Battle of Britain Pilot
Discussion
The last remaining fighter pilot from WW2 has passed away at 101
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-51...
Thankyou for your serivce and have fun flying those aeroplanes up there!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-51...
Thankyou for your serivce and have fun flying those aeroplanes up there!
Not quite.
He was the last "battle of Britain ace" - a pilot with over 5 kills.
Still very sad.
My grandfather is still alive, at 97. He was however, in the Luftwaffe. Ironically, he's the only living family member I have who's served in the military, and therefore the most interested in my stories from the British Army!
He was the last "battle of Britain ace" - a pilot with over 5 kills.
Still very sad.
My grandfather is still alive, at 97. He was however, in the Luftwaffe. Ironically, he's the only living family member I have who's served in the military, and therefore the most interested in my stories from the British Army!
matthias73 said:
Not quite.
He was the last "battle of Britain ace" - a pilot with over 5 kills.
Still very sad.
My grandfather is still alive, at 97. He was however, in the Luftwaffe. Ironically, he's the only living family member I have who's served in the military, and therefore the most interested in my stories from the British Army!
Amazing how some of these ex war military lost so many friends but manage themselves to live to (really) ripe old ages!He was the last "battle of Britain ace" - a pilot with over 5 kills.
Still very sad.
My grandfather is still alive, at 97. He was however, in the Luftwaffe. Ironically, he's the only living family member I have who's served in the military, and therefore the most interested in my stories from the British Army!
Was your grandfather captured or a prisoner or did he move here? What did he fly? Bet his story is worth listening to. Has he ever written anything?
Saleen836 said:
The last remaining fighter pilot from WW2 has passed away at 101
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-51...
Thankyou for your serivce and have fun flying those aeroplanes up there!
Not by a long shot is he the last remaining WW2 fighter pilot.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-51...
Thankyou for your serivce and have fun flying those aeroplanes up there!
Byker28i said:
I'm surprised there's any left as it happened almost 80 years ago. You get used to modern advances lengthening life but with what that generation went through, they were a tough lot.
Not only that but they were most likely born in the 1910's and 1920's so not a great time to be a child either as many childhood diseases were still prevalentover_the_hill said:
Not only that but they were most likely born in the 1910's and 1920's so not a great time to be a child either as many childhood diseases were still prevalent
We're looking at survivors - yes, loads died of stuff that is curable today, but for those who didn't it was a fairly good time to grow up. We knew the basics, so a reasonably well fed kid could be as healthy as today. Most importantly, they weren't fat, and they did loads of exercise. What I find most amazing is the mental fortitude. My dad was a bank manager when WWII started, he spent the first 3 years of the war trying to kill mattias73's grandad (AA Artillery during the Blitz), then drove self propelled guns in Normandy, and took a load of shell splinters at Falaise which ended his war in short order. His tank took a direct hit a week later, so from my point of view, the shell splinters were good. By the time he was back on his feet, the war was over, so he went back to being a bank manager. Just like that.
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Ayahuasca said:
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Most of them really weren’t “perfectly ok” at all but culture of the times dictated that because they were men, they were unable to discuss it so it went unspoken. More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 31st January 14:59
pablo said:
Most of them really weren’t “perfectly ok” at all but culture of the times dictated that because they were men, they were unable to discuss it so it went unspoken.
Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
I meant the post-war conflicts - Vietnam and the Falklands. Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
Edited by pablo on Friday 31st January 14:59
Ayahuasca said:
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Are soldiers who died in conflict veterans? More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
pablo said:
Most of them really weren’t “perfectly ok” at all but culture of the times dictated that because they were men, they were unable to discuss it so it went unspoken.
Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
I don't know what the difference is. In common with pretty much everyone who fought, he must have seen some horrific things. He didn't talk about it at all, the only account I remember hearing is when he ran someone over in Normandy - some poor German piled out of a hedge, might have had a grenade, so got flattened. And then everyone he'd shared a sweaty tank with for 6 months got killed while he was in hospital getting metal picked out of his legs. For all that, he was a perfectly "normal" bloke, got on with his job, raised a family and put the whole experience in the mental box marked "do not open". Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
Edited by pablo on Friday 31st January 14:59
I was lucky enough for my flight instructor to be an ex RAF instructor following his several tours on bombers, who to use an old cliché had forgotten more about flying than I ever learned.
Much of my earlier flying was done with friends, who were war time fighter, and bomber pilots, from whom it was a struggle to get them to talk about what they did.
Regretfully and inevitably, most of them are gone now, but one thing was for sure, they were outstanding people and pilots, and considering what they did, braver than I suspect many of us around today might be. God Bless them all.
Much of my earlier flying was done with friends, who were war time fighter, and bomber pilots, from whom it was a struggle to get them to talk about what they did.
Regretfully and inevitably, most of them are gone now, but one thing was for sure, they were outstanding people and pilots, and considering what they did, braver than I suspect many of us around today might be. God Bless them all.
Ayahuasca said:
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
My late father served in WW2. Would never talk about it, other than he served as a Desert Rat in Egypt.More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
I only ever knew him as an alcoholic who smoked a lot, and I found out in the last couple of years, that when my parents met, he was homeless. When he returned from the War, he was a very different person, so I’m told, and I feel fairly certain he had PTSD.
To make the leap that veterans of WW2 somehow had different biology and weren’t as susceptible to PTSD is naive in the extreme.
