I had the pleasure of meeting Eric, twice, and listening to his talk for a couple of hours, WOW, is an understatement, what this man did, was truly a lifetime of a 1000 men, but crammed into a handful of years, ive never understood why he wasnt made a Sir, when any muppet in parliment, only has to fart, and they are made one !!
He's also a fine example of why Britain could once be credibly regarded as "Great". This country (the UK) is currently in terminal decline but it's not so long ago that it was truly capable of producing world class pioneers and thought-leaders in every field of endeavour. Even after our nation was bankrupted in the wake of our vital contribution to the winning of the Second World War (in which Britain played a crucial part by stopping the Nazi conquest of the whole of Western Europe) it was Britain which produced the first jet-powered commercial airliner, (the Comet), the RAF's Mach 2.2 BAC Lightning interceptor plane, the revolutionary VTOL Hawker Harrier warplane, the first and only supersonic airliner (in collaboration with the Froggies) namely, the magnificent Concorde, and many other world-class innovations. Britain's great tragedy today is that great men such as Eric Brown have no chance of rising to positions of influence in their particular fields of expertise. They are either unable to rise or they leave the country to seek opportunity elsewhere.
Eric Winkle Brown is a legend. I did get to see a Mosquito up close with a flying demonstration recently. It was as beautiful as I imagined, maybe a bit more.
We have an old boy at my flying school, he's 93 and remembers his time in the RAF. He remembers Morse code, the marks of radio fitted to his aircraft and all sorts. Tells all about going on the Queen Mary to Canada, his training and tales etc. I think sometimes we get scared of old age and memory loss, but many keep their marbles.
I have the immense privilege of attending a talk of his when he was 95, he spoke for 90 minutes on his feet, the only point at which he was looking for a word was for an RAF term about pilot rotation (which he quickly remembered), given he was FAA in the war, it wasn't even 'his' jargon. It was the most astonishing evening, his anecdotes whether horrifyingly sobering and humorous.
I never managed to chat to Eric but saw him at close quarters at Shoreham some years ago on the terribly sad day of the Hunter air crash. He was lucid and very chatty and it was a joy to actually see in the flesh what can only be described as an absolute legend. RIP Eric, what a truly magnificent man you were.
He is the equal of any other test pilot from any service or nation but the fact that so much of his work involved ship board landings makes him unique. Landing on a boat us dangerous enough in a proven airplane but being the first to do it in airplanes never intended for it is a whole other level. Then evaluating all the german military airplanes including rockets and jets. It's hard to fathom the depth of his experience.
read his book, wings on my sleeve. when you see the pace and the skill this man displayed flying multiple aircraft daily, round the clock, it beggars belief. i dont have heroes, but damn this man knocked on the door when i realised just what he has done.
This talented pilot had an incredible life and it's a brilliant interview about deck landing a Mosquito on a ship, it was incredible, must have taken nerves of steel, I can recommend his autobiography too.
Not necessarily. He was certainly the pilot given the most opportunity to fly different kinds of aircraft. But he was more of an engineer than a pilot. He would calculate everything. Not the kind to fly without considering the risks. In combat situations you do not have that luxury.
He was an operational combat pilot to start with in the War. RN fleet air arm, & has quite a number of confirmed kill's. It was because of his outstanding abilities as a Pilot that his superiors advised for him to transfer to testing aircraft.
@@Simonsvids You do not survive as a test pilot if you are not a gifted flyer. A new aircraft has to be flown by instinct and feel, he had both and survived to tell the tale.
I think the strengthening they put on to the Mosquito for the deck landing was to compensate for the weight of the ‘pair’ he had on him and nothing to do with arrestor wires. What a truly great man.
I crash landed a hang glider from a flat spin,not bad for my 2nd flight and no one told me how to,l thot l was fukt,tore the arse outa ma Jean's ouch 'Anlandugen sie gehen veg von ist gute Landun ' ok l limped away...straight to the pub Pepperdog181@gmail.com
Whar a hero! I could listen to this man for ever. Not long before he died, he was guest on "Desert Island Discs" (BBC radio 4) and had Kirsty Young practically eating out of his hand, such was his magnetism.
