75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain remembered

[Aardvark154]

The RCAF CF-18 Demonstration Team will this summer be painted in a pattern like those of Hawker Hurricanes flown by RCAF pilots during the war.

Likewise the RAF Typhoon Demonstration Team will this summer be painted in a pattern like that used by Supermarine Spitfires.


A nice way of remembering a rather desperate time.

 

[nottyboi]

Nice gesture to commemorate the first time in history a nation was saved by air power.

 

[GPIDEAL]

God-awful beautiful!

I wonder if we'll see any at the CNE Air Show?

 

[Aardvark154]

God-awful beautiful!

I wonder if we'll see any at the CNE Air Show?

Presumably at least the CF-18 Demonstration Team, don't they usually take part?

 

[oil&gas]

Ron Goodwin's Battle of Britain march music is one admirable
tribute to the heroism of the Royal Air Force.

 

[nottyboi]

Ron Goodwin's Battle of Britain march music is one admirable
tribute to the heroism of the Royal Air Force.

Very inspirational but WTF is there an image of a Junkers instead of a Hurricane or Spitfire? And if so, shouldn't the Junkers be aflame?

 

[james t kirk]

Thank god for Neville Chamberlain commissioning the Spitfire and the Hurricane.

 

[mindingmyownbusiness]

Sorry to take this thread slightly off-topic but seeing the CF-18 and Typhoon painted the same reminds me of how dumb the decision to pursue the F-35 as the replacement of the CF-18.
The Typhoon would be a much better replacement (remember when two-engine was the minimum requirement?) the F-35 does not have the range to cover our Arctic frontier.

 

[nottyboi]

Sorry to take this thread slightly off-topic but seeing the CF-18 and Typhoon painted the same reminds me of how dumb the decision to pursue the F-35 as the replacement of the CF-18.
The Typhoon would be a much better replacement (remember when two-engine was the minimum requirement?) the F-35 does not have the range to cover our Arctic frontier.

If you really look at it the su -35 is the best plane for the job...but of course that will never happen

 

[nottyboi]

Thank god for Neville Chamberlain commissioning the Spitfire and the Hurricane.

I always felt his agreement with Hitler was to buy time, as Britain was ill prepared for war at that time. The fact that he continued rearmament shows he was not convinced that Hitler could be trusted.

 

[SkyRider]

Question: How close did Britain came to losing the Battle of Britain?

 

[SkyRider]

I always felt his agreement with Hitler was to buy time, as Britain was ill prepared for war at that time.

I thought I saw in previous threads on WW II that Britain and France were actually more prepared for war than Germany.

 

[GPIDEAL]

I always felt his agreement with Hitler was to buy time, as Britain was ill prepared for war at that time. The fact that he continued rearmament shows he was not convinced that Hitler could be trusted.

Then he deserves more credit.

 

[GPIDEAL]

Presumably at least the CF-18 Demonstration Team, don't they usually take part?

Haven't been in awhile.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are incredible (saw them fly around in Etobicoke a few years ago).

BTW, saw on the news that it was the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.

 

[nottyboi]

Question: How close did Britain came to losing the Battle of Britain?

When the Germans targeted their airfields, RAF fighter operations were close to collapse. But when the Germans started bombing London it was the respite the RAF needed to strike back. Also Britain relented and inducted Polish fighter pilots, and they turned out to be mean angry MOFOs thirsty for some Nazi blood. They KICKED GERMAN ASS.

 

[nottyboi]

I thought I saw in previous threads on WW II that Britain and France were actually more prepared for war than Germany.

Its hard to say, Naval power yes. Politically no. I think if Chamberlain delivered an ultimatum and then had the Royal navy destroy all German shipping and blockade Germany into oblivion, it may have worked. But I also think Germany had enough air power to do the RN serious harm already at that time. France and Britain were quite powerful, most of Germanys early victories came due to tactical superiority vs outright strength.

 

[mandrill]

Its hard to say, Naval power yes. Politically no. I think if Chamberlain delivered an ultimatum and then had the Royal navy destroy all German shipping and blockade Germany into oblivion, it may have worked. But I also think Germany had enough air power to do the RN serious harm already at that time. France and Britain were quite powerful, most of Germany's early victories came due to tactical superiority vs outright strength.

This would have been possible - maybe - in 1939 when the Germans didn't have French, Dutch and Norwegian airbases. Even so, steaming your capital ships within the range of the other side's bombers was not a good idea. The British lost an aircraft carrier doing exactly that with the Japanese in 1942.

The first year of WW2 is fascinating. It should have ended with a stalemate along the German border. France and Britain were too strong. Well, make that France. And the Allies were not aggressive enough to really want to attack the Germans. What made WW2 the life and death mega war it turned into was the idea of von Manstein and Guderian to infiltrate mobile armoured columns through the Ardennes and run for the Channel cutting the French army in half and forcing the British to leave their heavy equipment behind and evacuate at Dunkirk. The most brilliant and revolutionary concept since Hannibal crossed the Alps with elephants and attacked Rome. And it worked. France was smashed within a month. Britain was castrated and confined to its island. The U-boats suddenly had bases along the Atlantic coast to put Britain under siege. And the German army was free to turn East and wreak havoc on the woefully under prepared Soviet Union.

It gave Hitler 2 and a half years of absolute military supremacy in Europe before the US was in a position to intervene and reverse the course of the war.

 

[james t kirk]

When the Germans targeted their airfields, RAF fighter operations were close to collapse. But when the Germans started bombing London it was the respite the RAF needed to strike back. Also Britain relented and inducted Polish fighter pilots, and they turned out to be mean angry MOFOs thirsty for some Nazi blood. They KICKED GERMAN ASS.

Love this scene

"Repeat please" "Repeat please"

"Stop that Polish chatter"

 

[james t kirk]

Turn up the bass on this one.

 

[nottyboi]

Love this scene

"Repeat please" "Repeat please"

"Stop that Polish chatter"

This documentary gives an excellent account of their contribution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptijNcDanVw

I was really amazed when I saw it.