocative statement from Hans Ekkehard Bob.
We were fighting to preserve our racist, genocidal empire.
Mark Harrison Coward.
@@markharrison2544
In the Battle of Britain, the British Empire, and the British Commonwealth was fighting to save you.
Thank you, A. Gysbert Malan of South Africa (DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar) better known as Sailor Malan and his No. 74 Squadron, RAF.
My Polish father put his life on the line for Britain and Poland during WW2. He would never talk about the war. My watching this documentary brings me closer to him. I owe my life to the bravery of the Allied Forces. Thank You. I had the good fortune to meet Wojtek in Edinburgh Zoo (the soldier bear)
My grandad refused to ever talk about what he saw in France.. I guess it was there way of coping with the awful things they had to live through.. Till the day he died he never mentioned it not even to nan...
A battle on par with that of Waterloo, Gettysburg, and Stalingrad. One of the great turning points. Not only during the war, but in history.
@@th-uh2oo you've given me a new battle to analyse, thank you
@array s really?, if we had lost there could have been no Normandy landing, there would have been no north Africa campaign, no convoys to Russia, I suggest you read some real history and not believe the Hollywood version of the war, and I have no idea from what country you hail
@array s History is not a strong point of yours then Mathew? Gettysburg had very little significance to the wider world outside of the USA.
@@timothyphillips5043 Sorry m8ey I'm a Canadian. It was a famous battle. Why must you be so childish and belittle someone else on the internet?
@array s also you're right
My apologyses for my poor english, I just want to show to the british people how mush proud I feel for them about that war. Good save the Queen !!! salute from Brazil.
It doesn't make sense
Rijo Bomjen Really ? so, can you explain why not?
@@flyinglycandeathforcommuni6292 lol,your comment doesnt make sense
Rijo Bomjen Ok, doesn't make sense, but you can't explain why. May be there is something wrong with you... your content is empty.
@@flyinglycandeathforcommuni6292 still doesn't makes sense
I'm a bloody southern yank an ill admit the British gave us the following
the Merlin powered P-51 mustang
Broke the German code system
Fixed the F4-U corsair for carrier ops
Gave us the special air service and special boat service today's special operations forces
Radar
The jet engine
The angled flight deck for carriers I could go on
No, the Poles broke enigma code, one month before ww2 Poland gave the knoledge how to brake enigma code, to British and French.
Flight decks aren't angled. They are and were horizontal on American ships.
@@jarekbednarz7721 , yes they handed over the
Enigma device, and until 1940 the poles had broken it, once the Germans changed it the brits had to start again. But this time the Germans had made it impossible to break, or so they thought.
In return you gave us Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix Duke Ellington, Little Richard, Elvis, Buddy Holly...a fair exchange I think :-)
@@robertdore9592 let's not forget Gene Vincent :)
... and to the Poles, Czechs and others who tipped the balance.
We will never forget!!
You could have mentioned the American Eagle Squadrons, just saying.....
They didn’t tip the balance they made the difference this is not a true or honest document and after the war Poland was betrayed
@@johnblasiak607 we had a left wing, socialist government and leader in Clement Attlee. He was a Stalin lover
they were very small in Number, 97% were British
@@matspurs1629 22% kill rate by the poles my friend. That's a substantial amount
Valiant. That’s all I can think of. I cried as I watched this. “For your tomorrow we give our today.”.
Dowding was a absolute Genius mind-blowing foresight over what was required.
D C so glad to find out he’s going to be on the new £20 notes from 2020. An excellent tribute to a British hero
He is one of Scotland and the UK'S foremost Commanders.
@Real Thailand He did a lot more. He stuck to single squadron attacks and discarded "The Big Wing" theorists, he rotated squadrons in/out of 11 Group so they got some R & R (Goering did n't do that). He also stood up to the PM relative to holding back squadrons for the attack on Britain he knew was coming
@@glennpickard2239 wrong. The Big Wing was probably the biggest psy ops victory of the battle. It's time had come with the increased production of Spitfires. Unfortunately, they always had to wait for the slower Hurricanes to climb.
All the top air. Force co mmanders said no. B ig wings. Right up.to Dowding. I go with Dowding and Park not Leigh Mallory or Bader.
The significance of Radar in the Battle of Britain cannot be understated. Dowding created what was the worlds 1st rapid response air defense system. This gave Britain a tremendous edge which allowed for the discrepancy in numbers aircraft a mute point in the battle.
Given the head in the sand attitude of the British Government before the war, I am alway amazed that he was able to get the money and resources to construct the radar and set up and train the tracking stations.
Kudos for recognizing the importance of the whole system. The Germans failed to grasp the impact of the integrated system, although they knew RDF. Is it in this doc, or another, that even multiple telephone lines were used so that a station was not 'down' if a line got cut? Internet before the internet.
@@tommyestridge9301 I attribute that to nothing short of an act of God, it's so unlikely.
Park was the brains behind the radar intercept control system.
Never in the field of human history is so much owed by so many to so few
Winston Churchill
16 Sep 1940
Sam Sabastian Ok sorry, one little word wrong, thank you
Can never be challenged
Human conflict....Nice post though!
145 Polish airmen fought in the Battle of Britain. ONE Polish airman commanded the title of "Ace of the day" for shooting down 5 enemy bombers in one day.
@hicky
??????????????????????????????????????
Had the honor of knowing one of the Polish fighter pilots who served during the Battle of Britain and the War.
@@michaeletters6835 very nice .I'm sure he had some interesting stories to tell.
@@rayman46 Yes. I only knew him casually. We both worked for the former Wallace Computer Services. I worked at a facility in NC and he in IL. He designed equipment and came to our facility many times to set up and instruct myself and a few others on their operation. One day we were working together and we started talking about the military. He had some fascinating stories.
@hicky
...and conservatories on the back of each accommodation block.
With considerable help of Czech and Polish pilots.
Most of these men were sent back to their countries of origin and faced "reeducation" under Stalinist rule.
@@johnivkovich8655 Not true, those pilots were not 'sent back' after the war. Those who went back to Polish or Czech commmunist states did so of their own volition.
Yes, about 20% of the pilots were non British.
@@kieranororke620 the Resetlement act of 1947 was a face saving measure. After the Yalta Conference those who went back to Poland and Czechoslovakia did so knowing that they would be sent to gulags but hoped their families would not suffer the same fate. Those who stayed in England knew that their families were sacrifice. 30 committed suicide hoping to prevent reprisal.
@@johnivkovich8655 Thousands went home, but tens of thousands refused to do so. Indeed the post war mining industry in Britain became entirely dependent on Polish labour in order to prperly function. Whether the 1947 settlement was face saving is a matter of perspective. It hardly changed the reality of the new Soviet eastern block or made weatern immediate post war attitudes to the Soviets demands look any better, but it did provide a much needed workforce in Britain. No doubt many Poles and Czechs felt & some still feel a sense of betrayal after Munich, the lack of aid to Poland in 1939, the seeming abandonment of the Warsaw uprising, and the Yalta agreements, but the reality was there was often little to be done; it was the 'Realpolitik' of 300 Soviet divisions in eastern Europe that decided the issue. The Attlee government certainly thought they should go back & rebuild their countries but they refused to compel them to do so, so no they did not send anyone back forcibly from Britain. Eastern Europeans caught working for the Germans was another matter.
Rest In Peace Sir Keith Park. Your country remembers you proudly.
Battle of Britain.polish pilots joined RAF and left their marks behind true legendary brave and remarkable don’t forget that Britain
@Mahboud Khezaei.
"don’t forget that Britain" ?
they do not care...
@Peter Fairhurst
so...
England goes to war because of Poland , you say ...
USSR invades Poland as well :
England ? crickets...
Later that year USSR invades Finland
Another democratic country.
England ? crickets again...
then USSR invades Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, all democracies :
England ? crickets all the way ...
you ask:
"Would you have done that to us?"
Then the Battle of Britain arrives :
... more than 1/4th of the RAF was Polish and Czech pilots.
One in four !
Yes they did fought and died for you.
And finally the end of the war comes.
....Poland, ....Czechoslovakia ?
given to the USSR , more millions of Poles nd Czechs vanished in Soviet pogroms.
The Polish and Czech pilots that fought for you, England ?
You extradited them to the USSR,
... almost all were executed on spot upon arrival !!!
Then the entire East Europe would fall under Soviet control. 10 pre-War Democratic countries , were gifted to the USSR by you , England !
And more millions would die because of ? well ....British ( and USA) pride and prejudice, I suppose ?
@
Peter Fairhurst
Well it kind of is:
UK followed it's own political interests
As any country would have done.
but ,It is the absolute disrespect (like your answer) for thousands of Poles that fought and died for you, UK...
and then after, you send them to USSR to be executed or die slowly in Soviet gulags...
@@krixpop England? No such state has existed since 1707.
@
nuff said
Agree with both your comments.
"the germans would have treated you so much better if you had not escaped"
For Sure !
Does that excuse the Ally that you fought and bled for , to sent you at the end of the war to your Arch Enemy to die in horrific ways?
