Up here in NorCal, The SF Bay Area, we have old Warbirds periodically fly in to our smaller airports. I've seen a B17, a B24 & a B25 fly by singly and you are right it IS deafening. I can't image the sound a dozen, or a hundred or a thousand of them would make.
A hundred aircraft can fly above us and we don't even look... But hear a Spit 2 miles away and you stop everything and search the sky with a smile. Wonderful!
One time we were driving home from Wheaton when we heard a strange noise. I see something fly over the houses to our left, but I didn't know what it was. Then my brother shouts, "A P-51 MUSTANG!!!!" Dad, who was driving(we were 13 then), shouted "WHAT!?" And it flew right over the car! We all saw it! And we all looked up.
Hi Simon. I have immense respect for the ladies of the Air Transport Auxiliary who flew aircraft directly from the factories to the squadrons or delivered damaged aircraft to the workshops and back again. Lord Beaverbrook said " Without the ATA the days and nights of the Battle of Britain would have been conducted under conditions quite different from the actual events. They carried out the delivery of aircraft from the factories to the RAF, thus relieving countless numbers of RAF pilots for duty in the battle. Just as the Battle of Britain is the accomplishment and achievement of the RAF, likewise it can be declared that the ATA sustained and supported them in the battle. They were soldiers fighting in the struggle just as completely as if they had been engaged on the battlefront." Great Ladies, sadly unsung and overlooked they did a magnificent job, then went back to their peacetime lives as if nothing had happened. We owe them.
I’m from the USA. First and foremost. Anyone giving this video a thumbs down 👎🏻 is a “wanker” ,secondly that is the most incredible sound ever to soar upon the skies.
Hundreds of Europeans escaped the NAZI EVIL in their homelands, and escaped to Britain, joined our services (many joined the RAF ) and fought bravely against the Luftwaffe. Check it out .@@Frankfurtmann87
@@Frankfurtmann87The highest scoring squadron in history was 303 squadron, they flew spitfires and the pilots were made up of Czechs and poles. Best pilots and the best fighters in history.
And let's not forget Ford produced thousands of the Merlin engines under license. And a very good job of it they did as well. My Father was involved in the whole project, if you search "Mallinson Birthday Spitfire" on You Tube, you will se him!
Not forgetting a lot of your young boys nipped into Canada to learn to fly and then came to us to fight for my country and one Pilot Officer John Gillespie Maggee penned that memorable poem "High Flight" that I read every day it gives me goose bumps.
Plum Duffy We love you Britons too! Even though our relationship got off to a rocky start, and despite how much we bicker in the comments, we’ll always be there for each other. Rule Britannia and God Bless America! 🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧
@@a5cent The Royal Navy shouldn't be discounted either. Operation Sea Lion was nowhere near as well-organised as D-Day and no serious modern historian would consider the German plans for invasion as anything other than haphazard. The Royal Navy had great power back then and would have mauled any landing craft; German surface vessels totally outclassed strategically and unable to simply dismiss the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm it carried. The RAF remnants (in that scenario where the Luftwaffe thinks it has ''won'') would be fighting back the entire time. The popular narrative that Churchill himself popularised, was venerable in it's aims of rallying the British people and paying rightful homage to the heroism of RAF Fighter Command; but there was more to it than this. I'd argue that even were the RAF swept from the sky, the Nazis would still likely fail to defeat Fortress Britain. Britain had a recovering main army post-Dunkirk and intricate defences of over 28,000 pillboxes and various defence lines and a million strong (and growing) Home Guard, even in 1940. Martial law was in full effect in the UK, with beaches and coastal areas often off limits and strangled in mile upon mile of barbed wire. Anti-tank ditches and concrete dragon's teeth barriers were arrayed with barbed wire fences, minefields, prepared artillery firing positions, bunkers with naval calibre guns capable of firing at France (the Nazis had their own versions of those in France and fired at Southern England too, in crazy long range duels, rarely effective) Britain was also developing contraptions on some beaches which fed oil into the water to be ignited in the pipes which were arrayed in the shoreline and water, to cause any landing craft to have to run right into fire on the water (or even immolation of soldiers) It was true that Britain's defences weren't evenly distributed in 1940 and the approaches to London got the most attention - but for sure, the ill-prepared Nazis would have been in for a very nasty shock if they thought could just steamroll the defenders. Romanticisation of the Nazis is a genuine problem, though it is hard to ignore the fact that on paper for the first few years, the Wehrmacht was a powerful war machine often better led than Allied forces. However, their predicted success in the UK, was by no means assured in 1940. Germany had not the foggiest idea what it was trying to do in 1940 in terms of amphibious assault. Most of their hopes rested on a limited destroyer fleet of then, fairly modern destroyers, with maybe a heavy cruiser or two if they were lucky, screening the predominantly commandeered and repurposed civilian barges and leisure craft they'd taken and cobbled together in Calais and the Low Countries. Oh and some U-boats. It was very likely the Royal Navy would slam a large fleet or two into the side of any attempted landing fleets trying to move in. Even in such a dire scenario where the Royal Navy had lost vital RAF support, and accordingly suffered a much higher rate of loss among their own ships and crews, we must remember that the British had a very impressive Tier 1 Blue Water Navy (WWII paradigm) [1/2]
@@a5cent [2/2] The Germans would themselves exploit their supposed air superiority, and move to drop entire divisions worth of paratroopers behind the key landing zones to cause trouble and weaken the target area - but all that would be for absolutely nothing were the British Army and Home Guard to surround their outnumbered assault forces while the Royal Navy coordinated an assault on the landing beaches, cutting off any attempted reinforcements. Yes, the Nazis had Bismarck, and yes, the Royal Navy would still have HMS Hood at this point (prior to the Battle of the Denmark Straits) But even if Bismarck got involved the British had far more naval firepower to repel her. If Bismarck would be cagey about going down the English Channel, I don't think German infantry in leaky riverine barges, never designed to brave the swells and surprisingly difficult and dangerous tides of the English Channel (especially in bad weather), would really feel so great about their situation. I categorically guarantee you that landing craft would stray, go missing, sink and even crash into each other in the confusion *even without* say, a *fleet of Royal Navy warships ploughing right into them* from the Atlantic and Portsmouth. Moreover, once the British warships disrupted a weakly organised landing force, and were in amongst them like a wolves in the midst of sheep, the Luftwaffe would be of limited value as air cover, for fear of hitting their own ships. Granted, this early in the war, dive bombers on all sides were limited and even then, mostly to air to land attacks (though Stukas had tried to attack ships at Dunkirk and in the Channel later on, with some success on slower moving ships that were laden with troops as evacuation transports) This would mostly limit the Luftwaffe with their means of actually properly harming the armoured cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships of the Royal Navy. In fairness, the Royal Navy (and most if not all navies) in 1940 specifically, was not yet geared towards anti-aircraft configurations on their warships as a common feature. A lot of AA batteries were still yet to be fitted to ships like HMS Hood and HMS Repulse. This would limit the AA capabilities of the Royal Navy, but their sheer numbers (and the relatively small number of relevant dive bombers able to seriously trouble the Royal Navy tactically during any such interception mission, for any decent amount of time before having to go back to base miles away to rearm and refuel) would win out. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Germans would get the worst of it, especially seeing as the RN Fleet Air Arm, would send up to hundreds of sea planes from their carrier ships - admittedly, most of these (like the Fairey Swordfish, and others, not even as ''good'' as that) were no match for something like a Messerschmidt Bf 109. But that isn't the point; they'd do enough to draw the German aircraft away and any proper RAF fighter remnants coming in to help would be a huge problem for the attackers. This also says nothing of the fate of RAF Bomber Command. For all we know, maybe they were still going strong from out of Scotland or somewhere like that, with a few even daring to operate from Britain's carriers of the time depending on if they even could. If RAF Bomber Command was helping to defend the beaches too, it could send heavy bombers after the prize targets of German cruisers and battleships, and also use medium bombers like the Blenheim Bomber, to go after destroyers and landing craft. All this even assumes as though the RAF lost in the first instance, and that the invasion dared to do what it clearly could not - to wrong-foot the Royal Navy long enough to deploy hundreds of thousands of German troops, for even slightly long enough to reinforce it again before the RN swept in and pounded the landing zones into smithereens with heavy gunnery. I'm sure HMS Rodney's 16 inch guns would have fun with anything short of Bismarck and even Bismarck was actually justifiably in danger from hits from HMS Rodney. If HMS Rodney, HMS Hood and HMS Nelson all joined in, bye bye Bismarck. All it takes is a simple encircling attack by the Royal Navy to cut off the German spearhead from it's reinforcements and that'd be the end of that. They'd have absolutely no love in the UK and would have their backs to the sea.