Well i have to say that makes a refreshing change. Usually English ww2 iconic aircraft are dismissed by US citizens, largely due to ignorance, jealousy and lack of knowledge. Winkleman was also the man who made the first successful carrier landing of the F4U corsair. The famous curved approach. Before that the US were only operating corsairs from ground based runways, which was a shame as the corsair was a mighty fine carrier fighter. And along with the Hawker Sea Fury, was the only two piston driven fighters that scored a kill against Mig 15 jets during Korea. Interesting Brown mentions Britains best 3 aircraft of ww2 The Spitfire, Mosquito & Lancaster. I think the US also had 3 exceptional aircraft just as good as those mentioned. The P-51 D. The B - 17 & the Lockheed P - 61 "black widow" Even though the P - 61 was developed and put into operations late in the war, it was the only ww2 aircraft designed from the ground up specifically for night fighting. And very effective. Im sure some would disagree with my top 3 US aircraft and it could be argued the P - 47 or F4U were better than the Mustang. Or even the Grumman Hellcat. The Lockheed P - 38 could also be counted although it suffered from a number of serious issues throughout its combat life. Also i personally think the B - 24 liberator was a better bomber than the B - 17. So i guess its a matter of opinion.....
@@alteredbeast67 Our P51s would not have developed their full potential were it not for the Merlin engine (Packard license manufacture). Haven't the Kiwis restored at least 1 Mosquito?
14:16 "now the Barracuda is probably the easiest deck-landing aircraft you will ever find and they managed to prang all five of them, so I really wasn't to hopeful of the outcome!".....priceless! What detail, what a gent, what a legend. I bow in respect.
I read Winkle's book. More than once. Not one wasted word. There is nothing like actually hearing the way he puts his words together. God rest you, Captain Brown. You have inspired so many more airplane drivers than you could possibly imagine. I would not wish to land a Mossie on a flat-top. Not one smaller than a US Navy CVA. You Beauty!
Great to hear this grand old Gentleman talk, Captain Brown mentions the involvement of Barnes Wallace and in later years my dad (who was involved in the secret explosive developments without which Barnes Wallace’s weapons could not work) helped in ensuring that B W was awarded an honorary degree.
Fascinating. The voice of first-hand experience. He's so right about bringing the dearth of planes back to flying status. I've no idea how many are left.
I had the privilege some years ago of a long chat with 'Winkle' at the Dunsfold Wings and Wheels show. We discussed the Sea Mosquito, and he pointed out the major restriction on operating prop-driven twin-engine aircraft at sea was the lack of asymmetric control if an engine failed. " The engines had to be far enough apart to allow the props to turn without hitting each other. That limitation disappeared when the jet engine took over - they could be placed close together." A simple explanation from the world's greatest test pilot - what a character.
Just had a shiver run down my spine. at 12:02 he talks about Beccles airfield. It is known as Ellough and later became an industrial estate where I started working for a plastics company in the 1970's. At lunchtime, we would often explore the old control tower. Fascinating.
@@alastairjhunter3666 Seething is about 15 miles west of Elliugh by car, towards Norwich and closer to Loddon. Elliugh is only 2 miles from the center of Beccles, so I'm pretty sure that's where he was referring to.
What an articulate speaker. Just off his head making all kinds of sense with every word. A bit slow but worth slowing down for. Mosquito was a great plane.
I can’t believe I am ex-RN and had never heard of this brilliant Gentleman. Great interview, great story from a great naval aviator. I am off to see if I can find his book !
It is available as an audiobook from Audible. On top of his flying achievements, he was an interpreter for the Nuremburg trials. He did a Desert Island Discs episode which is well worth a download, too
An amazing pilot, his log book had more aircraft types in it than are even possible today. Many were captured German aircraft from the gigantic to the tiny Me-193
Great history lesson, glad this great man could share it with us. So much R&D and planning was made in preparation for the invasion of Japan. Glad that in the end it wasn't needed.
I could spend endless hours, days even, listening to that man tell stories. If Winkle Brown thought the Mosquito was a pretty special aircraft, you don't need to ask anyone else about it. About as high a praise as you can get.
This is simply remarkable. He was rare, but was not the only one living and working daily with these risks and this danger. Clearly, he was in his element. But it was not a kind or caring element. His daily work tried repeatedly to kill him, which is not the norm. I am shocked by his laconic delivery of acts of the most extraordinary courage. This clip is of great value.
