| Re: OT: for the WW2 aviation history anoraks [message #775720] |
Tue, 11 July 2006 07:34 |
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On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 01:27:45 +0100, Grimly Curmudgeon
<grimly4REMOVE [at] REMOVEgmail.com> wrote:
>Just finished reading 'The Lonely Warrior' a semi-autobiog by a Belgian
>airman, Jean Offenberg, who took part in the air campaign immediately
>after the main BoB shindig. Bloody good, it is, somewhat anticlimactical
>at the end.
>
>One thing I hadn't realised about the Spitfire lads based on the
>Southern airfields was the sheer workaday existence they led - they
>didn't just got up and intercept the bombers, they routinely went over
>to the French coast 3 or 4 times a day and tried to entice the 109s up.
>
>Talk about earning your pay...
The reason so few of the "Few" survived the war was once the BOB was
over they had to go into operations over N France and the situation
was reversed and they were ground down pretty quick.
Aj
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| Re: OT: for the WW2 aviation history anoraks [message #775733 ] |
Tue, 11 July 2006 08:14 |
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Lifer <ajohns003 [at] freeuk.co.uk> wrote:
> On Tue, 11 Jul 2006 01:27:45 +0100, Grimly Curmudgeon
> <grimly4REMOVE [at] REMOVEgmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Just finished reading 'The Lonely Warrior' a semi-autobiog by a Belgian
> >airman, Jean Offenberg, who took part in the air campaign immediately
> >after the main BoB shindig. Bloody good, it is, somewhat anticlimactical
> >at the end.
> >
> >One thing I hadn't realised about the Spitfire lads based on the
> >Southern airfields was the sheer workaday existence they led - they
> >didn't just got up and intercept the bombers, they routinely went over
> >to the French coast 3 or 4 times a day and tried to entice the 109s up.
> >
> >Talk about earning your pay...
>
> The reason so few of the "Few" survived the war was once the BOB was
> over they had to go into operations over N France and the situation
> was reversed and they were ground down pretty quick.
>
Indeed. "Rhubarbs" they called those operations, and German
anti-aircraft was *very* good, to say nothing of the disadvantages of
fighting a long way from your home base.
But it was deemed that we had to be seen to be doing something.....
--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD250 Z650
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....
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| Re: OT: for the WW2 aviation history anoraks [message #776015 ] |
Tue, 11 July 2006 18:16 |
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We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember
chateau.murraySPAMKILL [at] dsl.pipex.com (The Older Gentleman) saying
something like:
>> >Talk about earning your pay...
>>
>> The reason so few of the "Few" survived the war was once the BOB was
>> over they had to go into operations over N France and the situation
>> was reversed and they were ground down pretty quick.
>>
>Indeed. "Rhubarbs" they called those operations, and German
>anti-aircraft was *very* good, to say nothing of the disadvantages of
>fighting a long way from your home base.
>
>But it was deemed that we had to be seen to be doing something.....
>
And Churchill had agreed to try to keep the Luftwaffe occupied on the
Western front to take some pressure off Uncle Joe.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a
In my trousers.
Folding [at] Home Team UKRM http://www.tinyurl.com/jkxwv
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