@Justin B
The Polish people paid millions of lives two times, what am I saying : three times:
1st Under the Germans AND the Soviets (1 year )
2nd Under the Germans alone ( 5 years )
3rd Under the USSR and the Communism ( 45 years )
Tell us Poland :
How many did you lose ?
@ Martin James
well boomer , who would have thought ?!
_____
Nations do not have friends , they have interests ...
@@krixpop lose
My father was in the army in ww2 and my grandfather died in Europe during ww2 that generation simply loved the British the respect they had for England was unmatched
Most of these pilots were nineteen to 21 they definitely gave their all god bless them .
I think in 2020 we all can also remember the German pilot in The Luftwaffe just kids as well , I respect the order and bravery of soldiers of all nations . Spesielt over 75 year later.
the ROYAL air force, thank you very much.
Brilliant movie loved it , total respect to all those brave men that fought for our freedom .
God bless The Few
So glad the United States bankrupted the UK.
Stupid little child
In reality the RAF was almost as large as the Luftwaffe in 1940.
@@markharrison2544 nobody asked for your false information
Outnumbered ? Yes. Outclassed ? NEVER !
Thats just what i would say if i accidently walked into a mosque.
Many thanks to the many other nationalities that died saving British soil, with out them England would have been taken with ease
@Zuhdi Murich yes they did, twin train and bus bombings, driving cars and trucks at innocent people walk g along with their family. Then we can go further, twin towers, airplanes, night clubs, etc etc etc.
@@jupitorious7925 hardly with ease, but yes they needed more pilots
The RAF was almost as large as the Luftwaffe in 1940.
My grandma looks 70 but is 82 and still remembers the sound of air raid sirens as a baby, it’s her earliest memory. It’s crazy how close in time this still is to us all.
'Look mummie...
There is an aeroplane up in the sky'
You could rely on our summer to bugger things up for the Germans lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣..sorry but that made me laugh so much early in the morning as well....Thank you!
700 vs over 2000 aircraft you have admire the British fighting spirit .
That's the TOTAL number of aircrafts available to the two forces, Germany couldn't put all 2000 of them to attack Britain but barely a fraction of it. Also add to it the fact Britain just defended itself rather than ever attacking. So in reality, Britain was at advantage if pure numbers are concerned.
Trust me dude, every single one of these documentaries out there just portray USA or UK as invincible armies when in truth Germany was BY FAR the strongest if single countries were concerned.
@Real Thailand Brush up on your history of the Battle of Britain, mate. I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 76 used external fuel tanks... And Bf 110s flying from French coastal airfields didn't need auxiliary fuel tanks given their normal on-board capacity. And RAF pilots were in action from day one of the French campaign.
@Real Thailand If you rely on Wiki, then you are looking at the wrong things. To state this: "...the 110 was pretty useless as a fighter,..." shows that you are looking at decades old incorrect information. Research has moved on since the 1970s... This is interesting: "...During the past 40 yrs I've read every book/ watched every video on WW11 that I can find..." Can you be more specific? I would be MOST interested to know which Battle of Britain books you have read. Many inexperienced pilots were fed into the Battle on both sides. I presume you know as much about the German side as the RAF side...?
@Real Thailand I wouldn’t call bombing countries with observers airforces experienced.
@@AbhishekKumar-fl8bw We where building new ones all the time also, the spitfire had many upgrades during the war.
As an island, if we lost control of the air and sea we would have been utterly screwed. All respect to RAF without forgetting the navy and Fleet Air Arm.
"Never before has so much been owed to so few" Churchill
Bomber command deserve a mention, they were night bombing luftwaffe airfields in France and the low countries during the Battle of Britain.
Had they invaded Britain afterwards, there would be no means of organising an invasion of Europe to fight the Germans, as there would be no place to do it!
I was born in 1941, and lived about ten miles from the Spitfire factory, at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham. At the age of 2 to 4, One of my earliest memories, is of sitting in my Pushchair, in the garden, and seeing , hearing, very noisey and fast planes, roaring over our house. With no other airfields nearby, these were without doubt, new Spitfires being tested, and /or flown, by those heroic ladies of the ATA.
MY BROTHER WAS ABOUT 12 IN THE WAR HE SEE A DOG FIGHT OVER NORTH LONDON
Almost the same as you, I was bn '37 and lived between AVRoe's Lancaster Bomber Factory and numerous shadow factories producing Aero engines in Leeds and the great TANK Factory at Kirkstall Forge Nr Leeds.
What a pleasure to see video footage of my grandfather Percival Graham Leggett at 25:04. He preferred to be called Graham. His memoir of the war is available to listen to on IWM website for free. I will always remember his incredible ability to recall the most finite detail about the aircraft he flew, that was the reason for which he applied to join the RAF, he just loved flying - they all did
God bless your grandfather and his friends. You chest swells justifiably with pride to see him. And we all thank him as well. Respects.
We must Never forget what these extremely brave men and women did for us all! True Heroics!
My father was Polish and at 18 fought with the French, the rear guard at Dunkirk.
Then forced marched to the Spanish boarder to meet the RN.
Joined the RAF and spent the war fighting in the air.
After the war Churchill bared Polish fighters from the Victory Parade and gave Poland to the Russians.
John Cornell Britain went to war to stop the German take over of Europe then the UK.
No need to ban them from the Victory Parade.
The Brits should be grateful there was someone holding the jerry back at Dunkirk and adding to the experienced pilot numbers in the BofB.
OK sorry will rephrase the statement.
Only a half-hearted protest against Russia.
Although Palestine is another issue.
LE Bear There was a General Election in the UK on July 5th 1945. Churchill was voted out of office and Clem Atlee became PM. The Victory Parade was in 1946! Why do you think Churchill had ANYTHING to do with the Poles being barred? Almost reminds me of Margaret Thatcher taking the salute at the Falklands Victory Parade in 1982. She "apparently" forgot to invite the Queen?
Also, the Russians had OCCUPIED Poland and East Europe by 1945. What do you suggest should have been done to evict them: continue the war?
Terry Shulky
This was told to me by my father who was a Polish Flyer in the RAF during the war.
History is written by the victories and I tend to believe a first hand account rather then what is presented to me by (as history has shown) a lying government.
@@who-gives-a-toss_Bear Do you still maintain that Churchill banned the Poles from the Victory Parade?
@James Henderson WHY? It was Germany who from the mid 1930s was gobbling up territory in central Europe and ignoring warnings. Would I be mistaken if I wonder if you think concentration camps and extermination camps were holiday camps for the regimes opponents?
I would just like to say.........There seems to be , on this page and others dealing with the war, a misconception among people that the British never give recognition to other nationals who fought with the RAF. Just to put you all straight, ...British kids were always taught about these "other nationals when this subject comes up in history...in my case it was back in the mid 50s.....and the RAF and official organisations have never failed to acknowledge the contribution of these people. So get it right
@Derek Stairs "...I seldom hear 'other nationals' ever mentioned when the history of WW2 is told..." You're not reading the right books, then...
@Derek Stairs watch the film this documentry is based on, the Polish pretended they didn't understand the squadron leaders orders & after the ensuing battle were given a full operational wing
I was in form 3/4 after the war and I'll be damned If I can recall history lessons which concerned the war, as by that period (still with rationing) people wanted to forget the war.Many of the nations who assisted and the menfolk of the (then) Colonies, e.g Ian Smith of Rhodesia were totally overlooked) and see what occured to Rhodesia, with Ex Fighter Pilot Ian Smith as its leader, made redundant by the British Govt., Disgraceful.
Of course they were Super. Some just like to quibble.
The title of this video literally says "Britain stands alone"
If it hadn't been for Hugh Dowding, things might have turned out differently.
He was treated very badly after the Battle of Britain.
We've been invaded anyway... and pretty much conquered.
@@charleswood7001 No the UK has not. Not as a United People and Nation. Parts of England have been invaded yes.
The only reason Normandy had any success was due to the fact that the Anglo Saxon Army was depleted after just defeating the Viking King.
Never has the UK as a United people been defeated.
@@Anglo-Brit Yes, you are right in the sense of military invasions but I am referring to proxy, stealth invasions. The people here are not united at all, Brexit shows that. The media is extremely globalist and progressive leftist. Traditions, culture, history of the actual British people is constantly under attack and being demonized. Children in schools and unis are taught their heritage was bad, to be ashamed. Today people are being jailed for wrong think, our capital, London is now minority native British and you want to tell me everything is rosy in our garden?
"He was treated very badly after the Battle of Britain."
Whereupon he promptly and increasingly became a lunatic.
P.S. Dowding was a brilliant military thinker and commander. I'm not knocking his military service. However, his becoming an eccentric nut later in life doesn't fill me with confidence that his military career and authority should have increased later in life. He did his bit and he did it well. He served his purpose. The British government were probably right in cutting his career short there.
