An interesting attempt to set history straight

[IanHenry]

I know most people on this forum are already aware of the importance of the Hawker Hurricane during WW2, but this is still an interesting newspaper article about an unsung hero:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293468/The-unsung-plane-REALLY-won-Battle-Britain.html
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Regards,
Ian.

 

[gajit]

Thanks Ian. Great reading.

 

[dswo]

Thanks, Ian. Even if the conclusion's not new, it's a good collection of quotes and anecdotes.

 

[BASys]

Hi Folks

Cheers Ian -
Nice to see the Mail correcting 70 year old misconceptions.

The following :isadizzy:'s comment, made my day -

Also, the Battle of Britain was actually won by the courage of American pilots
a whole year before the US formally came to bale Britain out.
Even Churchill acknowledged the role of these American pilots
when he referred to them as 'The Few' in one of his major speeches on the conflict.
- Hank, Texas, 10/7/2010 13:27

Even better,
the Mail's article correcting more recent misconceptions.

You'd think that top piccie had been taken in FSX.

MS's Olson class for the UK is correct after all, (landclass).



[off-topic rant]
Wonder if it'll take the Mail a further 70 years
before it corrects their own everyday frontpage racist inciting guff.
Reader's comments and ratings, are even more disturbing.

Tabloid Watch - Blogging about bad journalism

Leisure chief refutes Darlaston Leisure Centre claims
[/off-topic rant]



HTH
ATB
Paul

 

[PRB]

Loved this quote, from the article:

"The Spitfire snobbery even extended to German airmen, some of whom seemed to regard the idea of being shot down by a Hurricane as an insult to their honour."

 

[Paul K]

The following :isadizzy:'s comment, made my day -

Also, the Battle of Britain was actually won by the courage of American pilots
a whole year before the US formally came to bale Britain out.
Even Churchill acknowledged the role of these American pilots
when he referred to them as 'The Few' in one of his major speeches on the conflict.
- Hank, Texas, 10/7/2010 13:27

Not only that, Paul, but I was once reliably informed by an American gentleman that the Spitfire was at best a mediocre fighter until Vought and Bell got hold of it and developed it to its full potential.

Who would have known, eh ?

 

[raptor19]

Not only that, Paul, but I was once reliably informed by an American gentleman that the Spitfire was at best a mediocre fighter until Vought and Bell got hold of it and developed it to its full potential.

Who would have known, eh ?

I don't think that a certain gentleman by the name of Joe Smith would agree with that comment LOL! Neither would a certain Eric Brown!

And that takes nothing away from the Hurricane which was there when it was needed!

 

[PRB]

In the unlikely event somebody missed this, the "comment" we all are drawn to here is a comment to the article, you know, posted by some anonymous commenter, at the bottom of the article, like you see at the end of many Internet articles. You're not supposed to read those, because most of them, like this one, are of little value, are probably "tongue-in-cheek", and in this case specifically designed to outrage our British shipmates from across the sea!

In any event, for some reason, I always thought the ratio of Spitfires to Hurricanes in the BOB was much less than is quoted here, 30%-ish.

 

[CheckSix]

The Mail is a tad right of center for many I guess.

 

[Naismith]

The Mail is a tad right of center for many I guess.

Correction, the Daily Fail is a tad right wing of right wing but left of (and only just) Völkischer Beobachter

 

[IanP]

The Fail does have quite a good quiz, though. It seems to forget that it fell of the right-wing edge of the world a while ago for that bit...

According to Patrick Bishop's BoB book, On 10th July 1940, the RAF Order of Battle for Fighter Command had 28 Squadrons equipped with Hurricanes, 19 with Spitfires, 6 with Blenheims (being used as heavy fighters, rather than bombers, after proving rather weak in their intended role) and, last and thankfully least, 2 with Defiants.

I've always thought that the two primary single engined fighters both did exactly the job they were intended to, both had strengths and weaknesses, but were equally important, personally. Maybe I just spent too long sitting on the fence. It's easy to see how the glamorous Spitfire became the overriding symbol, though, unlike the more workmanlike Hurricane.

Ian P.

 

[Hurricane91]

Correction, the Daily Fail is a tad right wing of right wing but left of (and only just) Völkischer Beobachter

 

[Bjoern]

Read a BoB article in the Sun yesterday (godawful waste of ink and paper btw) and I still can't believe the "660 vs 2500" myth being still alive.

 

[IanHenry]

It really is worth reading First Light by Geoffrey Wellum. It is probably the best first hand account of what it was like for a front line fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain.
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Regards,
Ian.

 

[Naismith]

Actually I should retract my previous. Generally right wing factions will support their police forces/departments. But the DM at every opportunity undermines the efforts of police.. The recent Raoul Moat incident is a case in point. But every time a police officer oversteps the mark or commits a fo-pah, it is front and center and blown way out of proportion. But when police do something herioc or extraordinary, is there any mention?
Shame, the DM used to be a reasonably decent rag in the 60's and 70's. I remember when it was a broadsheet.