The only real difference between then and modern day veterans would be the complete bizarre contrast between going on tour, fighting with an enemy determined to kill you then returning home to an ignorant peaceful place. That must f
k with the head.
At least with WW2 everyone knew what was going on and that coming home was the end of it...
However I thoroughly believe that PTSD rates were probably identical between modern veterans and that of WW2.
The only real difference between then and modern day veterans would be the complete bizarre contrast between going on tour, fighting with an enemy determined to kill you then returning home to an ignorant peaceful place. That must f
k with the head.At least with WW2 everyone knew what was going on and that coming home was the end of it...
However I thoroughly believe that PTSD rates were probably identical between modern veterans and that of WW2.
Trevatanus said:
Ayahuasca said:
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
My late father served in WW2. Would never talk about it, other than he served as a Desert Rat in Egypt.More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
I only ever knew him as an alcoholic who smoked a lot, and I found out in the last couple of years, that when my parents met, he was homeless. When he returned from the War, he was a very different person, so I’m told, and I feel fairly certain he had PTSD.
As a kid the only stories he'd tell me about the war were from before they went into action, all the wheeling and dealing to get different food for the men, like swapping cases of bully beef with a local farmer for a pig etc.
dandarez said:
Amazing how some of these ex war military lost so many friends but manage themselves to live to (really) ripe old ages!
Was your grandfather captured or a prisoner or did he move here? What did he fly? Bet his story is worth listening to. Has he ever written anything?
He still lives in Germany. Was your grandfather captured or a prisoner or did he move here? What did he fly? Bet his story is worth listening to. Has he ever written anything?
His unit tried bombing the Russians by the Oder river but couldn't get through due to flak. His commander made the call to fly the entire unit, including groundcrew, to the west once their position became untenable. They landed in a field and torched the planes, then got captured by Americans.
He found himself in east Germany at his girlfriend's house (my gran) and settled there. When the east German state became unworkable, he escaped to the west with his family, having been offered work pioneering the transistor radio in west Germany.
They spent the next 3 years in refugee housing while he worked as an engineer. On weekends, he worked in a building site for free so he could learn how to build a house. He then drew blueprints for a house, had them approved and proceeded to build it by hand with help from 2 Italians labourers he knew from the war.
My mother came to the UK in the mid 70s.
My family still lives there, sadly he had to move to a care home with my gran when she was dying, he still lives there now, as he requires a lot of care, as he's basically blind and can't walk unassisted.
He routinely escapes the care home, often using an electric wheelchair. He was able to modify the resistor prior to losing his sight so it'll hit about 15mph. They normally catch him at the bratwurst shop down the road.
pablo said:
Ayahuasca said:
As far as I know there was not the mass PTSD after WWII service that there has been after Vietnam, Falklands, etc.
More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Most of them really weren’t “perfectly ok” at all but culture of the times dictated that because they were men, they were unable to discuss it so it went unspoken. More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts. But not after WWII. As has been mentioned, after it was over the veterans returned to civilian life and most of them were perfectly OK.
Pat Barkers excellent “Regeneration” trilogy is well worth a read
Your first comment makes no sense. “More veterans have committed suicide than died in the conflicts” when 21,000,000+ died in the conflicts?
Edited by pablo on Friday 31st January 14:59
matthias73 said:
dandarez said:
Amazing how some of these ex war military lost so many friends but manage themselves to live to (really) ripe old ages!
Was your grandfather captured or a prisoner or did he move here? What did he fly? Bet his story is worth listening to. Has he ever written anything?
He still lives in Germany. Was your grandfather captured or a prisoner or did he move here? What did he fly? Bet his story is worth listening to. Has he ever written anything?
His unit tried bombing the Russians by the Oder river but couldn't get through due to flak. His commander made the call to fly the entire unit, including groundcrew, to the west once their position became untenable. They landed in a field and torched the planes, then got captured by Americans.
He found himself in east Germany at his girlfriend's house (my gran) and settled there. When the east German state became unworkable, he escaped to the west with his family, having been offered work pioneering the transistor radio in west Germany.
They spent the next 3 years in refugee housing while he worked as an engineer. On weekends, he worked in a building site for free so he could learn how to build a house. He then drew blueprints for a house, had them approved and proceeded to build it by hand with help from 2 Italians labourers he knew from the war.
My mother came to the UK in the mid 70s.
My family still lives there, sadly he had to move to a care home with my gran when she was dying, he still lives there now, as he requires a lot of care, as he's basically blind and can't walk unassisted.
He routinely escapes the care home, often using an electric wheelchair. He was able to modify the resistor prior to losing his sight so it'll hit about 15mph. They normally catch him at the bratwurst shop down the road.
My uncle (and godfather) was a pre-WW2 army regular a gunner in the RA, and went to France with the BEF, evacuated at Dunkirk, and then sent to the middle east, later becoming a Sgt. and taking part in the Battle of El Alamain.
He was sent on a SNCO course back in UK after that and ended the war as a WO in the REME. He served after the war and did his full 22 years retiring in 1959. His last 3 years in the army was in BAOR in Germany, and when some of the local base German civvie workers found out he had been with the 8th Army in North Africa, he was invited to join his local Afrika Korps veterans association where he was welcomed with opens arms and consumed much beer.
I know quite a few Austrians and Germans who had fathers and grandfathers in the SS, and what is remarkable is that in each case, auld grampy Fritz was actually a great fella, not a bad bone in his body, never did anyone any harm, was only obeying orders and only joined at the end of the war when they were conscripting any old or young dross 
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