And how do YOU know Sailor Boy?????:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Should he have used the word 'suck' in the same sentence as sex?:hmm:

It didn't help much - did it?:D

Robbo, CaptainAsh.

I do recall from my History GCSE's that when Churchill ordered the bombing of several German cities, it was specifically to aggrivate Hitler enough, that he would be goaded into rather than bombing where they were bombing they bomb the cities thereby giving the RAF chance to recover. So if the Germans were bombing London and other major cities, rather than airbases, it was buying time.

Least thats what I thought.

I voted - One patrol:


I served on a destroyer during the First Gulf war 1991. I can recall on the trip over the pond to the gulf, all the drills and preparations. I can recall my fear of the unknown. "What is going to happen?" etc.

I remember standing on the starboard lookout cruising just off Bahrain at the End of January 1991 as the Coillition's(sp?) deadline for Iraq's withdrawel came and went. Night time. Hearing jet engines high above us as we closed up for action stations. Looking up and seeing squadrons! of jets flying north to bomb the crap out of Iraq.

There was no other feeling like it in my life. I remember thinking of the merchant marines on the freighters in WW2, the Corvette boys out of Halifax on convoy escort duty, and the U-Boat crews living in a metal tube. I decided I had it easy compared to them, but for one quick moment, I felt that I was part of a Brotherhood. Don't get me wrong--I could never walk in their shoes.

One patrol: it would show me what they went through.

I believe you are correct. The Hurricanes and Spitfires available were less than a handful.

It is quite possible about Churchill, but I know for sure at that time of the war, planes weren't our problem pilots were. Also our airfields were being bombed to cr#p. By shifting it over to city bombing our airfields were alowed to recover.
Actually airplanes are my pet subject, used to be a member of the crew of the Sally B which is a B17 that still flies as a memorial to the US airmen:D

I had thought the planes were lacking also. I will have to read "Where Eagles Fly" again.

I voted "no way." The way the question is worded, it is a purely optional thing. Given the chance, would I leave my happy wife and warm home (or warm wife and happy home, both are true) to risk life and limb in a terrifying, gut wrenching, horror of an experience? Of course not.

That's not the same question as asking "If some enemy, foreign or domestic, attacked your country, and you were called upon to serve, and the only weapon available to you was an old U-Boat, would you sail into battle?" The answer there is "of course I would, and damn the consequences."

Completely different set of circumstances. Hard to imagine any sane person deciding to hop in a U-Boat, go to war, to sink ships, to kill others, and to possibly be killed, for the sheer joy of it.

I really couldn't have put it better.

@ AVG I'm pretty sure that the low on planes (and don't get me wrong we WERE low on everything) comes about because the War Ministry did a "trade in your pots and pans for a Spitfire" push. Now we all know now that pots and pans and scrap metal in general are not going to build a Spitfire. But what it did was make ordinary people feel like they'd not only helped out in the war effort,but that they owned a little piece of that beautiful aircraft in the sky.A superb piece of propaganda that's still with us today.
Can I recommend "First Light by Geoffrey Wellum" a brilliant story of a Spitfire pilot.

Sorry for the hijack:oops:

Couldn't imagine doing the real thing.

knowing the outcome of ww2 and the fate of u-boats, i'd rather choose a different "experience" :stare:

IIRC the first bombing of Berlin happened due to a German bomber hitting London
Adolf had already promised no bombs would fall on Berlin so he switched plans

If only he knew how close they were to knocking the RAF out completely

Not a great comfort to all in the blitz but that change of tatics helped the RAF recover big time

Now theres a man you DONT want to give access to a time machime to

:rotfl:

No freakin' way in hell !!! It was stinky, hot, smelly, gross, filthy, stinky, stale smelling, stinky, and the almost no fresh air thing would KILL me. :dead:

If I am not mistaken, the 1st bomb that hit Berlin actually killed the only elephant in Germany.:huh: