Battle of Britain, German point of view program
Discussion
There really are some great Battle of Britain programmes on the beeb at the moment, I've just finished watching Battle of Britain: The South Coast Trail (recorded from BBC4, sure it will be on the iPlayer) which was very good - it was talking to survivors (on the ground and a pilot) in the location where their story happened. A Hurricane pilot who bailed out was at the site of his crashed plane, a metal detectorist gave him a few of the pieces of plane that had been dug up.
Tango13 said:
A program exploring the Battle of Britain from the German point of view.
Just finished watching it: thought it was very good - enjoyed it a lot.Was it perhaps a bit of an over-analysis to conclude that it wasn't really a close run thing? Surely the RAF was outnumbered at the start, and could easily have been wiped out had the radar installations been targeted. I thought the assertion that Germany was fighting the Empire rather than one country was also a bit confusing: it's not as if Canada, Australia or India were going to start bombing Germany if Britain had fallen in August 1940 is it? Presumably I've missed the point of that one.
A lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' for both arguements, but you can't change the outcome. The fact that the Germans made a few cock-ups doesn't really lessen the achievement of 'the few', or the British air defence system IMO. Happy to be corrected; I'm no historian!
I thought it was a good documentary, nice to see some one dig that bit deeper to give a much more balenced view.
Although they did fail to mention the fact that we were eaves-dropping on their pre-raid radio checks to gather an indication of raid strength. The Luftwaffe did exactly the same to us when Bomber Command went on the offensive later on in the war.
It was also good to see mention of Beaverbrooks contribution to aircraft production and how the shortage of pilots was such a problem.
Although they did fail to mention the fact that we were eaves-dropping on their pre-raid radio checks to gather an indication of raid strength. The Luftwaffe did exactly the same to us when Bomber Command went on the offensive later on in the war.
It was also good to see mention of Beaverbrooks contribution to aircraft production and how the shortage of pilots was such a problem.
Simpo Two said:
Tango13 said:
It was also good to see mention of Beaverbrooks contribution to aircraft production and how the shortage of pilots was such a problem.
Beaverbrook on one side, Speer on the other. Both did well.Eric Mc said:
Simpo Two said:
Tango13 said:
It was also good to see mention of Beaverbrooks contribution to aircraft production and how the shortage of pilots was such a problem.
Beaverbrook on one side, Speer on the other. Both did well.Eric Mc said:
Speer wasn't in charge of German war production during the Battle of Britain.
True, he was brought in later when mass bombing was seriously affecting German war production.The source of the labour is another matter. I suppose if you have no other labour and your country is losing, you get desperate.
Balmoral Green said:
It was good to see the Luftwaffe pilot still flying aged 93, are any of ours still flying I wonder?
I doubt it, not with a licence ay any rate.I knew there was now only a hundred or so of the 'Few' left, but, I was a bit
when the presenter said you only need two hands to count the remaining Luftwaffe BofB veterans...although I pressumed he meant Jagdflieger (fighter pilots) as opposed to all Luftwaffe aircrew...?aeropilot said:
Balmoral Green said:
It was good to see the Luftwaffe pilot still flying aged 93, are any of ours still flying I wonder?
I doubt it, not with a licence ay any rate.I knew there was now only a hundred or so of the 'Few' left, but, I was a bit
when the presenter said you only need two hands to count the remaining Luftwaffe BofB veterans...although I pressumed he meant Jagdflieger (fighter pilots) as opposed to all Luftwaffe aircrew...?The Germans did not have a system of rotation and resting their aircrew nor did German bomber crews fly a fixed number of operations. They just flew until they were killed either in an accident or in action.
PHmember said:
Having read 'First Light' & 'Fighter Boys', both are brilliant books, but does anybody know of a decent book giving an account of life in the Luftwaffe?
'Spitfire on my Tail' by Ulrich Steinhilper (one of a trilogy going on to describe his life as a POW in Canada) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-My-Tail-View-Othe...'I Flew for the Fuhrer' by Heinz Knoke www.amazon.co.uk/flew-Fuhrer-Cassell-Military-Pape...
'Heaven Next Stop' by Gunther Bloemertz www.amazon.co.uk/Heaven-Next-Stop-Luftwaffe-Fighte...
All a good read but the chronology is a bit scrambled in the first one.
PHmember said:
Having read 'First Light' & 'Fighter Boys', both are brilliant books, but does anybody know of a decent book giving an account of life in the Luftwaffe?
I've read as many of the german accounts as I can, the best IMO is one by a Luftwaffe (obviously 
) Me262 pilot, whose name I've forgotten and which I stupidly gave back to the chap* who lent it to me. AbeBooks wasn't around then and I couldn't find a copy, it was long out of print.- Tour drummer with BB King and session drummer with Hendrix, BTW.
Just noticed this - 'Ten Fighter Boys'. Haven't heard of it before but it gets good reviews: www.amazon.co.uk/Ten-Fighter-Boys-Jimmy-Corbin/dp/...
I propose this for a TV mini-series and EricMc can direct it
I propose this for a TV mini-series and EricMc can direct it
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 23 September 20:38
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