Which British Aircraft Shot Down The Most Aircraft In WW2? | Top 11 RAF Planes
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Every military aviation enthusiast should know which British-operated aircraft of the Second World War were the deadliest to the enemy. In this video, I go through the most prolific British fighters and bombers and break down their aerial victories as inspired by Hushkit.net, from 11 on the list right up to first place.
Along the way, I throw in some interesting facts about each aircraft and a certain number of dad jokes. Of course, there are a few little errors I didn't catch, so feel free to point them out to me when you find them.
Sources: See below
This was all inspired by a great article on hushkit.net, so give the guys a visit and read through their excellent articles.
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Welcome to my channel where I share my love of history and aviation. I first fell in love with military aviation when reading Biggles books as a boy, then I studied history at university. I like finding interesting stories and sharing them with others.
I also followed this passion into the real world and managed to get a Private Pilot's Licence on 10th May 2014.
I'll share my gameplay from the IL2 Sturmovik Great Battles series as well as the Cliffs of Dover series and DCS series too, to give my stories drama. Feel free to subscribe, like and comment!
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⏱️ Timestamp:
0:00 intro
Images: other than where stated, images used in the video have been found on commons.wikime...
Sources:
Gloster Gladiator - Alex Crawford (2002)
Fairey Fulmar - Geoffrey Bussy (2004)
Beaufighter in Action (1995) SQUADRON/SIGNAL PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Bolton Paul Defiant - Mark Ansell (2005)
Curtis P-40 - Carl Molesworth
De Havilland Mosquito - Richard J. Caruana
Hawker Typhoon, Tempest and Sea Fury - Kev Darling (2003)
Hushkit.net
#aviationhistory#history
![The Fighter That Tried To Replace The Spitfire | Martin-Baker MB.5 [Aircraft Overview #82]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1CJWEc_sQkQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Fighter That Tried To Replace The Spitfire | Martin-Baker MB.5 [Aircraft Overview #82]](/img/tr.png)
My great uncle managed to bring down 15 German aircraft during the Second World War. The Luftwaffe said he was the worst mechanic they’ve ever seen.
"Achtung!" Poetic justice. 😜
🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😁😁😁😁
Oh yeah that ain't funny my grandfather died at Auschwitz...
He fell off the watchtower.
@@kipp1231 One of my distant relatives died at Waterloo. He fell off the platform and was squished by a train.
@@kipp1231 careful or the anti-Semitic brigade will get you. 😀
25:13 - Never thought I'd hear anyone utter the words 'great cultural significance' and 'Grimsby' in the same breath.
lol. Of course Grimsby is really famous for......hold on..... let me get back to you on that one.
plus "the more you hear about these guys the less you like them"
@@andidubya3840 The Baedeker raids were revenge for the bombing of Lubeck, a town with little military significance but made mostly of wood so Harris knew it would burn.
Beautiful job you did here. Very enjoyable presentation. You gain the No 1 position in kill-ranking historical record videos. Well done HushKit! Cheers!
Just a note - the Luftwaffe was part of the Wehrmacht -
Wehrmacht is the total military of the Third Reich - it includes the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force).
Fantastic video. Always had a soft spot for the Beaufighter, which tends to get forgotten. Also extraordinary to see how well the Defiant did in spite of its poor reputation
The Defiant was the most successful British night fighter in the winter of 1940-41.
Ace in a day, baby!
The Beaufighter’s nickname was “Whispering Death” due to the (relative) quietness of the sleeve-valved radials. ‘Whistling Death” was the Corsair, because of the noise the supercharger made.
Yeah, I misspoke at the end. Anyway the point was that Whispering death is supposed to be an Allied fabrication.
All Bristol aero engines have a reputation for being quiet, listen to a Lysander or a Gladiator at Old Warden.
The first pilot to become an ace in a Gloster Gladiator was one in Chinese colors, John “Buffalo “ Wong. An American born Chinese from Los Angeles who volunteered for service with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force several years prior to the creation of the AVG - Flying Tigers. He and several other pilots were sent to Germany for advanced fighter training before the Germans and Japanese became Allie’s.
Guessed the top three. Bristol Beaufighter was always my favorite Brit fighter ever since I read a story written by a reporter who flew a "ride-along" sortie and described ultra-low level flying in the desert. He was also impressed with its tremendous firepower. Seven decades later, that story has stuck with me. Low-level combat and the desert seems to have been a perfect combination for that warbird.
well said! Loved reading about that aircraft and her exploits in any theater!
Suggest Warby's War, the story of Adrian Warburton , photographic recon pilot based in Malta. The observer's recollection of a Beaufighter mission is impressive.
I was really impressed .. about The BP. Defiants there was a Factory in Norwich... Upset At the P40 and the Original Must hang Sallys. but they improved. The Moquitos's had farther missions & Multi Roles was Sad about their Listing,, Lancanster from the Machester was a momumental right decision .....But No Mention of The Wellington ? Loved Your Top 11.. The beaufighter figures were astounding .. I liked the Animation .... Sink the Bismarck goes too the Swordfish.... How Cool is that ??? in a Bi -plane...
Many accounts of the Beaufighter II suggest it was particularly vicious on take off and landing; see Graham White's entertaining chapters of life at Slaughter Hall, learning to fly Beau II in 'Night Fighter Over Germany'. They were truly a different breed back then.
Many of these twin-fighters had counter-rotating propellers. This was a significant performance improvement and widely adopted. It should be mentioned in this excellent video, as the graphics have co-rotating engines and propellers.
'
Did laugh at 29:37 (till) 29.46
Talk about James Nicholson, whilst clearly showing Percy Burton - (same Sqdn, 249, but, different pilot !)
North Weald men mis-identified aside, absolutely LOVED your brilliant video !!!!!
Didn't have the faintest idea that both the Mosquito & Beaufighter would/did occupy 4th & 3rd place ; Amazing
Very impressed w/your video (1st of yours I've seen), so I'll look forward to seeing many more
Keep up the good work & Happy New Year, too
Thanks for the correction. I included that picture because it was in colour, but did hesitate while comparing it with the more famous portrait. I have to admit that after living in Asia for 5 years, all white people now look the same to me, lol. Thanks for watching.
Good old Beaufighters. They did great work in so many areas.
Right on
The tempest was one of the best at taking out V1's .
I've seen the uniform nicholson was wearing in that shoot down, whilst listening to his audio account. Raf fighter boys were just built different, he was so calm and casual about it
I read his biography again recently, what a incredibly humble but fun loving man he was.
Beaufighter is very interesting and fine aircraft which is usually overlooked and overshadowed by its contemporary fellow the Mosquito.
Great vide
Glad the Beaufight made number 3.
Never seems to get the recognition that it deserves, being overshadowed by the mosquito.
Well said Ian!
The Beaufighter for the RAAF was the workhorse for most of WWII. Also the Japanese named her the Whispering Death.
I thought the Hurricane was the workhorse of the RAF and was under the impression it took higher kill rates.
It did, but during the Battle of Britain.
Past that point Hurricane fell behind both in numbers and performance compared to the Spitfire or Bf.109, so its missions were primarily air defense and bomber interception (North Africa, Malta) and later on ground strikes.
Spitfire (starting with Mk.V) sequred its position as *the* air superiority fighter and later on the primary bomber interceptor.
Excellent work, sir. This is what I love. You give content that is unique and no nonsense.
When questioning a former Luftwaffe pilot about what allied planes were good or bad planes, (he had flown in Africa an Italy and the Mediterranean) he said that the P-40 was "a good aircraft." The British interviewer asked "Really?" To which the old German nodded his head very solemnly and said "Oh yes,VERY good." As for me, the most maneuverable and exciting air show fighter I ever saw was a P-40.
The Typhoon suffered from the thick wing compressibility like the Hurricane. The Tempest solved that but mainly by the wing being thinner. Laminar flow wings worked well in wind tunnels but not it normal service. RAE and AA&E tests showed that the minute the wings became scuffed or dirty from normal service the benefits a fell away. The thinness was a far bigger benefit in increasing the wing's Mcrit. In this, Beverley Shenstone who designed the Spitfire's wing for Supermarine was way ahead. The P-51 wing had a MCrit of M 0.78 and the Spitfire 0.90. A MK VIII Spitfire could out climb, out dive and out turn a Mustang. The only area it gave anything up was in range. The Spitfire still holds a verified world record for a propeller driven aircraft at Mach 0.92 achieved in 1944 during RAE diving tests. The Lancaster claims must be taken as must any other claims, with a big pinch of salt unless verified by Luftwaffe Quartermaster records.
Do you have the breakdown of FAA victories by aircraft type?
Aside from the Fulmar I read 57 kills for the F6F, but that’s it. Very curious about how the Seafire, Hurricane and the USN types did in FAA service.
Oh no, my dearest Caliban, i didn't forget the Beau! I just put this outstanding machine a couple of tiers below...what a pity, i could have scored a 100%!!! What a fine video! Thank you!!!
Thanks for watching Riccardo. At least you remembered all of them.
I was really scratching my head regarding number three, having already seen the obvious candidates that came after (Typhoon, Tempest, Mosquito etc.) - until it came on the screen! The Bristol Beauflghter ! Of course! Brilliant fighter bomber and attack aircraft, second to no other two engined fighter in WW2.
Fantastic, superbly documented episode. My favourite ww2 fighter was number 3
Thanks for watching Mick
I love the Spitfire, Mosquito and Lancaster.
As a kid I loved going to the Museum of Transport and Technology (MoTaT) in Auckland, New Zealand, when they would fire up the engines of the Lancaster they have in their collection. What a fantastic sound. Sadly they no longer do this.
I was, for two years, lived under the flight path of Ardmore aerodrome and my heart left when I heard the glorious symphony of the Merlin V12 of the Spitfire that flies from there. Of course, the sounds of the Hardvards, Betsy (DC3) and the P40 Kittyhawk was not unappreciated in any way.
I lived under the flight path of the BBMF whenever they were displaying in the North West of England. Every summer we regularly had the Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane or Dakota overfly the town at low level - using the Rolls Royce airfield as a waypoint. Haven't seen them come this way for years now though 😟
They came over low enough that I could wave at guys in the Dakota if they were standing near the open Jump Door on really hot days and they'd wave back. Marvellous 😎
It is interesting that u have so much respect for the tempest and typhoon. From other sources I have heard they were dangerous beasts that needed an explosive charge to start and were dumped by the RAF as soon as possible after the war
Don't get me wrong, the Typhoon in particular was pretty much a lemon early on in its operational career. It's more of an aesthetic thing for me and me being a Hawker fanboy.
I thought the hurricane shot more down than the spitfire & I thought the mozzy would of been 3rd~ we learn summat every day ~ thanks
What game is that in your video to show what the planes look like looks pretty fun
well you got me… I thought the hurricane would take the number one spot. because I forgot that the hurricane was told to go after bombers during WWII and the Spitfire was allocated destruction of the fighters hence the opportunity to bring down more fighters … But the hurricane could have held its own. Good video thank you
Thanks for watching Jeff
Imagine the spitfire with a laminar flow wing concept used on the mustang, perhaps that would have given it more range
Post one more Defiant accomplishment. Bolton Paul
Was actually a turret manufacturer along with other vital system developments. One was the first British ejection seat- tested in the former turret bay.
"BOULTON PAUL"
Good job! Whose sim did you use to make those videos? Microsofts?
4/11 for me: got Spit, Hurricane, P-40 and Lanc (with a bit of help from the vid). Failed to include the Gladiator and Defiant, putting the Wildcat and Corsair in instead.
Good job Jimmy!
A bit of info for you. The Brits only called the P51 the Mustang after they had upgraded its engine to the Rolls Royce Merlin. So the Mustang was only the souped up British version.
Incredibly done! Banger!
Very good video , thanks a lot !
Keep on going mate
Cheers mate, thanks for watching!
The Spitfire was the symbol of the Battle of Britain, and it was a magnificent and beautiful plane suited to become an icon, but it was the Hurricanes that outnumbered it two to one, and shot down more planes. The Defiant would have made an awesome ground attack aircraft, if they fitted it with forward firing guns or cannon. Much better than the Fairy battle, a flying deathtrap akin to the ill-fated Be2's of WWI
I've always been a huge fan of the Spitfire. To me they're just the most beautiful aircraft ever designed, and are so highly maneuverable. They could out turn any other aircraft, and with 2 cannons and 4 machine guns they were very deadly. In my opinion the Spitfire was the epitome of WW2 fighters. Just a beautiful bird all around.
It's the shape of the wings in the rear where it meets the body, right?
@@FlatOutMatt That is true, the Zero, and the Hayabusa was very agile, and were very hard to outmaneuver. Since the Spitfire was a point fighter it's range was very limited.
The Spitfire is gorgeous (and the P-51 is her good-looking American cousin). 😁
Also late war designs in ww2 had also less preys for hunt. As in Burma Campaings of 1944-1945 the RAF ruled the skies. The same with NWE and Italy-Med TOs.
Great content, I'm excited to see what is to come!
Thanks mate!
All I know is Hurricane was back bone of RAF of battle of brittain, I'd struggle to name 3 fighters, I could barely name 2 bombers.
13:27 Later on, there was a RADAR system for the Lancaster rear turret, known as 'Village Inn' or AGLT.
They each had their job, but the Hurricane was in the Battle of Britain a bomber killer, there was a good reason the Spitfire had the Air-Superiority role taking on the best German fighters.
New subscriber, great, interesting vid. Thank you.
Thanks for watching Antonia!
Fantastic account.. very interesting indeed, massive token of appreciation and thanks for showing this, superb.
How about the, F4 corsair in Fleet Air arm service, and the LOCKHEED P38 lighting with the RAF ?
Thanks for watching Mark. I'd have to dig around the numbers for the F4U with the FAA. As for the P-38, I believe the RAF never operated them in combat after ordering a few castrated Lightnings for testing and then rejecting them.
@@CalibanRising Please dig out also numbers for Hellcats used by RN.
@@CalibanRising my dad was in the FAA, took a corsair for a joyride from a ground base (they did this a lot when nobody was looking). Said it handled beautifully & went like stink but he couldn't imagine trying to take off & land from a carrier in it. He liked yank planes generally, loved the martlet, avenger & mustang,
I'm guessing the Hurricane shot down more enemy aircraft than any other type, perhaps followed by the Spitfire, and then maybe the Mustang? For the rest, I have no idea; great video.
Hurricane was not developed much and phased out during the war, The Spitfire was continued to be developed right through the war and flown afterwards. There was in fact a Spitfire v Spitfire action in the first Egypt-Israeli war
From 1944, Lancasters did have Village Inn AGLT radar, although it was a bit of a mixed blessing, also announcing your presence, and resulted in some friendly fire incidents when switched to automatic.
Thanks for the correction.
@@CalibanRising it was surprisingly advanced yet apparently in some ways more useful on daylight raids as the enemy could already see you, and you could tell it was an enemy you were firing at, but it could give a good firing solution. Best with the turrets with 50s, of which there weren't very many. I'd have to look up the FN numbers and whether any Rose ones got Village Inn.
33.25 A good shot of the Beaufighter on Malta's Ta' Qali airfield with the backdrop of the Mdina's St Paul's Cathedral
I wouldn't have guessed the Beaufighter at number 3
The Apache was the official name given by the USAAF to the North American A-36A not the North American P-51. The main difference between the 2 aircraft was the slotted dive brakes fitted to A-36 that were not fitted to the P-51 as it was used in the fighter-bomber role. I can find evidence of only 1 example of the Apache being flown by the RAF and that is EW998. The Mustang 1, the P-51, was already in service with the RAF (February 1942 and had been ordered under the name North Ametican Mustang Mark I) under that name long before the Apache variant came along in October 1942. It's so easy to get things right, howcome you got it so wrong?
"(H)owcome you got it do wrong?"
What point are you attempting to make, Kneil und Bobneck?
@@mbryson2899 Blame my dyslexia for the bad spelling, you're lucky that the rest came out legible. But there's no excuse for your incapability to comprehend that the Mustang came first and then came the Apache. It took me but a moment to fact check this.
@@mbryson2899 PS error corrected you small minded person of no importance.
@@mbryson2899 He makes the argument that the video is wrong. What are you criticizing exactly?
For a short while the USAAF called the P-51 Apache. This was at the point it took over part of the RAF contract in early 1942, rather than release it to the UK. IIRC this name was applied to P-51s, to the extent the USA used names at that point, for only a few weeks. It was later reused for the A-36. This is from memory, so if you want references I'll have to look up books provided it's not one of the ones my dad has on loan from me.
Good as gold pal : )
it seems to me that if considering the ratio of kills vs number produced, the hurricane and the spitfire are virtually the same. am I wrong?
Just an interesting note, according to Roal Dahl himself he wasn't an ace, despite it being a repeated rumor. I think in "Going Solo" he says he had 3 confirmed, and 3 probable, that is if I remember correctly. So not 5 confirmed, and as such not an ace, according to Roald Dahl himself. On the other hand, possibly 6. Also, every single victory he had was scored in the Hawker Hurricane over Greece and later over Syria against the Vichy, before he had to stop due to worsening head injury he had suffered from his crash in Africa. He describes in vivid detail shooting down a Ju 88 from the worst possible position, chasing it from above and behind the entire time and taking machinegun fire himself, tangling with Ju 87 bombing a transport and being part of the famous "Battle of Athens" dogfight where less than 10 Hawker Hurricanes engaged more than 100 German fighters, and he lived to tell the tale. That dogfight was so confusing and desperate he is uncertain whether or not he actually shot any enemy down, but he returned to the airfield out of ammo. He describes being drenched in sweat and shaking from adrenaline. Roald Dahl never shot anything down in a Gloster Gladiator as he crashed it on his very first sortie looking for an airfield to land and he ran out of fuel. There was a story printed in a newspaper that he had been shot down over Africa in combat, but Roald Dahl refuted this himself in "Goind Solo". He got blinding headaches that almost knocked him out if he pulled high G maneuvers. So he was sent home to Britain in 1942 or 43.
Thank you for this. It's the first time I've heard of "Pat" Pattle! He was apparently the highest scoring Hurricane Ace as well. How come his name isn’t better known? There are now claims that he is now recognized as the top scoring RAF Ace of the war.
I agree, he should be as well known as the Baders, Stanford-Tucks and Johnnie Johnsons of WW2. I'm going to be in Athens later this month, so hopefully I can get some footage for a video about his last flight.
Imagine what Pattle could have achieved in a Spitfire.
Fascinating list.
Hurricane #1, not sure about #2, Beaufighter, or the Mosquito Spitfire #3? Okay, now I'll watch to see how off I was, lol.
Outstanding video!
Glad you liked it!
I think the Finnish air force also flew Gloucester Gladiators early in the war.
Eric Wrinkle Brown the top scoring Fleet air arm pilot?
I'm always amused that people dismiss the P40 for not being a P51 or the Hurricane for not being a Spitfire.
That's like dismissing a Grand Touring class Chevrolet Corvette or Aston Martin Vantage or what-have-you for not being a Formula One car. You're not trying to beat the same competition with it, and if it just keeps beating the competition that it has to beat to win in its own class, then what the hell is wrong with it?
I admit to being very wrong on the top 4 i had the mosi anf beufighter the wrong way round
17:10 Arguably it was Roald Dahl’s crash and his resulting head injuries that somehow turned him into the writer we know today.
Nice video
I had to think about the channel title and the Tempest!...but eventually, the Ariel picked it up
Great video. Could I ask what the list would look like if it was per plane built. Or is it the same?
This is a fantastic idea for a video. I will try to find the data to get this put together for you. Cheers for watching.
Your list says more about numbers in service that it does about how good the aircraft was.
Also calling the Spitfire one type is questionable given how much it changed during the war. Conversely the Typhoon and Tempest are closely related, the Tempest was originally the Typhoon II, add them together and with 485 kills they would be number 6 in the list.
I think you are right about that.
Super good videos !
Thanks for watching Vincent
The Tempest looks like the town strong man who just had his mother insulted.
That's an easy one. The one flown by the Polish pilot.
Well seeing that you are a big hawker fan did you know that the sopwith corp bcame hawker corp?.😊
Regards
PS a few Defiant Squadrons during the BOB tried, with success a slowly descending and maligned Lufberry circle. An attacking 109 was under fire from multiple gunners.
Squadron Leader Phillip Hunter worked out the Lufberry circle.
A friend of mines grandfather flew with 264 Squadron and was shot down on May the 10th when 264 lost five Defiants.
While recovering from burns to the hands suffered during that incident he was limited in the amount of front line flying he could do and so was volunteered by Squadron Leader Hunter to go and assist 141 Squadron with the tactics 264 had worked out.
141 Squadron Commander refused/ignored the help offered and 141 were virtually wiped out on the 19th of July.
Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
I reckon that Air Arm pilot is Winkel Brown
Thanks!
Thanks Greg! Appreciate it.
at 8:44 you refer to Wehrmacht as if it is the German Army, a common error. Wehrmacht (translatable as defence force) is a cover all title for Luftwaffe (Air Force), Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Heer (Army).
Thanks for the correction, you must tell more people this!
@@CalibanRising Of course a combined arms operation would be ok to use Wehrmacht which is probably where the confusion sets in. Plus Wehrmacht sounds more bitchin' than Heer. Vehicle number plates also reflect this WK for Kriegsmarine, WL for Luftwffe, WH for Heer. Didn't realise this for a long time as WH could have been Wehrmacht!
I got the top 5, but had the mozzie and p40 switched.
Well seriously would never have put the Beaufighter in the top 3, one slip on the graphics for the Mossy, it had right and left hand rotating props to counter the torque of two props spining in the same direction, great video
Are you sure? The P38 had contra rotating props, known to catch pilots out when they lost one engine when the torque reaction came in suddenly
I'm pretty sure the Mozzie didn't,
Yes, it is surprising. A very under-rated aircraft.
The Hornet had handed engines, but not the Mosquito.
@@g8ymw apart from the P-38s the UK and France trialled, as they insisted on unhanded engines for ease of parts supply!
@@g8ymw yep my bad, to much xmas red wine 😁sure i read some bomber variants had handed engines but they would seem to be the exception, still awesome plane i had the privalidge to see at an air show a lot of years back
Hey who are the RAF was flying the p-51b and c models? Pictures online of RAF P-51 b and c are extremely rare.. take a dive see what you can find out for us.
On the Zother end of this Talley dome unlikely victories were made. A Fairy Battle gunner shot down a 109 in France and Anson light bombers managed a few. The strangest? An Italian Falco flew alongside a Swordfish waving hello.
The pilot pulled his Webley .455 and killed him ( having owned said revolver that WAS a good shot at any distance.)He expressed remorse later, figuring it was good will between biplanes. - I know, Falco wasn’t a true biplane.
It's up for debate but the one they hated the most was the mosquito, brought them low level destruction, fast and evil, used for anything
Awesome watching this .. astounding work sir please accept my humble and gentle thanks 👍
Thanks for watching.
Fun fact, Roald Dahl, writer of charlie and the chocolate factory, the BFG... was a gladiator pilot in Africa, he had 5 aerial victories, which qualified him as an ace.
his ww2 memoir goin' solo is a good read too
I think in "Going Solo" he says he had 3 confirmed, and 3 probable, that is if I remember correctly. So not 5 confirmed, and as such not an ace, according to Roald Dahl himself. On the other hand, possibly 6. Also, every single victory he had was scored in the Hawker Hurricane over Greece and later over Syria against the Vichy, before he had to stop due to worsening head injury he had suffered from his crash in Africa. He describes in vivid detail shooting down a Ju 88, tangling with Ju 87 bombing a transport and being part of the famous "Battle of Athens" dogfight where less than 10 Hawker Hurricanes engaged more than 100 German fighters, and he lived to tell the tale. That dogfight was so confusing and desperate he is uncertain whether or not he actually shot any enemy down, but he returned to the airfield out of ammo. He describes being drenched in sweat and shaking from adrenaline. Roald Dahl never shot anything down in a Gloster Gladiator as he crashed it on his very first sortie looking for an airfield to land and he ran out of fuel. There was a story printed in a newspaper that he had been shot down over Africa in combat, but Roald Dahl refuted this himself in "Goind Solo". He got blinding headaches that almost knocked him out if he pulled high G maneuvers. So he was sent home to Britain in 1942 or 43.
And wrote a bond film
And was brought up in Cardiff from a long line of Norwegian seamen. Seamen I said...
No, Hurricane pilot: no victories.
The RAAF had 583 Beaufighters. With them the Australians wrecked havoc on the Japanese who came to fear the Beaufighter and called it the "Whispering Death". My father was a senior navigation instructor in the RAAF. He spoke very highly of the Beaufighter and spoke of the reports of many of the pilots.
The Beaufighter had a Hercules engine with sleeve valves that made them much quieter than other aircraft engines of the period. The reduced engine noise was a real advantage in a ground attack role.
"Australians wreaked havoc".
@@DavidRLentz Australians are good at tiepose :-)
@@ianlowery6014 tiepose?
@@DavidRLentz :-) I fink you no wot eye meen...
The Hurri was not "relegated to less crucial theatres". It was the ONLY Brit fighter in those "less crucial" theatres like France, Norway, North Africa, Malta, Ceylon, Singapore, India
the East Indies and Burma until the powers that be finally released the Spitfire for overseas service. The Hurri was holding the line and steadlily downing enemy aircraft
as well as taking nasty losses the whole time.