Britain also had the ability to send tank regiments after the German paratroopers who'd theoretically managed to land enough men in the designated areas - but they'd have too few to make a major difference and without proper support they'd be defeated (though they'd cause the more volunteer based Home Guard serious losses and be difficult for the British Army proper, to handle with as easily as they would have, had Dunkirk's massive logistical losses and material losses, not hampered them. Any beachheads the Germans would take, would be instantly recognised by the defenders, and they'd be unable to stop the British from just calling in every man within a huge diameter to help close down the salient and crush the Germans holding it. It was basically a huge mess to organise. Britain's own geography lends to our defence measures and almost always has. We have a very long coastline with a vast surface area for the overall size dimensions of the British Isles. Were the Germans to send anything less than 100,000 men in the first wave, they wouldn't stand a chance. Also, where are the German tanks in any of this? In France. Even if they managed to send a few smaller Panzer I's and II's over on large barges, the British could deal with such odds and ends (assuming the Royal Navy didn't blast them out of the water already) Yes, the Royal Navy might endure severe losses for a while, but it would not let this happen without one hell of a fight. You'd basically see the sky light up from Hastings to Dover as British warships fired off everything they had at both attacking aircraft and the defenceless landing craft. Britain had literally hundreds of destroyers. In real history, Britain specifically annihilated the bulk of the German destroyer fleet, in the Second Battle of Narvik, hammering the Germans into pieces. HMS Warspite would cause havoc (just as it did at Narvik in real history) were the Germans naive enough to allow this to happen. Rogue British ships could show up anywhere. We also had our own submarines too which would be going after U-boats with the help of Destroyers and primarily going after German Destroyers and Cruisers. The Germans had no real plan with how to conquer Britain in 1940; just more pipe-dreams. After the Battle of Britain in real history proved Britain would not surrender in spite of the Blitz (which only angered the British more) the British just strengthened fortress Britain. The Germans could never abandon the French coasts with Britain still alive and well to their NW flank. The idea of the Axis swarming over the UK with a million men, ignores how the UK was plenty defended enough - and if the defenders got desperate, they could easily buy time to await Imperial reinforcements. The Germans would be scattered across the landing zones and rendezvous with any German paratroopers could be impeded. There is just no where they can do it. They'd need five times as many ships (at least) and a million men. Even were London to fall and even if half the defences across the UK were overrun, that would still not be the end for Britain. Many armies stationed all over the world could try and get home. It'd be inevitable for some to arrive (even if surface raiders and U-boats claimed a few of these along the way) Quite simply, yes, the RAF saved the day in the Battle of Britain; but I would urge a more balanced approach. I can tell you were just referring to the popular image of the RAF, but again, I must recall the other aspects which Britain had going for it. Generally, yes, the RAF saved Britain and I have no issue with that as such - but just as much the British Royal Navy was a potent force. The Germans wouldn't know what hit them.
@@ThePalaeontologist Holy cow, that's the longest YT comment I've ever read. I'm just going to say you're probably right about all of that. My comment reflected the common mythology and nationalist pride surrounding the Battle for Britain and not so much historical fact. Unfortunately for real historians, it's the mythology that determines how a people think and feel about an event... not actual history. It seems to me the RN has long ago lost that fight, which really is unfortunate. While air superiority over the coastlines was very important, I fully concede that the RN was the most important part of Britain's defense. Given the RN's dominance, all the invasion scenarios you mentioned sound pointless to me, which is no doubt partly why Germany never attempted any of it. The thing is, if we really dig into history and leave out all the flag waving nonsense, everything gets a lot more complicated and messy (and often a lot less compelling as a story because it becomes harder to paint sides as good and bad which is what almost all school history books do). Condensing the actions of thousands of people and dozens of governments into a few sentences is destined to fail, but here are my more historical thoughts: Between your lines I seem to make out this faint sense of heroism. A story of how British ingenuity and sheer willpower saved the day. A story of how the nazis could throw everything they had at Britain and still would not prevail. Just as with the Battle for Britain, I don't think that accurately reflects history either. The UK and France declared war on Germany. France then went on to suffer utter defeat, while the UK retreated into irrelevancy. While Germany could not invade the UK, out of their own strength the UK had no hope of invading continental Europe again either. The difference is in the war goals each nation set. The UK desired to reestablish the balance of power in Europe, i.e. to keep Germany in check and in particular to stop their navy from growing even larger. Out of their own strength, the UK was not going to achieve that. On the other hand, Germany had no desire to force the UK into anything and never wanted to go to war with Britain to begin with. All Germany wanted is to have the British out of their hair, and that the Germans did achieve. From this larger strategic perspective, the Germans clearly won, while the European allies lost. Germany even attempted to make a truce with Churchill in 1941. The UK would have had to give up nothing and only needed to promise to stay out of the wars on the continent. As racist and bigoted as Hitler was against Slaves and Jews, he saw the British as cousins and just didn't understand "the fuss over Poland". All this is just to say that the perceived threat of an invasion never actually existed to the extent imagined. In a nutshell, because none of Germany's war goals required them to invade Britain, they had little reason to seriously think about it. Irrespective of the UK's dominance on the seas, that's actually the biggest reason why, as you also mentioned, Germany's invasion plans were never fully fleshed out and never seriously intended to be put into practice.
@Huge Bartlett If you can, you should visit the Battle of Britian Memorial, near Westminster Bridge. It's inscribed with all those whom fought in the RAF -- not least the Polish, Canadians, and Commonwealth pilots -- and died defending the skies above. It truly is a pretty moving sight ... Seeing those 16 Spits doing there stuff reminds me of the amazing orchistration done for the 'Battle of Britain' movie, especially by Sir. William Walton ...
I'm only 39, but to listen to a part of history like this, always gives me a lump in my throat and makes my eyes tear up. Thank you for all that served, and all that we lost
Troller Smith There are now two Lancasters flying. One in the UK and the other is from Canada where it flew to England recently or still has to make its way from Canada to the UK. To help with costs, they fitted seats inside and although it must have cost a few bob, was well worth it. I do not know if there are any other Lancasters being restored to flying condition. Here in Australia in the Perth Aviation Museum, is a fully restored Lancaster, however they need a few more Millions of Dollars to get the engines rebuilt. Then and then only will it take to the skies
What is it about a Spit that can fill you with pride and reduce you to tears at the same time? I have been privileged enough to see them on several occasions,yet every time I get the same emotion. The time that will always live with me was seeing them at Halfpenny Green, with my mother; the BoB memorial flight, then another 6 Spits I think. My father was in the RAF during the war (not a flyer) and until he was posted to Burma my mom would travel around like a camp follower, staying in digs near the bases just so that they could see each other. Consequently she got to know a lot of pilots and others. She stood in that field and sobbed as those planes roared overhead, with pride, and in the memory of those young men that she had met who never made it home, some only 19. And for all the others lost in that dreadful time. I think that is why the Spit is special, its symbolises so many conflicting emotions. Pride certainly, but sorrow too, that we needed such a beautiful killing machine. That deadly little bird has become the emblem of freedom and a reminder of the cost it takes to acheive and maintain it.
I know that feeling, i think we all do, but i think it's not just because of the spit itself but also about the brave courageous young men who flew them??
Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish Exactly. If you can read my whole comment,(I cant right now) I think that you will see that is the point that I am making. When my mothe wa standing in that airfield, she wasnt just seeing the plane,she was seeing the faces of the young boys (that´s all they were really) in the cockpit. She would tell me vey often about a young man at a party in the Mess, A lad with very blonde hair, hopelessly drunk. She guessed he was about 19, but said he looked about 16. She didnt know him, but for some reason that little incident had stayed with her all her life. She often wondered if he made it. That young man had beome the emblem for her for all of them, young lads barely out of school, with virtually no experience of the world, yet thrust into the forefront of something of such magnitude. Total respect to them that they acheived what they did,and often paid the ultimate price.
I'm a Boro lad, 55 years old, and was living in the Kent countryside in 2001, when one summer day I heard this throaty roar from an open window. Don't ask me how, because I'd never seen one in the flesh before, but I knew it was a Spitfire. I ran to the window and, sure enough, watched it growl by about fifty feet above the treetops. What a wonderfully powerful noise. I'm anti-war, but an engineer, and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Well done Mitchell and all the people involved in its creation and production.
