A Wingtip and a Prayer: the Insane Way British Pilots Defeated Germany’s Secret Weapon

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  • Опубликовано: 7 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 137

  • @TodayIFoundOut
    @TodayIFoundOut  Год назад +10

    Thanks to Brilliant for sponsoring this video! Go to brilliant.org/Brainfood/ to get a 30-day free trial + the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual subscription.

  • @taboovsknowledge1603
    @taboovsknowledge1603 Год назад +45

    Flying through the V1 explosion that causes an absence of air molecules that your aircraft needs for stability, and the rotation of the propeller making the plane role 180 degrees is something I didn't know. You fly into the cloud right side up and out upside down is a trip!

  • @capt.bart.roberts4975
    @capt.bart.roberts4975 Год назад +102

    I remember my brother's father in law telling us about how to down doodlebugs. He described flying at several hundred miles an hour, next to a halt a tonne of high explosive, as "Quite frankly bloody terrifying!"

    • @xXScissorHandsXx
      @xXScissorHandsXx Год назад +11

      That pucker level 11 in British seems so much more saucey lol

    • @danielcurtis1434
      @danielcurtis1434 Год назад +1

      Actually closer to 2 tons than 1 (1650 pounds).

    • @billspence1799
      @billspence1799 Год назад +5

      In the olden times a ton was 1760 pounds.
      And later it became 2240 pounds and the mile shrank to 1760 yards 😊

    • @imnotyourfriendbuddy1883
      @imnotyourfriendbuddy1883 Год назад +2

      ​@@billspence1799
      Do you also still measure weight in "stone" whatever the hell that means?

    • @myaldeade
      @myaldeade Год назад +1

      ​@@imnotyourfriendbuddy1883isn't a stone several kilo's? As in meters, as in used by most of the world

  • @Nathan-vt1jz
    @Nathan-vt1jz Год назад +39

    One of the big mistakes of the German’s bombing (by aircraft and the V-1) of England was to switch from military targets to civilian targets. It didn’t break English resolve and simultaneously failed to significantly reduce England’s fighting capabilities. It’s similar to what Russia is doing in Ukraine.

    • @richardvernon317
      @richardvernon317 Год назад +1

      It caused the UK a lot of problems they could have really done without.

    • @rationallyruby
      @rationallyruby Год назад +11

      @@richardvernon317yes but what it also did was unite the country and basically trauma bonded the whole nation.

    • @captaintoyota3171
      @captaintoyota3171 Год назад

      EVERY time a general or leader thinks "the loses will break them" it only solidifies the population and they fight to last man woman child. Humans can endure insane things when they have nothing to lose or are indoctrinated with an ideal beyond themselves.

    • @dilanbrinkley3587
      @dilanbrinkley3587 Год назад +10

      Soldiers fight harder when it's not only their lives but also their families' lives on the line.

    • @queenannsrevenge100
      @queenannsrevenge100 Год назад +12

      To be honest, historically speaking, attacking the civilian population of an enemy with anywhere close to military parity usually only has the effect of pissing them off and strengthening their resolve.

  • @johndilday1846
    @johndilday1846 Год назад +14

    My father was in the US Army during this time, stationed near Folkestone with his unit, the 127th AAA gun battalion. His unit was assigned to shoot down the V1s as they crossed over the Cliffs of Dover. He used to tell stories about the layered defenses set up wherein fighter planes were assigned to tackle the V1s before they reached the coast, then the AAA guns were supposed to take over, the more fighter planes further inland, and then guns, and so on. He spoke of watching as British Spitfires would catch up to the V1s and the pilots would tip the V1s over using their wings, causing the V1s to plummet to the earth and explode. He said that the US radar got so good that the V1s didn’t stand a chance (no pilot, so no evasive flying) and they could hit the V1s with just a shot or two due to their proximity fuses on their 90mm anti aircraft shells.

    • @tonywilson4713
      @tonywilson4713 Год назад +5

      I'm Australian and used to know an ex-British pilot who flew these missions. Sadly he's gone now, but this was one of the few things he'd discuss about his military time. He flew a clipped wing gun-less Spitfire.

  • @iPsychlops
    @iPsychlops Год назад +10

    Props who whoever wrote this script, the jabs at the V2 were hilarious

  • @R2debo_
    @R2debo_ Год назад +9

    Great documentary, thanks for posting (and the algorithm for bringing it to my attention).
    Clearly, genuine heroes are seldom obedient people. Not only did they help save a lot of people, they even helped saving a state!
    A very deep bow I make to Al Schwimmer and his team.

    • @seanlander9321
      @seanlander9321 Год назад +1

      Significant error in the documentary, the first pilot to flip a flying bomb was the Australian pilot Ken Collier. There’s film of him at the Imperial War Museum afterwards and the story of how he had used up his ammunition and decided on the flip using the airflow over his wing.

  • @angrybigfoot752
    @angrybigfoot752 Год назад +2

    Beating a bomb with a wooden hammer 😂😂 truly shows their desperation to make it work at the end of the war

  • @getnohappy
    @getnohappy Год назад +3

    That quote at the end is fascinating. A good reminder even in peace time to any leader embarking on a "prestige" project.

  • @peterdollins3610
    @peterdollins3610 Год назад +8

    Those who experienced the doodlebug said the nerve wracking thing was when the engine stopped as you never knew if it'd drop on you or a quarter of a mile off.

  • @cognitivedissidents4642
    @cognitivedissidents4642 Год назад +5

    I knew the terms V-1 and Buzzbomb but didn’t know until now about “Doodlebug.”

  • @RPGeenius
    @RPGeenius Год назад +8

    Well i guess I know where the phrase "a wing and a prayer "came from now. Also I can't get the theme song to the ' Great American Hero' out of my head 😅!

  • @captaintoyota3171
    @captaintoyota3171 Год назад +14

    Dear god flying through an explosions vacuum and surviving in a prop plane must have been incredible experience

    • @alexandergaus493
      @alexandergaus493 Год назад +3

      Well- incredibly frightening for sure. I would probably s**t myself just trying to get a plane in the air...

  • @Lady_Asylum
    @Lady_Asylum Год назад +7

    Last time I was this early the writers still knew what sunlight looks like

  • @seanlander9321
    @seanlander9321 Год назад +1

    The first pilot to flip a doodlebug was Ken Collier RAAF 91 Sqdn on 23.6.1944. He was killed over Germany on 5.12.1944.

  • @drjamespotter
    @drjamespotter Год назад +9

    Wing Commander Roland Beamount was later the chief test pilot at English Electric and British Aerospace. He test flew the Canberra, Lightning and Tornado.

  • @t5ruxlee210
    @t5ruxlee210 Год назад +5

    The V2 resulted from a long term German Army rocket research program. It fell within their exclusive spending area since government bureaucrats had early on ruled it was a ballistic item, with obvious flight characteristics similar to large size artillery ammunition.

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 Год назад +6

    You would probably know better than I would know, Brain Boy, but I don't think that these weapons achieved their desired effects in that your people were able to, "Keep calm and carry on".
    In other words, if the German High Command thought they were going to be terrorizing the people of London with Doodlebugs, then I would have to argue that maybe, at first, yes; there was some good, old-fashioned terrorizing going on.
    But from everything I've ever read or watched, you guys were pretty stoic about the whole thing.
    Minus one point for Ze Bad Guyz, and a plus ten for the Good Guys.

    • @GardinerAlan
      @GardinerAlan Год назад +4

      Yeah, that's pretty much accurate (I'm from Bethnal Green where the first one fell). Survivors said they got used to it pretty quickly and would just run to a shelter when needed (much like Ukrainians in cities now). There was one tragedy where there was a crush at the entrance to the Underground (metro) tunnel shelter. So they did cause pain and terror for a short time but even then people knew it just spite with nothing to back it up. The Nazis were losing and would soon be driven out of range.

  • @raleighsaling2206
    @raleighsaling2206 Год назад +18

    VOLKSWAGEN from killing machines to the cutest little cars of all time what a story that company actually has

    • @jonnywatts2970
      @jonnywatts2970 Год назад

      Diesel scam proved they're still shite

    • @allangibson8494
      @allangibson8494 Год назад +1

      Actually not actually Volkswagen - the predecessor company made transport vehicles (the Wehrmacht equivalent of the Jeep). These were based on exactly the same chassis as the Beetle (and a high percentage were identical). Volkswagen was completely refounded in 1946 as a British owned company…
      Porsche on the other hand built tanks (like the Tiger).

    • @slake9727
      @slake9727 Год назад

      They also sell more sausages than cars every year.

    • @jonnywatts2970
      @jonnywatts2970 Год назад

      @@allangibson8494 fair enough

    • @seanhall5385
      @seanhall5385 Год назад +1

      Those cute little cars were personally endorsed by A.H. volks-vagen, peoples car designed by f. Porche. To be as much and no more than anyone would need. More cars/longest production of any car, production ended in s.amarica in the 90's.

