#3506440 - 01/29/12 05:44 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Folks,
Dux:
It is the observant fellow that you are sir. There was no apparent damage to the plane, eh? Either 2/Lt Baker was caught short due to the Castor oil blowing back in his face from the engine or he may have struck up another dangerous but mutually beneficial relationship with a homesick Bosch nurse.
To my certain and profound knowledge you had a similar experience. Yes, I clearly recall good old Lt Percy Propbenda returning with you draped across the fuselage of his Tripe. When we ran out to the taxiing plane I just knew you had bought it. There was blood all over yer greenish face.
To our astonishment when Percy cut the rope that bound you to the plane and you slid to the ground with a thud that sounded like a 100 pound sack of spuds there was an audible groan, a disgusting belch and several choice profanities.
Turns out the 'blood' was French lip rouge and the green countenance no more than the result of swilling far too much rather ordinary French champagne.
Old Percy was a good chap and an excellent pilot. After a year of war and hard drinking his hand trembled a bit too much to reliably join the firring squad detail or to remain on the squadron championship competition pistol team. Worse still it was his ultimate misfortune that the French madame he picked to fight a duel with was not only bloody bad tempered but also a crack shot.
Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044
"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"
CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN YEARS and over 20 MILLION VIEWS on SNAFU's HWH thread- April 2019
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#3512017 - 02/05/12 07:39 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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McGonigle
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Dux et al with access to the Beeb; tonight at 9 on BBC One: Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes Brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor follow up their documentary The Battle of Britain with a film exploring Bomber Command, a rarely-told story from the Second World War. The film focuses primarily on the men who fought and died in the skies above occupied Europe, with numerous examples of individual heroism and extraordinary collective spirit, and Colin learns to fly the key aircraft of the campaign: the Lancaster bomber. But this is also the story of a controversy that has lasted almost 70 years. The programme covers six years of wartime operations, and traces the obstacles and challenges that were overcome as the RAF developed and deployed the awesome fighting force that was Bomber Command. < Show less Brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor follow up their documentary The Battle of Britain with a film exploring Bomber Command, a rarely-told story from the Second World War. So cuddle up with a warm blanket and a cup of something. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00nr7gf
Last edited by McGonigle; 02/05/12 07:47 PM.
Jens C. Lindblad
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#3519352 - 02/15/12 08:04 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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McGonigle
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Congrats are in order Dux. As I understand it, your hero actually managed to survive the great air war, unlike many of his fellow aces; McCudden and Mannock spring to mind, both too good to be brought down by the enemy, save for a possible mechanical error on McCudden's machine, and an unbelievable hubris on Mannock's part, when totally disregarding his own rule of not following the crashing enemy down.
A man such as Capt. Wilde will surely go on to make his mark in a post-war world.
In a strange coinkydincky, I've been reading the Holland book in parallel with you Roger. Entirely agree with you on the readability of this book. It also added to my understanding of how thinly stretched were the resources not only of Fighter Command, but also of the Luftwaffe.
From this, and also following my recent research and studies of the Norwegian campaign, I am quite astonished to learn, that had the Nazi onslaught been met with proper strategy and tactics, Hitler's hordes might have been defeated not only in Norway, but also in France. I wonder which events the world would then have been witness to.
Last edited by McGonigle; 02/15/12 08:06 PM.
Jens C. Lindblad
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#3519536 - 02/16/12 02:48 AM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Folks,
MG:
The French were complacent and well prepared for another trench fest. Once surprised they made blunder after blunder. The British never expected Guderian, Rommel and their blitzkrieg. They were lucky to escape with their tin hats.
Indeed, not only Corporal Hitler but also Fat Hermann lacked the skills to wage a world war. Goering was a better business man. Against the advice and will of their generals and field marshals they extended their necks more than once. Probably no one was more surprised than the German General Staff when those necks were not immediately chopped right off. Hitler was rather like a man who had won big at a casino and thus encouraged tried to break the bank. How could the Germans fail to have understood the significance of RADAR? They discovered it. Hindsight is of course 20-20.
It is, in my humble opinion, one of the finest books I have yet to read on the subject.
Dux:
Luck, perhaps; they all needed that to survive for long. Skill certainly had a large hand in it too. If your proxy is treated as many of the others were after that terrible war he might wonder how much England really appreciated his sacrifice. Addicted to the adrenaline rush of combat perhaps he will become a Will 'O the Wisp-like "barnstormer" risking his life in the air performing stunts and aerobatics for a bit more glory and certainly more profit in your country or perhaps in mine. Some did you know.
Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044
"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"
CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN YEARS and over 20 MILLION VIEWS on SNAFU's HWH thread- April 2019
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#3520114 - 02/16/12 08:46 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Folks,
Thanks PV1.
I nearly broke my fool neck racing down those 3,000 crumbling steps to the HWH archives. I desperately needed to consult our 999,000 page HWH Handbook in 87 deluxe leather bound volumes. My memory must be slipping because I simply could not remember a single major or even minor air battle fought over Canterbury in WWI.
Sure enough, according to the definitive pages of that massive tome, German air activity over England seems to have been for the most part limited to air ships. Are they modeled in RoF? Please say they are....
Added water, ports, shipping, seaplanes and the heroic Belgian air force may whet Dux's appetite enough to lighten his purse however I cannot run RoF so I am immune to this compelling marketing ploy.
I am pleased that the game is still being updated. Maybe one day I can upgrade my ancient steam operated P4 computer to a spanking new electronic job with all the new bells, whistles and dangly bits.
Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044
"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"
CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN YEARS and over 20 MILLION VIEWS on SNAFU's HWH thread- April 2019
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#3520717 - 02/17/12 04:40 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Old Dux
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Gents,
JRT,
No airships yet but we have the Gotha G.V bomber which, like the Zeps, caused consternation out of all proportion to their numbers or damage caused.
As welcome as the recently announced developments certainly are, I would like to see much greater emphasis on the first two years of the air war, more ground detail, hedgerows, different species of trees, moo-cows and livestock, populated airfields with juicy ground attack targets thereon and battlefield sited guns etc. German airmen and balloonists had parachutes in 1918; Georing was obliged to use one but I haven't seen one in RoF yet.
'Find your enemy and shoot him down - everything else is unimportant.'
Manfred von Richtofen ---------------------------
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#3520814 - 02/17/12 06:13 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Folks,
MG: Like you, there are so many things I have never heard of. These days with digitally enhanced photos and historical facts being re-written the more I learn the less I seem to know. I suspect quite a bit but probably know for a indisputable fact very little.
Dux:
More moo cows and livestock are needed, eh. Haven't you had enough livestock already? You have landed, one way or another, in Farmer Drubbin's pig sty or cow pasture so many times the animals flee for cover every time a plane flies over. It has gotten so bad that Drubbins has sent a bill to the Air Ministry for animal psychiatry treatments.
Originally Registered January,2001 Member Number 3044
"Blessed are they who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed" - Edmond Gwenn, "The Trouble With Harry"
CELEBRATING EIGHTEEN YEARS and over 20 MILLION VIEWS on SNAFU's HWH thread- April 2019
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#3527779 - 02/28/12 02:40 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Old Dux
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Gents, I've recently had a clear out of WWII militaria but have certain items more in keeping with the RAF/Battle of Britain era coming my way. Even bits and pieces from the BoB era command high prices these days but it's nice to own a few things which have some direct connection with those momentous days. Reproductions abound and it can be a minefield for the unwary. For example; there is a dangerous copy of the Aircrew Europe Star now in circulation - not to be confused with earlier, easily identifiable copies. There are ten points to look out for if you don't want to throw away £230 which is the going rate for the genuine thing. Then there is the Battle of Britain Bar. A tiny strip of bronze currently changing hands at hundreds of pounds. Caveat emptor!
'Find your enemy and shoot him down - everything else is unimportant.'
Manfred von Richtofen ---------------------------
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#3532559 - 03/05/12 01:00 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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Old Dux
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Gents, Jens likes these... You had to have 100% faith in your Merlins before trying this stunt. Hopefully, he got at least one other going before the circuit and landing pattern. What's that rig on the rear fuselage? This was at Boscombe Down at the end of WWII.
'Find your enemy and shoot him down - everything else is unimportant.'
Manfred von Richtofen ---------------------------
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#3532978 - 03/05/12 10:22 PM
Re: Here's what happened (Continued)
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McGonigle
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Now that is low level flying! I think the bulge in the rear part of the fuselage i because the mother is pregnant Or it might be the H2S or Gee dome, accommodating a dish for a radar dome. H2S and Gee were introduced to aid navigation as one of the many challenges facing Bomber Command was finding the target and bombing accurately. Thanks for posting. I've never seen this image before. Where did you find it, and is there any information as to which particular Lanc it is, squadron, crew, station, occasion etc? You can probably tell that I'm pretty excited about seeing this picture!
Jens C. Lindblad
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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