The Last Luftwaffe Raid 1945

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 26 авг 2022
  • Thanks to War Thunder for sponsoring this video. Click the link and claim your bonuses: playwt.link/markfelton
    On 21 April 1945, German forces in Norway launched one last big air attack on Britain. It turned into a major air battle.
    Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
    Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
    Help support my channel:
    www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
    / markfeltonproductions
    Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
    Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv; Imperial War Museum
    Thumbnail: Hasegawa Model Kits

Комментарии • 1,3 тыс.

  • @MarkFeltonProductions
    @MarkFeltonProductions  Год назад +215

    Thanks to War Thunder for sponsoring this video. Click the link and claim your bonuses: playwt.link/markfelton

    • @Alpha_627
      @Alpha_627 Год назад +10

      Huh WT been sponsoring a lot of aircraft videos recently I think. Anyways great informative video

    • @squinteastwood4637
      @squinteastwood4637 Год назад +4

      What a waste of money lol. Video games are for children.

    • @toaster2049
      @toaster2049 Год назад +18

      Pain Thunder🙏

    • @mordok7987
      @mordok7987 Год назад +7

      may i suggest an episode on the disatrous german air raid on Bari. In wich a great number of allied ship carrying chemical shells were destroyed intoxicating numerous allied soldiers and sailors. That attack was the only time in ww2 when chemical weapons were use.

    • @swenhtet2861
      @swenhtet2861 Год назад

      @@toaster2049 What about Enlisted?

  • @eddiemoran8044
    @eddiemoran8044 Год назад +942

    The fact that a large German air raid constituted 12 bombers, compared to the flight of 45 mosquitoes they encountered, really shows the difference in industrial capacity. Especially late war

    • @arandomdudewithhobbies3318
      @arandomdudewithhobbies3318 Год назад +37

      It is the wooden wonder, so its easier to build. That said, True.

    • @edwelndiobel1567
      @edwelndiobel1567 Год назад +79

      I bet if Germany had the resources America had they couldnt have been defeated.

    • @coenisgreat
      @coenisgreat Год назад +107

      @@edwelndiobel1567 debatable. Resources would’ve helped, but by that point germany would’ve been critically low on manpower. All the weapons and vehicles in the world mean nothing without people to operate them

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer Год назад +61

      @@edwelndiobel1567 If Germany had the political system Canada had, nobody would have wanted to go to war with them in the first place.

    • @robertdeen8741
      @robertdeen8741 Год назад +41

      I read somewhere that in one raid on Hamburg, the US Army Air Corps dropped more tonnage of bombs than the Germans did during the whole battle of Britain.
      Now that's a statistic that's hard to wrap one's head around.

  • @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623
    @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Год назад +618

    Amazing that the Luftwaffe was still wasting precious resources conducting an attack that would change absolutely nothing to the course of the war this late in the war. Especially since those aircraft could have been put to better use conducting air strikes against the Soviets. Even if they were an anti-shipping unit.

    • @occidentadvocate.9759
      @occidentadvocate.9759 Год назад +41

      Well obviously they thought the war was going to go on longer, and still following orders and attacking.

    • @MI-mx3rh
      @MI-mx3rh Год назад +36

      ❤ 🇩🇪, wish they had better leadership

    • @leopardcentury4079
      @leopardcentury4079 Год назад +39

      They were just doing their duty they didn't surrender

    • @ctg6734
      @ctg6734 Год назад

      Yeah, ya gotta wonder how the battle of Britain would have turned out had the Luftwaffe not squandered their advantage by bombing civilian targets instead focusing solely on those of military value.

    • @quisqueyanguy120
      @quisqueyanguy120 Год назад +80

      It was a vengeance attack, like the V-1 and V-2. There was no point.

  • @PaulMcElligott
    @PaulMcElligott Год назад +102

    Wing Commander Christopher Foxley-Norris, you win the award for the most British name ever.

    • @jameswebb4593
      @jameswebb4593 Год назад +5

      Better then that , his Grand Father was Dean of Westminster . I am always astounded by how many of Britain's outstanding military men have connections to the C of E.

    • @paultapner2769
      @paultapner2769 Год назад +8

      I think that should go to the British ambassador to the Vatican at the time: Francis D'arcy Godolphin Osborne.

    • @MarkFeltonProductions
      @MarkFeltonProductions  Год назад +67

      My favourite was WWII Parachute Regiment Lt.-Col. Richard Pine-Coffin. His men nicknamed him "Wooden Box" with typical gallows humour.

    • @SirAntoniousBlock
      @SirAntoniousBlock Год назад +17

      @@MarkFeltonProductions Haha like the footballer Benjamin Fitz Hall, nicknamed _One size._

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Год назад +3

      @@MarkFeltonProductions Not as magnificent a name, but RAAF Navigator Don Charlwood recalled in his book _No Moon Tonight_ (about his time with 103 Sqn RAF at Elsham Wolds) how one evening his crew (actually Geoff Madden's crew) shared the transport out to the dispersal bays with a crew led by a pilot with the surname of Burton. Given one of the common phrases at the time for not coming back from an operation was "Gone for a Burton", they quietly joked amongst themselves about how on Earth that crew could survive. Later, Burton's crew told Madden's crew how they'd overheard the latter joking about their potential fate.

  • @raypurchase801
    @raypurchase801 Год назад +518

    I recall a story from RAF ace Johnnie Johnson's autobiography. A day after the German surrender, a Luftwaffe bomber landed at his allied airfield in Europe. The pilot got out and asked for his aircraft to be refuelled and bombed-up, so that he could immediately join the western allies in attacking the Russians. He and his crew were immediately put into custody, but it's amazing to think some Germans actually thought that way.