G'day PM, The greatest pilot in the world flies the most beautiful military aircraft in the world... on to a carrier! You just can't beat that. Legendary. Should be a film made about it, nay, somebody should make a major motion picture about this amazing, humble man's life and career. It would have to contain a lot of CGI because there aren't many of the 487 aircraft left that are recorded in Capt. Eric Brown's Log Books. Just imagine, even if you, conservatively, estimate that he few each aircraft type only 4 times, that's well over 2,000 take offs and landings. I was so sad to learn that he'd passed on to the big hangar in the sky. He was one of those characters that you reckon will live forever... well, he will, as long as there is someone out there that recalls the daring feats and aviation adventures of Eric 'Winkle' Brown. I'm serious someone should send Spielberg or J.J. Abrams Eric's outstanding book, what a film! He risked death thousands of times so that other pilots could complete their missions and survive the war to be with their families again. A proud Scot, a funny man and a brilliant aeronautical engineer. When Neil Armstrong has you has his hero, you know you've made it. Thanks 'People's Mosquito' for this great video. Cheers, BH (ex-RAAF) P. S. I'm subscribing.
If they cannot get a British Film Director to do it Do not make the film Look what Spielberg did to the British Tank Crew in Band of Brothers Look at Destroyer with Hanks
@@jacktattis G’day Jack, you’re absolutely right. American filmmakers often have difficulty portraying the British, particularly in wartime, military films. Many years ago, before I became a military historian; I was a journalist who specialised in film and TV movie reviews and criticism for newspapers and radio. Spielberg’s handling of the British in ‘Band of Brothers’ was just ‘awkward’; brought about by a lack of sufficient research; a common mistake when Americans deal with the militaries of ‘foreign’ countries. Although, given the budget, Spielberg could have afforded more research to fill the ‘gaps’ in the British portrayals coming from American author, Stephen E. Ambrose who, of course, has all his Americans spot-on as they come from real-life US veterans. More importantly, ‘Greyhound’ (2020) had for its source a brilliant book written by British author C.S. Forester and that film definitely should have been filmed by a British or even a Canadian director. But this point shouldn’t always be a ‘dealbreaker’; any US director could have hired a British military advisor or historian with knowledge of the Royal Navy. The property, ‘Greyhound’ belonged to Sony Pictures but was ‘jettisoned’ to Apple TV due to the Covid pandemic. The resulting 90-minute version, directed by, Illinois-born, Aaron Schneider is not a bad film. It suffers, in my view, from two main glitches: the whole look of the film is, literally, dark and under lit, plus Tom Hanks’s role as the Captain of the title-destroyer, is under developed, unlike the ‘Skipper’ in the fictional book which was loosely based on real accounts of the Battle of the Atlantic. Sure, most of the major action sequences happen at night, yet even during the day, outside and inside the ship is spoilt by the lighting atmosphere one used to see in old ‘haunted house’ movies. For a change, the extensive CGI sections of the film are ‘well computed’ and convincing but, I think, we could have seen more detail. When the situation is reversed, British directors depicting American forces, especially in WW2, fare much better. Perhaps one of the best examples is 1977’s ‘A Bridge Too Far’. Directed by Brit. Richard Attenborough. Significant portions of that film portray American and Polish paratroopers, along with the British troops, very well indeed. Even though the source material comes from the Irish/American military historian Cornelius Ryan; the input of Attenborough, who lived through WW2 and the academic skills of Ryan’s historical research show all the Allied troops and officers accurately, down to the way they salute, their kit and how it is, correctly, worn plus all the other minutiae that makes for a convincing picture of a specialist subject. Thank you, Jack, for pointing out this frequent yet little discussed topic. Most audiences are far more knowledgeable than filmmakers might suppose and it’s the small, incorrect, detail that sticks out, ‘like a sore thumb’. Cheers, Bill H.
@@BillHalliwell Well Bill H there is nothing to say you have covered it very well indeed I am 81 this month and I used to cringe when an Englishman tried to portray an Australian I remember Summer of the Seventh Doll Poms playing Aussie cane cutters, it was cringe worthy , and the same with Band of Brothers the scene of the Brit tankie ignoring a German Tank in front of him Or that is what Spielberg had us believe . I do not know why but we always had Americans in movies when there had hardly been an American within three countries . Bridge on the Kwai An American Planter in Burma of all places The Philippines yes Burma NO The Great Escape the same its like putting Chips Rafferty in a Aussie movie about Pearl Harbour with Chips fighting off a flight of Japanese planes with a pistol . Greyhound it was not the lighting or the movie itself it was the concept of a new Captain an American being put in charge of RCN or R/N ships. Sticks out like a sore thumb Oh Yes MacArthur another cringe worthy movie. Patton Oh dear so over the top. But they love it. And that is where American posters on here get their information The Best American movie on the Second world War in the ETO was When Trumpets Fade about the Battle of Hurtgen Forrest Raw savage and no over the top heroics No headliners actors that some made it later. And the Other I only saw it this year Hacksaw Ridge the most accurate I have seen of the US in the Pacific Up there with the best of the Brit shows Ice Cold in Alex ,the CRUEL SEA.
what a great story teller -- I could listen to him talk about airplanes for hours
I had the pleasure of meeting Eric, twice, and listening to his talk for a couple of hours, WOW, is an understatement, what this man did, was truly a lifetime of a 1000 men, but crammed into a handful of years, ive never understood why he wasnt made a Sir, when any muppet in parliment, only has to fart, and they are made one !!
