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Posts:
888
From:
South Texas, where the snow never falls.
Registered:
1/12/09
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(31 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jun 28, 2009 11:33 AM
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> How did the vastly outnumbered R.A.F defeat the
> mighty Luftwaffe?
They didn't. The so-called BOB was called off by Hitler. His stupid decision to stop bombing RAF assets prompted his decision. In any event the Brits were already beat and not a threat.
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Posts:
2,186
From:
Houston, TX
Registered:
5/25/05
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(32 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jun 28, 2009 12:13 PM
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> > How did the vastly outnumbered R.A.F defeat the
> > mighty Luftwaffe?
>
> They didn't. The so-called BOB was called off by
> Hitler. His stupid decision to stop bombing RAF
> assets prompted his decision. In any event the Brits
> were already beat and not a threat.
Haha you must be joking. Britain's fleet could have held off Germany invasion. Cunningham and Somerville would make easy work of the Germans in an all out clash. German troops would be stranded on the beaches with no supplies.
Britain's superior navy controlled the seas, except for in the Pacific.
Even USSR had no chance versus Britain's navy and they relied on Lend Lease for a while which wouldn't come if the US and GB thought USSR was hostile.
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5,057
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(33 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery
Jun 28, 2009 12:36 PM
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and don't forget chaps, that Group Captain Peter Townsend in his excellent book on his experiences of flying and fighting in the Battle of Britain published in 1970 pointed out that German pilots shot down suffered from what Townsend called ''Spitfire snobbery'' -even when they were given conclusive prrof by their NBritish captors that a Hawker Hurricane had downed them Townsend recounts they would insist ''Nein!-Nein! -a Spichtfeur downed me!.
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Posts:
1,829
From:
Melbourne, Australia.
Registered:
10/3/02
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(34 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery
Jun 28, 2009 1:12 PM
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Toomtabard,
''Nein!-Nein! -a Spichtfeur downed me!."
....and Peter Townsend was shot down in flames by the British Government!
John.
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Posts:
5,057
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(35 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery
Jun 28, 2009 6:08 PM
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YES jOHN -BUT ONLY FOR DATING the Queen's sister Princess Margaret, and wanting to marry her-much too daring fo r the snobby 1950's Britain John.-doesn't altr the fact that he was a damned fine pilot during the B.O.B.
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5,057
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(36 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery BRITISH A.A. FIRE
Jun 28, 2009 6:23 PM
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sOME FURTHER INTERSTING FACTS ABOUT BRITTISH A.A. DEFENCESLIKE GUNS AND BARRAGE BALLOONS.
In September 1940 Brittish AA guns fored 260,000 rounds of heavy ammo-bringing down one aircraft for every 30,000 shells fired.
In January 1943 during a raid by the Luftwaffe on London six civilians were killed by friendly shell splinters; four wiounded by a British AA shell in Enfield near London; one killed and two injured by a shell that hit a wall; and two more killed in Tooting London.
Between 1939 and 1945 barage balloons brought doown roughly 100 aircraft but 75 per cent of these were allied planes.
For example, in June 1940 two Britsh Hampden bombers were brought down by their own ballons over Harwich.
JUST 24 German aircraft succumbed to barrage ballons over Britain between 1939-45'
Also a popos the so--called'' Blitz spirit '' i.e. all British social classes mucked in together-in July 1940 three British Members of Parliament went abroad and 90,000 people left Portsmouth each night for the surrounding countryside during the heavy bombing there..
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Posts:
1,507
From:
southern bc
Registered:
11/12/07
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(37 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery BRITISH A.A. FIRE
Jun 28, 2009 7:29 PM
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Between 1939 and 1945 barage balloons brought doown roughly 100 aircraft but 75 per cent of these were allied planes.
They did work to discourage dive bombers and were tied to boats to protect estuaries like the Thames from mine sowing operations. As well Balloon Command is credited with 231 kills but I think that number includes aircraft and flying bombs.
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(38 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery BRITISH A.A. FIRE
Jun 29, 2009 6:45 AM
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Ally a bit off topic but did you know that Canadian actor Christopher Plummer who appeared in the 1969 movie ''THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN'' as a Canuck pilot officer was the great- grandson of Canadian Prime Minister between 1891-92,Sir John Abbot?.