    • @kirgan1000
      @kirgan1000 Год назад +218

      "it's amazing to think some Germans actually thought that way."
      The German pilot was not wrong, he did predict the war, his failur was to realise it was the cold war.

    • @episodebeats2817
      @episodebeats2817 Год назад +192

      Patton thought that way.

    • @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623
      @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Год назад +113

      It was the desperational hope that many soldiers on the Eastern Front clung too. Hold out as long as possible for the Western Allies to arrive. In Cornelius Ryan's The Last Battle there were cases of German civilians learning English so they could converse with Allied soldiers when they arrived, thinking that the Western Allies would not allow Berlin to be taken by the Soviets.

    • @echodelta2172
      @echodelta2172 Год назад +108

      seeing what transpired immediately after ww2, can you really say his thinking was wrong?

    • @carloschristanio4709
      @carloschristanio4709 Год назад +109

      Too bad they didnt give them the fuel

  • @rallan1953
    @rallan1953 Год назад +108

    My Dad was RAF aircrew in Bomber Command, shot down near Berlin at the end of Jan 1944 (3 died, 4 survived) and POW until 7th May 1945. It's weird that I can empathise with these German bomber crews but also know that as they were in the air my Dad was starving and exhausted on a forced march in Germany.

    • @simon762321
      @simon762321 Год назад +5

      it was most likely a crew of young boys, completely wasting their lives in a futile raid. So yes its 100% natural to empathize, could just as well have been the other way.

    • @richardmarshall4322
      @richardmarshall4322 Год назад +2

      Hi Rallan. What Squadron was your Father on. Aircraft type? Jan 44 was toward the end of the Battle of Berlin. 19 major raids on the city between Sep 43 to March 44. Heavy casualties for Bomber Command, 600 heavy bombers lost. Harris was obsessed with Berlin. Nearly wrecked Bomber Command as an effective fighting force.

    • @The_OneManCrowd
      @The_OneManCrowd Год назад +2

      So was my Grandfather, Leo Thomas I, he was captured the first day of the Battle of the Bulge when his support unit, which was delivering mostly food and ammunition, was attacked and a lot of them were taken as POW's. He was force-marched over the border into Germany and was transported by there by train to a POW camp for the last 6 months of the war. He said they had to eat potato peel soup for the most part but they weren't bay treated and the guards and staff would trade them for things in their Red Cross packets, which the Germans actually let them get instead of stealing them. I have a Luger a German NCO gave to him when they abandoned the camp but there's no magazine in it.

    • @rallan1953
      @rallan1953 Год назад

      @@richardmarshall4322 10 Squadron, Halifax mkII.

    • @sid2112
      @sid2112 Год назад

      They were all doing their duty. Don't be angry at them, there's no point in it.

  • @billjohnson6300
    @billjohnson6300 Год назад +188

    Spring of 1972 I took WW II history at the U of MN. I thought I knew a lot about the war by the end of the semester. Your videos continue to fill in gaps and add fascinating stories about this incredible time in modern history. Bravo to you for your incredible work! Those mosquitos were amazing!

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      Perhaps the British Mosquito squadron made it up to raise spirits at home...and get a few free pints. Assuming that Felton didn't make this up.

    • @galatians-2.20
      @galatians-2.20 Год назад +2

      Same here man I love learning about the war. My favorite WW2/ war in general documentary channel other than mark Felton is Dark Docs, Dark Seas, Dark skies, Dark tech, Dark footage, Dark files. I think that is all the DARK DOC channels. Seriously man check them out you will not regret it....excellent and exciting and informative videos

    • @nl-oc9ew
      @nl-oc9ew Год назад +1

      Ski U Mah!

    • @dannycalley7777
      @dannycalley7777 Год назад +1

      B.J. ..............you know those 20 mm cannons were hot !!!!

  • @zachrywd
    @zachrywd Год назад +21

    8:30 That cheeky little bit at the end of an angry German losing a game of chess.

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan Год назад

      Sore losers. Just look at the recent women’s Euros!

  • @secdetau
    @secdetau Год назад +34

    During the first Blitz and then V2 campaign I lost 8 members of my family and the family home. My great grandfather and great uncle where killed at work trying to manoeuvre a coal laden barge at the London Underground Lots Road Power station, while my other Great Uncle died in the same raid while unhooking a damaged transformer. The rest died in the Usk Road York Road hit, the family later moved to temporary housing at Greenwich.

    • @lightfootpathfinder8218
      @lightfootpathfinder8218 Год назад +8

      I have realtives in London and Sheffield. My family experienced the Sheffield blitz first hand but I remember my grandmother telling me about her second cousin in London (Brixton if I remember) going grey overnight due to the constant stress and anxiety of the "doodlebugs"

  • @Willigula
    @Willigula Год назад +205

    Don’t be surprised when Germany does some unexpected. Don’t be surprised when Dr. Mark really does surprise us with the story.

    • @himmler.404
      @himmler.404 Год назад +1

      GOD👌

    • @bradsanders6954
      @bradsanders6954 Год назад +1

      WHAT, are you talking about?

    • @bradsanders6954
      @bradsanders6954 Год назад +3

      @@GARRY3754 Tell us what it is!

    • @jaybee9269
      @jaybee9269 Год назад +2

      No-one EXPECTS the German Inquisition!

    • @rolfnilsen6385
      @rolfnilsen6385 Год назад

      Yeah. Latest bomb from those guys is that they in the face of an energy crisis and a coming winter decides to shut down more nuclear power plants. Teutonic stubborness at is best. Nobody saw that coming.

  • @1977Yakko
    @1977Yakko Год назад +139

    There were lots of lethal fighters during WWII but there's just something about being on the receiving end of a Mosquito or P-38 Lightning that just makes me shudder. The nose mounted firepower being so concentrated was clearly devastating.