Who'd want to be knighted so that he could stand at the same status as creeps like SIR Elton John or SIR Mick Jagger?
Capt Eric 'Winkle' Brown truly is one of the finest examples of the Greatest Generation. What an honour to watch this video.
He's also a fine example of why Britain could once be credibly regarded as "Great".
This country (the UK) is currently in terminal decline but it's not so long ago that it was truly capable of producing world class pioneers and thought-leaders in every field of endeavour.
Even after our nation was bankrupted in the wake of our vital contribution to the winning of the Second World War (in which Britain played a crucial part by stopping the Nazi conquest of the whole of Western Europe) it was Britain which produced the first jet-powered commercial airliner, (the Comet), the RAF's Mach 2.2 BAC Lightning interceptor plane, the revolutionary VTOL Hawker Harrier warplane, the first and only supersonic airliner (in collaboration with the Froggies) namely, the magnificent Concorde, and many other world-class innovations.
Britain's great tragedy today is that great men such as Eric Brown have no chance of rising to positions of influence in their particular fields of expertise. They are either unable to rise or they leave the country to seek opportunity elsewhere.
Eric Winkle Brown is a legend. I did get to see a Mosquito up close with a flying demonstration recently. It was as beautiful as I imagined, maybe a bit more.
I was told that even in his 90s he could still tell you the characteristics of every plane he flew. All 400+ of them. A national treasure.
We have an old boy at my flying school, he's 93 and remembers his time in the RAF. He remembers Morse code, the marks of radio fitted to his aircraft and all sorts. Tells all about going on the Queen Mary to Canada, his training and tales etc. I think sometimes we get scared of old age and memory loss, but many keep their marbles.
I have the immense privilege of attending a talk of his when he was 95, he spoke for 90 minutes on his feet, the only point at which he was looking for a word was for an RAF term about pilot rotation (which he quickly remembered), given he was FAA in the war, it wasn't even 'his' jargon. It was the most astonishing evening, his anecdotes whether horrifyingly sobering and humorous.
EdMcF1 I envy you, but thanks for sharing the story :)
Read his books. Great reading.😀
And they gave knighthoods to bankers and not this legend !!!
I never managed to chat to Eric but saw him at close quarters at Shoreham some years ago on the terribly sad day of the Hunter air crash. He was lucid and very chatty and it was a joy to actually see in the flesh what can only be described as an absolute legend. RIP Eric, what a truly magnificent man you were.
The number of aircraft this man flew will never be surpassed.His logbook is a film that must be made
What size fantastic memory from a man who simply told the facts and didn't try to talk himself up.
What an incredible life that man had - a true legend of British aviation
Met him fixed his toilet then stayed for tea really nice bloke
As an airplane nerd who majored in Aerospace Engineering, I could talk to this man for hours and hours.
The memory on this guy was amazing, you can truly say he lived life to the fullest! Maximum respect!
It is humbling to hear this man talk. What a great generation.
Capt. Eric “Winkle” Brown is a legend and my hero! What a great pilot!
This man should be held in the highest esteem......
I believe he is. On *both* sides of the pond.
Those who know, know.
Eric Brown has to be the greatest Naval Aviator of all time & all navies, my personal opinion.
Greatest aviator period.
@@belchnasty correct
He is the equal of any other test pilot from any service or nation but the fact that so much of his work involved ship board landings makes him unique. Landing on a boat us dangerous enough in a proven airplane but being the first to do it in airplanes never intended for it is a whole other level. Then evaluating all the german military airplanes including rockets and jets. It's hard to fathom the depth of his experience.
Another scotsman that proved we got fvcking balls sir. Salute to that man, what he showed to aviation would take 4 lifetimes to learn by anyone else.
It's these small footnotes to history that are the best. So sad that so many have been lost as the greatest generation passes. Thanks for this.
Phenomenal understated courage. Thank you Captain Winkle Brown.
read his book, wings on my sleeve.
when you see the pace and the skill this man displayed flying multiple aircraft daily, round the clock, it beggars belief.
i dont have heroes, but damn this man knocked on the door when i realised just what he has done.
