PPRuNe Forums - Sir David Jason meets the BBMF

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- - Sir David Jason meets the BBMF (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/635532-sir-david-jason-meets-bbmf.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downwind.Maddl-Land (Post 10888284)

Your comment does your stock little favour. Extract from Churchill's 'The Few' speech :

"The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers, who will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous occasions to restrain."

And you seem to forget the coincidental Battle of the Barges being waged at great cost by Bomber Command in an effort to deny to the enemy the wherewithal to undertake a successful invasion.

None of which was done by a Lancaster during the BoB so you seem to have spent a great deal of time arguing against a point that you had failed to understand in the first place. My point was not that Bomber Command did not defend Britain but that they didn't do it in a Lancaster in 1940.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegypsy (Post 10891455)

Maxr
Only one Pilot on Lancs unless a second used for experience as second dickie.

My father had a second the day they all got shot down over Belgium. Only 21 so never got his command.

Yes, I did say that it was NOT two pilots and five other blokes as this programme may have intimated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxR (Post 10894379)

Got a flyable Battle, Whitley, Hampden or Wellington to hand have you? (yes, I know there's a flying Blenheim, but that doesn't belong to the MoD/RAF does it?)

And, be honest with yourself, that wasn't the 'point' you were making in your original post was it?

"Why would you want to see the Lancaster? Wasn't the programme about the Battle of Britain? In fact, while I'm at it, why does the BBMF have a Lancaster at all? Surely they need to change their name."

The point you were obviously attempting to make - which I (and many others I suspect) clearly understood - was that the Battle of Britain was fought solely by Fighter Command and that the Lancaster therefore had no place in the BBMF's line-up; that's understandable as that is the way that history (and the media) portray it. However, the RAF’s mission statement for the BBMF is…

“… to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this country, to promote the modern day Air Force and to inspire the future generations.”

Consequently, as the only Nationally-owned flyable airframe representative of Bomber Command's main equipment during the whole of WWII, the Lancaster manifestly earns her place among the hallowed ranks of the BBMF and therefore within the television programme under discussion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downwind.Maddl-Land (Post 10894716)

The point you were obviously attempting to make - which I (and many others I suspect) clearly understood - was that the Battle of Britain was fought solely by Fighter Command and that the Lancaster therefore had no place in the BBMF's line-up...

Nope, my point was that the Lancaster was not operational in 1940 and, therefore, it shouldn't feature much in a programme about the Battle of Britain and that also meant that the name Battle of Britain Memorial Flight was a touch misleading. If I'd wanted to say that the BoB was fought solely by Fighter Command can you guess what I'd have said? That's right, I'd have said: "The Battle of Britain was fought solely by Fighter Command" but you'll notice that's not what I said because it wasn't what I wanted to say nor is it something I believe. The Battle of Britain was fought by everybody, serviceman and civilian alike.

I certainly attempt to make what I say clear by saying what I actually mean. You will find that your understanding of things becomes clearer if you read what is written.