    • @Grummsh00
      @Grummsh00 Год назад +21

      Of all the things a bomber could stumble into, it's a bunch of bomber-killers that outnumber them 3-to-1. I'm amazed any of them made it back.

    • @rg20322
      @rg20322 Год назад +4

      When he said Mosquito's noticed them then I knew it was game over - great plane!

    • @cliveburt2638
      @cliveburt2638 Год назад +3

      The Beaufighter was more heavily armed … nicknamed by the Japanese as “Whispering Death”.
      Was a two engined, three man strike fighter bomber, successor to the Beaufort.

    • @neilfoster814
      @neilfoster814 Год назад +1

      @@cliveburt2638 If I recall, the Beaufighter had 4x 20mm canons, 4x .303 mg in the starboard wing, 2x .303 mg in the port wing, and 1x .303 mg in the observer's position. That's one hell of a punch!

    • @williamkoppos7039
      @williamkoppos7039 Год назад +1

      @@neilfoster814 Mossie FB VI had four 20mm and 4 .303's, all in the nose/belly. Can't imagine being on the receiving end of that.

  • @slick_slicers
    @slick_slicers Год назад +67

    I met Chris Foxley-Norris once at the Royal Tournament in London, probably 1976. He was a good friend of my Grandfather, AVM Ted Hawkins. Grandpa was C/O of Changi when Foxley-Norris was C/O of all Singapore, in the 60’s. Also, Foxley-Norris’s ADC was Air/Com Brian Speed who I knew well from another connection. All of them had great stories to tell.

  • @NunyaBizznaz
    @NunyaBizznaz Год назад +76

    I can watch History Channel or something similar and see the same topics over and over. You are the only one who takes the time to research and provide us with interesting and previously unheard of content.

    • @johndoe-so2ef
      @johndoe-so2ef Год назад +4

      Anymore the history channel is all ancient ice trucks looking for pirates or something like that.

    • @phoneboxchicken4108
      @phoneboxchicken4108 Год назад +2

      @@johndoe-so2ef Don't forget the aliens running a pawn shop.

  • @jpg36c
    @jpg36c Год назад +7

    Every time I’m on a boat I look out on the ocean and wonder how many aircraft are lying on the bottom with men still strapped inside

  • @watchdogCZ
    @watchdogCZ Год назад +143

    There was another less known battle where the Luftwaffe surprised the Allies, the Battle over the Ore Mountains on 11th September 1944.
    The US 100th Bomb Group suffered considerable losses over the area of what is now the Czech-German border. It lost a third of its B17-G bombers participating in the mission. More than 50 airplanes from both sides were shot down on that day, over a quite small area. There is even a museum dedicated to the battle in Kovářská, Czech Republic, displaying many artifacts from the battle which took part over it.
    The German JG4 opposing the raid lost over 50% of its fighters in the battle.
    One of the US fighter pilots, USAAC Lt. William Lewis, was shot down in his P-51 and was listed as MIA until the crash site was located in 2002 with the help of Czech and German volunteers and his identity was verified by the US authorities. He was given a military funeral at Tulsa airbase in Oklahoma, USA, on 28th May 2004. Amazingly, his own daughter, whom he had only ever seen once before leaving for war, attended the funeral.
    Books are available both on the battle and on the story of Lt. Lewis.

    • @vvr881
      @vvr881 Год назад +11

      That was very interesting...thanku👍

    • @als4817
      @als4817 Год назад +6

      Thanks for posting !

    • @fandakilpis
      @fandakilpis Год назад +10

      Im czech its good to see that im not the only one that knows about this. 😄

    • @Baza1964
      @Baza1964 Год назад +4

      Great story thanks

    • @watchdogCZ
      @watchdogCZ Год назад +4

      @@fandakilpis Right, that makes two of us who know about it, then. 😀 The museum is a tiny hidden gem, which deserves much more attention.

  • @mitchmatthews6713
    @mitchmatthews6713 Год назад +170

    As always, Mark, your educational videos are truly appreciated!

    • @stevenhershman2660
      @stevenhershman2660 Год назад +1

      Mark keeps on coming up with Interesting and entertaining episodes that I never heard of. All my Friends now subscribe ( I share my sources).

  • @Roller_Ghoster
    @Roller_Ghoster Год назад +55

    I love these reasonably unknown stories from WW2.

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      It's almost like the internet has never heard of this story either. The only other reference I found was by a "guest author" in Wartime History Online that stated "The last air battle in Europe during the Second World War was also fought just off the Scottish coast in Aberdeenshire on April 21st, 1945", which is clearly false as air battles over Europe are widely recorded right up to May 8th.

    • @thesteelrodent1796
      @thesteelrodent1796 Год назад +2

      @@1966johnnywayne lots of things aren't available online. Tons of written records and books are only available if you physically go to the right archive and know where to look, especially things that weren't intended for public consumption

    • @vk2ig
      @vk2ig Год назад

      @@thesteelrodent1796 Agreed. For example, items are constantly being added to the Australian War Memorial's and National Archives of Australia's online collections. I have had a small hand in this when researching family history and discovered something which hadn't been accessed since just after WW2 and asked the NAA to scan it and make it available online. Included in this is documentary evidence explaining the "disappearance" of a great uncle - there was no trace of him from the beginning of WW2 onwards - it turned out he enlisted under another surname and was killed at Tobruk ... he is still there, too.

  • @tiamdaeoconghail7770
    @tiamdaeoconghail7770 Год назад +14

    Thank you Mark, my mom lived & worked through the blitz as a welder in ship-building near Hull, and Tank manufacturing in the South.

