This is very interesting, thanks forCaptain Winkle Brown is recognized as being one of the best, if not THE best pilot Britain had during WWII.
He fought with the RAF during The Battle of Britain, and as it neared the end, he was seriously concerned that Britain was going to lose.
After the war, he interrogated Goring during the trials. Goring's statistics were an exact match for his own, the Luftwaffe was about (IIRC) two months away from annihilating the RAF.
UK carriers were mostly in the Atlantic so were more compact than the big US Pacific based.I’ve haven’t seen this one before. Didn’t know the British had any kind of aircraft carrier during WW2. Very interesting!! I would of been a puss flying a fighter back then. I’ve flown in my brothers small 2 seater a couple of times with my rectum puckered the whole time!!
RAF Wing Commander 'Taffy' Holden was a get'er done sort of guy. This is a little bit off topic, as it transpired in 1966.I love the "mater of fact" tone of Winkle despite the fact he was flying the most exciting airplanes of his age. Something about the British attitude of "we have a job to do, let's get on with it" that is missing today.
Despite the Allied bombing of Germany, even the targeting of aircraft facilities, the Germans were still repairing and building airplanes faster than the British. It was a war of attrition that Britain was losing, even with support from the USA. Hitler decided to stop the attack on England, and transferred the planes to attack the USSR. Captain Brown attributes the RAF's survival to "pure luck". (I don't believe in luck) I've read that Hitler didn't really want war with England, that he actually admired and respected the country. I'm not saying Hitler had any positive qualities, just talking about what might have influenced his decisions.This is very interesting, thanks for
sharing. The bit towards the end is a surprise to me, I had always believed although the RAF was rather weary and threadbare, the luftwaffe was no longer the force it once was either. Looking forward to checking this out.
Not that I'm defending Goring, he was awful. He played a lead role in implementing Himmler's Final Solution.The brits actually invented steam catapults for carriers and the angled deck of later carriers.One other thing they did was armored their decks vs U.S.A. using just wood!Any interviewing of her Goring should be taken with a grain of salt ,he was a bombastic self promoting liar right up to the end.
One of the great legendary pilots of WW-2 if not the greatest, a remarkable memorable encounter!As a side note, I was lucky enough to have met Douglas Bader of Spitfire fame, the pilot so dedicated that he flew WITHOUT legs. Even handicapped as such, he still was able to attain 22 kills.
Then, as a POW in WWII when knocked out of the air, he escaped so many times they, the Germans, threatened to take away his artificial legs. He'd lost both in 1931 in a aircraft show. Guess the Brits were so desperate, they let him join in the fray.
Anyway, there I was at the opening of a new planetarium, and he was there as a guest speaker. So, there I was outside when this chap came up to me while sitting outside on the newly placed sod. We talked a bit, I didn't know who he was at first. In the following talk, while opening my lunch, of which he kinda looked envy-like at...and of which I shared, he said he was kinda tired after a long flight to Calgary. Guess it was then that I sat back and put his English accent together and his ID, but he was older than the photos that I had seen of him...it was Douglas Bader!
There was no pretence on his part. A exceptional air ace of WWII and probably the most famous person I'd ever meet...and we were having lunch together. In the dialogue that followed, he said little about his exploits of the war. In turn, I offered no questions. Guess I just wanted to enjoy his gentle company at the time and savour the moment. When it came time to get up, he did so with some difficulty. I was tempted to give a hand, but the look I got was, 'No help wanted'. This was my day of luck! I did manage to get his autograph on my opening pamphlet, and have it to this day.
A fine man that took part in a troubled time...and excelled despite his hardship.
Just two blokes, enjoying a lunch together.
Life is strange.
Q
@Quadman2 Douglas Bader's life would make a hell of a movie, as would Adolf Galland, Pappy Boyington, Francis Gabreski, and all those old school aces.
I was lucky enough back in November of 1996 to attend a Bowling Green Prayer Breakfast, and the speaker was the late Joe Foss (26 kills in the South Pacific, if memory serves).
I shook his hand, and got my picture with him, still on the wall. What a sweet, kind man.