World War II: In Praise of the RAF

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

In Photo number 3

Either the guy on the left is a Chess Master, or the guy on the right is terrible.

[Oberon]

Indeed to both, no disrespect intended to either side but I'm rather glad the Luftwaffe lost. Not that any potential Sea Lion wouldn't have run into a whole herd of difficulties which would have buggered up any plans for Barbarossa.
But yes, Hitler and Goring, and heck, most of the Nazi high command were key factors in the loss of not only the Battle of Britain but the entire war.
It was close in late August, before the Blitz began, not so much in terms of pilots and aircraft, the factories were churning out Spits and Hurris nine to the dozen, and pilots, admittedly inexperienced ones, were coming online at a growing rate (particularly when the Poles and other nationalities were allowed to join in), however it was the availability of airfields that lead Park to want to move the aircraft north of London, and if he had done that, it would have given less time to scramble and intercept and put more reliance on standing patrols.
Perhaps another thing which influenced the German decision that Operation Sea Lion was not worth it was the possible incursion at Shingle Street in August 1940 which was beaten back by shore based infantry and the flaming sea technique. However, whether this incursion actually happened is another thing entirely, there are eyewitness reports that say it did but the government says that it didn't and the information about it is classified until 2021.

http://www.shford.fslife.co.uk/Shing...etail=overview

TLDR? (or perhaps that should be TDDR [Too Drunk Didn't Read]?)

Yes and yes to your statement.

[Gerald]

Interesting site and article that you reference to,but 2021 maybe going to shake out more information before its,

[Oberon]

Something might get dropped before then, but I doubt it.

However, looking at the date of the supposed raid, 31st August 1940, and colleralating it with reports from the Battle of Britain indicate that the RAF had suffered its greatest losses during that day, several recon flights were made over Suffolk by the Luftwaffe, and the 11 Group airfields got severely pounded in several raids, with RAF losses getting to the point that 12 Group had to come to assist. This was about the nadir of the RAFs strength, and the perfect time to test the strengths or weaknesses of the British coastal fortifications, particularly in the supposedly weakly defended East Anglian coast.
Shingle street was a perfect location, windswept, desolate, miles from any major towns, however right next door to the birthplace of the Chain Home RADAR system at Bawdsey and the weapons testing facilities at Orford Ness. Even if a full seaborne invasion could not take place then some good chances at sabotage could take place, particularly since some reports indicate that some of the bodies found were in British uniforms, so either British casualties or Germans dressed as Brits.
The failure of the raid and the heavy casualties suffered, added to the turning of the tide with a week when the Luftwaffe started heavy bombing raids on London, culminating on 15th September raid which saw heavy Luftwaffe losses could well be what caused the postponement of Sea Lion.

But, like I said, we won't know anything for sure until 2021 and only then if it doesn't get pushed back again.

[Gerald]

The authorities keep things hidden for a while or forever, is no secret, in this particular case purely spontaneous, I think that is a bit strange to sit with the facts until 2021, WWII was not over yesterday, so of course there is a underlying cause of this...

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Nevertheless, no matter the country, pilots have always place in my heart, if only one day I could fly up there.

But no, thank you "god".

Why don't you try out gliders. It's comparably cheap and lets you be a pilot. I had always dreamt of flying motorplanes, but since I've started flying gliders I don't miss the noise at all any more. Actually I've come to dislike flying in loud prop jobs and enjoy the quiet beauty of just gliding through the air (and desperately searching for some thermal that could give you some altitude).

[DarkFish]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Why don't you try out gliders.

This is why:

Originally Posted by Dowly

EFIT: And I', drunkt

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schöneboom

Eventually Winnie did get it right:

yes he most certainly did

[Catfish]

Some other less-known story:
http://www.waltsrchanger.com/html/b-...olde_pub_.html

And let me say i would not be here, if not a RAF pilot had spared my father in 1940, in his shot-up 52/3m.

Also a nice short film in german - don't read the comments until you saw it, it somehow spoils the effect:

English subtitles:


Making of "Der letzte Flug/The last flight":



And kudos to the RAF

Greetings,
Catfish

[Buddahaid]

Sealion was doomed from the start by too little to late.
More troops would have drowned than made shore in those river barges crossing the channel.

[Gorduz]

A very nice film indeed!