Hey Canada I am too old to fight for your freedom (But would anyway) but I have two sons I would encourage them too ..and for Australia, New Zealand, India etc
watched a documentary about the guy who invented the spitfire he was sat in the garden watching the birds flying and swooping he told his friend he was going to build an aircraft that would fly like a bird and spit fire, was he ever right.
Richard Bool , when Reginald Mitchell was told, in his hospital bed, that the air ministry was going to call his aircraft " Spitfire "; he apparently replied, " Yes, they would call it something stupid like that, wouldn't they! ".
Den of Iniquity, possibly, but I've also read many books on both the Spitfire and Battle of Britain. I've seen this quote, ( or very similar ), a few times.
The older I get the more I realize "Never in the course of human events has so much been owed by so many to so few" I'm certainly no anglophile but rather a student of History . We must give them credit for what they did.
@@barrierodliffe4155 Battle of Britain? not what I have read, many times. Both planes had specific tasks, Spitfires ,being more manouverable, and faster clime, were assigned to their fighter's. Hurricanes, to down the Bomber's--mainly. BUT of course, Any enemy in their sites, were attacked .
@@MrDaiseymay It would depend on the position, sometimes it was Hurricanes taking on the fighters and Spitfires the bombers but either way the Spitfire had a higher percentage of victories and lower percentage of losses.
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.. it realy brings tears to my eyes. My grandfather told me stories when he was a teenager, there where nights when hundereds of Spitfires and lancasters flew over their home at the coastline in belgium on their way for a bombing raid on german factorys and railroad.. God bless every soldier who give their life, and gave up everything so we can have everything... 🌹
From the US. Great Britain, though we had some differences in the past and maybe our president is a bit wonky, I thank you and the armed forces for fighting against the Nazi regime and keeping Europe and Africa safe another day. We’d always love to fight by your side and we have your back. US Citizen
Just imagine what it was like watching hundreds of these roaring into battle over the English channel during WW2. It must have been an awe inspiring sight, and sound.
British fighter pilot Bob Doe in a post war interview said of the Spitfire, " you don't jump into a Spitfire, you don't climb into a Spitfire.... you put it on. " Bob was grinning like a chesshire cat sitting on a fish cart when he said that.
Halfpenny Aerodrome Bobbington many many years ago, Spitfires flew over, during an Air Event, one flew right over my head, a really breathtaking and emotive experience, hearing the purring Rolls Royce Merlin engine. When the aircraft landed 'for inspection', who got out, non other than Raymond Baxter, who flew Spitfires during WW2, also as some mature people would also remember him as being the presenter of BBC'S Tomorrows World from the late sixties, early seventies!! Great Memory.
We have two of these in the Temora Aviation museum NSW Australia 🇦🇺 , which isn’t far from where I live . You hear a normal plane , no one blinks an eye . You hear the roar of a rolls Royce Merlin V12 charging , everyone drops what they’re doing to watch them . Truly incredible pieces of aircraft engineering
Amazing! I was working externally on a house on the seafront in Sussex and elevated on a cherry picker. I waved down a Spitfire in the distance because you can't mistake the merlin engine. I was seen - waving away and was treated to a display I will never ever forget. The pilot saw me and proceeded to turn in my direction to do three flybys - on the third, tipped the wings towards me and saluted. The most memorable day of my life.
This is similar to what they would of looked like flying over head in squadrons out to meet the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Quite remarkable planes and a little taste of the past.
"ABSOLUTE GOOSEBUMPS"!!! Shot a chill up my spine. To the greats who flew the crates against the Axis. You are the 'Best of The Best'. Will never forget you...
I had the honour of witnessing this at Duxford, and it was a spectacle I will never forget! I still get goosebumps at the thought. Not many things stir the emotions of a Brit - like hearing these beautiful beasts fly overhead! So much more than an awesome fighting machine! God bless those who flew them and sacrificed themselves for our freedom!
My God! Poetry in motion, goosebumps indeed! I know they may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but I was thinking how comforting that sound must have been to our ground troops who were in the shit and a crowd of these guys showed up to hammer the shit out of the Nazis with a gun run or 2?! I remember how good it felt to hear an A-10 or an Apache on the few occasions I was in a position to need their protection.
BunkerGearGal as a reporter I had the opportunity to interview a US veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. They were in the Argonne I think he said pinned down freezing in shallow foxholes due to rain. Patton ordered a prayer to go out, the skies cleared and the planes flew. At that point in the interview, the old guy was crying and saying, we were saved. We were saved.
Old boys they are yet the absolute dominance they assert when they fly in formation. I can't even find the right words to describe how this makes me feel.
0:25 emotional to see the squadron flying off in formation like that. I can't bear knowing how a mother/father would feel knowing their son was flying in those beauties off to fend off German bombers, in a formation like that 80 years ago.
The Spitfire and Mustang are my favorite fighter aircraft of all time. The way they sound just from simply flying over you is unforgettable and absolutely satisfying
Brilliant , makes me feel so proud to be British. That engine sound brings a lump to back of my throat. Am so grateful to the guys and girls who flew these during the war, with flights like this we'll never forget them.
as a frenchman who was brought up in britain, it brings tears to my eyes. "never have so many owed so much to so few" Sir Winston Churchill *lest we forget*
@@vijays6911 yes girls, many ladies also did important work flying these planes, maybe not in combat , but delivering them to airmen. They played a vital role in the war effort, giving much needed fighter pilots the planes to do their job and not taking them away to deliver planes all over .
Hard to imagine that some of these marques flew 74 years ago, yet they give the impression that it was just yesterday. Imagine all the 20 year old pilots buzzing the field like this after a sortie. Some are old men now , most have passed on . What a time that hopefully will never be repeated. Such a legacy.
In many ways, being a kid in Southern England during the Battle of Britain must have been pant wettingly brilliant with this sight and sound every day.............
We had a Spitfire and a couple of Lancasters fly over a couple years back, the sound of all those Merlins spinning together is incredible, I can't imagine the awesomeness of hearing, nay, experiencing, the sound of sixteen Merlins spinning by, incredible! 🙂👌
@John Ashtone Wow, John. Small world. I was born in Baildon, Just down the road from Yeadon Mum was Land Army and Dad was a welder at Butterfields He welded parts of the floating harbours used in the D-Day landings
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. That will stand true for eternity. Against all odds, the British not only saved their country from the Germans, but mine as well. Had it not been for them, the United States where I reside, would be a different place today. On my behalf, I thank Britain for fighting for my freedom.
Yes, and from my generation, thank you to that generation for ensuring that I grew up in a free country. If any WW2 Spitfire pilots, or pilots of any fighter or bomber aircraft ever visit this site, if any of you are still alive, a huge thank you for my freedom.
Gustavo Lopez "And so bear ourselves to our duty, that if the British Empire lasts for a thousand years, men will still say that this was their finest hour. " -Sir Winston Churchill
It's actually the other way around: America saved the British. The Luftwaffe would have sunk Britain if it weren't for America's support. We supplied Britain with equipment, planes, safe passage of convoys, destroyers, resources, and food, and even then they were only able to keep their holdings in Africa and bomb German civilians in their cities.
Peter. Really How could the Luftwaffe have sunk Britain, they lost the Battle of Britain in 1940 when no US planes were involved, the RAF did it without equipment from USA, the British radar, British control system and British aircraft, even using British fuel and what they got from USA was paid for in full. USA did no escorting of convoys until later when the losses went up, when the USA stopped escorting the losses went down again. You have a very ignorant view of history. The truth is Britain did all the fighting in Europe until late 1942, remember Operation Torch, the great US invasion of North Africa when RAF Spitfires were painted in USAAF colours and the British did most of the fighting against the Germans while the US troops got tangled up fighting the French and when they met Germans ran away.
@@richardbool4232 Well they waited until most of them were shutdown in the Soviet Union and they waited until the Americans came around and save their ass again.
@@abisaialvarez7323 Russian and US propaganda tells you that does it, while in the real world it was very different, both USSR and USA were not fighting until 1941 for USSR and 1942 for USA, maybe you did not know that in 1940 the Luftwaffe sent more fighters to attack Britain than they could to attack USSR a year later. Or that by the time the US came the Luftwaffe was a shadow of it's former self.
I truly believe that the spitfire is one of the most beautiful things ever created by humans, such a graceful aircraft. The sound always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a shiver run down my spine. There were some wonderful flybys in this piece of film. We need to never forget what we owe to the brave people from our past, who in the darkest times never gave up. Thank you.