This talented pilot had an incredible life and it's a brilliant interview about deck landing a Mosquito on a ship, it was incredible, must have taken nerves of steel, I can recommend his autobiography too.
This man was an actual Force Of Nature, thank you and God Rest you Eric Brown
What a professional ! He Quietly worked out how the expectation could be achieved. I believe he was 95 years old at the time of this interview.
He is one of the greatest Britons! What an absolutely amazing Man!
He was truly a great Scotsman.
This gentleman would forget more about aviation in 5 minutes than most people would learn in a lifetime.
He holds the unbeatable record, of having flown more aircraft types, than ANYONE ELSE---BY A MILE !
If Eric Brown was that mentally sharp in his 90's, imagine what he was like in his 20's and 30's.
Well said , Sir.
His book is a revelation - his approach was to practise everything mentally beforehand. Years ahead of his time and he reckons the reason he survived.
Hats off to you sir! He is telling like it was yesterday he had done all this amazing knowledge
RIP Eric Winkle Brown RN, an exceptional man.
What an extremely lucid Man Captain Eric Brown was and as sharp as ever even in His old age and what a Pilot!!.
What a Man. fearless in his quest of testing planes to there limit. Many never survived but Winkle was the test pilot of test pilots.
Here was a man clearly in the latter stages of life yet such a powerful personality. An amazing human being.
Probably the most gifted pilot to have ever flown. A truly remarkable man indeed
Not necessarily. He was certainly the pilot given the most opportunity to fly different kinds of aircraft. But he was more of an engineer than a pilot. He would calculate everything. Not the kind to fly without considering the risks. In combat situations you do not have that luxury.
He was an operational combat pilot to start with in the War. RN fleet air arm, & has quite a number of confirmed kill's. It was because of his outstanding abilities as a Pilot that his superiors advised for him to transfer to testing aircraft.
Of course Simon, do thrill us with your personal tales of air combat...........
@@mothman411 don't know about Simon but there I was in a F4 over Hanoi doing Mach 3 guarding SR71s from Mig 15s. Can't say more as it is classified
@@Simonsvids You do not survive as a test pilot if you are not a gifted flyer. A new aircraft has to be flown by instinct and feel, he had both and survived to tell the tale.
what an amazing man thank god we had men like this, balls of steel!
Captain Brown should have his own posthumous channel!
Anyone who has been a PIC IS IN ABSOLUTE AWE OF THIS MAN,
An exceptional gentleman and an exceptional pilot.
I think the strengthening they put on to the Mosquito for the deck landing was to compensate for the weight of the ‘pair’ he had on him and nothing to do with arrestor wires. What a truly great man.
That Mosquito footage is from out in New Zealand. We've rebuilt several now. Don't worry Capt. Brown we got ya back!
Jesse Sorensen ,Kiwi ingenuity!
Blenham South Island nz
Well done you lot😊
What a man, superlatives cannot cover a man of this stature, this is what a hero really looks like. My admiration is unbounded
His autobiography Wings On My Sleeve is a fantastic read. RIP Sir.
What an amazing memory and unique ability to extract the most interesting details and lucid analyses. An incredible personality.
The Barracuda story (easiest to deck land, RAF pranged all five) - priceless.
I crash landed a hang glider from a flat spin,not bad for my 2nd flight and no one told me how to,l thot l was fukt,tore the arse outa ma Jean's ouch 'Anlandugen sie gehen veg von ist gute Landun ' ok l limped away...straight to the pub
Pepperdog181@gmail.com
Yes indeed he actually taught Jeffrey Quill how to land on a carrier and yet Eric Brown gets no mention in Morgan and Shacklady Spitfire the History
Even a legend such as him made a model of the B2 spirit. Thanks Uploader.
Hats off to Capt. Brown and others like him - brave, skilled - and articulate even in his '90s... what a hero!
Enjoyed the interview with experienced test pilot Eric "Winkle" Brown. Thanks for sharing 👍
What a truly amazing man, loved reading his book, just so many stories in there.
Whar a hero! I could listen to this man for ever. Not long before he died, he was guest on "Desert Island Discs" (BBC radio 4) and had Kirsty Young practically eating out of his hand, such was his magnetism.
On that programme he recounted his celebration of VE Day by flying his naval spitfire THROUGH Tower Bridge !!!
The Mosquito was a brilliant airplane. Those who flew in them were brilliant airmen. I say this as a US commenter.