  • @cliveburt2638
    @cliveburt2638 Год назад +36

    My late mother grew up in Mill Hill, and said of the V-1, “as long as the sound of the doodlebugs went past you, you were safe, the problem was when the sound was coming towards you, and it stopped”.
    The RAF used the XX Committee to get “Garbo” to report that the V-1s were overshooting London, so that the Germans kept shortening the range of them, so that they fell on Kent.

    • @neilturner6749
      @neilturner6749 Год назад +6

      Yes much of Kent was an even worse place to live in those days than it is now, so I can understand why the British Govt were keen to let the Germans flatten it!

    • @michaeldoolan7595
      @michaeldoolan7595 Год назад

      Typing Londoners

  • @jimc.goodfellas226
    @jimc.goodfellas226 Год назад +6

    Whenever I hear about The Blitz I always think of that movie "Mrs Miniver"....if you've never seen it you really should. Those movies from the 40s are great

  • @iandawkins2182
    @iandawkins2182 Год назад +34

    I have become addicted to your videos. I have always been interested in WW2 but you really bring it to life.

    • @DaveSCameron
      @DaveSCameron Год назад

      Wanna go halves on a 1/4 gramme of outtakes?

  • @pineyhills9066
    @pineyhills9066 Год назад +64

    Those Mosquito pilots must have thought themselves the luckiest pilots in the world at that moment.

    • @rachelar
      @rachelar Год назад +5

      Lucky they weren't in the early Mosquitos (no armament 😂)

    • @rararnanan7244
      @rararnanan7244 Год назад +14

      Absolutely. The escorting Mustangs asked to break away early because they had a party planned at their base on Peterhead - and they missed the Junkers party.
      Commander-in-Chief Sholto Douglas telephoned Fighter Command 13 Group (the escorting Mustangs) to rub it in by offering fighter escorts to their Mustangs when and if required 😆

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      @@rararnanan7244 Where di you find this...I cannot find further corroboration of this story beyond..."The last air battle in Europe during the Second World War was also fought just off the Scottish coast in Aberdeenshire on April 21st, 1945".

    • @wilburfinnigan2142
      @wilburfinnigan2142 Год назад +1

      @@rachelar Actually it was only the bombers that were unarmed as the 4 20MM cannon took up the front half of the bomb bay. The FB, Fighter bomber only carried 2 500# bombs, the bomber version carried 4 500# bombs and NO guns, only the MODIFIED bombers could carry the MODIFIED to fit 4,000# cookie bomb !! and the photo recon were unarmed !!!!

    • @wilburfinnigan2142
      @wilburfinnigan2142 Год назад

      @@rachelar MY question is with that many Mosquitos why were not ALL the German bombers shot down ????

  • @fordfairlane662dr
    @fordfairlane662dr Год назад +51

    As always the best History Channel on TV or on RUclips or anywhere for that matter Mark Felton

  • @angelonunez8555
    @angelonunez8555 Год назад +10

    Whichever German officer it was who thought that this would be a worthwhile mission at this stage of the war was stupid beyond belief.

    • @user-vj7el2wg9b
      @user-vj7el2wg9b Год назад

      According to Les Taylor in his book "Luftwaffe over Scotland", the officer responsible was Generalleutnant Ernst-August Roth.

  • @awc80
    @awc80 Год назад +99

    You know people love these vids when it still says "no views" and already 64 thumbs up :)
    Keep up the good work Mark.

    • @LukeSumIpsePatremTe
      @LukeSumIpsePatremTe Год назад +4

      The update rate on views and thumbs up's is different.

    • @Freddie1980
      @Freddie1980 Год назад +3

      That's because the statistics are not updated in real time

    • @als4817
      @als4817 Год назад +6

      I would like to make a public confession : I click the 'like' then watch the video.
      Have never ' unliked ' one.
      Mea Culpa, I await my fate.

    • @sjonnieplayfull5859
      @sjonnieplayfull5859 Год назад +1

      Maybe patreons who get an early watch?

    • @jaredevildog6343
      @jaredevildog6343 Год назад

      I click like before watching. Never been disappointed.

  • @808bigisland
    @808bigisland Год назад +56

    My granddad was a swiss army AA operator at the northern Swiss/german border for 5 years. They shot down German planes crossing the border. Sometimes more, sometimes less...depending on political standing orders by the generals. Their last kill was a german twin engine bomber in early 1945.

    • @endutubecensorship
      @endutubecensorship Год назад +3

      Tough position for a civilian in their mandatory service, allied or axis it has to come down.

    • @vacgyverfin5170
      @vacgyverfin5170 Год назад +3

      @@endutubecensorship Well Swiss neutrality was respected fairly well though.

    • @0ldb1ll
      @0ldb1ll Год назад +1

      @@vacgyverfin5170 I think not - by neither side.

    • @greatexpectations6577
      @greatexpectations6577 Год назад +10

      The neutral nation that shot down more planes than the French did, lol.

    • @vacgyverfin5170
      @vacgyverfin5170 Год назад +11

      @@greatexpectations6577 Being neutral doesn't mean you are waving white flag.

  • @marc1829
    @marc1829 Год назад +5

    Superb bit of research in locating the actual image from the interception, Doc.

  • @FoodLaneAdventures
    @FoodLaneAdventures Год назад +5

    The Mosquito deserves more attention. Such a capable aircraft.

  • @isaacmay8014
    @isaacmay8014 Год назад +27

    You have one of the best channels on RUclips. Carry on the good work.

  • @aguyinasuit8291
    @aguyinasuit8291 Год назад +6

    I'm so happy that Mark Felton got sponsored by War Thunder

  • @Mostrichkugel
    @Mostrichkugel Год назад +5

    More people died in the process of fabricating the V2 than in its application. Most of them were inmates of the concentration camp of Mittelbau-Dora.

  • @markellifson4910
    @markellifson4910 Год назад +4

    I am grateful for this channel. Always a unique story on the war whether allied or axis based. My grandfather and his 2 brothers served during the war. His older brother was stationed in England with the air corps.

  • @rockfishmiller
    @rockfishmiller Год назад +45

    Oh no, Mosquitos! The dread the Germans must have felt. Thanks again Dr Felton.

    • @dpt6849
      @dpt6849 Год назад +3

      Everyone hate mosquitos

    • @sillyone52062
      @sillyone52062 Год назад

      The gunners' 7.92mm machine guns would have to get a lucky hit to have any effect.

  • @jaredrehn7532
    @jaredrehn7532 Год назад +3

    Superb work as always, Dr. Felton

  • @JohnDoe-ff2fc
    @JohnDoe-ff2fc Год назад +26

    It's amazing that any pilot eould attempt such an attack considering that the knew, or should have, that the war was lost. It could serve no purpose other than causing the loss of ships, which was akin to revenge prior to surrender.

    • @MudPig6110
      @MudPig6110 Год назад +6

      It is hard to imagine, but with the control the nazis held over all media, radio, newspaper, and even casual conversation through intimidation, its not beyond the pale that pilots in Norway had no real idea just how bad things had gotten on the eastern and western fronts. I imagine they thought they were still in the fight and every battle and/or sortie still mattered. Maybe some just wanted to die for their country rather then face defeat.

    • @matty6848
      @matty6848 Год назад +5

      @@MudPig6110 agreed. What are the chances of German pilots and soldiers having real up too date truth and knowledge of the total desperate, bloodied conditions on the Eastern front? Those stationed far away in Norway would of been completely isolated too the situation in Germany, Russia and Poland etc..

    • @prince-solomon
      @prince-solomon Год назад

      They knew or should have? You can't support your claim at all. What do you know of how they perceived or were told things went at that time?
      You think the German media would spread news akin to defeatism as long as the Führer or Goebbels were alive? Nope. It was war and they were doing their job, that's it.
      Shots were fired in WW1 until the very last minute, not because of revenge, but because of duty.

    • @francisdec1615
      @francisdec1615 Год назад +2

      There is a very realistic German series about the war - "Jokehnen, or How long is it from East Prussia to Germany?". One of the main characters, a pretty intelligent mayor in an East Prussian village says in December 1944 "We can't be totally defeated. We still occupy Norway, Denmark and Czechoslovakia. The Führer must be able to somehow use that in a bargain with the Allies". They didn't understand that while it still didn't look hopeless on the maps, their resources were running out and no one was willing to negotiate with them whatsoever.

  • @CLARKE176
    @CLARKE176 Год назад +2

    Thanks for doing a detailed video of this event!👍👍

  • @derickl436
    @derickl436 Год назад +26

    Les Taylor in his book “Luftwaffe over Scotland” comments: Among the Banff aircraft involved in a battle with KG 26 torpedo bombers on 21 April 1945 were a number of specially modified Mosquitoes known as ‘Tsetse’ Mosquitoes. These had a single 57mm quick firing Molins anti-tank gun mounted in place of the standard four cannon in the belly.
    Only four of the raiders made it back to Stavanger.

    • @kimclarke5018
      @kimclarke5018 Год назад

      Hmm Banff? That’s the name of a resort town west of Calgary, AB Canada

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 Год назад +5

      @@kimclarke5018 No surprised, quite a sizeable number of Canadian places are named after the English originals. Banff, Alberta was coincidentally named in 1884 by George Stephens, the President of CP Rail at the time, after Banff, Scotland.

    • @kimclarke5018
      @kimclarke5018 Год назад

      @@kutter_ttl6786 and my grandfather is from ST Boswells SCOTLAND

    • @robertsneddon731
      @robertsneddon731 Год назад +2

      The Tsetses were originally intended for anti-U-boat operations although they did a fair job on E-boats and other light shipping targets like barges and small merchant ships.

  • @-.Steven
    @-.Steven Год назад +8

    Another story I had never heard before. Thank you Dr. Felton for bringing these stories to life! Your work means a great deal to so many of us! Don't ever stop!

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      It's almost like the internet has never heard of this story either. The only other reference was by a "guest author" in Wartime History Online that stated "The last air battle in Europe during the Second World War was also fought just off the Scottish coast in Aberdeenshire on April 21st, 1945", which is clearly false as air battles over Europe are widely recorded right up to May 8th.

  • @nordicson2835
    @nordicson2835 Год назад +3

    It was the brave RAF that really put the Luftwaffa in the back seat.

  • @moronic_dense_fooker
    @moronic_dense_fooker Год назад +16

    I never knew my city was one of the last to be bombed by a manned luftwaffe raid. Thank you mark. Keep up the good work, eager to learn more from you.

    • @Secter84
      @Secter84 Год назад +2

      They didn't bomb it though. They dropped their torpedoes and took evasive action.

    • @projektkobra2247
      @projektkobra2247 Год назад +2

      @@Secter84 "to be" can be used as a synonym phrase for "expected", or "scheduled".

    • @sjonnieplayfull5859
      @sjonnieplayfull5859 Год назад

      @@Secter84 maybe he meant that last single bomber that did drop his bombs

    • @ULTRA_2112
      @ULTRA_2112 Год назад

      @@Secter84:3:32 hear it again...
      The guy is from Hull...

    • @littlefluffybushbaby7256
      @littlefluffybushbaby7256 Год назад

      @@ULTRA_2112 Good spot Fooker, Playful and Triton. Yep it was a lone 'nuisance' raider. What a nuisance. Come on EightyFour. Pay attention. Ha ha

  • @MatthewMcGeeEI4HZB
    @MatthewMcGeeEI4HZB Год назад +63

    Good man Mark, always entertaining and detailed.

  • @Rustythemouse
    @Rustythemouse Год назад +6

    I like this channel above many positive levels when episodes like these got manage to show a footage as this.
    Even the part where the british pilot turns his head and raise his eyes for the formation which Mr. Felton talks about.

  • @joshuabessire9169
    @joshuabessire9169 Год назад +6

    The Mosquito: doind the F/A thing before the F/A-18 was a glint in the F-5's eye.

  • @WT.....
    @WT..... Год назад +26

    Wow. Where you keep finding such hidden gems? Thanks as always.

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад +1

      TRULY HIDDEN GEMS ... I can't find any references to this battle on the net. Weird.

    • @dustycups
      @dustycups Год назад

      @@1966johnnywayne It’s not weird really. Mark Felton is an academic looking thoroughly through archives.

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      @@dustycups The last failed air raid over Britain thwarted out at sea...You don't think that this would be better known, almost on the level of movie worthy???

    • @dustycups
      @dustycups Год назад

      @@1966johnnywayne There were a lot of last things. Doesn't matter what we think, it is what it is. The number of people knowing about obscure events or Hollywood making movies about it isn't a standard of proof. It seems you're determined to believe some kind of conspiracy about it. Not sure why, that's kind of a weird one mate.

    • @immortalsofar2622
      @immortalsofar2622 Год назад

      do you mean War Thunder?

  • @davidswift7776
    @davidswift7776 Год назад +7

    Thank you again for your insightful and interesting little known WW2 event.
    You nailed another one !

  • @dbenergy717
    @dbenergy717 Год назад +5

    Mark I love your documentaries and have my notifications on!

  • @MPGunther1
    @MPGunther1 Год назад +3

    Once again bringing little known history to life. Thank you Dr. Felton

  • @Great_Sandwich
    @Great_Sandwich Год назад +2

    As soon as I heard "Mosquitos" I knew how this story was going to end.
    "TALLY HO, LADS!"

  • @richardm3023
    @richardm3023 Год назад +2

    At 2:19 I'm glad that Dr. Who was there to help!

  • @MinahilMirha6666
    @MinahilMirha6666 Год назад +3

    Wonderful Lesson. Wonderful learning. MARK IS OUR TEACHER

  • @112chapters3
    @112chapters3 Год назад +3

    My main man Dr Felton. Thanks as always for your content, I’ve been with you since early on.
    I remember emailing and asking about something on jabal akhdar in Oman near Nizwa. SAS troops…
    Maybe war stories.

  • @AgentGB1
    @AgentGB1 Год назад +1

    Always look forward to next these videos!

  • @markcee925
    @markcee925 Год назад +1

    Always great Dr.Felton keep em coming.

  • @potato8780
    @potato8780 Год назад +12

    Thank you for the information.
    This was one part of history, I didn't know about.

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад +1

      It's almost like the internet has never heard of this story either. The only other reference I found was by a "guest author" in Wartime History Online that stated "The last air battle in Europe during the Second World War was also fought just off the Scottish coast in Aberdeenshire on April 21st, 1945", which is clearly false as air battles over Europe are widely recorded right up to May 8th.

  • @giveitaswingoutdoorswithsm2901
    @giveitaswingoutdoorswithsm2901 Год назад +4

    Oh Im so glad Hull got a mention!!
    My Grandad Sid was in civil Defence during the War in Hull and was a bit bitter that London always got the front page news ☝️🧐

  • @EATSxBABIES
    @EATSxBABIES Год назад +1

    Having this on while grinding the Summer event in War Thunder. Always great to let Autoplay put me back onto a Mark Felton binge

  • @jcip1
    @jcip1 Год назад

    Another well narrated and produced WWII documentary. Thank you!

  • @georgeedward1226
    @georgeedward1226 Год назад +6

    A handful of young men in the form of RAF fighter pilots saved Britain and by extension, the civilized world. They may have been young, naive and in many cases, virgins but had balls the size of Gibraltar.

    • @btipton6899
      @btipton6899 Год назад

      The 8th USAAF helped a bit too.

  • @tomjackson8256
    @tomjackson8256 Год назад +5

    I like to watch Mark's videos at night (and ONLY Mark's videos). It's like going to the movies!

  • @RobertLewis-el9ub
    @RobertLewis-el9ub Год назад +1

    Excellent content again Dr Felton - thank-you. Many of your stories are worth turning into movies - I'd certainly buy a ticket.

  • @porkstack
    @porkstack Год назад

    Superb Mark!
    Thank you

  • @davidvaughn7752
    @davidvaughn7752 Год назад +16

    Wow Mark, another interesting and exciting expose of history that I had no idea happened! That was some real buzzard luck the Luftwaffe ran into... I couldn't even begin to imagine what went through those Pilots minds as they captured the attention of all those De Havilland's, one of the most feared twin-engined fighter bombers in the sky at the time. Just wow!!! Anyhow... Tally Ho!

  • @ammoniumphosphate
    @ammoniumphosphate Год назад +11

    Speaking of War Thunder, that’s what it’s like flying a bomber. You’re making your way to a target and boom, a mosquito flies in and shoots you down immediately. Great fun :D

  • @fd2blk
    @fd2blk Год назад +1

    Good to see your sponsor is matched to your content. I learned more in the last 4 years playing war thunder about ww2 vehicles and history than the previous 25 years of collecting books and watching videos.

  • @speLe0log
    @speLe0log Год назад

    As always... amazing. Thank you, Dr Felton.

  • @grahamtaylor6883
    @grahamtaylor6883 Год назад +4

    That feeling when you know that you couldn't have timed it worse.....Oh crap.

  • @MDR-hn2yz
    @MDR-hn2yz Год назад +11

    My grandfather flew as a B-24 gunner in the US 8th Air Force in 1944-45.
    Great work keeping these stories alive. 👍👍

  • @Hawaiian80882
    @Hawaiian80882 Год назад +1

    awesome history lesson Mark...Mahalo's bro!

  • @lonnieclemens8028
    @lonnieclemens8028 Год назад +2

    Thank you Mark. It is a very interesting part of history.

  • @CUTECATSTUDIOS
    @CUTECATSTUDIOS Год назад +16

    another outstanding episode Dr Felton, hope you are all well!

  • @mattharte7334
    @mattharte7334 Год назад +6

    Seems ludicrous to send these men to war at this stage. Thanks for another really interesting video, I am looking forward to the next.

  • @garylawson5381
    @garylawson5381 Год назад

    Thank you for another unique, and awesome documentary Mark Felton Productions!

  • @HypocriticYT
    @HypocriticYT Год назад +2

    My father was a flight Lt in Canada and photographed German U boats further up the St Lawrence river than they ever admitted seeing.-

  • @martinhogg5337
    @martinhogg5337 Год назад +133

    That was extremely interesting! When your luck is out you’ve had it. Seems like nothing was going right for the Germans by 1945!

    • @112chapters3
      @112chapters3 Год назад

      The third reich….. now I suppose we really in the four horsemen time, but just don’t know it.
      I ain’t some bible bashing loon either.

    • @codyweien4513
      @codyweien4513 Год назад +1

      Modern USA makes its own luck militarily

    • @bradsanders6954
      @bradsanders6954 Год назад

      @@codyweien4513 And has lost every war its been in since and including Vietnam, lotsa bombs but cant win a war,..............we have some VERY rich generals though,...............we create millions of enemies with our never ending bomb dropping and drones killing innocents.

    • @howardoller443
      @howardoller443 Год назад +1

      Martin Hogg - Luck had nothing to do with it.

    • @JohnSmith-gd2fg
      @JohnSmith-gd2fg Год назад +3

      It started going very wrong in 1933, particularly for anyone who was the wrong religion, ethnic group or political orientation in Germany.
      We might well look at Russia the same way in the future.

  • @Jermster_91
    @Jermster_91 Год назад +20

    There was a time when I would play War Thunder almost daily. Those days are gone.

    • @swenhtet2861
      @swenhtet2861 Год назад +10

      Getting uptiered a lot. Your favorite historical vehicles being thrown into matches against something that can just easily kill you without trying, servers randomly getting bad at any time.

    • @TheGrace020
      @TheGrace020 Год назад +2

      @@swenhtet2861 Yep

    • @echodelta2172
      @echodelta2172 Год назад +3

      @@swenhtet2861 >start match with planes designed in the 30s, hoping for a relaxing low tier match
      >instantly matched against late-war planes

    • @swenhtet2861
      @swenhtet2861 Год назад +2

      @@echodelta2172 worse in low tier is when you’re dogfighting against someone and you get pilot sniped suddenly by the AAA on the ground.

    • @dallesamllhals9161
      @dallesamllhals9161 Год назад

      Ooh. HATE on EVERYTHING russian = How to do things 2022+?

  • @jaredevildog6343
    @jaredevildog6343 Год назад

    Another great , high quality video Dr. Felton ! Many thanks !

  • @jamessullivan1348
    @jamessullivan1348 Год назад

    Thank you sir! Another excellent video!

  • @raymondtonns2521
    @raymondtonns2521 Год назад +7

    thanks Dr. Felton for a look at this little known operation.. what good luck for the Mosquitos to have come along at the right time and place!!

  • @larrybomber83
    @larrybomber83 Год назад +5

    I never heard of this mission. I have read a book or two on Mosquitos, but never about this German raid. Thank You Mark.

  • @oncall21
    @oncall21 Год назад

    Another unknown gem of history thanks to Dr felton. Thanks for sharing!

  • @user-un5xk2nm2s
    @user-un5xk2nm2s Год назад

    Thanks Mark for another amazing content on untold stories of WWII.

  • @vighneshpawar934
    @vighneshpawar934 Год назад +14

    Big fan sir from India i have learnt very much about Nazi Germany and ww2

  • @cola_420
    @cola_420 Год назад +5

    One of the best and most consistent channels on youtube!

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад

      Hating on Ze Germans pays well...especially when you "stretch" the truth.

  • @sameyers2670
    @sameyers2670 Год назад

    Thank you for another fascinating video Mark

  • @paulmurphy42
    @paulmurphy42 Год назад +1

    Keep 'em coming Mark!

  • @infoscholar5221
    @infoscholar5221 Год назад +9

    Their cause was wrong, but it is a pity, all the same. My dad, who fought in the Pacific, told me of how sad it made his whole platoon, when a couple of men were killed by a sniper, just days before the Japanese surrendered.

    • @Secter84
      @Secter84 Год назад +2

      That would be terrible to be the last casualties of any war.
      Such a waste.
      Glad my grandfather came back from Vietnam. He was a casualty of the war none the less...he had severe health defects that were caused by agent Orange that ultimately took his life in 2012.
      RIP🙏
      So crazy how humans only goal seems to be ending the lives of other humans...it's so wilf how life is just a miracle as it is. Earth flying through space with all the other planets & stars & matter in the universe, yet here on earth we have life for some reason, by some chance. Evolved from God knows what, or maybe we were created? Either way it's so crazy the chance of life being the way it is...all that advancement and superiority to other creatures in this world....and what do creatures who are at the tip top of their evolution do?
      End the lives of other evolved and non evolved creatures.
      Instead of just existing, it's almost as if it's in our DNA.

    • @FallNorth
      @FallNorth Год назад

      There was a TV documentary (not sure if Mark covered it) about US commanders sending soldiers to their deaths in utterly pointless missions literally as WW1 was ending, for their own selfish reasons. I mean just absolutely pointless. It's annoying!

  • @TheEarlofK
    @TheEarlofK Год назад +3

    My mother, who was living in East Ham, London during the War, told me that she felt that an extended V2 campaign would have had an extreme psychological effect on Londoners; they could mostly cope with the V1's, or 'Doodlebugs' as she called them, because you could hear them and take evasive action when their motors stopped, but you could neither see nor hear the V2s, and she said that really did create an atmosphere of terror.

    • @hawnyfox3411
      @hawnyfox3411 Год назад

      To be fair, I'm surprised if not "baffled" to know she even knew they existed - Gov't kept it quiet deliberately
      Gov't hierarchy KNEW the "unstoppable V.2" would create panic, so used "Gas Explosions" as an excuse.
      My Mother got blown into mid-air (outer shock wave) on 13th July '44 by a V.1 "Doodlebug" (nr Thames)
      She got NO warning as an adjacent Fire Station Fireman yelled at her & her mate to get down
      "We didn't have time to react" she said & both her & her schoolmate got blown into mid-air
      Both were injured, but survived as a strong neighbouring brick wall ("stocks") took the brunt
      The woman (standing at the bus stop) was killed & my Mum fretted about her, even in the 2000's
      That B'strd "von Braun" became an 'American citizen' (laughably) despite his murdering weapons
      Bet they would NOT have "extended that courtesy" to the likes of Joachim Peiper or his ilk
      Amazing "Get Out Of Jail Free Card" (Monopoly game) played by the Allies in exchange for "Rocket Tech"

  • @rsacchi100
    @rsacchi100 Год назад

    Another great story abut an obscure WWII event. Thank you for posting.

  • @Trek001
    @Trek001 Год назад +2

    I thought you would miss out Hull, then you mentioned it
    Great to hear my home city get a mention in a Mark Felton vid!

  • @jasonarcher7268
    @jasonarcher7268 Год назад +8

    I'm quite grateful for how prolific Dr Felton is. It's easily some of the very best history content on RUclips.

  • @MASTERATCOD4
    @MASTERATCOD4 Год назад +4

    The RAF pilots must have thought xmas had come early. You can almost imagine the reactions when first sighting the enemy aircraft.

  • @bryannelson6139
    @bryannelson6139 Год назад

    Another historical event I hadn’t heard of. Thanks to Mark my knowledge of history is once again improved.

  • @pacalvotan3380
    @pacalvotan3380 Год назад +2

    The de Havilland Mosquito is by far my favorite aircraft of WWII. I knew that they were often tasked as night fighters, intruders, and pathfinders into Germany (which would often encounter German night fighters), but I am often curious about how the mosquito would stack up against other bombers. Wow! I think this German raid of 21 April 1945 pretty well answers that curiosity. What an amazing aircraft the Mosquito turned out to be...HUGELY versatile and has to be ranked as one of the most deadly aircraft of the entire war.

  • @justanotherviewer52
    @justanotherviewer52 Год назад +7

    One maxim of combat: "No plan survives first contact with the enemy". Good example of why. Thanks Mark.

  • @wilsontheconqueror8101
    @wilsontheconqueror8101 Год назад +2

    So many military engagements start simply from combatants running into each other! Well done Mr. Felton!

    • @1966johnnywayne
      @1966johnnywayne Год назад +1

      As opposed to scheduling a battle?

    • @johncmitchell4941
      @johncmitchell4941 Год назад +1

      @@1966johnnywayne Can you say Midway? Vs knowing where or when an imminent/expected attack would happen a scout went wide and stuff went down as a result. We could have been hit much harder, and it was also a matter of just luck and timing that our guys caught so many enemy planes on deck changing armaments.

  • @rowanjamesclayton-harding6047
    @rowanjamesclayton-harding6047 Год назад +1

    Yay new Mark Felton video!

  • @sullivannix4509
    @sullivannix4509 Год назад +7

    What a waste of human life. Right at the end of the war, I can’t see why the Luftwaffe thought that sinking a few merchant ships was going to do anything

    • @billh230
      @billh230 Год назад

      "Star Trek- Wrath of Kahn", where Ricardo Montalban gives that little speech as he's setting the doomsday device, something like "With my last breath, I stab at thee..."

    • @davidbrimson83
      @davidbrimson83 Год назад

      @@billh230 That's stolen from Moby Dick.

    • @PaulMcElligott
      @PaulMcElligott Год назад

      @@davidbrimson83 Quoting classic literature isn’t “stealing.”

    • @wilburfinnigan2142
      @wilburfinnigan2142 Год назад

      Sullivan Nix who care if those Germans were killed ??? How many millions of death were they responsible for ???

    • @billh230
      @billh230 Год назад

      @@PaulMcElligott Yah, but wildly mis-attributing a quote like that makes me look almost as bad as a frauditor.....

  • @mikeryan3701
    @mikeryan3701 Год назад +10

    That's very interesting. So the first Luftwaffe bombing raid took place in Scotland and the last one was aimed at Scotland.

    • @JohnSmith-ii9ci
      @JohnSmith-ii9ci Год назад

      first british civilian was killed at Bridge of Waith in Orkney

    • @user-vj7el2wg9b
      @user-vj7el2wg9b Год назад

      @@JohnSmith-ii9ci As recorded by Les Taylor in "Luftwaffe over Scotland". Also in that book is a detailed account of the 21 April 1945 raid.

  • @americanpatriot2422
    @americanpatriot2422 Год назад

    Always an Outstanding video and presentation.

  • @tomvanderleelie7102
    @tomvanderleelie7102 Год назад

    I had no idea this happened so late in the war, your vids are always so informative, thanks for posting. 😎