I live in Sevenoaks (Originally East London) and every spring I have some time in the garden and .......Ohh theres that sound from a spit out of Biggin Hill sometimes a Hurricane. Something inside me wants to say thanks.
Wow! Thanks for sharing this film! Really get a feel for the aircraft and what it must have been like in active service. The sound of the engines en masse gives you goosebumps
To see that many spitfires at one time is extremely rare! You can not beat that beautiful sound, God bless the Merlin and to whom built these legendary machines in the war effort. Keep them flying!
@soaringtractor Thanks for showing up. ~cheers~ The only Americans who should be cheering are the Volunteer Group who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. I believe there were only about 9 of 'em in comparison to over 100 of my countrymen (Canadians; 23 of 'em died for God, King and Country). Their families should be the only ones beating their chests. How 'bout staying out of it, eh, Yank. God bless the RAF and the Commonwealth, God Bless King George VI. And God Bless the Queen.
Thankyou that was awesome.... if I had been 20 I would of been a Moquito pilot LOL THANKYOU FOREVER you made a mark that will Never be forgotten in our Hustory. Less We Forget
I've driven past RAF Biggin Hill for donkeys years, and although the Spitfire that sits majestically proud just inside the main gate is not fully operational, it never fails to send shivers down my spine.
What an amazing sight and sound. Rolls Royce Merlin Engines by any chance? Thank you for uploading. "Goosebumps" over my entire body. Can you imagine what it must have been like as a spectator in 1940, watching something like this going past you, knowing that up there in those cockpits were your own lads having been scrambled to meet the challenge of the enemy, and to keep our island nation free? Sorry, not forgetting the Allied pilots from other parts of the world who also made a huge contribution to Fighter Command. Truly amazing stuff. Thank you.
I read a book entitled Life's Too Short to Cry by the late Tim Vigors DFC. Vigors was one of "The Few" and also knew Sir Douglas Bader. It is full of anecdotes about his experience as a Spitfire pilot during The Battle of Britain and beyond. Those guys? Unbelievable. True heroes. A wonderful read, if you have not already done so. Inspirational for today's world we live in.
Totally awesome. I hope Mitchell was watching from above and smiling. And huge respect to the engineers at Rolls Royce who developed and produced the Merlin powering the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito and Lancaster as well as the Mustang. What a generation.
I got legit goosebumps thinking abt it imagine being 8 yrs old during ww2 and you just see that flyover you and not knowing that those planes are headed to battle to defend your nation unreal but magnificent at the same time
My dad was 8 yrs old during the blitz he called it dogfighting he use to play in the crashed planes & collect souvenirs, I have a compass out of a Messerschmitt he took as a boy, He always said if it wasn't for the Spitfire we wouldn't be here today.
Imagine what hundreds of them must have sounded like, plus a 100 Lancasters.
+Quattordici Montenapoleone Like unleashing the Dogs of War!
More like deafening lol.
Up here in NorCal, The SF Bay Area, we have old Warbirds periodically fly in to our smaller airports. I've seen a B17, a B24 & a B25 fly by singly and you are right it IS deafening. I can't image the sound a dozen, or a hundred or a thousand of them would make.
Today is Memorial Day...at a distance I could see a B17 flying around Mt. Diablo/Concord/Walnut Creek skies.
500 Merlin's ahhhhh
A hundred aircraft can fly above us and we don't even look... But hear a Spit 2 miles away and you stop everything and search the sky with a smile. Wonderful!
Any ww2 engine sound from above stops me in my tracks and the disappointment If i can't find it is immense .
One time we were driving home from Wheaton when we heard a strange noise. I see something fly over the houses to our left, but I didn't know what it was. Then my brother shouts, "A P-51 MUSTANG!!!!"
Dad, who was driving(we were 13 then), shouted "WHAT!?" And it flew right over the car! We all saw it!
And we all looked up.
Ben Laskowski Another very distinctive sound you never forget.
@@Delta2D2 Same engine!
Ben Laskowski 😮 I honestly didn’t know that! 🤯
My aunt betty who died four years ago aged 95 , flew spitfire to the young airmen around the uk and she flew a Lancaster
thats awesome ❤️
God bless your aunt's service to your country and us yanks Simon!
Respect
Hi Simon. I have immense respect for the ladies of the Air Transport Auxiliary who flew aircraft directly from the factories to the squadrons or delivered damaged aircraft to the workshops and back again.
Lord Beaverbrook said " Without the ATA the days and nights of the Battle of Britain would have been conducted under conditions quite different from the actual events. They carried out the delivery of aircraft from the factories to the RAF, thus relieving countless numbers of RAF pilots for duty in the battle. Just as the Battle of Britain is the accomplishment and achievement of the RAF, likewise it can be declared that the ATA sustained and supported them in the battle. They were soldiers fighting in the struggle just as completely as if they had been engaged on the battlefront." Great Ladies, sadly unsung and overlooked they did a magnificent job, then went back to their peacetime lives as if nothing had happened. We owe them.
Massive thumbs up for that lady.👍
i live in Duxford and im blessed to see spitfires flying about every other day. great sound
That's not fair!!!! Can't beat the sound of a spitfire. Glad I dont live there I'd never be in the house. 🙂
Awesome very cool unless uh hmm it's 4AM lol
Damn lucky..
@@atreyoss5050 he is indeed, yes sir
same with me, work in Pampisford which is nearby, spitfires flying today.
That dive at 3.12 to 3.20 is probably the best sound ever made by anything. Fabulous and really stirs the emotions.
lighterstyle
I couldn't agree more, the sound stirs something in my very being, something primal something beautiful but something dangerous maybe.
The sound of death if you are a Nazi lol
I agree, check out the Mosquito roll into camera on youtube in New Zealand that sounds fantastic too.
lighterstyle I agree mate
I’m from the USA. First and foremost. Anyone giving this video a thumbs down 👎🏻 is a “wanker” ,secondly that is the most incredible sound ever to soar upon the skies.
@True Renegade Guess what engine was in your beloved Mustang?
I am Czech born young lad and my great grandfather flew in one of these, makes me feel proud to have known these planes destroyed evil
Be very proud of his memory!
Was he British?
Hundreds of Europeans escaped the NAZI EVIL in their homelands, and escaped to Britain, joined our services (many joined the RAF ) and fought bravely against the Luftwaffe. Check it out .@@Frankfurtmann87
@@Frankfurtmann87The highest scoring squadron in history was 303 squadron, they flew spitfires and the pilots were made up of Czechs and poles. Best pilots and the best fighters in history.
I am American but mates that was bloody awesome! Much respect and love from the USA, lest we forget the sacrifices of all those who came before us
Love the USA. we together changed the course of human history in that terrible war. Allies until the end
@ Ive just read up about this on wikipedia. Very heartwarming and will leave abit of a lump in the throat.......
A very noble thing to do.
And let's not forget Ford produced thousands of the Merlin engines under license. And a very good job of it they did as well. My Father was involved in the whole project, if you search "Mallinson Birthday Spitfire" on You Tube, you will se him!
Not forgetting a lot of your young boys nipped into Canada to learn to fly and then came to us to fight for my country and one Pilot Officer John Gillespie Maggee penned that memorable poem "High Flight" that I read every day it gives me goose bumps.
Plum Duffy We love you Britons too! Even though our relationship got off to a rocky start, and despite how much we bicker in the comments, we’ll always be there for each other. Rule Britannia and God Bless America! 🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧
Yep. Goosebumps.
Those massed passes out of formation were magnificent. Thanks
Jeff Keith very strange to use this American English when describing something British
What truly impressed me is even after almost 80 years, all of England is still in love with the Spitfire.
I'm not British, but that doesn't surprise me. Without these machines and their pilots there would likely be no Britain.
should we not be?!
@@a5cent The Royal Navy shouldn't be discounted either. Operation Sea Lion was nowhere near as well-organised as D-Day and no serious modern historian would consider the German plans for invasion as anything other than haphazard. The Royal Navy had great power back then and would have mauled any landing craft; German surface vessels totally outclassed strategically and unable to simply dismiss the Royal Navy and the Fleet Air Arm it carried. The RAF remnants (in that scenario where the Luftwaffe thinks it has ''won'') would be fighting back the entire time.
The popular narrative that Churchill himself popularised, was venerable in it's aims of rallying the British people and paying rightful homage to the heroism of RAF Fighter Command; but there was more to it than this.
