Television WW2 Documentaries
 

Why oh why are so called historians always making glaring errors. I watched a programme on tv recently about the U boat. As someone who has studied Captain Walker RN is very great detail and have a site dedicated to him, AND spoken to his former sailors, I can spot mistakes a mile away.

1. "The americans invented the Hunter/Killer Groups". Free ranging ships that actively sought the U boats at sea and destroyed them.

Fact: Captain Walker attended anti submarine school before WW2, and developed the concept of the Hunter/Killer Groups whist in charge of Convoy HG76 escort. He went to his commanding officer, Admiral Horton CinC Western Approaches, a former submariner, and put the concept to him, he was 100% in favour and gave Walker 6 Black Swan class sloops with order, seek and destroy. Walker trained his own men into the best naval fighting unit in the war. His ideas/tactics were almost entirely adopted by the Royal Navy.

Admiral Horton, in WW1, 'invented' flying the Jolly Roger on homecoming after a successful patrol. Some stuck in the past idiots didnt like it, but it caught on until ALL subs flew the flag on return to base.

Also according to the 'experts' it was the american patrols that caught all the U boats, according to these morons, the Royal Navy must have stayed at home.

Now, either the experts are liars, or their researchers cannot do the jobs they are paid for. During the programme, there was mention also of a british invention, the Hedgehog, or forward throwing bombs that only exploded on impact. 'The Americans gave us the bomb' - oh really!! I even have had emails off the son of the inventor.

Finally, mention of 'american radar' but I nearly missed it - again, it was the British who invented radar and gave it to the States. Then, after the war, the USA presented GB with a massive war bill and made a fortune selling radar and the jet engine - around the world. :down:

I used to be a regular at a military history forum (now defunct as far as I know), and we would watch a documentary and spend the next day talking about all the things they got wrong.


Maybe the Americans were the first to use carrier-borne aircraft with them. Or maybe it was the Yanks who gave them that name. Or maybe not to both.

Of course it was the British who invented it. If it was the Americans it would have been called "Porcupine".

Jokes aside, you're right. My only disagreement would be the idea that it's just the Americans who do this. Every nation teaches that they did this or invented that. Sometimes finding out the truth is easy, and sometimes not. It's what makes research interesting.