24 Spitfires and Hurricanes together

[camelspyyder]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33966632

Nothing more to say, except - add more video links of the event as you find them.

[camelspyyder]

More photos here:

Remembering Britain's hardest day: Spitfires and Hurricanes take to the skies again 75 years after battle that scuppered plans for a Nazi invasion | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3202341/Remembering-Britain-s-hardest-day-Spitfires-Hurricanes-skies-75-years-battle-scuppered-plans-Nazi-invasion.html)

[CoffmanStarter]

I dragged Mrs Coff over to Downe Village (NE of Biggin Hill) to witness the sight and sound of the three formations as they got airborne and joined up ... Bl00dy Marvellous it was !!! :D:D:D:D

Coff.

[Dougie M]

http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag76/dougiemarsh/BOB%20Spitfire%20Sky_zpsvtodtzoz.jpeg

[strake]

If that's pukka Dougie M...stunning..!

[Wensleydale]

....and as always, the contribution of Bomber Command during this period is completely ignored. The Battle of the Barges resulted in the Germans withdrawing their invasion barges from the Channel ports before the end of the battle thus delaying any invasion attempt - the Germans bringing the Barges back to within range would have signalled the start of the invasion. Over 700 aircrew of Bomber Command died during this period However, everyone believes the film rather than history. Hey Ho.

[Yellow Son]

Some great pictures here, but we thought that some at least of the aircraft were going to visit IOW and Portsmouth. Any information as to why this story in the papers didn't come true? Hundreds of disappointed folk on the South Downs this afternoon.

[Wander00]

Absolutely brilliant - (strangely) especially the Hurricane formation. One photo of the formation on the Wail site looked like it was over Bembridge IoW

[MPN11]

We had a couple of BA a319s today :(

However, wonderful to know that so many got airborne. Sadly, the BOmber Command contribution is difficult to recognise in this way ... the same could also be said for Coastal Command.

[IcePack]

Just watching that hurricane start is pure majic. Spitting fire

[tornadoken]

It's not either or - Fighter, Coastal, Bomber; nor uniform v civilian. My mother was bombed in London, 8/40: her flatmate did not, she did emerge from the rubble. If...the Few had failed and the Hun had attempted to land in Kent... firstly RN/Dover would have a word (so that's why an author pooh-pooh'ed Spitfires recently and a cartoonist misrepresented his point with a sketch of RN in the sky); but much more relevantly, all the way up the A20 my mother and the rest would have tried to "take one with you". Her bread knife was sharpened for the purpose of being thrust into one Hun. His mate would have killed her, but there were 40 Mn more where she came from.

(When next you see assertions that dropping nukes on Nippon was a war crime, contemplate that same point: each Japanese mother was ready to do the same thing).

[KenV]

(When next you see assertions that dropping nukes on Nippon was a war crime, contemplate that same point: each Japanese mother was ready to do the same thing).

And if we are to believe the records, the children also.

[Yellow Son]

Glad to know it really happened - but although there was indeed a few seconds of grainy (telephoto) footage on 'South Today', the aircraft had not been visible from the hills above Portsmouth.


So for hundreds of us it was a non-event; what a pity. I envy the people who live close enough to Biggin to have seen the magnificent sight.

[tarantonight]

More photos here:

Remembering Britain's hardest day: Spitfires and Hurricanes take to the skies again 75 years after battle that scuppered plans for a Nazi invasion* | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3202341/Remembering-Britain-s-hardest-day-Spitfires-Hurricanes-skies-75-years-battle-scuppered-plans-Nazi-invasion.html)

Forget the faults, nice to see The Daily Mail mentioning the Fleet Air Arm. Doesn't happen much.

TN.

[Wander00]

Just been reading of the RN contribution, of which I find I knew only a little, in one of the aviation mags

[skippedonce]

Rumours in the Sunday Times of a possible formation of up to 50 Spitfires and Hurricanes for 15 Sep - certainly something to watch (and listen) out for if it comes off!

[camelspyyder]

Duxford are anticipating having 20 Spitfires on Sep 15 AFAIK.

[folkyphil]

It is a pity that there was so much mis-information as to the route to be taken by the Grice Flight. No two media agencies seemed to concur as to the probable route.
Such comments as "over Portsmouth", "round the Isle of Wight", "visiting the Isle of Wight" (...all with the caveat that weather, ATC, events on the day, etc. might require a change of plan) were utterly useless.
Eventually, "someone" produced a red line on a map which purported to show the route. Was it the outbound leg or the return leg? No-one knew....
In reality, it seems that the aircraft routed from Ventnor via Bembridge to Havant, thus avoiding the Solent area around Portsmouth/Southsea where so many people were gathered. If they saw the flight at all it was as mere dots in the distance.
This rant is not meant to besmirch the valiant efforts of the pilots and ground crews who enabled the flights to take place today, or to be disrespectful of the remembrance of those who fought and died for our country.
However, with a modicum of decent publicity (or updating via the dreaded "social media") so many more people could have successfully witnessed the event.

