https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7Zebpu2nS4
It really was about these brave souls and their spirit to defend at any cost of their homeland.A point in time to sit and reflect of how Veterans with a battle against all odds ,that it can be won, inspirational .

I started watching this. It is a wonderful story. I'll have to finish it in stages.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I just finished it. I don't think I've ever seen photos of one from the front looking down the fuselage. The fuselage is quite narrow. the cockpit is not much bigger than the one in my Formula Ford Reynard was. they said an american pilot flew a spitfire and they asked him what the difference was between it and an American fighter. He said "you get into an american plane, with a spitfire you put it on".

The plane carried 80 (IIRC) gallons of fuel good for one hour of flying. It carried enough ammo for 14 seconds of firing the machine guns, so pick your targets carefully! What a lovely design and what a lovely sound it made.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Fighting from the sky was really Britains expertise ,even Germany with all its military machine couldnt put a force on the ground without controling the air first.We added the other denominator in the b17 long range bomber later during the conflict, thats an amazing plane to visit up close, even the formation they flew in was tactical ,it would give the squadron a complete 360 degree of cover fire with the least amt of freindly fire accidents during flight.If Britain hadnt held together in that year I wonder how the war would have changed through out Europe and then the world.

Thank you for that tribute to all the brave pilots that took good care of us over England . But dont forget a lot of brave Americans lads that did come to give us a helping hand. And some of them also died doing so in some unknown land.. .Must say that without that help of the USA we would no longer exist as a free country . . Thanks to all the USA pilots and everone involved in the conflict of the second world war..

You meant to say B17s I am certain.

It said in the film that the messerschmitt 109 was faster than the spitfire but the spitfire was more maneuverable and easier to fly.

The other key element in the air war was that the american planes were built stronger than the german or japanese and would bring home their pilots with very heavy damage. as the war wound on we had more of the experienced pilots since ours survived in higher rates. Our seasoned 22 year olds killed off the inexperienced pilots of the axis with great dominance as the war progressed.

I like that fact since it was our value of individuals that drove our planes to be built stronger...so our value of individuals as a culture was a big factor in winning the war as a practical matter.

To bring it back around to Bergdahl. It was our value of the individual soldier which drove our side to work to get him back. It's too bad nobody informed the President that he was such a F up and kept him from honoring him publicly as he did. I bet that is something Obama wishes he had not done.

Shoot if his parents were Bubba and Mary Jo Instead of moonbeam and sunflower he'd have a gig on Fox news by now.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Not to subtract from or discount the incredible bravery and fortitude of the pilots in defense of Britain, but Germany could never have mounted an invasion force capable of sea supremacy.

The British have been masters of the sea for five hundred years. Their seamanship and fighting spirit are evident in every war they have ever fought.

Germany would lose a huge proporton of their invasion fleet and troops crossing the channel. And once on the ground they would have to resupply troops by crossing that same channel that Britain has successfully defended since 1066.

Aint gonna happen.

A good informative video comparing the 2 planes performance .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W75dFaGmTc

There is truth in what you say. However, the Nazis might have been able to clear the sky over the channel and move materiale at will had it not been for Radar.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Brits had an excellent sub fleet and I think a couple of carriers. Not sure about the carriers.

The British surface fleet was a combination of old WWI and treaty designed ships. What the british did better than anybody else at that time was compartmentalization and damage control. Very, very hard to put them out of action without a direct hit on a magazine or steering gear.

I wouldn't be too sure of that vaunted British Naval supremacy. Had Goering, Raeder and Donitz not had their heads up their asses I'd imagine they could have swept the channel clear of ships instead of bombing the British cities. Lots of land air bases opened up after the fall of France. Glad they didn't think of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Royal_Navy_losses_in_World_War_II

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I watched the entire episode last night. Very, very cool............

It’s really, really hard to bomb a ship that is actively defending itself. Heck, the argentines had a hard time hitting anchored British ships with Exocets. In the Pacific, Japanese suicide bombers had a hard time flying INTO a ship, much less bombing one. The Germans flew numerous air raids in Allied shipping to Archangelo and had only modest success against lightly armed convoys.

Germany had no ASW experience (because the Brits kept their surface navy almost entirely neutered the whole war) and thus would have a very poor defense indeed against British subs.

Then there’s the limitation of German sealift. Again, not enough to sustain an expeditionary amphibious assault force.

The German aircraft replacement rate was unsustainable even before the long range strategic bombing campaign. Yes, the air battle over Britain removed strategic capability from the Germans. But even at its highest capability it would not have benn sufficient to dissuade British naval might.

In practically every naval battle in British history in which the opponents were of nearly equal firepower, British determination and seamanship resulted in defeat of the enemy. They were, and still are that good.

The whole "air power vs. sea power" would be an interesting discussion but it diverts from the original thread. Goodness knows, THAT would be unusual.

"We now return control of your television set to you. Until next week at the same time, when the control voice will take you to ...."

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Ha! Point taken.