9 replies to this topic

[Shooter63]

To me this is one of the saddest days, the last of the few has finally succumb to the passing of time,John Hemingway was the last remaining pilot from the Battle of Britain, when we stood alone in the summer of 1940, Europe had capitulated except for Poland so there we were, the world expected us to follow, but Churchill said no, he gave what is now probably one of the most famous speeches ever, which in today's parlance would be " Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough " the foulness which was Naziisum did, and as we know today they weren't. And it was all down to a few thousand pilots. If you ever had the chance to speak to any of the survivors to a man they were the most humble bunch of guys you could ever meet. If you ever called them hero's they would simply point to a grave and tell you, that those were the true hero's.
If the family allowed every sitting and living past premier of European nations should attend his funeral because we all owe our existence and freedom to him and his like, but I strongly suspect his passing will get a byline in the media if lucky.
Recently I was watching an old interview with one of the guys he said this " we don't want your thanks, but we would like to be remembered " I think that's the least we can do.

Shooter

[sonikk4]

It is a sad and poignant moment in time and we do owe our freedom to the sacrifce these young men at the time made.

With some of these guys having less than 20 hours of training on type goes to show you their resolve in driving the enemy back from our Airspace but also we need to bear in mind they were also scared as well as brave.

RIP Sir, rest easy, your duty done and we will not forget you and your fellow pilots for what you gave us in our hour of need.

[Designer]

RIP for ever grateful to you and your fellow pilots for saving this country from tyranny.  

[greenwheels]

The last of my boyhood heroes.

 

https://www.bbc.co.u...es/cvg1z42pkj8o

 

Edited by greenwheels, 19 March 2025 - 10:15 AM.

[stuart bowes]

never ceases to amaze me when I think of what I was doing at 18-20 years old, and then what they were doing.. crazy

 

could I have done that (or even the infantry stuff)  I really don't know, probably wouldn't have lasted long that's for sure

 

RIP

Edited by stuart bowes, 19 March 2025 - 10:20 AM.

[sonikk4]

never ceases to amaze me when I think of what I was doing at 18-20 years old, and then what they were doing.. crazy
 
could I have done that (or even the infantry stuff)  I really don't know, probably wouldn't have lasted long that's for sure
 
RIP

The thing is unless you found yourself in that position you would never really know. Not even worth trying to guess.

With GW1, I along with my squadron were in Al Jubail waiting to deploy further out in to the sandpit ( 18 Sqn Chinooks) when war was actually declared and the Air raid siren went off at roughly 03:00. Fast asleep as you would expect, but within 9 seconds I had my gas mask on and a chunk of my NBC suit. I was scared like nothing I had ever felt in my life. We knew Saddam had Scuds and potentially chemical weapons so it was a proper W.T.F moment and it seemed to go on for hrs. Reality was it was a handful of minutes. Your brain is racing at ten to the dozen but all you can do is wait.

These guys back then literally threw themselves at the enemy as the could see them in front of them. We saw nothing until later on into the conflict. How would I have reacted if I saw a load of their infantry approaching or helicopters or attack Aircraft. That is something thankfully I never had to face, so close scares, yes ( watching a Patriot launch meaning **** was coming our way was one of them)

I was 27 then not a fresh faced 19/20 year old trainee pilot with a handful of hrs under my belt and literally no combat experience at all facing hundreds of bombers and fighters. Only they knew what was going through their minds, will I crash, will I get burnt, will I be able to parachute out, will I actually hit any of the enemy!! When you really start to dig into the what ifs, we are lucky these guys actually took off.

[Designer]

Hi,

 

What makes it even more remarkable with their achievement is the fact that they had very little in the amount of ammunition they had. I believe it was something like 10 to 15 seconds worth of trigger time.

 

Paddy

[Shooter63]

Hi,
 
What makes it even more remarkable with their achievement is the fact that they had very little in the amount of ammunition they had. I believe it was something like 10 to 15 seconds worth of trigger time.
 
Paddy

Yup about 16 seconds in a Spit, I'm not sure about a Hurricane but I would suspect it was the same as no doubt the belt length was a standard, what is more incredible is that the .303 machine guns fitted to the BOB era planes had bullets that weighed about 180 grains or around 11 grams each, originally the guns were set to a 400yard divergence point, this was later brought down to be more effective, the fitment of the 20mm Hispano cannon as a game changer.

Shooter

[Cooperman]

I learned to fly in 1958 (in Tiger Moths) and thus I met and got to know several WW2 ex-RAF aircrew.

To a man they were great. Not big-headed, but quiet and reserved about their heroic achievements.

They had continued to fly because they loved it, but they never talked about their war experiences unless asked for details.

It's sad that all the B of B pilots are now gone, but they must never be forgotten. As has been said, the debt the entire word owes them must be remembered.

[GT Jimmy]

God bless them all, things would be so different without their sacrifice