[GeeRam]

Duxford are anticipating having 20 Spitfires on Sep 15 AFAIK

There will be (hopefully) 36 x Spits(& Seafires), 8 x Huricanes plus the Blenheim starting out from Goodwood (former RAF Westhampnett) on the 15th Sept and splitting into various flights to tour around various BoB locations that day.
The last surviving RAF BoB 'ace' Tom Neil, 95 years young, will be in the rear seat of one of the two seat Spits and will lead the mass formation from Goodwood out to Selsey Bill before the formation splits.

See here

BoB Flypast (http://www.battleofbritainday.co.uk/)

[Cremeegg]

A wonderful event indeed but it could have been so much better had they increased the numbers of tickets available. The 3000 available were sold out ages ago yet Biggin can take many more. The crowds outside were four or five deep along the fence line along the main road.

The publicity was poor with no real details of possible routings that sadly appear to have left many people disappointed.

Glad I went; glad it was midweek the crowds at a weekend would have been dire. I presume a Hurricane went tech as a Mustang was sneaked into the mix.

[surely not]

My father is a 96 years old survivor of Biggin Hill in Sept 1940. He wasn't a pilot, he was an LAC who helped keep the aircraft serviceable, refuelled and re armed, even if the airfield was under attack. His billet was a tent on the perimeter of the airfield.

When I found out this event was planned I sent a request for him to be able to attend as a veteran of those days. I received a reply saying his name was added to a list and further correspondence would follow. I guess they didn't need any engineers at the event because there was never any follow up despite another polite enquiry from me. Very disappointing.

It is very commendable that there is recognition of the bravery of those involved in the battle of 1940, but as others have suggested on here already, there are more stories to tell than just the RAF fighter pilots.

[GeeRam]

One of todays 'flight' formations was named Mortimer Flight, in tribute to Sgt. (Joan) Elizabeth Mortimer MM, WAAF, who was awarded her MM as a result of her actions at Biggin Hill on the 18th August.

Document-35: August 18th and Biggin Hill (http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/document-35.html)

[Chris Scott]

Having been otherwise engaged earlier, I managed to see a little TV footage of the Biggin event on the 10 pm news bulletins, They were followed by Newsnight on BBC2, which offered a more down-to-earth, intellectual assessment by Evan Davis, who then interviewed a couple of experts.

I hesitate to disappoint any of you, but this Battle of Britain thing is largely a myth that was originally cultivated to improve our parents' and grandparents' morale while it was going through a wobbly patch. The war fought by the Russians in the eastern front, as you should all know by now, had a far more serious and significant effect on the outcome of WW2. After all, would it really have made any difference if the Germans had taken over Blighty?

Thank goodness that in this modern world of ours we have the benefit of the authoritative and enlightened perspective of talented BBC editors and presenters to debunk the exaggerated tales of the heroism of that generation, and present a cool, rational analysis...

[DeeCee]

Are you serious Chris Scott? There is so much that you don't seem to know that it is difficult to know where to start.

[GeeRam]

I hesitate to disappoint any of you, but this Battle of Britain thing is largely a myth that was originally cultivated to improve our parents' and grandparents' morale while it was going through a wobbly patch. The war fought by the Russians in the eastern front, as you should all know by now, had a far more serious and significant effect on the outcome of WW2. After all, would it really have made any difference if the Germans had taken over Blighty?

Nice trolling.

[Danny42C]

Chris Scott,

Your: "After all, would it really have made any difference if the Germans had taken over Blighty?"

Ask the old folk of Hamburg (or dozens of other German cities) what their Fathers had told them.

Ask the still thousands of living survivors of Auschwitz, etc what they think !

Ask in any of the Western European lands overrun by Hitler !

Ask the Russians !

But re-reading: "........we have the benefit of the authoritative and enlightened perspective of talented BBC editors and presenters.......",
it occurs to me that your tongue might have been in your cheek when you wrote this !

Even so, it is a poor jest.

Danny42C.

[CoffmanStarter]

Anyway ...

Had a chuckle at the expense of the Daily Telegraph yesterday evening ...

Map: Will today's Battle of Britain flypast fly over me? - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/battle-of-britain/11809240/Map-Will-todays-Battle-of-Britain-flypast-fly-over-me.html)

Good job they weren't Nav Leader for the event ... Eastbourne is now inland :ooh:

And 'Cobham' indeed :uhoh:

[CoffmanStarter]

Mind you ...

The 'opposition' caused quite a stir when they were based at RAF Manston in the 60's during the making of a certain film ...

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af162/CoffmanStarter/ManstonBattle.jpg

[Jimlad1]

I think Chris Scott is having a subtle dig at the BBC, not the BoB and RAF!