  • @RealShebang
    @RealShebang 10 месяцев назад +1

    Like a V2 rocket, I too am powered by alcohol and oxygen.

  • @capt.bart.roberts4975
    @capt.bart.roberts4975 Год назад +4

    My mum and aunts lived in Doodlebug alley, in South East London. The ones that freaked you out were V2, they have no warning.

  • @earlyriser8998
    @earlyriser8998 Год назад +2

    loved the cost comparison at the end

  • @LordInter
    @LordInter Год назад +1

    my great uncle Ted grew up in SE London, V1 did tons of damage, the V2 "just went wump and put a bloody big hole in the ground"

  • @chrislong3938
    @chrislong3938 Год назад +3

    Over 3000 V2s!
    Wow!!!
    The film of one hitting (I'm surprised you didn't show that) really gives a sense of how powerful they were!
    It's a damned good thing that they didn't work well, but when they did, yikes!!!

  • @gerrymichaud3851
    @gerrymichaud3851 Год назад +1

    I read about this in a book about the RAF and the V1 bombs.

  • @Video-Game-OST-HQ
    @Video-Game-OST-HQ Год назад +2

    Idea for a video: What happens if you get sued for an insane amount and you are just a normal person who can’t pay off a $30,000,000 lawsuit on your $50,000-per-year job? Are you going to have to pay something for the rest of your life? Do you have to pay a lower compensatory amount? Do you have to file bankruptcy? Do you file paperwork saying you can’t afford this and move on with your life? Something else?

  • @alexandergaus493
    @alexandergaus493 Год назад +1

    Your way to pronounce german words did get a lot better! For someone who probably doesn't even speak german at all it's especially good.

  • @RabidJohn
    @RabidJohn Год назад +1

    The first time I saw footage of a Tomahawk cruise missile, I thought, "Ah, they didn't nick just the V2s then."
    It's a clear evolution of the V1 concept.
    Considering how technologically advanced Germany was at that time, we are so bloody lucky they didn't get the atom bomb...

    • @solandri69
      @solandri69 Год назад +1

      Note that the Tomahawk was developed before GPS was widely available (or reliable). It generated a 3D radar map of the terrain it was flying over, and compared it to a 3D map of its pre-programmed route to determine its course to target. One of the most impressive things I remember from the Gulf War was video of a dozen Tomahawks flying to their target, one after the other, flying over the exact same place on the exact same route. Despite each one guiding itself independently, they were all flying within a meter of the same route as each other (large portions of their route had obviously been cut and pasted to save programming time). Basically, the design of the V1 as a vehicle was sound. Its problem was guidance.

  • @MichaelEilers
    @MichaelEilers Год назад +2

    Seems like we need a Barrage Balloons video, what the heck are those??

  • @skyden24195
    @skyden24195 Год назад +3

    Okay, that whole thing with prop-aircraft being turned upside down after flying through the vacuum created by the V-1 explosion. I understand it is a "laws-of-physics" thing, but a more detailed explanation of what is actually going on with all the elements involved during one of these "laws-of-physics" events I think would be rather fascinating to know... ...maybe tomorrow, if not today I found out. 😉

    • @ehzmia
      @ehzmia Год назад

      Wings can not do anything without air to act against. The engine exerts toque on the plane body which is normally counteracted by the lifting forces of the wings. While in the vacuum the wings no longer provide a counter force to the engine so the body starts to spin opposite the propeller. Like how helicopters' have a back propeller to counter the engine trying to turn the body. Without a counter force an engine will spin both sides.

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 Год назад

      @@ehzmia Ah, okay, I get it. It was the lift on the wings, or actually, the temporary lack thereof that I was overlooking. Plus, I think I underestimated the size of the vacuum space that is created. Makes sense now. Thanks.

  • @usvalve
    @usvalve Год назад +1

    1:38 Muffler: British - warm article of outdoor clothing. US - silencer in exhaust system.

  • @wesleymorris6862
    @wesleymorris6862 Год назад +2

    At 15:30 in the video there's a big math error in the example of London's defense of the v1's. "Of the 94 bombs launched on Aug 28th 100 were brought down in total..." (65 plus 33 plus 2) so I have no clue how efficient defenses were against them. The military reporting was obviously propaganda at the time (I assume lol)

  • @jsl151850b
    @jsl151850b Год назад +1

    *Thanks!*
    I had heard that tipping was hardly ever used but you say it became S.O.P.
    Please elaborate on that one 1/2 victory.

  • @kevinfoster1138
    @kevinfoster1138 Год назад +2

    A wing tip to send a bomb out of control wow we sure are lucky we had such brave men and women in WWII or this world may be a different place.