I'd argue that even were the RAF swept from the sky, the Nazis would still likely fail to defeat Fortress Britain. Britain had a recovering main army post-Dunkirk and intricate defences of over 28,000 pillboxes and various defence lines and a million strong (and growing) Home Guard, even in 1940.
Martial law was in full effect in the UK, with beaches and coastal areas often off limits and strangled in mile upon mile of barbed wire. Anti-tank ditches and concrete dragon's teeth barriers were arrayed with barbed wire fences, minefields, prepared artillery firing positions, bunkers with naval calibre guns capable of firing at France (the Nazis had their own versions of those in France and fired at Southern England too, in crazy long range duels, rarely effective)
Britain was also developing contraptions on some beaches which fed oil into the water to be ignited in the pipes which were arrayed in the shoreline and water, to cause any landing craft to have to run right into fire on the water (or even immolation of soldiers)
It was true that Britain's defences weren't evenly distributed in 1940 and the approaches to London got the most attention - but for sure, the ill-prepared Nazis would have been in for a very nasty shock if they thought could just steamroll the defenders.
Romanticisation of the Nazis is a genuine problem, though it is hard to ignore the fact that on paper for the first few years, the Wehrmacht was a powerful war machine often better led than Allied forces. However, their predicted success in the UK, was by no means assured in 1940. Germany had not the foggiest idea what it was trying to do in 1940 in terms of amphibious assault.
Most of their hopes rested on a limited destroyer fleet of then, fairly modern destroyers, with maybe a heavy cruiser or two if they were lucky, screening the predominantly commandeered and repurposed civilian barges and leisure craft they'd taken and cobbled together in Calais and the Low Countries. Oh and some U-boats. It was very likely the Royal Navy would slam a large fleet or two into the side of any attempted landing fleets trying to move in. Even in such a dire scenario where the Royal Navy had lost vital RAF support, and accordingly suffered a much higher rate of loss among their own ships and crews, we must remember that the British had a very impressive Tier 1 Blue Water Navy (WWII paradigm)
[1/2]
@@a5cent [2/2] The Germans would themselves exploit their supposed air superiority, and move to drop entire divisions worth of paratroopers behind the key landing zones to cause trouble and weaken the target area - but all that would be for absolutely nothing were the British Army and Home Guard to surround their outnumbered assault forces while the Royal Navy coordinated an assault on the landing beaches, cutting off any attempted reinforcements. Yes, the Nazis had Bismarck, and yes, the Royal Navy would still have HMS Hood at this point (prior to the Battle of the Denmark Straits) But even if Bismarck got involved the British had far more naval firepower to repel her.
If Bismarck would be cagey about going down the English Channel, I don't think German infantry in leaky riverine barges, never designed to brave the swells and surprisingly difficult and dangerous tides of the English Channel (especially in bad weather), would really feel so great about their situation. I categorically guarantee you that landing craft would stray, go missing, sink and even crash into each other in the confusion *even without* say, a *fleet of Royal Navy warships ploughing right into them* from the Atlantic and Portsmouth. Moreover, once the British warships disrupted a weakly organised landing force, and were in amongst them like a wolves in the midst of sheep, the Luftwaffe would be of limited value as air cover, for fear of hitting their own ships.
Granted, this early in the war, dive bombers on all sides were limited and even then, mostly to air to land attacks (though Stukas had tried to attack ships at Dunkirk and in the Channel later on, with some success on slower moving ships that were laden with troops as evacuation transports) This would mostly limit the Luftwaffe with their means of actually properly harming the armoured cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships of the Royal Navy.
In fairness, the Royal Navy (and most if not all navies) in 1940 specifically, was not yet geared towards anti-aircraft configurations on their warships as a common feature. A lot of AA batteries were still yet to be fitted to ships like HMS Hood and HMS Repulse. This would limit the AA capabilities of the Royal Navy, but their sheer numbers (and the relatively small number of relevant dive bombers able to seriously trouble the Royal Navy tactically during any such interception mission, for any decent amount of time before having to go back to base miles away to rearm and refuel) would win out.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the Germans would get the worst of it, especially seeing as the RN Fleet Air Arm, would send up to hundreds of sea planes from their carrier ships - admittedly, most of these (like the Fairey Swordfish, and others, not even as ''good'' as that) were no match for something like a Messerschmidt Bf 109. But that isn't the point; they'd do enough to draw the German aircraft away and any proper RAF fighter remnants coming in to help would be a huge problem for the attackers. This also says nothing of the fate of RAF Bomber Command.
For all we know, maybe they were still going strong from out of Scotland or somewhere like that, with a few even daring to operate from Britain's carriers of the time depending on if they even could. If RAF Bomber Command was helping to defend the beaches too, it could send heavy bombers after the prize targets of German cruisers and battleships, and also use medium bombers like the Blenheim Bomber, to go after destroyers and landing craft.
All this even assumes as though the RAF lost in the first instance, and that the invasion dared to do what it clearly could not - to wrong-foot the Royal Navy long enough to deploy hundreds of thousands of German troops, for even slightly long enough to reinforce it again before the RN swept in and pounded the landing zones into smithereens with heavy gunnery.
I'm sure HMS Rodney's 16 inch guns would have fun with anything short of Bismarck and even Bismarck was actually justifiably in danger from hits from HMS Rodney. If HMS Rodney, HMS Hood and HMS Nelson all joined in, bye bye Bismarck. All it takes is a simple encircling attack by the Royal Navy to cut off the German spearhead from it's reinforcements and that'd be the end of that. They'd have absolutely no love in the UK and would have their backs to the sea.
Britain also had the ability to send tank regiments after the German paratroopers who'd theoretically managed to land enough men in the designated areas - but they'd have too few to make a major difference and without proper support they'd be defeated (though they'd cause the more volunteer based Home Guard serious losses and be difficult for the British Army proper, to handle with as easily as they would have, had Dunkirk's massive logistical losses and material losses, not hampered them.
Any beachheads the Germans would take, would be instantly recognised by the defenders, and they'd be unable to stop the British from just calling in every man within a huge diameter to help close down the salient and crush the Germans holding it.
It was basically a huge mess to organise. Britain's own geography lends to our defence measures and almost always has. We have a very long coastline with a vast surface area for the overall size dimensions of the British Isles.
Were the Germans to send anything less than 100,000 men in the first wave, they wouldn't stand a chance. Also, where are the German tanks in any of this? In France. Even if they managed to send a few smaller Panzer I's and II's over on large barges, the British could deal with such odds and ends (assuming the Royal Navy didn't blast them out of the water already) Yes, the Royal Navy might endure severe losses for a while, but it would not let this happen without one hell of a fight. You'd basically see the sky light up from Hastings to Dover as British warships fired off everything they had at both attacking aircraft and the defenceless landing craft. Britain had literally hundreds of destroyers.
In real history, Britain specifically annihilated the bulk of the German destroyer fleet, in the Second Battle of Narvik, hammering the Germans into pieces.
HMS Warspite would cause havoc (just as it did at Narvik in real history) were the Germans naive enough to allow this to happen. Rogue British ships could show up anywhere. We also had our own submarines too which would be going after U-boats with the help of Destroyers and primarily going after German Destroyers and Cruisers.
The Germans had no real plan with how to conquer Britain in 1940; just more pipe-dreams. After the Battle of Britain in real history proved Britain would not surrender in spite of the Blitz (which only angered the British more) the British just strengthened fortress Britain.
The Germans could never abandon the French coasts with Britain still alive and well to their NW flank.
The idea of the Axis swarming over the UK with a million men, ignores how the UK was plenty defended enough - and if the defenders got desperate, they could easily buy time to await Imperial reinforcements. The Germans would be scattered across the landing zones and rendezvous with any German paratroopers could be impeded. There is just no where they can do it.
They'd need five times as many ships (at least) and a million men. Even were London to fall and even if half the defences across the UK were overrun, that would still not be the end for Britain. Many armies stationed all over the world could try and get home. It'd be inevitable for some to arrive (even if surface raiders and U-boats claimed a few of these along the way)
Quite simply, yes, the RAF saved the day in the Battle of Britain; but I would urge a more balanced approach. I can tell you were just referring to the popular image of the RAF, but again, I must recall the other aspects which Britain had going for it. Generally, yes, the RAF saved Britain and I have no issue with that as such - but just as much the British Royal Navy was a potent force. The Germans wouldn't know what hit them.
@@ThePalaeontologist Holy cow, that's the longest YT comment I've ever read.
I'm just going to say you're probably right about all of that. My comment reflected the common mythology and nationalist pride surrounding the Battle for Britain and not so much historical fact. Unfortunately for real historians, it's the mythology that determines how a people think and feel about an event... not actual history. It seems to me the RN has long ago lost that fight, which really is unfortunate.
While air superiority over the coastlines was very important, I fully concede that the RN was the most important part of Britain's defense. Given the RN's dominance, all the invasion scenarios you mentioned sound pointless to me, which is no doubt partly why Germany never attempted any of it.
The thing is, if we really dig into history and leave out all the flag waving nonsense, everything gets a lot more complicated and messy (and often a lot less compelling as a story because it becomes harder to paint sides as good and bad which is what almost all school history books do). Condensing the actions of thousands of people and dozens of governments into a few sentences is destined to fail, but here are my more historical thoughts:
Between your lines I seem to make out this faint sense of heroism. A story of how British ingenuity and sheer willpower saved the day. A story of how the nazis could throw everything they had at Britain and still would not prevail. Just as with the Battle for Britain, I don't think that accurately reflects history either.
The UK and France declared war on Germany. France then went on to suffer utter defeat, while the UK retreated into irrelevancy. While Germany could not invade the UK, out of their own strength the UK had no hope of invading continental Europe again either. The difference is in the war goals each nation set. The UK desired to reestablish the balance of power in Europe, i.e. to keep Germany in check and in particular to stop their navy from growing even larger. Out of their own strength, the UK was not going to achieve that. On the other hand, Germany had no desire to force the UK into anything and never wanted to go to war with Britain to begin with. All Germany wanted is to have the British out of their hair, and that the Germans did achieve.
From this larger strategic perspective, the Germans clearly won, while the European allies lost.
Germany even attempted to make a truce with Churchill in 1941. The UK would have had to give up nothing and only needed to promise to stay out of the wars on the continent. As racist and bigoted as Hitler was against Slaves and Jews, he saw the British as cousins and just didn't understand "the fuss over Poland". All this is just to say that the perceived threat of an invasion never actually existed to the extent imagined.
In a nutshell, because none of Germany's war goals required them to invade Britain, they had little reason to seriously think about it. Irrespective of the UK's dominance on the seas, that's actually the biggest reason why, as you also mentioned, Germany's invasion plans were never fully fleshed out and never seriously intended to be put into practice.
Never as long as I live will I forget the sound of the Merlin engined fighters,and never will I forget the young men who flew them.
All too soon however, liberal education will erase these heroes from American history, focusing on leftist agenda, rather than truth.
@Joeasgbubemma This ain't the United States, we don't give two fucks what happens on the other side of the pond boyo.
The USSRA?
@@joeashbubemma Poe's law in action!
@Huge Bartlett
If you can, you should visit the Battle of Britian Memorial, near Westminster Bridge. It's inscribed with all those whom fought in the RAF -- not least the Polish, Canadians, and Commonwealth pilots -- and died defending the skies above. It truly is a pretty moving sight ...
Seeing those 16 Spits doing there stuff reminds me of the amazing orchistration done for the 'Battle of Britain' movie, especially by Sir. William Walton ...
I'm only 39, but to listen to a part of history like this, always gives me a lump in my throat and makes my eyes tear up. Thank you for all that served, and all that we lost
16 Spitfires flying together, great sound.
it would be a criminal offense to disagree
16 lancasters would be amazing! To bad there aren't many left
I love spitfires they are soooooooo good looking and sounding 😍😍
16 Arvo Lancasters, now THAT would be very awesome sight!
Troller Smith
There are now two Lancasters flying. One in the UK and the other is from Canada where it flew to England recently or still has to make its way from Canada to the UK. To help with costs, they fitted seats inside and although it must have cost a few bob, was well worth it. I do not know if there are any other Lancasters being restored to flying condition. Here in Australia in the Perth Aviation Museum, is a fully restored Lancaster, however they need a few more Millions of Dollars to get the engines rebuilt. Then and then only will it take to the skies
What is it about a Spit that can fill you with pride and reduce you to tears at the same time? I have been privileged enough to see them on several occasions,yet every time I get the same emotion. The time that will always live with me was seeing them at Halfpenny Green, with my mother; the BoB memorial flight, then another 6 Spits I think. My father was in the RAF during the war (not a flyer) and until he was posted to Burma my mom would travel around like a camp follower, staying in digs near the bases just so that they could see each other. Consequently she got to know a lot of pilots and others. She stood in that field and sobbed as those planes roared overhead, with pride, and in the memory of those young men that she had met who never made it home, some only 19. And for all the others lost in that dreadful time. I think that is why the Spit is special, its symbolises so many conflicting emotions. Pride certainly, but sorrow too, that we needed such a beautiful killing machine. That deadly little bird has become the emblem of freedom and a reminder of the cost it takes to acheive and maintain it.
I know that feeling, i think we all do, but i think it's not just because of the spit itself but also about the brave courageous young men who flew them??
Ricky Spanish Ricky Spanish Exactly. If you can read my whole comment,(I cant right now) I think that you will see that is the point that I am making. When my mothe wa standing in that airfield, she wasnt just seeing the plane,she was seeing the faces of the young boys (that´s all they were really) in the cockpit. She would tell me vey often about a young man at a party in the Mess, A lad with very blonde hair, hopelessly drunk. She guessed he was about 19, but said he looked about 16. She didnt know him, but for some reason that little incident had stayed with her all her life. She often wondered if he made it. That young man had beome the emblem for her for all of them, young lads barely out of school, with virtually no experience of the world, yet thrust into the forefront of something of such magnitude. Total respect to them that they acheived what they did,and often paid the ultimate price.
Sorry!! you caught me!! no i didn't read it all, but thanks for this!
Ricky Spanish that´ok. it doesnt always show all of it, for some reason.
I'm a Boro lad, 55 years old, and was living in the Kent countryside in 2001, when one summer day I heard this throaty roar from an open window. Don't ask me how, because I'd never seen one in the flesh before, but I knew it was a Spitfire. I ran to the window and, sure enough, watched it growl by about fifty feet above the treetops. What a wonderfully powerful noise. I'm anti-war, but an engineer, and it was a beautiful thing to behold.
Well done Mitchell and all the people involved in its creation and production.
Now that's friggin' cool!!! "Sound of Victory." Damn right. The Brits know how to kick ass. I'm Canadian, and damn proud to be part of the Empire.
Hey Canada I am too old to fight for your freedom (But would anyway) but I have two sons I would encourage them too ..and for Australia, New Zealand, India etc
And of course the U.S. !
the uk will always have your back as im sure you guys will always have ours.much love to our brothers across the pond x
Cheers Mate!!
@@JC-sd3vh India? Seriously?? And Africa too, why not!!
"Never was so much owed by so many to so few" ❤️
Haha but they didn't and won. Smashed the nazis and Japan 👊
@石川俊也 are you nuts
石川俊也 WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU
@石川俊也 too bad the allies won by luck
‘ must of seen their mess bill ‘
We Love Y’all!! From America. 👍
I can see why the British fell in love with it. Sounds majestic, yet puts the fear of God in you.
YEAH MAKES THE INNARDS SHUDDER
Yeah. You do NOT want to have these against you.
Don’t fuck with me! I have the power of god and spitfires on my side!
3:14 yess my fav part, just the awesome sound of that rolls - Royce Merlin engine🔥
watched a documentary about the guy who invented the spitfire he was sat in the garden watching the birds flying and swooping he told his friend he was going to build an aircraft that would fly like a bird and spit fire, was he ever right.
Richard Bool , when Reginald Mitchell was told, in his hospital bed, that the air ministry was going to call his aircraft " Spitfire "; he apparently replied, " Yes, they would call it something stupid like that, wouldn't they! ".
I think you may have watched the 1942 ? film "The first of the few."
Den of Iniquity, possibly, but I've also read many books on both the Spitfire and Battle of Britain. I've seen this quote, ( or very similar ), a few times.
@@warren4110 very true though and he was absolutely right it flew like a bird and spit fire usually at ME109's
@@warren4110 I read that some where but I don't think he actually said it
The older I get the more I realize "Never in the course of human events has so much been owed by so many to so few" I'm certainly no anglophile but rather a student of History . We must give them credit for what they did.
Edward halpin, most of those men were flying Hurricanes.
@@olderthanyoucali8512
Hurricanes and Spitfires, the Spitfire had a higher kill ratio and lower loss ratio.
@@barrierodliffe4155 Battle of Britain? not what I have read, many times. Both planes had specific tasks, Spitfires ,being more manouverable, and faster clime, were assigned to their fighter's. Hurricanes, to down the Bomber's--mainly. BUT of course, Any enemy in their sites, were attacked .
@@MrDaiseymay
It would depend on the position, sometimes it was Hurricanes taking on the fighters and Spitfires the bombers but either way the Spitfire had a higher percentage of victories and lower percentage of losses.
It is; "Never in the field of human conflict ................ "
Just to know that many are still flying, that sound 😁👀👍
That's from 9 years ago now, so they may not be
@@battleoid2411 🙄🤔, can only hope and pray.
Battleoid ive read somewhere recently that there is still over 50 airworthy spitfires although im not sure
@@goathooker3877 Wow, thats great news
The Spitfire was and still is a work of art. God bless all of those who flew in her to protect us from evil.
My uncle was one 👍
ORGANISED EVIL, LIKE THE WORLD HAD NEVER KNOWN, AND A CLOSE RUN THING, THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN. E V E R Y T H I N G, DEPENDED ON IT. IT'S NOW OFFICIAL.
you're so lucky to be in England to see such a sight. brilliant,
I love the sound of Merlins in the morningThey sound like ... victory !
I prefer sound of Daimler Benz even though it was on losing side ;) But planes are always planes and I like them very much.
I cannot agree more
Jim Plum its also a aircraft
Becouse the yankees help you!!!😂
Thomas Baur we had already softened the enemy up massively by the time the yanks arrived. Like everything, the yanks think they won it alone.
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.. it realy brings tears to my eyes. My grandfather told me stories when he was a teenager, there where nights when hundereds of Spitfires and lancasters flew over their home at the coastline in belgium on their way for a bombing raid on german factorys and railroad.. God bless every soldier who give their life, and gave up everything so we can have everything... 🌹
Best sounds in the sky by far and what a beautiful piece of British engineering that's still flying 70+ years later 👍
I dunno man, the German aircraft sound pretty good. Honestly the 109s with the DB605 engines make me shiver to the core.
What a magnificent plane, hope they keep flying for all eternity. :)
From the US.
Great Britain, though we had some differences in the past and maybe our president is a bit wonky,
I thank you and the armed forces for fighting against the Nazi regime and keeping Europe and Africa safe another day. We’d always love to fight by your side and we have your back.
US Citizen
Then we had a president who wisely stood by you in those dangerous times.
Just imagine what it was like watching hundreds of these roaring into battle over the English channel during WW2. It must have been an awe inspiring sight, and sound.
British fighter pilot Bob Doe in a post war interview said of the Spitfire, " you don't jump into a Spitfire,
you don't climb into a Spitfire.... you put it on. " Bob was grinning like a chesshire cat sitting on a
fish cart when he said that.
Halfpenny Aerodrome Bobbington many many years ago, Spitfires flew over, during an Air Event, one flew right over my head, a really breathtaking and emotive experience, hearing the purring Rolls Royce Merlin engine. When the aircraft landed 'for inspection', who got out, non other than Raymond Baxter, who flew Spitfires during WW2, also as some mature people would also remember him as being the presenter of BBC'S Tomorrows World from the late sixties, early seventies!! Great Memory.
The sight, smell and sound of Victory.
If I saw that in the flesh I'd cowl over crying.
Let Us Go Forward Together......
Lest We Forget.....
We have two of these in the Temora Aviation museum NSW Australia 🇦🇺 , which isn’t far from where I live . You hear a normal plane , no one blinks an eye . You hear the roar of a rolls Royce Merlin V12 charging , everyone drops what they’re doing to watch them . Truly incredible pieces of aircraft engineering
Sixteen war winning Spitfires , love the sound of those Merlin engines great.
Amazing!
I was working externally on a house on the seafront in Sussex and elevated on a cherry picker. I waved down a Spitfire in the distance because you can't mistake the merlin engine.
I was seen - waving away and was treated to a display I will never ever forget. The pilot saw me and proceeded to turn in my direction to do three flybys - on the third, tipped the wings towards me and saluted.
The most memorable day of my life.
This is similar to what they would of looked like flying over head in squadrons out to meet the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Quite remarkable planes and a little taste of the past.
Now that's a WOW factor there ! Awesome ! Love the sound of the raw power they have sounded great ! 🇺🇸 👍👍
"ABSOLUTE GOOSEBUMPS"!!! Shot a chill up my spine. To the greats who flew the crates against the Axis. You are the 'Best of The Best'. Will never forget you...
Thankful for the brave men that operated them🔥
I had the honour of witnessing this at Duxford, and it was a spectacle I will never forget! I still get goosebumps at the thought. Not many things stir the emotions of a Brit - like hearing these beautiful beasts fly overhead! So much more than an awesome fighting machine!
God bless those who flew them and sacrificed themselves for our freedom!
My God! Poetry in motion, goosebumps indeed!
I know they may seem like a strange juxtaposition, but I was thinking how comforting that sound must have been to our ground troops who were in the shit and a crowd of these guys showed up to hammer the shit out of the Nazis with a gun run or 2?!
I remember how good it felt to hear an A-10 or an Apache on the few occasions I was in a position to need their protection.
BunkerGearGal as a reporter I had the opportunity to interview a US veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. They were in the Argonne I think he said pinned down freezing in shallow foxholes due to rain. Patton ordered a prayer to go out, the skies cleared and the planes flew. At that point in the interview, the old guy was crying and saying, we were saved. We were saved.
imagine the vibes when youre in 1940s man, this was a daily dose
Old boys they are yet the absolute dominance they assert when they fly in formation.
I can't even find the right words to describe how this makes me feel.
Never was so much owed by so many to so few
omg that loop at 3.04 was so low at the end
It is a Spitfire, perfectly safe.
I know LOL I thought holy toledo he near crashed it.
0:25 emotional to see the squadron flying off in formation like that. I can't bear knowing how a mother/father would feel knowing their son was flying in those beauties off to fend off German bombers, in a formation like that 80 years ago.
The Spitfire and Mustang are my favorite fighter aircraft of all time. The way they sound just from simply flying over you is unforgettable and absolutely satisfying
Brilliant , makes me feel so proud to be British. That engine sound brings a lump to back of my throat. Am so grateful to the guys and girls who flew these during the war, with flights like this we'll never forget them.
Same here, very emotional
as a frenchman who was brought up in britain, it brings tears to my eyes.
"never have so many owed so much to so few" Sir Winston Churchill
*lest we forget*
girls? lol.
@@vijays6911 yes girls, many ladies also did important work flying these planes, maybe not in combat , but delivering them to airmen. They played a vital role in the war effort, giving much needed fighter pilots the planes to do their job and not taking them away to deliver planes all over .
no they didnt wtf haha they were not fighting at all. learn your damn history@@peterdownton6424
Hard to imagine that some of these marques flew 74 years ago, yet they give the impression that it was just yesterday. Imagine all the 20 year old pilots buzzing the field like this after a sortie. Some are old men now , most have passed on . What a time that hopefully will never be repeated. Such a legacy.
How can over 260 people dislike this video yet not post why????? Great video and great way to remember the brave pilots.
I love the sound of Spitfires in the morning, sounds like ....... victory.
In many ways, being a kid in Southern England during the Battle of Britain must have been pant wettingly brilliant with this sight and sound every day.............
Brave British!!!
...I got goosebumps...
Not only british!
We love you too!
@soaringtractor why don't you do something useful like plough a field.
souring tractor ... of course we're wonderful ... and you know it ... that's the reason you are forever looking at British videos. Saddo.
Yay, its the Soap Lake soaringcocksmoker
We had a Spitfire and a couple of Lancasters fly over a couple years back, the sound of all those Merlins spinning together is incredible, I can't imagine the awesomeness of hearing, nay, experiencing, the sound of sixteen Merlins spinning by, incredible! 🙂👌
Ahh the Rolls Royce Merlin and the Super Marine Spitfire ... What a combination.
@John Ashtone Wow, John. Small world. I was born in Baildon, Just down the road from Yeadon Mum was Land Army and Dad was a welder at Butterfields He welded parts of the floating harbours used in the D-Day landings
C'est juste fantastique !
Merci Mon Amis 👍
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
That will stand true for eternity. Against all odds, the British not only saved their country from the Germans, but mine as well. Had it not been for them, the United States where I reside, would be a different place today. On my behalf, I thank Britain for fighting for my freedom.
Yes, and from my generation, thank you to that generation for ensuring that I grew up in a free country. If any WW2 Spitfire pilots, or pilots of any fighter or bomber aircraft ever visit this site, if any of you are still alive, a huge thank you for my freedom.