[Chris Scott]

Quote:
"I think Chris Scott is having a subtle dig at the BBC, not the BoB and RAF!"

Looking at it in the cold light of day, perhaps my piece wasn't quite as subtle as I hoped. Apologies to anyone who took it literally. As for the programme that provoked it, some of you might like to judge its merits for yourself on BBC iPlayer in the next few days:

BBC iPlayer - Newsnight - 18/08/2015 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06764cv/newsnight-18082015)

The item about the BoB starts at 24:53 on the time counter.

[Tankertrashnav]

Chris Scott has given us an object lesson into why we shouldn't rush to the keyboard before responding. I read it three times before satisfying myself that he was having a not too heavily disguised dig at the Beeb.

It's the only explanation, otherwise the man would be a total knob!

Edited - sorry Chris, you posted your last as I was doing mine.

[GeeRam]

Mind you ...

The 'opposition' caused quite a stir when they were based at RAF Manston in the 60's during the making of a certain film ...

I believe that there was a Canberra crew that got a bit of a shock, when they strayed into one of the NOTAM areas set aside for filming and broke through cloud cover to find themselves among a formation of 109's and He111's :)

[Shackman]

And a student Varsity pilot who found himself surrounded by Spitfires and a Mitchell!

And I didn't even have a camera!

[RedhillPhil]

I was sitting quietly fishing on the river Mole between Dorking and Brockham yesterday when the sound that I heard caused me to think, "they're not Cessnas". Looking up I saw the flight of seven Spitfires - I think that the last one may have been a Mustang (unfortunately I had the wrong spectacles on) as they flew along the Downs. A little while later they came back. Alas, for once I didn't have my camera with me.
Made my day, the fishing was good too.

[Martin the Martian]

I did notice the Mustang in the footage from Biggin Hill. Very nice it looked as well with its No.112 Squadron shark's mouth, but I did wonder if it had strayed into the wrong anniversary.

[Yellow Son]

"I did notice the Mustang . . . but I did wonder if it had strayed into the wrong anniversary".

Reminds me of Ex Dynamo 90 when we took a load of Little Ships to Dunkirk to mark the 50th Anniversary - the 'African Queen' tagged along!

[GeeRam]

I did notice the Mustang in the footage from Biggin Hill. Very nice it looked as well with its No.112 Squadron shark's mouth, but I did wonder if it had strayed into the wrong anniversary.

I've seen unconfirmed reports that it was being used as a camera ship (having a buddy seat fitted) on the basis that it wouldn't look as out of place from the ground among the Spits/Hurri's as a modern GA type would have if being used......don't know if true or not, but there was definitely someone in the buddy seat when it took off from Biggin.

[ETOPS]

Here's one the air to air shots - taken from the P-51 I believe.

http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/polopoly_fs/1.4199739!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg

Link to article here (http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/news/gallery_biggin_hill_airport_remembers_the_hardest_day_of_bat tle_of_britain_as_spitfires_and_hurricanes_take_to_the_air_1 _4199748)

You can see a distinctive wing tip in this shot..

http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/polopoly_fs/1.4199737!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_630/image.jpg

[Yellow Son]

I can see from the (gorgeous) pix that the section visiting the Isle of Wight coasted out at Thorney Island then returned eastbound offshore, south of Southsea. That explains why we watchers on the hills above Portsmouth saw nothing.


Fortunately, much better information is being made available for the 15 Sep event -


BoB Flypast (http://www.battleofbritainday.co.uk/#!routes/c1px)


I can't decide whether to go back to the hilltops to look out for Green section, lurk at Selsey to watch the whole gang forming up, or fight my way into the car park at Goodwood to experience the multiple takeoffs. Tough choices!

[CoffmanStarter]

Team photo from the Biggin Hill flypast earlier this week ...

http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af162/CoffmanStarter/image.jpg1_zpsql3ttsmt.jpg

Image Credit : Unknown

A few recognisable faces no doubt ...

[BigDan]

The Mustang was certainly used as one of the camera ships. The other was an Aztec. It was certainly an experience being both my first event at Biggin Hill, and the most Hurricanes and Spitfires at an event that I've volunteered at. I'm still trying to get through the photos that I took on the day.

[POBJOY]

CoFFS When you were in Downe it is only a couple of hundred yards from where i located a Hurricane wreck in 1964. The engine/prop hub and large amounts of bits were still around then but it eventually got 'discovered' in the 70's and its all gone.**
Unknown to me at the time it was Tom Gleaves machine from 253 at Kenley and lost on 31 August 1940.

**Not quite all gone as the engine is now in the BoB hangar at Duxford,and one of the browning gun feeds is on my desk with a 'Kenley' brick ! PP

[CoffmanStarter]

Thanks for that Pobjoy ... :ok: