Ram Attack! The Pilot Who Saved Buckingham Palace

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  • Опубликовано: 7 окт 2024
  • A really cracking story from the Battle of Britain about an RAF pilot and his unorthodox attack on a Dornier bomber headed straight for Buckingham Palace. Enjoy!
    Sources: 'Ray Holmes' - Wikipedia; 'Unearthed - The story of the RAF pilot who saved Buckingham Palace' - The Independent.

Комментарии • 383

  • @joem1309
    @joem1309 5 лет назад +1203

    Germans - “Machine guns are ineffective, use flame thrower!”
    “Flame thrower ineffective, use Hanz!!!”
    *Hanz gets stuck on wing*

  • @nemosis9449
    @nemosis9449 6 лет назад +1216

    My mum who is now 95 was in the Waterloo area of London when she saw this happen on the way back from working her shift as a spot welder.

  • @Harry50cal
    @Harry50cal 6 лет назад +1080

    "you have a Jerry on your left wing!"

    • @MrAlumni72
      @MrAlumni72 6 лет назад +58

      I wish I hadn't had a mouthful of doughnut when I read this. Post of the year!

    • @bertsedgwick9828
      @bertsedgwick9828 6 лет назад +15

      lol nice

    • @chrisneedham5803
      @chrisneedham5803 6 лет назад +15

      I'm on your side now! Carry on old chap

    • @lilyfurley9833
      @lilyfurley9833 6 лет назад +31

      war thunder memes on point

    • @gumunduringigumundsson9344
      @gumunduringigumundsson9344 5 лет назад +14

      Bwahahaha!
      Pity that poor parachuter though.. he must have gotten quiiite the whiplash :P dang.. I can not imagine that he survived it.

  • @christianbuczko1481
    @christianbuczko1481 6 лет назад +1127

    Getting sprayed with a flame thrower and survives, then gets a German tangled up, and still survives, jamming his guns, then ramming, and still survives... Any one of those stories would have been interesting, but all 3 occurring in quick succession while protecting Buckingham palace is amazing. He used up several lifetimes worth of luck that day for certain.

    • @randomcoyote8807
      @randomcoyote8807 5 лет назад +56

      I was thinking the same thing. The hard-luck hero, indeed!

  • @Shore1985
    @Shore1985 6 лет назад +454

    Well this Sir took the phrase "for king and country" to the next level

  • @forestsoceansmusic
    @forestsoceansmusic 6 лет назад +353

    I admire Holmes' chivalry in dipping his wing so that German airman could parachute to safety; but most of all I admire his guts in ramming his Hurricane into the Dornier. Very glad he made it out and lived to a good age.

  • @BVargas78
    @BVargas78 6 лет назад +377

    Mounted flame throwers on bomber aircraft? Never heard of that but fascinating!

    • @SupesMe
      @SupesMe 6 лет назад +25

      BVargas78 yeah I didn’t until recently either. I saw thing on a HE 111 that hat one

    • @starsixsvn
      @starsixsvn 6 лет назад +42

      Something this channel should make a video about!

    • @Heihachiro504
      @Heihachiro504 6 лет назад +29

      ruclips.net/video/LjBIzc4groM/видео.html
      *2. Bordflammenwerfer*
      Exactly on Do 17. Also on Fw 190 (Flammenwerfer 'Gero').

    • @silentotto5099
      @silentotto5099 6 лет назад +36

      I'd never heard of flame throwers on a bomber either. I thought it sounded like war time propaganda, so I did some checking.
      Mark Felton's got it right, apparently. This was a real thing.
      Learn something new every day...

    • @scottklocke891
      @scottklocke891 6 лет назад +28

      German armed forces in WWII were insane at time's

  • @joeperez3520
    @joeperez3520 6 лет назад +410

    Since the German pilot was able to bail out, I assume he was captured. During interrogation, did he reveal that the palace was the target of his 3 plane flight?

  • @DCI_LeoDan_
    @DCI_LeoDan_ 5 лет назад +78

    I'm surprised that Ray Holmes could fit such huge balls into such a tiny aircraft.

  • @plymouth5714
    @plymouth5714 5 лет назад +165

    A few years before his death, there was an excavation for roadworks or something at the road junction where his Hurricane came down and the wreckage was still down there. It was brought up by archeologists and Holmes was present on a TV program when it was raised, together with civilian eye witnesses, they all had a good booze up in the local pub at the end of the program

  • @oscarbennett1057
    @oscarbennett1057 5 лет назад +22

    Hi guys, Wish I had got here sooner! My dad used to be a WW2 Aviation historian and photographer, and went on a lot of digs with time team. In May 2004 (I was 2 at the time), he started his own dig, which was to find Ray Holmes' Hurricane. Eventually, he found the Hurricane, in the middle of the junction between Buckingham Palace road and Ebury Bridge. He got funding from the BBC, who did a documentary on the dig, and they closed off the junction for two days while they dug up the hurricane. In the end, both the hurricanes engine, and its Spade grip (Control Column) were found. Ray Holmes was at the site during the dig and saw the parts of his Hurricane come out the ground. The digging up of the Hurricane lead to my dad starting up his business, TMB Art Metal. The part TMB comes from the Hurricanes markings T M B, and Art Metal was the name of the shop nearest to the dig site on the corner. The engine of Ray's Hurricane is at RAF Hendon museum, in the new building. A side note of this, is the two mock Hurricanes on stands outside the entrance to RAF Hendon have the markings TMB, in respect of the engine and of Ray Holmes. Unfortunately the control column is no longer on display there, (It used to) as it resides in my dads office!!!
    Here is the documentary of the dig in case anybody is interested.
    ruclips.net/video/lACDhxSLbYQ/видео.html

  • @VictorLepanto
    @VictorLepanto 6 лет назад +336

    Not to tell the British what to do w/ their medals, but if anyone deserved a VC medal he certainly did.

  • @TimNelson
    @TimNelson 5 лет назад +49

    Holy Christ. That’s guts. Typical limey guts to save the bloody day. We Yanks salute! Beers on our tab, mates.

  • @markburd9253
    @markburd9253 6 лет назад +53

    What bravery! Jolly good show! I shall always hope the USA and the UK shall perpetually be close brothers.

  • @thejudge-kv2jk
    @thejudge-kv2jk 5 лет назад +76

    "I've had quieter days" he said as he walked briskly to the nearest pub...

  • @davidblackburn432
    @davidblackburn432 5 лет назад +29

    I was fortunate to meet Ray Holmes and shake his hand and to say thank you for what he did in The Battle of Britain. I'm proud to own a signed copy of his book, Sky Spy. What a great man.

  • @hughfranklin3072
    @hughfranklin3072 6 лет назад +31

    What a credit to our country and the RAF, well done sir.

  • @cynderfan2233
    @cynderfan2233 6 лет назад +126

    Gun malfunction? RAMMING SPEED!!!

  • @dbennett5965
    @dbennett5965 5 лет назад +55

    I used to consider myself a pretty good military history buff. That was before i found your channel. Your stories never cease to amaze me Mark 😉 Keep 'em coming!

  • @galejones5713
    @galejones5713 5 лет назад +31

    with men such as him it is no wonder they were called the greatest generation

  • @markdavies5066
    @markdavies5066 5 лет назад +13

    This is why Great Britain won the battle for the sky , courage and bravery of our pilots and service men

  • @morningstar9233
    @morningstar9233 5 лет назад +53

    Made an officer? Man should've got the V.C. RIP and thank you sir.

  • @PtolemyJones
    @PtolemyJones 5 лет назад +56

    Love your channel. Curious, one of the things I love about your production is how crisp and tightly packed they are, so many channels seem to take twenty-five minutes to tell five minutes of story. Is there profit found in duration? I much prefer your professionally polished style.

  • @alexfilma16
    @alexfilma16 6 лет назад +48

    Another lesser known nugget of WW2 knowledge. Thanks!

  • @montyzumazoom1337
    @montyzumazoom1337 5 лет назад +11

    I remember his plane being dug up, it was on TV. It was near at a road junction and the roads were closed while the excavated the area and found the remains of his aircraft.
    Amazing story.

  • @benniecoetzee9586
    @benniecoetzee9586 5 лет назад +18

    Short and sweet and packed with interesting information. I love it! Thank you.

  • @BillHalliwell
    @BillHalliwell 6 лет назад +7

    Outstanding courage and sense of duty to protect the Royal Family. It was well publicised that the King refused to leave London thereby making Buckingham Palace a prized Luftwaffe target. The building was hit once while the King & Queen were nearby; they were unharmed. Sgt. Pilot Holmes deserved his Commission and his long life after his daring refusal to consider his own safety. I reckon he should have got the VC too. Per Ardua Ad Astra!

  • @drubber007
    @drubber007 6 лет назад +157

    Can't believe i've never heard of a flame thrower on a german plane before 🤔

    • @jb6027
      @jb6027 5 лет назад +27

      Dr. Felton is correct. If one Googles "Sgt.Ray Holmes RAF" it shows a (poor) photo of a crashed JU 88 in question with the experimental flame thrower. Adapted from an existing ground based flamethrower it didn't work well at higher altitudes.
      I'm rather surprised, given the many people who witnessed this fight, that no mention is made in the Google cite of any decoration being awarded to Sgt Holmes for this action.

    • @jb6027
      @jb6027 5 лет назад +14

      Correction: The crashed aircraft flame thrower photo is of a Do 17. My apologies.

    • @oldmanmorton4705
      @oldmanmorton4705 5 лет назад

      Here's a video not only on that, but more: ruclips.net/video/LjBIzc4groM/видео.html

  • @joncrosland6403
    @joncrosland6403 5 лет назад +20

    Luftwaffe Bomber: "Ve are heading for ze Buckingham Palace."
    RAF: "I'm about to end this bomber's whole career".

  • @mickg4378
    @mickg4378 5 лет назад +3

    What a hero! Need more people like this in the world

  • @jds6206
    @jds6206 5 лет назад +3

    What a story! The things that happened in WWII: Oil all over windscreen; "Ray" rams the Dornier, it crashes, missing Buckingham Palace; then Ray parachutes and survives, then Ray fights on for 5 years to war's end, then Ray lives to 90! What a life! And, I imagine, Ray Holmes did it all very matter of factly... He did his duty.

  • @sirbrick7105
    @sirbrick7105 6 лет назад +16

    Great stuff sir. I happy that your comment section is nothing but people that love and appreciate history.

  • @NiskaMagnusson
    @NiskaMagnusson 5 лет назад +4

    very glad he made it through to the end, a real hero! thank you for giving his story some light Mark.

  • @mick32156
    @mick32156 5 лет назад +6

    What an incredible story. A really brave man. Thankyou.

  • @Will_CH1
    @Will_CH1 4 года назад +1

    That is humbling. A man who would give his life for his country.

  • @hansgruber650
    @hansgruber650 5 лет назад +4

    Pilots of this era were something to behold.

  • @TD402dd
    @TD402dd 5 лет назад +1

    A good man Mr Holmes.

  • @emanuelterzian2132
    @emanuelterzian2132 6 лет назад +6

    What an awesome awesome video Uncle Mark ... thank you so very much.

  • @mrlume9475
    @mrlume9475 4 года назад +1

    A True hero, fighting for his country. Thanks for posting.👍

  • @williamogilvie6909
    @williamogilvie6909 5 лет назад +5

    Like all your productions this one is very good. However Holmes was not the only RAF pilot involved in those heroic acts. Keith Ogilvie, of 609 squadron was also there. Ogilvie was later shot down over France and interned at Stalag Luft III. He was one of the last out of the tunnel during the great escape and survived the war; returning to Ottawa.

  • @1joshjosh1
    @1joshjosh1 5 лет назад +6

    This was one of the coolest stories I've ever heard.
    My generation is boring

  • @davidmicheletti6292
    @davidmicheletti6292 6 лет назад +8

    What a wonderful story.

  • @the82spartans62
    @the82spartans62 5 лет назад +5

    The 'Flying Pencil' had a flame thrower. Outstanding.

  • @televisionone4177
    @televisionone4177 6 лет назад +3

    So much god damn respect for this man. Saw his limited options and went straight to desperate measures to protect his country.
    Goddamn legend.

  • @earlcousins6635
    @earlcousins6635 5 лет назад +1

    Another GREAT story! Thanks!

  • @craigpennington1251
    @craigpennington1251 5 лет назад +2

    This guy was sincerely dedicated to the job. Holly Wood couldn't come close to this epic true story. Amazing folks back then and thank God for them.

  • @brucebello9892
    @brucebello9892 5 лет назад +1

    Wonderful story, really spoke to me about my parents generation, thanks Mark

  • @MN543MN
    @MN543MN 6 лет назад +4

    Wow! These great stories I had never heard of before just keep coming! Excellent work Sir.

  • @CauliflowerMcPugg
    @CauliflowerMcPugg 6 лет назад +7

    A real brave and courageous man. We could do with his kind today.

  • @da-ghoul2332
    @da-ghoul2332 5 лет назад +11

    Okay mr. Felton I'll give you a little while I gave you a thumbs up and I subscribed nothing but love from Detroit🏭

  • @MikeBaxterABC
    @MikeBaxterABC 5 лет назад +8

    Back at home:
    Dear Wife: "Oh you are awfully late home tonight Ray"
    "I wager you are a tad peckish! ... I'll heat you up a plate of dinner, shall I"
    "How was work today, anything interesting happen?"
    Ray: "I ... umm, reckon you didn't have the radio set on today did you dear ......."

  • @swompf1974
    @swompf1974 5 лет назад +5

    I really enjoy your videos! Best Regards from Potsdam, Germany

  • @davehardy252
    @davehardy252 5 лет назад +1

    What a hero he certainly deserves every medal available God bless him

  • @zigman8550
    @zigman8550 5 лет назад +2

    I love your videos Mark and the way you narrate them.From Detroit Michigan.

  • @johnnydeville5701
    @johnnydeville5701 5 лет назад +3

    Great video! Amazing piece of history!

  • @thomasfx3190
    @thomasfx3190 5 лет назад +1

    Mark your videos are always so well done, thanks for what you do!

  • @THE-HammerMan
    @THE-HammerMan 5 лет назад

    What a tale! You just can't make up stories this good!

    • @MarkFeltonProductions
      @MarkFeltonProductions  5 лет назад

      Many thanks - it would be great if you would consider supporting me on Patreon for only $1 a month: www.patreon.com/markfeltonproductions

  • @sonnyburnett8725
    @sonnyburnett8725 4 года назад

    Never knew the DO-17 was a dive bomber but thanks to the video here you can clearly see the dive brakes near the tail. Another great story Mark. Thanks

  • @gemboy4307ful
    @gemboy4307ful 5 лет назад +2

    Bravo...Excellent as usual!

  • @buzsalmon
    @buzsalmon 5 лет назад +1

    Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you!

  • @eaglestrike6875
    @eaglestrike6875 6 лет назад +3

    My favorite channel! Respect and Strength to you
    Keep up the good work!

  • @rogerdeerdestroyerthompson9494
    @rogerdeerdestroyerthompson9494 5 лет назад +1

    Massive respect

  • @lokisbuddy5165
    @lokisbuddy5165 5 лет назад

    See? The Good Don't Always Die Young! What a Hero! Thanks for Sharing Mark! (Great Channel by the way! I'm a long time subscriber and I forwarded this to my British and WWII loving Mom!)

  • @scottmclennan6114
    @scottmclennan6114 5 лет назад +4

    What a bloody legend!,

  • @u.h.forum.
    @u.h.forum. 6 лет назад +29

    7 dislikes are crewmen from the do 17s

  • @johngibson2884
    @johngibson2884 5 лет назад +8

    This brave chap died ..the year they found the plane. 🙏

  • @aviatorsteve5649
    @aviatorsteve5649 5 лет назад +4

    How can anyone give that thumbs down, i despair!

  • @deltavee2
    @deltavee2 5 лет назад

    Thumbs up and a subscribe after watching three of your tightly produced pieces. Most enjoyable and thank you.

  • @mckeon40
    @mckeon40 6 лет назад +4

    Another stellar video.

  • @Belikewatermyfriend2631
    @Belikewatermyfriend2631 5 лет назад +1

    A real hero I salute you 😎

  • @johnbenson8372
    @johnbenson8372 5 лет назад +1

    greeting from Ireland Mark ,excellent presentation as usual but would expect nothing less as from previous work

  • @rowdyyates4273
    @rowdyyates4273 5 лет назад +3

    wow brilliant stuff not so much a "diamond geezer" more a GOLDEN GEEZER, hats of guv!!!! x

  • @amazoniancannibal4836
    @amazoniancannibal4836 5 лет назад +4

    I have a German magazine (Die Wehrmacht) dated 11th September 1940 and the cover picture shows a bomber flying over Buckingham Palace.
    Headline: "Luftalarm in London - Deutsche Flieger Kommen!"

  • @jrondyer1049
    @jrondyer1049 6 лет назад +3

    A very nice piece of history, wasn't aware of.

  • @kothet6961
    @kothet6961 5 лет назад

    Mark,greetings from South East Asia. I somehow believed that I have read many ww2 history books until I found channel. Thanks for enlightening!!

  • @timprosser186
    @timprosser186 5 лет назад

    Thank you. It's a story I'd not heard before.

  • @SomeGuyInSandy
    @SomeGuyInSandy 5 лет назад +1

    Unimaginable courage!

