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79 Years Ago the Battle of Britain Began

Carjosse

Carjosse

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79 years ago today the Battle of Britain began, the only thing standing between Hitler and victory was the RAF. Democracy's last line of defense. My grandfather who lived through it said that as long as you could see or hear the Spitfires you knew the Germans had not won. Many brave pilots from many different countries fought including Americans who decided that they would rather fight for freedom and democracy instead of sitting idly by.

It is part of WWII history that I have seen many documentaries and series gloss over because it happened before Pearl Harbour so it is relegated to a few minutes of bullet points as Americans produce most of the documentaries on WWII. It is a shame, outside the UK many people do not understand the significance or the sacrifice involved in the Battle of Britain both from the RAF and those on the ground.

If you have not seen it I recommenced the 1969 film Battle of Britain, it has an amazing cast including Micheal Caine and Christopher Plummer. It also does not fail to include the efforts of pilots from Canada, Poland, Free France, etc. Documentary wise I always recommend World at War (think it is on Netflix now), it is British produced so it doesn't fall into the trap of glossing over everything before Pearl Harbour and it is was made in the 1970s so it has interviews with many people who died many years ago including Richard Tregaskis recounting the events of Guadalcanal and French generals explaining the Battle for France. It goes in depth on pretty much aspect fo the war including the Battle of Britain.
 
Thanks to my great grandfather, the Germans lost 23 fighters, 10 bombers, and 57 pilots and crew.

Worst mechanic the Luftwaffe ever had.
 
Jredbaron96 said:
Thanks to my great grandfather, the Germans lost 23 fighters, 10 bombers, and 57 pilots and crew.

Worst mechanic the Luftwaffe ever had.
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:lamo
 
Carjosse said:
79 years ago today the Battle of Britain began, the only thing standing between Hitler and victory was the RAF....
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No it wasn't

Pick up an atlas and check out the tidal body of water to England's South.

Britain still has the world's largest navy in 1940.


...my grandfather who lived through it said that as long as you could see or hear the Spitfires you knew the Germans had not won....
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Wile questioning your grandfather's ability to distinguish a Spitfire engine from that of a Hurricane, you would still hear Spitfire engines even if the Germans HAD won.
They were still in production and at the end of the battle the RAF had more planes than it started with.


...it is part of WWII history that I have seen many documentaries and series gloss over because it happened before Pearl Harbour so it is relegated to a few minutes of bullet points as Americans produce most of the documentaries on WWII. It is a shame, outside the UK many people do not understand the significance or the sacrifice involved in the Battle of Britain both from the RAF and those on the ground...
Click to expand...

Dunkirk was way more important.


...if you have not seen it I recommenced the 1969 film Battle of Britain, it has an amazing cast including Micheal Caine and Christopher Plummer. It also does not fail to include the efforts of pilots from Canada, Poland, Free France, etc. Documentary wise I always recommend World at War (think it is on Netflix now), it is British produced so it doesn't fall into the trap of glossing over everything before Pearl Harbour and it is was made in the 1970s so it has interviews with many people who died many years ago including Richard Tregaskis recounting the events of Guadalcanal and French generals explaining the Battle for France. It goes in depth on pretty much aspect fo the war including the Battle of Britain.
Click to expand...


It's a very melodramatic film that ends all of a sudden, like the production company ran out of money.

It would benefit from a re-make with some talented script writers including some Germans to explain the German POV...it would also hep if the German commander Goering wasn't played by a comedy actor,


Basically the BoB and Sea Lion was a big bluff.
 
Carjosse said:
79 years ago today the Battle of Britain began, the only thing standing between Hitler and victory was the RAF.
Click to expand...

... and the English Channel.
 
Carjosse said:
79 years ago today the Battle of Britain began, the only thing standing between Hitler and victory was the RAF. Democracy's last line of defense. My grandfather who lived through it said that as long as you could see or hear the Spitfires you knew the Germans had not won. Many brave pilots from many different countries fought including Americans who decided that they would rather fight for freedom and democracy instead of sitting idly by.

It is part of WWII history that I have seen many documentaries and series gloss over because it happened before Pearl Harbour so it is relegated to a few minutes of bullet points as Americans produce most of the documentaries on WWII. It is a shame, outside the UK many people do not understand the significance or the sacrifice involved in the Battle of Britain both from the RAF and those on the ground.

If you have not seen it I recommenced the 1969 film Battle of Britain, it has an amazing cast including Micheal Caine and Christopher Plummer. It also does not fail to include the efforts of pilots from Canada, Poland, Free France, etc. Documentary wise I always recommend World at War (think it is on Netflix now), it is British produced so it doesn't fall into the trap of glossing over everything before Pearl Harbour and it is was made in the 1970s so it has interviews with many people who died many years ago including Richard Tregaskis recounting the events of Guadalcanal and French generals explaining the Battle for France. It goes in depth on pretty much aspect fo the war including the Battle of Britain.
Click to expand...

Pearl Harbour? That was the time America suffered a surprise attack two years into a global war?
 
Rich2018 said:
It would benefit from a re-make with some talented script writers including some Germans to explain the German POV...it would also hep if the German commander Goering wasn't played by a comedy actor,
Click to expand...

Well to be fair the German perspective lends itself to a comedic interpretation.

"Herr Kommadant, how goes the air war over Britain?"

"Well we don't have the bombers really suited for this mission, our intelligence is completely unreliable, we're not making a dent in British production, we're hemorrhaging planes and pilots faster than we can replace them, and our best crews are dead and we probably won't ever recover from losing so many valuable personnel."

"This is awful! What if we started bombing cities instead?"

"Well, organized air raids like that would lower losses since they're easier to defend."

"Would it help us win?"

"Eh..."
 
Jredbaron96 said:
Well to be fair the German perspective lends itself to a comedic interpretation.

"Herr Kommadant, how goes the air war over Britain?"

"Well we don't have the bombers really suited for this mission, our intelligence is completely unreliable, we're not making a dent in British production, we're hemorrhaging planes and pilots faster than we can replace them, and our best crews are dead and we probably won't ever recover from losing so many valuable personnel."

"This is awful! What if we started bombing cities instead?"

"Well, organized air raids like that would lower losses since they're easier to defend."

"Would it help us win?"

"Eh..."
Click to expand...

Comedy dross

For Germany the BoB was a bluff to see if Britain would stop fighting. That's all


The German keep upping the ante to increase the pressure for an armistice, but under Churchill, the British wouldn't quit.
 
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