  • @Alitmos
    @Alitmos Год назад +2

    Is anyone else wondering how he was credited with killing half of a V-1? Couldn’t find anything online after Simon didn’t elaborate. 😂

  • @voornaam3191
    @voornaam3191 Месяц назад

    2:40 engineer Pulse Schmidt.
    Yes, you heard it right.

  • @mrmeowmeow710
    @mrmeowmeow710 Год назад +1

    Those guys had a truck load of guts God love and bless them👍👍

    • @solandri69
      @solandri69 Год назад

      It's one of the reasons fighting defense is more successful than fighting offense. Each of those pilots knew that if they didn't bring down that V1 they were chasing, it could kill a dozen or more people on the ground. So they did absolutely everything in their power to down them. Even if it meant risking their aircraft and their life.

  • @ukusagent
    @ukusagent Год назад +2

    You Dont mention the Fact that the Amazing DeHavilland Mosquito was the most Sucsessful Aircraft in countering them 623 victories

    • @simonbeaird7436
      @simonbeaird7436 Год назад

      Actual figures from RAF records. Hawker Tempest: 638. Mosquito: 623. Spitfire Mk. 14: 303. Mustang: 232. Other types.158. The most successful squadron was No. 3 Squadron, flying Tempests, who shot down 305.

  • @Dizzle93
    @Dizzle93 Год назад +1

    It's crazy I'm starting to see these videos as soon as they're dropped now. No notification at all. ❤❤❤

  • @robsmithracing
    @robsmithracing Год назад

    This happened just outside Tonbridge in Kent when the first jet on jet confrontation took place.

  • @JohnJones-oy3md
    @JohnJones-oy3md Год назад

    18:38 - Source?

  • @alcook8366
    @alcook8366 Год назад

    It was (is) at Mile End, not Bethnal Green

  • @EleanorPeterson
    @EleanorPeterson Год назад

    Um... The audio could do with a bit more compression. It's hard to find a volume setting that isn't either BLARINGLY LOUD or annoyingly whisper-quiet.

  • @willowmoon7
    @willowmoon7 Год назад

    "Doodlebug" is way to adorable a nickname for such a devastating weapon, do better people in the past.

  • @BadgerBadgerBadger28
    @BadgerBadgerBadger28 Год назад +1

    How do you get a half victory

  • @raphaelnikolaus0486
    @raphaelnikolaus0486 Год назад

    I find the music rather distracting (maybe it*s only a tad too 'loud'). Also I feel it would help, if you overlayed designations and names in original language, next to Simon trying his best to pronounce them correctly (which doesn't always make them easy to understand).

  • @benshakespeare268
    @benshakespeare268 Год назад +1

    Where I’m from we just go cow tipping 🥴

    • @QBCPerdition
      @QBCPerdition Год назад

      Try cow tipping with a plane, though 😂

  • @mclovin6829
    @mclovin6829 Год назад +1

    Even in a cartoon parody of Nazi Germany, calling the newspaper Das Reich seems a bit on-the-nose

    • @peghead
      @peghead 10 месяцев назад

      In WWII, fighter kills were either aerial or ground kills, sometimes, confirmed ground kills were counted as 1/2, maybe a V1 crashed, did not detonate and was destroyed by strafing, just throwing it out there, would appreciate comments.

  • @kittymervine6115
    @kittymervine6115 Год назад +1

    were they produced by slave labor? Supposedly the incredibly bad treatment of these slaves, left them weak and they just died and died, but there were always new poorly fed and weak replacements. I wonder if there was ever a comparison between slave labor quality and people paid, say as in the UK.

  • @Dave5843-d9m
    @Dave5843-d9m Год назад

    Why on earth was the bomb fuselage not made from wood? Goering was upset that UK had the wooden Mosquito. Way did he not demand the V1 be made of wood?

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 Год назад

    14:20 Lol...Noice!!

  • @Matthew-ix1mq
    @Matthew-ix1mq Год назад

    Ah the good old days!

  • @kirbymarchbarcena
    @kirbymarchbarcena Год назад

    This is an amazing story as good luck was also on the British's side at that time.

  • @auro1986
    @auro1986 Год назад

    why didn't they do same for v2?

    • @Isaac-hy3hc
      @Isaac-hy3hc Год назад

      The V2 was significantly quicker than the V1, no one had an aircraft at the time that could get close enough to even shoot at it, let alone wingtip it.