  • @alexmarshall4331
    @alexmarshall4331 5 лет назад

    Another day at work..jerrys airbourne! flamethrower jammed and covered in oil he waited until he could open up with the then .303 calibre cannons(?)..jammed he rams the Dornier parachuting into a dustbin in the Victoria area of SW London..saw an interview with the pilot on BBC..what a day!! great video Mark ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍🌝

  • @sunnyray7819
    @sunnyray7819 5 лет назад +2

    Greetings from the Space Coast!
    Love the channel!!!!!! I actually will eventually watch all your videos!!!
    Working my way through and always a like!!!! Some I saved on my "What's going on" playlist!!!!
    Great history and all the engineering that went into this stuff was so far ahead of it's time.... Truely amazing on all fronts but the Germans were well dug in and hard to gain ground on in most situations..... It's amazing to me the extent I keep learning more about all this.... Goes way beyond what I thought..... But Hitler was a Madman..... And Deutschland suffered..... But really all the engineering, We here in the U.S. gained along with Russia....
    You guys unfortunately dealt with a hard time..... All in the past, I love you guys over there!!!!!
    So interesting, I have never heard most of these stories before your channel.... Had the war went on a few more years and Hitler built and could fuel everything who knows what would have happened....
    Thanks so much for all the Great Videos!!!!! Huge Fan!!!!! And I love the new intro song, it always gets me pumped!!!! Please don't ever change it..... It's so dramatic sounding, it's perfect!!!!
    Hope all is well with you!!!!
    Take care!!! 👍🇺🇸✌

  • @jonbush7467
    @jonbush7467 5 лет назад +5

    Dies at 90 in 2005'.
    Bless his heart!

  • @grizzle273463
    @grizzle273463 5 лет назад

    WOW, now that is courage personified.

  • @oncall21
    @oncall21 5 лет назад

    Once again. Amazing! Thanks for sharing Mark!

  • @samsmith2635
    @samsmith2635 4 года назад +2

    If anyone doesn't think the RAF weren't the knights of the sky this story should show otherwise and the thousand other tales of bravery and luck.

  • @sethduffey9538
    @sethduffey9538 5 лет назад

    Kudos sir. This event was a tiny footnote in my history books in school.. Thx for the details.

  • @ussling
    @ussling 5 лет назад

    So many war stories that still need to be told.

  • @dmichael4153
    @dmichael4153 5 лет назад

    Jolly good show old chap. You deserve a cup of tea.

  • @YoYo-bb4nh
    @YoYo-bb4nh 5 лет назад +1

    Thank God for saving this pilot.

  • @quasarhi
    @quasarhi 6 лет назад +4

    Amazing Story !! Brillant narration!!

  • @robertbishop5357
    @robertbishop5357 5 лет назад

    God bless you Holmes.

  • @williamfindspeople4341
    @williamfindspeople4341 6 лет назад +3

    Love the genealogy on the hero.

  • @geespar1
    @geespar1 5 лет назад +1

    Ramming the Dornier was incredibly brave, he had no idea what would happen, his Hurricane could easily have ended up bursting into flames with him inside it, and there were many more ways of him being killed in that collision - he knew that survival was massively against the odds when he made that move, true bravery at its finest

  • @5peciesunkn0wn
    @5peciesunkn0wn 5 лет назад +1

    Holy shit. That picture is amazing.

  • @paulmoritoshi8184
    @paulmoritoshi8184 6 лет назад +4

    Just subscribed and am looking forward to lots more interesting videos. Keep up the good work!

  • @sci-fifuture465
    @sci-fifuture465 6 лет назад +6

    You videos are really cool! Keep on Keeping on......

  • @ralphsalotto-ld5xe
    @ralphsalotto-ld5xe 5 лет назад

    God keep Ray Holmes.

  • @barneyquinn3657
    @barneyquinn3657 5 лет назад

    A fabulous story !

  • @Heisrisin3
    @Heisrisin3 5 лет назад

    WOW! What a story!

  • @nitramretep
    @nitramretep 6 лет назад +6

    Brave pilot!

  • @carlosantuckwell
    @carlosantuckwell 4 года назад +1

    Very interesting and entertaining. I'm so surprised that pilots could survive ramming (as shown in your video about the Luftwaffe squadron that decided to mainly ram American bombers, most surviving the ramming).

  • @aaronlopez3585
    @aaronlopez3585 5 лет назад +1

    A hero and a man of resolve.✌️