Mark Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Grrrrrrrr! so angry, just been on the news 18:55 Tuesday 30th Oct 2007, one historian says that the Battle of Britain should be reassessed as the pilots could not shoot straight and they are not heroes, where do these people come from, and we pay their blinking wages. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woa2 Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I saw that aswell. Yes, they had little training and most of what they learnt was 'on-the-job' training, but everyone was a Hero. How long would that Historian have lasted in a Spitfire in 1940? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Saw it in the paper, all the pilots were certainly heroic but apart from the pre war regular and AAF pilots it is certainly true that they were rushed into squadrons with totally inadequate training. Read any of the books written by pilots of the period , they all make comments along the lines of ' new pilots could barely fly the aircraft let alone fight', 'opening fire well out of range and spraying bullets all over the sky'. The historian in question also had a lot more to say claiming radar etc was not very good and the government was engaged in a huge PR exercise. What he does not appear to do is to lay the blame on the real culprits, the pre- war government who stuck their heads in the sand and refused to see all the evidence of war being just over the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisPWRR Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Fair enough we'll give him basic training and stick him up in the air gainst top pilots... Idiot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn deuce Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Its true the pilots on the Allied side were undertrained and used out of date methods ...... But I 'd still judge them as very brave and they did the best they could with what they had !!!! I can't fault them , its only in hind sight we learned how mis- matched they were . It's amazing how well they did, how fast they learned the lessons and turned the tables on the Germans . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightweight Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I read an excellent autobiography of a Spit pilot who freely confessed that, during a dog-fight, he never knew what the hell was going on, where he was and sometimes never got close enough to anything to fire his guns. Still a hero to me, for both his actions and his honesty! Will look out the title if anyones interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Degsy, of course the Government was talking things up, you don't say in the middle of a war 'Yes well our secret weapon is c***'. the idea was put about that RAF crews eat lot's of carrots as they improve night vision. My mother always said this till she died, it actually has a basis in truth. People who deal in statistics , so many rounds expended per aircraft shot down etc can never be wrong, they manipulate the figure to prove what they want. Doesn't dietract one jot from the men and women who went out and used the equipment learned and improved it, sometimes giving their lives to gain the information. So I suggest our bean counter gets a large tin of Heinz and stuffs it............... When all said and done, the RAF held the Luftwaffe off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Lightweight, That book sounds like First Light by Geoffrey Wellum! Its an amazing book. It is one of the best ww2 autobiography's I have read. They learned very quickly. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 :angry: I wonder, when reading these 'historians', :whistle:views, if they EVER stop to think, of this fact, that they are able to spout hot air, in the first place IS because of the guys/gal's they are being disrespectfull about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPTA team Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Some of these jumped up historians have less brain cells than your average patato. Sorry if any patato are offended. Before any of these so called historians spout there idiotic talk maybe they should sit down and think about all the familys that lost loved one during the B.O.B :angry: I have alway been tought to think before I speak and maybe some of them should do the same. Time for a lay down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Yes but you must understand the process. :nono: If some historians check facts, talk to survivors or the families, it 'Clouds their Academic judgement'. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Yes but you must understand the process. :nono: If some historians check facts, talk to survivors or the families, it 'Clouds their Academic judgement'. :angry: Do we know who this 'historian', is ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 He did appear onthe TV news, never heard of him before. Come to think of it this could have something to do with the controversial comments :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 No such thing as bad publicity? :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightweight Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Lightweight, That book sounds like First Light by Geoffrey Wellum! Its an amazing book. It is one of the best ww2 autobiography's I have read. They learned very quickly. Chris Had forgotten to look - but I think you're right. Well worth a read people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 No such thing as bad publicity? :dunno: Well, not for him, I guess,................he'll have pocketed his fee for the article. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted November 2, 2007 Share Posted November 2, 2007 Being halftrained and still going into the air against a welltrained enemy. HEROES!!!!!! No 2 ways about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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