Don't forget Hurricanes (with RAF crew) were based in Russia for a while near Murmansk (Save polluting Russians with capitalist ideas?)
a fair point William
True the Hurricane was the backbone of the RAF in early WW2. It lacked the capacity to evolve as Spitfire. Also there was a shift in axis and allied pilot quality when Hurricane squadrons transitioned to more powerful aircraft. German and Japanese average pilots were better trained and used better dogfight tactics up to 1942. Allied novice pilots from 1943 1944 were better trained.
@@touristguy87 I agree 100% !!!
@Aqua Fyre Absolutely !!! Brits had a problem of runnin their yellow crooked toothed mouths all the time about how good THEY were and how pi$$ poor everybody else was !!!
I called the top three in the right order . The Beaufighter was seriously under rated and almost forgotten. I didn't even think of the U.S aircraft , I was thinking British only . I knew the Lanc had to be there ......... The Defiant ! That was a big surprise . Love your work sir
Good job Mark
Mark Remember the USA provided 38,000 aircraft of all types to the Brits in WWII !!! Did you think they never used them ????
@@wilburfinnigan2142 Indeed lend lease was a valuable commodity to the war effort . I thought the list was for British aircraft not aircraft used by the British . Just a simple misunderstanding on my part
Not forgetting the great pilot James 'Ginger' Lacey. Flying Hurricanes, had most kills during Battle of Britain. Then played huge role in the far east. But, Eric Brown was without doubt the greatest pilot this country ever produced!
I thought Josef frantisek from 303 squadron had highest BOB kills, he had 11 previously and 17 confirmed.
@@rogerduncan2603 you're both wrong
Eric Lock had the most kills in the battle of Britain with 21and 5 probable
2 Sqn Ldr Archie McKellar 19
3 Sgt James Lacey 18
4 Sgt Josef František 17
Read "Ginger Lacey Fighter Pilot", if you can find a copy.
Big difference between pilot and fighter pilot
From the book, and I apologise if the number is not exact. Ginger Lacy was questioned by his ground crew about a kill "are you sure you got that german sir?" Yes, why ask" "well you only used five canon shells" short pause "Really. That many?..."
My mother worked on beaufighters. It is my favourite plane of ww2 and it's such a shame we we don't have one in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Isn't one being restored somewhere? That would be a nice addition.
@@CalibanRisingyep, at Duxford.
The Beaufighter only had limited late service at the tail end of the BoB (it was introduced in the dying stages). It was more of a prominent force during the Blitz.
That said though if a Lancaster is part of the BoB memorial flight then a BF should have a slot too.
She worked on them - in a factory, or in the WAAF?
@@Pte1643 they already where working on one, i think a mk. xxi, when I was there the last time about 20 years ago.
I remember reading 'Night Fighter' probably 45~50 years ago so expected Mosquito and Beaufighter on the list as night fighters and the Typhoon as 'tank buster'
Bolton Paul Defiant was a surprise though.
I remember building Airfix models of almost all of planes on list when I was a kid (along with a Short Sunderland, biggest model aircraft I ever had)
Wild! I too read Night Fighter, 50 years ago. I was 10 years old. Got it for a dime at a neighbors yard sale.
John Cunningham and Canadian Peter Rawnsley first teamed up on the AI equipped Beaufighter nightfighter then later moved on to the Mosquito carrying out some very successful nightfighter missions often flying in the RAF Bomber streams over Germany hunting the German nightfighters before they could attack the British bombers.
Rawnsley wrote a very good book describing the work that he and his pilot John Cunningham (Later De-Havillands test pilot) carried out.
A good read if you can find it.
@@sclarke1721 Fascinating ! I don't remember much of Night Fighter, and will make it a priority to re-read. Are you describing a different book? Sounds interesting.
My father's Mosquito is featured at one point. They are painting up his last bombing raid. The photographs taken at the time are the only set that enables restorers to know how they were painted! It was EG-W later re identified as EG-A . It probably completed a 100 sorties, but was shot down towards the end of the war. It was with the NZRAF 487 Squadron.
Mosquito. My favourite ever aircraft. So glad your dad made it and I'd thank him very much if I could.
Yeah - did get the Beaufighter - a favourite of mine (along with the Mosquito!). Pierre Clostermann's book was what brought the Tempest to my notice. Great stuff.
It's amazing to think the Spitfire took to the air 32 years after the first powered flight.