    • @GardinerAlan
      @GardinerAlan Год назад

      @@Isaac-hy3hc Plus it had a different trajectory making it harder to find & track. And finally, the Nazis barely got any sites operational before they were bombed by Allied airforces or overrun by ground troops after D-day

    • @joshuaortiz2031
      @joshuaortiz2031 Год назад

      The V2 is a ballistic missile that goes into space during it's trajectory. good luck trying to intercept that with the aircraft available at the time.

  • @MandleRoss
    @MandleRoss Год назад +5

    Wow, never been this early before, unless you ask my wife.

  • @briangreen6602
    @briangreen6602 10 месяцев назад

    Someone watched Most Secret War episode on secret weapons, then took the script for the intro.

  • @wesadams5128
    @wesadams5128 Год назад

    Only 17000 for a v2 back in the day? Don't let North Korea find out about that. Damn, even I could afford that!

  • @dogstar5572
    @dogstar5572 Год назад

    When will agent zig zag get a movie?

  • @MeppyMan
    @MeppyMan Год назад

    Ads are fine. You gotta get paid for all your awesome and interesting videos. But ads at the start of the videos are beyond annoying.

  • @scotts918
    @scotts918 Год назад

    How the hell do you take down 59 *and a ½* V-1 missiles 🤔

  • @Meeckle
    @Meeckle Год назад

    So Volkswagen made the Bug (Beetle) and the Doodlebug 🤔🤔🤔🤔

  • @HarryNicNicholas
    @HarryNicNicholas Год назад

    chaff.

  • @PassiveAssassin
    @PassiveAssassin Год назад

    But can you wingtip in Battlefield V?

  • @nitricoxidegod
    @nitricoxidegod Год назад

    🎉

  • @battlesheep2552
    @battlesheep2552 Год назад +1

    The germans should have fired a V8

  • @TheEvilAngel_8
    @TheEvilAngel_8 Год назад

    59... and a half victories... how do you get half a victory?

  • @GregPodster133
    @GregPodster133 Год назад

    Muffler 😂😂😂😂😂. 👍👍♥️♥️

  • @fuiehfjfcnsl
    @fuiehfjfcnsl Год назад

    Ein Kommentar

  • @MikkellTheImmortal
    @MikkellTheImmortal Год назад

    Simon, I must apologize, I accidentally hit the 👎 but hit the 👍 immediately after.

  • @I_AM_VOID_BEATS
    @I_AM_VOID_BEATS Год назад +3

    My favorite Wikipedia regurgitation channel

  • @bahasainggeris7884
    @bahasainggeris7884 Год назад +1

    Love your channel, but the background music is distracting. I might have to stop watching if the channel continues to use it. PLEASE stop using background music. Thanks

  • @dannywilliamson3340
    @dannywilliamson3340 Год назад +2

    "Insane"? Come on, Simon. Your vocabulary is better than that. Please quit reinforcing the mindless millennial drivel.

    • @rationallyruby
      @rationallyruby Год назад +1

      I really hope this is a joke… Because of everything you could commented you chose this? You need to reevaluate your life choices.

    • @dannywilliamson3340
      @dannywilliamson3340 Год назад +1

      @@rationallyruby It IS lonely out here on the educated frontier.

  • @SkiSkillsMontana
    @SkiSkillsMontana Год назад +1

    I would watch a lot more of your videos if you did not suddenly yell😢 Please stop it is quite annoying

  • @mhschmidt01
    @mhschmidt01 Год назад +1

    If you really talk this fast in person, I would not listen to you 😢

    • @thepoolteam9339
      @thepoolteam9339 Год назад

      Reminds me of when I was at school and had to give my report before I was allowed to go for lunch and knowing my mates were already outside picking teams for football.

  • @philipkudrna5643
    @philipkudrna5643 Год назад

    All very insightful - but unfortunately Simon‘s attempts of speaking German are nearly unintelligible…! Almost every German word was mispronounced to an extent that made it very hard to decipher for a native speaker. Next time, maybe have google or some native speaker pronounce the words. I understand that certain German sounds are hard to pronounce, especially for English speakers, however „Eisbar“ (Ice bar) and „Eisbär“ (polar bear) are totally different words, and „ein“ („a“ or „into“ as prefix) is different to „eins“, which is „one“.

  • @Pepsi_Addicted
    @Pepsi_Addicted Год назад +1

    first

  • @jeff_AZ
    @jeff_AZ Месяц назад

    How did that wing commander fit into plane with balls so enormous.

  • @velonico
    @velonico Год назад +1

    My God... are you going to waste 20 minutes of my day to talk about the Revolutionary idea of bumping the rocket...
    You continue to show your lack of worth.