@John Cornell You seem rather deluded and out of touch. At the last census, 2011, the white population was recorded at 85%. Back in the 1980s it was 98%, still. Today, with the ceaseless, mass immigration, much from the third world, 500.000+ per year at times, thanks to the evil Tony Blair, Theresa May etc, I dread to think what the demographics are now. I would estimate we are down to 80%, with all the illegals who knows, maybe 75%. You are utterly out of touch on your road trip through sparsely populated areas that have been largely untouched by mass immigration and are still mostly white, British. Try another road trip through North London or Bradford, Birmingham, Luton etc. Get in to the real world. Most of the population live in urban areas, not along your rural, road trip. The Romans didn't change the ethnic make up of Britain much at all, barely impacted it and besides, they are Europeans, Italians mostly with the same haplotype DNA as us, Rb1. Very similar ethnicity and culture etc. A person from Mogadishu or Karachi is infinitely different, culturally and genetically.
Excellent documentary. This should be shown in history classes in schools.
I suggest you watch the iTV drama 'Piece of Cake' about one particular Spitfire Squadron, and how during those 6 episodes the original few became fewer.
@@stephendunmore6487 Cheers, I'll check it out.
A message to both of you, guys - there is a few good docs of BoB, from a very few Polish /famous anyway/ fighters. If only they can speak under Stalin's boots... and other impediments...
The "LEFTIES" would never allow Britains greatness to be taught in schools....It would upset the Muslims .
May your God Bless Y!
Forever grateful to all the brave pilots of the RAF and their support teams on the ground.
Pity we fought the wrong enemy
@@silverbullet2008bb Oh l am well aware, the same people who are destroying our world today, when it could have been so better, all part of the plan
Truly one of the best short documentaries on the subject of the Battle of Britain.
This documentary is actually part 1, there are actually 3 episodes of this, detailing the later weeks of the battle and how we won, it's on sale on dvd as I have the dvd and have watched it on numerous occasions
Alex Henshaw (featured) was the chief test pilot at Castle Bromwich where most Spits were manufactured. My Mom worked there and told me of his legendary status, his book Sigh for a Merlin is essential reading.
You forgot to mention Squadron 303, Which killed the most germans with the least loses Kosciuszka squadron!
They were one squadron among very many during the Battle of Britain...
@Albert Clarke 303 were the highest 'claimers', but modern research shows that their claims did not equate to actual German losses. In recent years 603 are considered to be the most accurate, and highest claimers, of the Battle of Britain.
Canada also sent 2 squadrons to fight in this battle.
They wouldn't have done it if Justin Trudeau had been PM .. He would be too worried about hurting someone's feelings or "sending the wrong message"
Canada played a vital part in the war against the Nazis. In the air, at sea and on land Canadians did their country proud.
CANADA WAS A GREAT CONTRY TO BE ALLIED TO STILL
@Rosida Andriyana Useless? If it wasn't for the Americans land lease to Russia, and us joining the war, Europe would be Germany today.
@Derek Stairs That's a possibility. Anything's possible. Who knows.
I'm glad that this film continues to get attention on cable, home video and pieces like this. At the time it was a box office and critical disappointment, but its footage can be seen in any number of feature films and TV shows since there is no way you can get practical shots of Heinkel and Messerschmitt squadrons in flight.
God bless all these wonderful people. And. Lord help us today.
Few know this.
An Icelander went to England and flew Hurricanes and spitfire in WW2.
As a true Viking..he flew with drop tanks on the plain going to France.
In them was..Dark Beer..and Blond Beer in the other..for the pilots there. Top Secret Mission..lol
I heard of a few Icelanders who’m went to England to fight just like what early Americans had done. I didn’t know about that precipice case though.
@RumbleOfDrums I've also heard of that. The other one I liked was the story of a FAA Swordfish pilot in Italy who lashed a German motorcycle to the underside of his aeroplane and liberated it!
Dowding was the architect of the defense system but he was thrown under the bus by all the same. Quite a disgrace.
Not now! His role is well recognised and praised!
Installation of Radar towers along the coastlines of Britain and the secret breaking of Germen unbreakable code machine ''Enigma '' had played the significant role in this !
yep, it was not radar alone, worldhistory.us/military-history/adlerstag-knickebeins-and-bletchey-park-britain-ultra-and-the-battle-of-britain-1940.php
@@rci_adl5486 Good stuff, Michael. Thank you very much.
The secret of Enigma came from Poland.
The courage and skill of the RAF pilots was amazing. They certainly deserve recognition.
I hope I don't offend.
I would like to think a lot of the metals and fuels that made it possible to build those awesome planes was sent to England by the US. Even though the US was reluctant to enter the war so soon after WW1, they did send a lot of materials that helped Britain fend off the Nazis.
Many Americans now think the US should have declared war when the Nazis attacked Poland.
The US actually SOLD Britain 'materials', it didn't give them away. Thanks a bunch - we've only recently finished repaying the 💰
robin gibbs of the bee gees pop brothers was on about it all the time
The US also helped Gemany. (Henry Ford)
Oui beaucoup vendu le brevet de l essence synthétique a base de charbon le brevet du caoutchouc synthétique buna standard oil a continué de livrer du pétrole à l Allemagne jusqu’en 1943 ibm a collaboré etc@@cmgfilmsempiremcgirt9992
Take a lesson from the British. Do not ever let a bully who appears to be bigger or more powerful than you get the best of you. Continue to stand up for what you know is right and true (I also know this from personal experience).
Those men were the shield of the world....to those heroes we owe our lives and freedom.
1,000s of young brave men gave there life's so we can live on R . I. P. to them all wee will remember them
And the younger generation never question why they speak English instead of another language
There are thousands of languages here.
We speak American
@@pittsburghpirate58 you are american speaking english.
EngTech84. Sounds like you speak the language of imbecile.
@@christsrevenge8030 Thanks to their efforts, their great grand children will be speaking Arabic or Punjabi. But at least we beat der evil nutzies!
Thanks for the upload I enjoyed hearing from the old boys from both sides! Cheers
Our WW2 Fighter Pilot Cousins across the pond, had one damn good fighter and The Good Lord on their side!🙏🇺🇸💪
@nuff said P-51 =great design..................Rolls Royce Merlin=great power............put them together and IMHO the greatest fighter of WWII.
Don't forget the Hurricane mate :-) This was THE workhorse fighter of the RAF.
God does not exist.
Go away
We shall never forget!
*Sir Hugh Dowding, should be rightfully be on the new £20 note to be issued in 2020*
I can hear the Millenium Snowflakes howling now !
I would bet 90% have never heard of him.
I would add Head of RAF Bomber Command, Arthur ' Bomber' Harris to the 20 quid note.
@@stephendunmore6487 OK by me - No Win No Gain
@@stephendunmore6487 *That would sure start the 'Snowflakes' "totally omg awesome totally cool" **_Who is he by the Way ?_*
They would have no idea who he is.
We've bred a very weak generation who are prepared to mortgage our country and their future in return for Prosecco and Skiing holidays.
The good old Spit saved us in the Battle of Britain, as well as the Hurricane, two great fighter planes.
The only time my very 'proper' Victorian grandmother was know to swear was the night she saw the Germans destroying the city of Coventry.
In the process she was so angry she broke her false teeth !
poor woman i have false teeth gordon
I love these Timeline documentaries, they give me a perfect chance to test my knowledge and post my opinions, not always popular and sometimes I get things wrong, but I still do it, watch this space.
As good as both the Spitfire and Hurricanes were the one major weakness they initially had was their lack of firepower, the .303 machine guns just didn’t pack a big enough punch, once that weakness was rectified then they, and later types, were formidable and combined with excellent pilots they were the most effective fighters we had in the RAF.
Good old British weather, foiling the Luftwaffe, and getting Goering all upset and throwing teddies out his cot.
The change to the fuel system (stopgap as it was) really helped both. I can't imagine the guilt the one man who was so anti-fuel injection must have lived with over how much a single fools stubborn dislike of fuel injection cost.
The Spit was upgraded to cannons after the battle
British, Americans,Canadians, South Africans,Australian and New Zealand...etc all fought in this battle...from all over the Empire..
Absolutely Correct! It was a Team effort of the British Empire! Good Lad.
Only 7 Americans did.
yes and 1 of them for sure found the Bismark
@@towgod7985 Absolutely incorrect....Squadron 303 saved london..British pilots had 1 week flying time before London raid...Look it up on you tube...read one of the books..it was the Polish pilots who out gunned the Germans and save London,...then were thrown under the bus after the war..a true travesty of justice on England and USA part...Totally ungrateful,shameful conduct from Limeys and yanks.......Thank you Poland, with out you we would be speaking German today...
Polish, Americans, Free French -- people from all over the Empire! LOL ( :
Well done, Timeline. I've never heard of Timeline before but it reminds me of the 'Battlefield' series which were the best thing on US TV 15-20 years ago.The Hurricane and Spitfire pilots more than anyone else saved Britain. The Spitfire is a sleek powerful fighter but it took way too much historical attention away from the Hurricane that did the lion's share of the work. Wonderful documentary. This authentic footage is spectacular! The pilot interviews are illuminating! The master tactician Dowding knew what to do and Churchill was wise to listen.
God bless the British!
As long as one British person is alive, our country shan’t ever surrender!
A sincere "Thank You" to all of the 'Veterans' whose contribution to this brought it to life. I loved the bit about the Radar Pylons ! (at 20:50)
If the names "Spitfire" and "Hurricane" had been reversed, it could truly be said that *"Spitfires"* Won the Battle. (29:50)
You would think the Brits would be passive by there mannerisms but they know how to fight and fight smart. My people were from England
Totally agree. I'm Canadian with English, Irish and Scottish Highlander blood in my veins. Yes, we're polite....
As I understand it, Dowding didn't invent radar -- he wasn't a "boffin." But he created the whole system of using radar (and ground observations) to direct the battle. He "conceived the whole setup, the whole layout" for tracking enemy planes, directing RAF planes to respond, keeping a constant picture of whose planes were where, and managing the battle. A brilliant display of generalship.
Sad how Britain has changed . The Old Guard has passed. What a country she once was. God bless the English people and Blessings to all.
Thank you Lord Dowding you kept England in the war until my grandfather and all of America came to help.
No Americans were harmed in the making of this documentary.
10:31 There is no recoil on the stick. the eight machineguns are mounted in the wings and that much recoil would make your aircraft nearly impossible to fly.
Age range of those. Pilots were 18 all the way up to a few at 30, The average age of allied pilots was 20yrs if age. No matter how skilled you are, it must have been nerve racking at that age, amazing,
Thank you for another interesting documentary!
Stuffy keep the Island from being invaded. Thank goodness he held to his intuitive training!
Germany had no navy and their air force wasn't much. Small 2-engine bombers. I don't think they could have ever pulled off an attempted invasion despite their great army. Certainly not while they had their hands full with Russia.
Look at the huge fleet and air support used by the allies in Normandy. Germany didn't have anything like that. However, they could inflict a lot of logistical and psychological damage, and they did.
Stuffy Dowding's my fave hero of the early part of WW2. Pity he was shoddily treated by Churchill, listening too much to tactically and strategically misguided, or downright ambitious, others in Fighter Command.
@@mikebritcom3171 RAF bombers in 1940 weren't up to much until the 4-engined bombers came in. The Wellingtons and Hampdens were badly mauled by the Luftwaffe when used during the day and the Whitley was only used to drop leaflets for the majority of the Phoney War.
"Empty RAF planes, pilots dead, flew and fought themselves." As late as the 1960's when I was in history class (U.S.) our teacher said there had been many such instances, verified. "Of course," he added "that can't be true." Still those types of legends tell us about British morale. They were NOT going to lose. Even ghosts would fight for Britain.
Try You Tube for WW1 FIGHTER ACE AND PETROLHEAD REMEMBERING ALBERT BALL ....just one young man that went home ...a story still to be told
Really good documentary. Thanks.
27:04. This is an extraordinary documentary. Thanks
Having watched the whole of the film when it was first released, I still think one of the best sequences just after the Dunkirk debacle sequence
was when Ribbentrop played by Curt Jurgens had given Hitler's demands to Britains ambassador, played by John Gielgud, in Switzerland
it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Would that we had someone, like that ambassador, in Europe now!!!
Watch that sequence and you'll understand.🇬🇧
I agree: that was a fantastic scene. The British Ambassador was played by Ralph Richardson though.
Sir Keith Park was the New Zealander RAF vice Air Marshal who was solely responsible for the aerial defence of Britain. Dowding only created the infrastructure and vision - Sir Keith Park executed it. It’s in the history books and online if you need to research it. Britain was never alone during this fight. 127 New Zealand pilots were in the battle not counting those in bomber command and the ground crews.
Did u know when they engaged in a dogfight they were pulling 6G's and the pilots heads had roughly 70 pounds of force to fight against, some pilots struggled to lift their heads to keep a enemy plane in their gun sights
Thank you BBC for recovering that footage, beautiful to see high-quality video of those planes over the English Channel. I don't care if the Messerchmitts were Spanish knockoffs with Merlin engines. There's plenty of power-mad dictators today, but where are the Churchills, Roosevelts and Dowdings? We need to find them.
We (the U.S.) have them but voters keep being fooled ... as Trump conned so many. For example, Trump kept saying his health care would be "sooo much better" and no one asked for any details. The voters just believed him, those who voted for him.
We've got a power-mad Churchill biographer (readable, in a Boy's Own way) but not really a dictator; just tells people what they want to hear. I really do worry if another Roosevelt would get elected. Concerned about the disadvantaged despite being from a privileged background (hypocrite), dog-whistle "not able to stand up to..." headlines, unhealthy leanings towards what might be right rather than popular yet agonizing over the consequences of momentous decisions on ordinary young people. Nope, can't see that winning a UK election (or even party leadership).
Imagine being a pilot in one of those dogfights... the adrenaline, man...
when i was 13 i was so jealous of not being a spitfire pilot i was always so bored and dreamed of it
my brother in london saw a dog fight between a spitfire and a german plain in central london
I always wanted to bee in a ww2 fighter .been interesting in ww2 from a young age and that dream has been there all the time soaring over the fields with the sun in my back high up looking for victims.
Any interview with Gunther Rall is worth the time to listen to it.
There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack.
Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheel blocks
There's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before it's too late
My fave war video of all time,,,this melts my heart and makes me so proud.... ❤
Some of the dogfighting scenes in this movie were filmed over my house. In 1968, my family was living at RAF Feltwell, a WWII RAF bomber base that still had a grass airfield. Some of the scenes were also filmed on and over RAF Duxford, which is now the British War Museum's air museum - and not far from my old home. And, if the Luftwaffe's planes look odd? They're not Messerschmidts. They're licensed copies; Spanish Hispano-Aviation HA-112M1L Bouchons. When the movie was made, there were only a couple of airworthy BF 109s in the world. The Heinkel bombers are also Spanish copies. In a final irony, all of them are powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. none of that spoils the movie, though. It's one of my favorites, and I watch it often...
Spanish. Born in Madrid. Proud of Great Britain.
We love you Spain ❤️👍🇬🇧🇬🇧
I thought I'd create a simple "visual aid" in order to assist people learning about the history of the battle of Britain. There is much ongoing debate about the nationalities and proportions of RAF fighter pilots who took part in the battle, with a furtive aspect which attempts to portray the battle as a victory of mostly "Foreign pilots". Below is an accurate graphical representation of the proportion of pilot nationalities serving within RAF Fighter Command during the summer of 1940. Each flag is roughly equivalent to 30 pilots.
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧UK (2342)
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱 Poland (145)
🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿 New Zealand (127)
🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦 Canada (112)
🇨🇿🇨🇿🇨🇿 Czechoslovakia (88)
🇦🇺 Australia (32)
🇧🇪 Belgium (28)
🇿🇦 S. Africa (25) (1940 flag emoji not available)
🇺🇳 Other nations (France (13), R o Ireland (10), USA (9), Rhodesia (3), Newfoundland (1), Jamaica (1), Barbados (1))
(And just to preempt the idiot lefty "Identity warriors" from protesting about "The lack of credit given to the black pilots who fought in the battle of Britain"... the two pilots from the Caribbean were both of white British descent).
The bravest of the brave. Free nations should be forever grateful to their sacrifice.
we all owe them so much, it is the same sort of determination and spirit that makes us British and the one thing the EU have never understood and still don't
The Brits, like their American counterparts back then were incredibly brave & talented. No matter how bleak things looked, they leaned into the task ahead & refused to say surrender. Where do such people come from ? With today's kids I shudder to think what would happen if we found ourselves in that situation again. A recent poll over here showed a majority would run. Escape the country if we were invaded like Ukraine has been. So sad.
God bless the pilots of the RAF back then. I salute you gentlemen & RIP . 🙏 ❤🙏❤🙏❤
Well done R.A.F
@Philip Freeman It was their duty, honor, pride to defeat the advance of the Nazis, thank goodness for the Channel!
@@petedavid5127 I don't read all comments, so I don't remember yours. Bravo, though!
Only the strong survive never give never surrendered stay the course Bruce
@@marinazagrai1623 and radar
The 1968 Battle of Britain film had great music, lovely cinematography. Real son et lumiere.
Don't forget Susannah York in stockings!
She was hot in those days.
She even looked good with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth....................
'DON'T YOU YELL AT ME MR WARWICK!!'
Robert Ewalt Good movie watched it several times
The Brits had some important advantages. They were flying over their own territory, they had excellent fighters, the Spitfire, they had broken the German code.
they also had radar
still out numbered 4 - to 1 spitfire.
I think that the code breaking would be developed and used later than 1940 so would be of little use then, but was invaluable later, shortening the war by some 2 years, some say 3 years!
Britain and its empire stood alone.
History's first use of the strategy of Integrated Air Defence - Wunderbar!
Some of the RAF pilots shown in this video have written fascinating books about the battle -- Bob Doe, Tom Neil, and others.
My half-brother died when his Typhoon crashed in March 1943, and my first cousin died when his Hawker Hurricane Mark 1 crashed in March 1940.
My commiserations to you and thank you to them both.
So sorry for the loss of your valiant family members.
I watch this and I think, could my grandson at 19 have done this? Could he have flown and fought? Think of the maturity it took.
I am bursting with pride towards these fellows, I cannot but also feel deep distress at our carnage with fellow Saxons . #ww2
Confused Cius Fuq all fascists
@@pittsburghpirate58 Hmm? Define fascists?
You had me at "unseen footage from the feature film, Battle of Britain"