And the AVRO Lancaster was replaced by the AVRO Vulcan. Eleven years between fist flights of each.
Humans went to the moon 66 years after they left the ground
@@sr7129 ...in powered flight. Let's not forget the Montgolfiers
@@johnzenkin1344 Thanks for the irony, I stick with my original observation. Look at cars in 1991 and 2023, and show me development to compare with powered kites and monoplane fighter aircraft.
@@mikep4566 avro Lincoln replaced Lancaster not the vulcan
Often, flying the best aircraft meant that they were given the most dangerous missions. Mosquitos had huge success and due to its performance, they could easily take on many difficult missions.
I will always believe Joe Smith never got the Spit kudos he deserved. Its Mitchell's initial design sure (although Joe was on the prototype team), but look how Joe evolved it into the amazing fighting machine it became... he really is a forgotten hero of WWII.
I think this is a good point. Ultimately it was the team rather than a single man behind the A/C.
@@CalibanRising correct, it's about the quality of the team and the project manager (RJ Mitchell), which is why Hawker was second class. Camm was not a good team leader before / during WWII.
My uncle, who died in 79, was a Beaufighter pilot. He said it was a beast.
The Beau was a beast! Not known as the Typhie or the Spit or Mosquito but the Beau made a tremendous job during ww2! Regards from France!
My grand uncle flew Beaufighers against the Japanese and although he rarely spoke of his actions when flying he did tell of the Beaufighers take off swing and the tremendous fire-power of the aircraft he regarded the Beaufighers as a safe aircraft that was still deadly even on one engine
They dont really seem to get mentioned really but interesting aircraft, similar to mosquitoes I suppose when used in the heavy/night fighter doctrine. Obviously not so maneuverable but with the firepower they could stick on them a single second burst on target could completely destroy most things in its path. They were ahead of their time in multi role capability.
@@Ukraineaissance2014 I believe they were mostly used for anti-shipping operations, particularly in the Med where they did a lot of damage to Rommel's supply lines.
@@nerdyali4154 yes they were given to coastal defence in britain as well, I wouldnt want to be in a small boat against one of those with the firepower it had
The Beaufighter was a flying tank. The Mossy is my favorite, buy to fly the Tippy took a pair of brass ones. Those pilots should have been awarded the Victoria Cross
My uncle was killed flying Typhoons (over Holland, attacking V1 ramps). The early version reliability was very poor. A common role was flak suppression, one of the most dangerous roles of all. In 1944 the Fighter Ground Attack (FGA) role was improved with integrated Forward Air Controllers (FAC) using senior RAF directors operating with frontline battalions: They called in Close Air Support (CAS) support from squadrons circling in reserve in the rear.
My uncle was an armourer, radio operator, and bomb aimer on Lancs.
He was 'filling in' for someone on a night mission and is also buried in Holland 😒
Very true the early tiffy's had engine and flight stability problems the latter being the most tricky to cure Sid Camm was literally tearing his hair out in frustation eventually adding a fillet to the base of the tailplane cured this.After this the Germans quickly learned to dread the Rocket firing Tiffy's especially Panzer Formations.
@@geoffhunter7704 A Typhoon pilot told me the canopy on the early versions was also hard to open. Faced with reports that pilots were getting trapped, his CO had everyone try to open their canopies as an exercise and only one could without issue.
@@stephensmith3398 Yes Stephen that is very true Uncle John told me that the early Malcolm Hoods amongst other faults were prone to jamming as were the early Spitfires too.
@@stephensmith3398 It is quite hard to open the canopy when the plane is lying upside down on the runway thanks to the huge shovel under the nose catching the dirt when crash landing.
My Grandad killed 56 luftwaffe pilots. He was a terrible engineer
Now that's really funny. Sad but hilarious, who's side was he on?😅
The Spitfire and the Hurricane shot down more planes than all the others combined! That's an amazing stat.
Only IF you are counting the RAF Kills, No where near the USAAF totals !! !
Well spotted 😀
The Mustang only became effective when it was fitted with the Merlin engine
Perhaps in the long range escort role, but I still would argue the Allison powered model was a good medium to low altitude aircraft in many other roles.
Excellent video. When I was in the RAF I had the great pleasure of working in the Battle of Britain Memorial flight component repair bay at RAF St Athan. I got to repair fuel tanks and other items that were needed. I got a few trips to BBMF with the opportunity to wander around the hanger and climb into anything I wanted to.