Well i have to say that makes a refreshing change. Usually English ww2 iconic aircraft are dismissed by US citizens, largely due to ignorance, jealousy and lack of knowledge. Winkleman was also the man who made the first successful carrier landing of the F4U corsair. The famous curved approach. Before that the US were only operating corsairs from ground based runways, which was a shame as the corsair was a mighty fine carrier fighter. And along with the Hawker Sea Fury, was the only two piston driven fighters that scored a kill against Mig 15 jets during Korea. Interesting Brown mentions Britains best 3 aircraft of ww2 The Spitfire, Mosquito & Lancaster. I think the US also had 3 exceptional aircraft just as good as those mentioned. The P-51 D. The B - 17 & the Lockheed P - 61 "black widow" Even though the P - 61 was developed and put into operations late in the war, it was the only ww2 aircraft designed from the ground up specifically for night fighting. And very effective. Im sure some would disagree with my top 3 US aircraft and it could be argued the P - 47 or F4U were better than the Mustang. Or even the Grumman Hellcat. The Lockheed P - 38 could also be counted although it suffered from a number of serious issues throughout its combat life. Also i personally think the B - 24 liberator was a better bomber than the B - 17. So i guess its a matter of opinion.....
@@alteredbeast67 Our P51s would not have developed their full potential were it not for the Merlin engine (Packard license manufacture). Haven't the Kiwis restored at least 1 Mosquito?
geoff dearth - yes we have.
Geoff Dearth aeroplane mate. Aeroplane.
@@geoffdearth7360 at least 3
That was history in the making. Like all these blokes I could listen to them all day.
14:16 "now the Barracuda is probably the easiest deck-landing aircraft you will ever find and they managed to prang all five of them, so I really wasn't to hopeful of the outcome!".....priceless! What detail, what a gent, what a legend. I bow in respect.
I read Winkle's book. More than once. Not one wasted word. There is nothing like actually hearing the way he puts his words together. God rest you, Captain Brown. You have inspired so many more airplane drivers than you could possibly imagine.
I would not wish to land a Mossie on a flat-top. Not one smaller than a US Navy CVA. You Beauty!
Absolute legend, got his biography and " Wings of the Luftwaffe ". If he couldn't fly it, no one could.
Winkle is a legend
I cant remember what i had for breakfast. What an amazing generation.
Snap, his recollection is unbelievable, I literally can't remember what I did yesterday, His autobiography is a fabulous read ! !
An Amazing Humble Gentleman - great clip!! Thank you Sir for your tremendous contribution to our Freedom !!
A great interview with one the greatest test pilots of all time.
Great to hear this grand old Gentleman talk, Captain Brown mentions the involvement of Barnes Wallace and in later years my dad (who was involved in the secret explosive developments without which Barnes Wallace’s weapons could not work) helped in ensuring that B W was awarded an honorary degree.
The greatest pilot ever flew more airplanes than any pilot ever, a great Scotsman yeh.
Fascinating. The voice of first-hand experience. He's so right about bringing the dearth of planes back to flying status. I've no idea how many are left.
All i can think of is this Man is a true Hero and those that gave the thumbs down are ignorant people who know nothing of the past!
Amazing, I was totally enthralled at that story. Thanks!
I had the privilege some years ago of a long chat with 'Winkle' at the Dunsfold Wings and Wheels show. We discussed the Sea Mosquito, and he pointed out the major restriction on operating prop-driven twin-engine aircraft at sea was the lack of asymmetric control if an engine failed. " The engines had to be far enough apart to allow the props to turn without hitting each other. That limitation disappeared when the jet engine took over - they could be placed close together." A simple explanation from the world's greatest test pilot - what a character.
"I had a boffin assigned to me"..
~ smiles ~
A wonderful gentleman who I could listen to all day and what a great video.
A very great man , there should be a statue of him outside the Houses of Parliament .
Should be a statue of him in Leith where he was born?
SJW's would just spray graffiti on it , without even knowing the great man's contribution to the nation
What a great summary of a very significant thing back in the day....tks much
Stephen Diskin. A first class story Sir. I was not aware of any attemt of anybody landing a Mosquito on a carrier. Well done capt well done.
Just had a shiver run down my spine. at 12:02 he talks about Beccles airfield. It is known as Ellough and later became an industrial estate where I started working for a plastics company in the 1970's. At lunchtime, we would often explore the old control tower. Fascinating.
Not Seething? I played there as a child
@@alastairjhunter3666 Seething is about 15 miles west of Elliugh by car, towards Norwich and closer to Loddon.
Elliugh is only 2 miles from the center of Beccles, so I'm pretty sure that's where he was referring to.
I remember my parents telling me about him flying a Spitfire up Scott St, in Galashiels, Scotland, during WW2, where he had relations.
Hi, I can only write that I am extremely impressed and humbled by Captain Captain Eric Winkle Brown it should be Sir Captain Eric Winkle Brown!
I believe he turned it down
Capt. Eric Brown RIP from the USA.
Geoff Dearth - Ditto!
Amazing man. I have his book and a signed picture from him. His life story makes a James Bond film look boring. RIP Sir.
Thank you so much for posting this. A wonderful recollection by a wonderful man of a wonderful aircraft. Incredible.
Incredible aviator, living history as it were.spectrum of personal aviation experience, unmatchable.
A great man who deserves all the encomiums given to him. From US.
What a remarkable man. Very few like this man grace any generation.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning..we will remember them ..
love the footage from Blenheim New Zealand. Remarcable gentleman from a remakable age.
I was at Omaka , may 2019. Great air show, beautiful piece of country
I understand he till holds the record for most deck landings. RIP a true legend.
Yes and the most different types of aircraft flown
His record will never be beaten.
What a great human being he was. Genious and Gentleman, I wish I had met him.
Every memory still remembered. Strange how we mostly remember the good times.
What an amazing man....Greatest pilot that ever flew.
What an articulate speaker. Just off his head making all kinds of sense with every word. A bit slow but worth slowing down for. Mosquito was a great plane.
Thanks for posting this video, and thanks Eric for your service very brave men
I can’t believe I am ex-RN and had never heard of this brilliant Gentleman. Great interview, great story from a great naval aviator. I am off to see if I can find his book !
It is available as an audiobook from Audible. On top of his flying achievements, he was an interpreter for the Nuremburg trials. He did a Desert Island Discs episode which is well worth a download, too
Fascinating! Cheers dude.... Also ....Thank you so much for your brave service and knowledge too! X
An amazing pilot, his log book had more aircraft types in it than are even possible today. Many were captured German aircraft from the gigantic to the tiny Me-193
Lots of stories come out of this ... that's great what a true hero... Thanks
What a great Man ! RIP Sir ....
Great history lesson, glad this great man could share it with us. So much R&D and planning was made in preparation for the invasion of Japan. Glad that in the end it wasn't needed.
Neil Armstrong's hero. They even met once.
*Well THAT about says it all ! ! !*
They almost worked together on the X-15
what did armstrong do?
Philip Croft He said ‘ He was standing on the shoulders of giants’ Newton. ( probably didn’t, but should have done)
@ Think it's a joke pal
Legendary pilot.
I could spend endless hours, days even, listening to that man tell stories.
If Winkle Brown thought the Mosquito was a pretty special aircraft, you don't need to ask anyone else about it.
About as high a praise as you can get.
I've never heard Eric Brown tell an uninteresting story.
That's because he lived history. He was history.
A great british hero. I could listen to Eric recite the phone book.
My respect Captain! Excellent work of camera and production team. Thanks a lot !!!
This is simply remarkable. He was rare, but was not the only one living and working daily with these risks and this danger.
Clearly, he was in his element.
But it was not a kind or caring element. His daily work tried repeatedly to kill him, which is not the norm. I am shocked by his laconic delivery of acts of the most extraordinary courage.
This clip is of great value.
Great documentary! Many thanks for sharing!
Hero's every one ! . Thank You for Your courage SIR .
G'day PM, The greatest pilot in the world flies the most beautiful military aircraft in the world... on to a carrier! You just can't beat that. Legendary. Should be a film made about it, nay, somebody should make a major motion picture about this amazing, humble man's life and career. It would have to contain a lot of CGI because there aren't many of the 487 aircraft left that are recorded in Capt. Eric Brown's Log Books. Just imagine, even if you, conservatively, estimate that he few each aircraft type only 4 times, that's well over 2,000 take offs and landings.
I was so sad to learn that he'd passed on to the big hangar in the sky. He was one of those characters that you reckon will live forever... well, he will, as long as there is someone out there that recalls the daring feats and aviation adventures of Eric 'Winkle' Brown. I'm serious someone should send Spielberg or J.J. Abrams Eric's outstanding book, what a film! He risked death thousands of times so that other pilots could complete their missions and survive the war to be with their families again. A proud Scot, a funny man and a brilliant aeronautical engineer. When Neil Armstrong has you has his hero, you know you've made it. Thanks 'People's Mosquito' for this great video. Cheers, BH (ex-RAAF) P. S. I'm subscribing.
If they cannot get a British Film Director to do it Do not make the film Look what Spielberg did to the British Tank Crew in Band of Brothers Look at Destroyer with Hanks
@@jacktattis G’day Jack, you’re absolutely right. American filmmakers often have difficulty portraying the British, particularly in wartime, military films.
Many years ago, before I became a military historian; I was a journalist who specialised in film and TV movie reviews and criticism for newspapers and radio.
Spielberg’s handling of the British in ‘Band of Brothers’ was just ‘awkward’; brought about by a lack of sufficient research; a common mistake when Americans deal with the militaries of ‘foreign’ countries. Although, given the budget, Spielberg could have afforded more research to fill the ‘gaps’ in the British portrayals coming from American author, Stephen E. Ambrose who, of course, has all his Americans spot-on as they come from real-life US veterans.
More importantly, ‘Greyhound’ (2020) had for its source a brilliant book written by British author C.S. Forester and that film definitely should have been filmed by a British or even a Canadian director.
But this point shouldn’t always be a ‘dealbreaker’; any US director could have hired a British military advisor or historian with knowledge of the Royal Navy.
The property, ‘Greyhound’ belonged to Sony Pictures but was ‘jettisoned’ to Apple TV due to the Covid pandemic.
The resulting 90-minute version, directed by, Illinois-born, Aaron Schneider is not a bad film. It suffers, in my view, from two main glitches: the whole look of the film is, literally, dark and under lit, plus Tom Hanks’s role as the Captain of the title-destroyer, is under developed, unlike the ‘Skipper’ in the fictional book which was loosely based on real accounts of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Sure, most of the major action sequences happen at night, yet even during the day, outside and inside the ship is spoilt by the lighting atmosphere one used to see in old ‘haunted house’ movies. For a change, the extensive CGI sections of the film are ‘well computed’ and convincing but, I think, we could have seen more detail.
When the situation is reversed, British directors depicting American forces, especially in WW2, fare much better. Perhaps one of the best examples is 1977’s ‘A Bridge Too Far’. Directed by Brit. Richard Attenborough. Significant portions of that film portray American and Polish paratroopers, along with the British troops, very well indeed.
Even though the source material comes from the Irish/American military historian Cornelius Ryan; the input of Attenborough, who lived through WW2 and the academic skills of Ryan’s historical research show all the Allied troops and officers accurately, down to the way they salute, their kit and how it is, correctly, worn plus all the other minutiae that makes for a convincing picture of a specialist subject.
Thank you, Jack, for pointing out this frequent yet little discussed topic. Most audiences are far more knowledgeable than filmmakers might suppose and it’s the small, incorrect, detail that sticks out, ‘like a sore thumb’. Cheers, Bill H.
@@BillHalliwell Well Bill H there is nothing to say you have covered it very well indeed
I am 81 this month and I used to cringe when an Englishman tried to portray an Australian I remember Summer of the Seventh Doll Poms playing Aussie cane cutters, it was cringe worthy , and the same with Band of Brothers the scene of the Brit tankie ignoring a German Tank in front of him Or that is what Spielberg had us believe .
I do not know why but we always had Americans in movies when there had hardly been an American within three countries . Bridge on the Kwai An American Planter in Burma of all places The Philippines yes Burma NO
The Great Escape the same its like putting Chips Rafferty in a Aussie movie about Pearl Harbour with Chips fighting off a flight of Japanese planes with a pistol .
Greyhound it was not the lighting or the movie itself it was the concept of a new Captain an American being put in charge of RCN or R/N ships.
Sticks out like a sore thumb Oh Yes MacArthur another cringe worthy movie. Patton Oh dear so over the top. But they love it.
And that is where American posters on here get their information The Best American movie on the Second world War in the ETO was When Trumpets Fade about the Battle of Hurtgen Forrest Raw savage and no over the top heroics No headliners actors that some made it later. And the Other I only saw it this year Hacksaw Ridge the most accurate I have seen of the US in the Pacific Up there with the best of the Brit shows Ice Cold in Alex ,the CRUEL SEA.
@@jacktattis G’day Jack, you’ve raised a lot of good issues. I’ve got quacks’ appointments so I’ll get back ASAP. Cheers Bill H.
@@BillHalliwell Just came back. Thank God for Medicare
What a man +a true brilliant man -
The greatest pilot from the era when pilots were actually skilled stick and rudder men.