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Posts:
1,507
From:
southern bc
Registered:
11/12/07
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(39 of 63)
Re: Defiants-Thanks Craig-Spitfire snobbery BRITISH A.A. FIRE
Jun 29, 2009 5:58 PM
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> Ally a bit off topic but did you know that Canadian
> actor Christopher Plummer who appeared in the 1969
> movie ''THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN'' as a Canuck pilot
> officer was the great- grandson of Canadian Prime
> Minister between 1891-92,Sir John Abbot?.
Of course I knew that Toomtaroo 
He's my sister's husbands brothers cousin three times removed!
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Posts:
2
From:
So.Calif.
Registered:
6/29/09
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(40 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jun 29, 2009 6:03 PM
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The British focused on the research & development of radar, which started shortly before 1939 and turned out successfully towards their advantage. Another factor were the young fighter pilots' will & determination.
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(41 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jun 30, 2009 11:38 AM
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The research and development of radar by Watso-Watt DID NOT start justybefore 1939 but in the early 1930's and remarkably Watson Watt was fully suported by British Prime iMnister Stanley Baldwin who famously said in 1932 ''The bomber will always get through...'' but Baldwin's support for Watt and Fighter Comand commander Hugh Dowding was crucial in ensuring that Britain had an advanced radar system in operation wen WW2 broke out.
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(42 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jun 30, 2009 11:44 AM
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Incidentally another myth iperpetrated in the award winning H.B.O. tv programme about Churchill and Baldwin,s verbal brawls about the rising danger of the rise of the Luftwaffe -''THE GATHERING STORM'' WAS THAT CHURCHILL HAD TO RELY ON A CIVIL SERVICE MOLE LEAKING CLASSIFIED INFO ON THE LUFTWAFFE TO WINSTON
In fact, Baldwin openly shared intelligence reports on the Luftwaffe's strength with Churchill which formed te basis of Winston's critical speeches about Baswin's reluctance to rearm.
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Posts:
505
Registered:
7/1/09
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(43 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jul 1, 2009 12:35 AM
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> > How did the vastly outnumbered R.A.F defeat the
> > mighty Luftwaffe?
>
> They didn't. The so-called BOB was called off by
> Hitler. His stupid decision to stop bombing RAF
> assets prompted his decision. In any event the Brits
> were already beat and not a threat.
Hitler certainly considered Britain basically out of the war.......He said as much many times.......Hitler never really intended to invade Britain in the first place....His eyes were always on Russia..... Britain was considered a much lesser threat compared to the USSR..... Hitler was smart enough to not want to garrison Britain when he knew his big fight was going to be in the East..... The air battles over Russia dwarfed the BOB.
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Posts:
85
From:
Michigan
Registered:
2/11/08
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(44 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jul 1, 2009 12:55 AM
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Hitler chose not to go in for the kill. He didn't like a stalemate, and he looked elsewhere for possible victories, ideally the quick and decisive ones for which he was accustomed. Russia offered more of a chance for that than did Britain -- whoops!
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Posts:
505
Registered:
7/1/09
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(45 of 63)
Re: How on earth did the R.A.F win the battle of BritAIN?
Jul 1, 2009 1:38 AM
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> Hitler chose not to go in for the kill. He didn't
> like a stalemate, and he looked elsewhere for
> possible victories, ideally the quick and decisive
> ones for which he was accustomed. Russia offered more
> of a chance for that than did Britain -- whoops!
Hitler actually had long range plans....He needed livings space for Germans.....He saw the vastness of Russia as the most likely place for Germans to resettle.....He also wasnt the Russian oil field.
But more importantly, he saw Russia and Stalin as the last Continental Power that could threaten him militarily.....He coujld not rest with Russia with it's vast resources and manpower at his back.........Hitler thought in a Continental manner he didn't have global ambitions for the most part.....He wanted to be the ruler of Europe......He actually didn't care if Britain kept it's overseas Empire....He did not want to destroy the British Empire because he considered it a stablizing influence on the underdeveloped part of the world......Hitler had considered the British Empire an example of White Supremacy over the lesser peoples of the world.......Not unlike how the British of the time saw themselves.
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