Gustavo Lopez "And so bear ourselves to our duty,
that if the British Empire lasts for a thousand years,
men will still say that this was their finest hour. "
-Sir Winston Churchill
Wait, what? I thought Ben Afleck saved us.
It's actually the other way around: America saved the British. The Luftwaffe would have sunk Britain if it weren't for America's support. We supplied Britain with equipment, planes, safe passage of convoys, destroyers, resources, and food, and even then they were only able to keep their holdings in Africa and bomb German civilians in their cities.
Peter.
Really How could the Luftwaffe have sunk Britain, they lost the Battle of Britain in 1940 when no US planes were involved, the RAF did it without equipment from USA, the British radar, British control system and British aircraft, even using British fuel and what they got from USA was paid for in full. USA did no escorting of convoys until later when the losses went up, when the USA stopped escorting the losses went down again.
You have a very ignorant view of history. The truth is Britain did all the fighting in Europe until late 1942, remember Operation Torch, the great US invasion of North Africa when RAF Spitfires were painted in USAAF colours and the British did most of the fighting against the Germans while the US troops got tangled up fighting the French and when they met Germans ran away.
Bloody Marvelous!!! From an American admirer across the pond!!!
Such beautiful planes, and with the sound of those Rolls-Royce engines, awesome!
My German grandpa immediately manned the AA gun on my house roof once I clicked this video.
Funny
Nice. Give my regards to grandpa.
@@osamabinladen824 Greetings Osama!
@@slavacernarus7083 Hello
oh dear, the treatment failed eh?
GOD I LOVE THE SOUND OF A SPITFIRE. MOST BEAUTIFUL AWESOME PLANE EVER INVENTED.
Supercharged Rolls Royces
Beautiful
I love the fact this engine appeared in so many different planes and even as the meteor in tanks, talk about being a universal soldier!
Oh to be a young boy in southern England in the early 40's,Magical bliss despite the war!
I was a young boy in the mid rod and witnessed my town being bombed.
just goose bumps and a chill running up my back up to my neck just awesome no other word just awesome. :)
Unreal...
in one had its an awesome sound .. but on the other... its bone chilling.
Memories of when our beloved country had a spine 🇬🇧
And still the first fighter that springs to mind. Sound Shape and Stance... A thing of perfection.
what an awesome sight and sound, it brings a lump to my throat as my dad was in the Royal airforce in ww2
Somebody call the Luftwaffe!
Oh, wait...
Windowssonic 😅💧😅💧😅
windowssonic sorry there are no luftwaffe the spits shot them all down
@@richardbool4232 Well they waited until most of them were shutdown in the Soviet Union and they waited until the Americans came around and save their ass again.
Richard Bool No - the spits only fired at civilians.
Like the glorious lancasters that burned millions of civilians in flame seas ...
@@abisaialvarez7323
Russian and US propaganda tells you that does it, while in the real world it was very different, both USSR and USA were not fighting until 1941 for USSR and 1942 for USA, maybe you did not know that in 1940 the Luftwaffe sent more fighters to attack Britain than they could to attack USSR a year later. Or that by the time the US came the Luftwaffe was a shadow of it's former self.
I truly believe that the spitfire is one of the most beautiful things ever created by humans, such a graceful aircraft. The sound always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a shiver run down my spine. There were some wonderful flybys in this piece of film.
We need to never forget what we owe to the brave people from our past, who in the darkest times never gave up.
Thank you.
I live in Sevenoaks (Originally East London) and every spring I have some time in the garden and .......Ohh theres that sound from a spit out of Biggin Hill sometimes a Hurricane. Something inside me wants to say thanks.
That’s amazing to know my grandparent listened that same "freedom" sound as a kid during WW2 in France!
Thanks for the video!
9 years later.. couple of hundert times watched by now....... Still gives me goosebumps!
Yep, that brought tears to my eyes, never expected it to happen.
Wow! Thanks for sharing this film! Really get a feel for the aircraft and what it must have been like in active service. The sound of the engines en masse gives you goosebumps
To see that many spitfires at one time is extremely rare! You can not beat that beautiful sound, God bless the Merlin and to whom built these legendary machines in the war effort. Keep them flying!
@soaringtractor Why would we want to watch 20 Shitstangs? DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
@soaringtractor Dear Wilbur, nobody asked you to. DUHHH!
@soaringtractor Thanks for showing up. ~cheers~ The only Americans who should be cheering are the Volunteer Group who flew with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. I believe there were only about 9 of 'em in comparison to over 100 of my countrymen (Canadians; 23 of 'em died for God, King and Country). Their families should be the only ones beating their chests. How 'bout staying out of it, eh, Yank. God bless the RAF and the Commonwealth, God Bless King George VI. And God Bless the Queen.
@soaringtractor here we have a IRA supporter bless his cotton socks .
6 ravens in the tower and 16 spitfires in the air england wil never surrender or fall.
Tom Prinsen Britain you dick!
This is just beautiful :3 greetings from Germany ,)
Thankyou that was awesome.... if I had been 20 I would of been a Moquito pilot LOL THANKYOU FOREVER you made a mark that will Never be forgotten in our Hustory. Less We Forget
The unique sound is so awesome! Hearing that in the sky when you needed it most must have been a huge relief.
Severe goosebumps! Tears in my eyes too!
Awesome vid Thank you for posting you camera work was fantastic too , Thank you 🇦🇺😀
2023 .. another 20 times xD still watch it every now and then :P
Just imagine the fear that was welling up in the throats of the enemy when those Rolls Royce engines roared over them!
truuly bloody excellent
This gives me goosebumps, makes you proud to be British 🇬🇧
I've driven past RAF Biggin Hill for donkeys years, and although the Spitfire that sits majestically proud just inside the main gate is not fully operational, it never fails to send shivers down my spine.
Pinch me....I must be dreaming! Now that's an airshow. Amazing!
What an amazing sight and sound. Rolls Royce Merlin Engines by any chance? Thank you for uploading. "Goosebumps" over my entire body. Can you imagine what it must have been like as a spectator in 1940, watching something like this going past you, knowing that up there in those cockpits were your own lads having been scrambled to meet the challenge of the enemy, and to keep our island nation free? Sorry, not forgetting the Allied pilots from other parts of the world who also made a huge contribution to Fighter Command. Truly amazing stuff. Thank you.
lander4545 Thank you for that. Much appreciated.
Whether they be Packards or Merlins they still sound fantastic. IMHO.
Dominic Young Absolutely. Spot on.
Some of the later versions (eg. the two nearest the camera at 1:30) will have Griffon engines.
I read a book entitled Life's Too Short to Cry by the late Tim Vigors DFC. Vigors was one of "The Few" and also knew Sir Douglas Bader. It is full of anecdotes about his experience as a Spitfire pilot during The Battle of Britain and beyond. Those guys? Unbelievable. True heroes. A wonderful read, if you have not already done so. Inspirational for today's world we live in.
A spitfire is beauty given form.
There is no mistaking the sound and shape of that plane. A perfect killing machine for its day. spectacular !
I love the sound of spitfires in the sky. Sounds like ...VICTORY!!!
Totally awesome. I hope Mitchell was watching from above and smiling. And huge respect to the engineers at Rolls Royce who developed and produced the Merlin powering the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito and Lancaster as well as the Mustang. What a generation.
Excellent!! Reminds me of the opening scenes over the grass air fields in Battle of Britain.
Best video I've ever watched on a Spit. No Music, No Talking, No Helicopter noise. Absolutely perfect. But a bit too short in length..
I got legit goosebumps thinking abt it imagine being 8 yrs old during ww2 and you just see that flyover you and not knowing that those planes are headed to battle to defend your nation unreal but magnificent at the same time
My dad was 8 yrs old during the blitz he called it dogfighting he use to play in the crashed planes & collect souvenirs, I have a compass out of a Messerschmitt he took as a boy,
He always said if it wasn't for the Spitfire we wouldn't be here today.
God bless the Brits, and the Poles, and the Canadians, and the French, and the Americans, and all who bravely flew against tyranny. Dieu et mon droit
So much tyranny that people flood to try and get into the US and Britain. Go fuck yourself.
soaringtractor True...but you Yanks are nothing either, so go fuck yourself Trumptard.
I ever get to fly in a real spitfire I'll be die a happy man
Kris you can. One goes over my house every day .Flights are £2,500
How can anybody not like this .... absolutely STUNNING...🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I still get goosebumps when ever I watch this video and the sounds just unreal😎😊