Off Topic Battle of Britain

today is the battle of Britain remembrance day please spare a thought for all the brave souls who gave thier lives so that we may live in peace

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The BBC have been running a series of programs featuring the pilots that were still alive from both sides and the stories they tell are both uplifting but also chilling at times. The Luftwaffe made so many mistakes when the RAF were virtually on their knees and all along their pilots were told the British were down to just a handful of fighters. There was one German pilot who described when they crossed the channel in their hundreds they were suddenly under attack by a swarm of Spitfires and Hurricanes, they were terrified whereas a few weeks earlier they were full of confidence they would sweep the RAF from the skies.
Very brave men, average age 22, it's true to say they saved the world from the Nazis. If Britain fell the Americans would never have got involved as they would have had no foothold in Europe.
Just too add Roger, great picture thanks for posting.

 

thanks you for your input mate and for the heads up on that BBC show, i will watch it late,I lost a lot of family members due to both wars, as they were never short of volunteers from my family when called upon, navy army but no air force but very brave lads rest in peace

 

My uncle flew the Lancaster bombers and he showed me some photos of some of the planes he landed and some only had a cockpit a tail and the wings the middle was just the wood rings that held it together others had the bodies peeled back like a sardine tin, brave buggers all of them.

 

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few'

I couldn't be more proud of my branch of service for what they achieved in WWII and I have to agree with @old lads fan (biased lol), it was a huge turning point in the war and crucial in saving the world from the Nazis.

And thanks for the picture @Makemstine Roger. The Spitfire is one of THE most beautiful and majestic things in the world and my favourite aircraft, I bloody love it and a flight in her is on my bucket list. I also have a tattoo of one in my military sleeve as well as the 'Ace of Aces' Johnnie Johnson, both fairly prominent!

 

my RAF hero was Duggie Bader of Colditz fame

 

a man by the same name is also a northern soul favorite

 

Not forgetting the Polish Air Force pilots who played their part in that victory, despite initial misgivings by those on high.

 

when they got excited in battle they spoke only Polish so nee fekker understood them, that why they had an English officer who spoke Polish in charge, the Polish Parachute Regiment also fought at Arnhem, hard as feck them boys, nee body bothered them

 

Poles and the Czechs lost more lives than any other pilots in the battle of Britain. All of them though have the utmost respect from me, not only raf but all the men and women who fought and worked. Hero's and heroines the lot of them

 

There are a few pilots buried in Houghton Cemetery, i used to pay my respects to when i lived in England, quite a few Sunderland People died using the air raid shelter that was the railway tunnel to Hendon docks, it took a direct hit as they were trying to plaster the docks, [A

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It can only be imagined now, but those bomber crews must have had nerves of steel to fly those missions. Every one of them a hero in my eyes.

 

When I started working in 72 there was one bloke who was ground crew on the spits during the battle of britain. Another was a captured U boat crew member who stayed over here after the war. The man I used to walk to work with was a tail gunner on a lancaster. He had had his face burned and they had to graft skin from his bum onto his face. He used to tell his wife to "kiss my arse" every time he was leaving the house to go to work . Fuc*ing legends all of our forces who fought during the war.

 

Definitely, they played a critical role in the BoB and it was shocking how they were treat after the war.

Edit: If you haven't seen the movie Hurricane, I recommend it. It's very good and shows an insight in to what they went through before, during and after coming to the UK to help fight the Nazis.

 

i heard we handed them back to the Russians who didn't want fighting men back, so had to use ways to keep them quiet and get rid

 

That chrome extension is blocked mate. Some clever IT person on here might be able to tell me how to get past it

 

its a picture of the place that took the hit if you go on google maps of sunderland look at the bottom of lawrence street there is a railway tunnel at the bottom and on satellite a picture of the place now, but they never put a plaque there, just repaired the traditional stone with house bricks.

 

Will have a search for it.

 

Yes, basically locked them up and threw away the keys. Typical Soviet Block.

 

I always think of the pilots but also the ground crew, mechanics, etc who worked around the clock and were subject to German Air raids.

Must have been dreadful