My deceased father, fought in the Sherwood Foresters during WW2 as well as 8th Army etc. He was very badly injured in the trenches in Italy when American Artillery short-ranged an assault killing multiple men alongside my dad. He had a friend “Tim” from Nottingham who was a Spitfire pilot who, shot down multiple German planes . When I met him some 30 years ago, he had the appearance of a mild- mannered vicar. I asked him about his exploits, he declined any conversation about his kills, stating that killing anyone is nothing to be proud of. He did say he cried, every time he shot a plane down, also requesting that kill’s weren’t painted on his fuselage- a real man.
I seen a documentary about the battle of Britain, they interviewed a few surviving 109 pilots ,one said " you could get behind the spitfire,get him in your gun sights,give him every bullet you had ,and still not hit that " little bastard " ..." As he called it!!
Yes, until some islander decided to relentlessly "carpet bomb" German cities with phosphor, blast and incendiary bombs without any mercy to men, women and children.
After Dresden churchill said ,are we monsters, though they did horrible deeds ,that pilot was still someone's son ,someone's dad,or uncle ,we are all human , yes both sides did bad deeds
The German pilot was extremely fortunate to survive. I have always admired the tenacity and grit of the English fighter pilots. Great footage and a very well put together documentary.
True. And in my opinion this footage clearly shows, that despite radar, observers and careful planning and organisation of fighter aircraft for defensive purposes, air combat itself was comparable with man to man combat. Best regards from Germany.
Absolutely fantastic!! I love that kind of detective work. Bringing so many pieces together to make a fascinating story. Well done and congratulations Mark and Wing Leader Team.👏🏻😀
Just wow not only we got to see the film towards the end of the dogfight but then to see the film of the Pilot being taken away for medical care. That is just epic. I think this video should be remembered at cost.
Great bit of historical forensics. Before people get too dewy eyed over a downed German fighter, I always remembered an account my mother experienced whilst out shopping in Worthing High street a German fighter came down and strafed the street, luckily my mother was not hit and survived by diving into a shop doorway, others apparently were not so lucky, and luckily I'm here to share her story.
From what I have read, they did this often over the English countryside as well. I suppose that they developed a taste for strafing civilians during the Battle for France: all those columns of refugees.
That's interesting you should mention the Worthing incident. My grandmother who was aged in her 90's when she passed nearly 20 yrs ago also recalled it. Never provided much detail but certainly backed up your mothers experience. To this day I've never heard anyone else mention it.
@@punkybrewster7667 Thank you for your reply, wow to think they were probably in the same area all those years ago? it became a standing joke in our family, because my Mother was pushing my eldest brother in a pram she left the pram and brother in the doorway and went in to the shop for cover, he always joked that she was trying to get rid of him, obviously not true. 😂 she also told me they use to stand in her garden and watch the dog fights going on above.
@@ZedsDeadOK - Ha, yeah I can imagine your brother becoming the joke with that story. My uncles (grandma's kids) used to also watch dog fights overhead and on one occasion found a live round dropped. One tells the story of pushing it into a fresh cow pat while friends gathered around. An air rifle was then used to shoot the primer. On detonation the shooter got a little cow manure around his ankles, the others copped manure in the chest & face. 😁
Nice little presentation, with brilliant footage and impressive CGI - and/or a subtle(ish) advert for the excellent Wingleader Luftwaffe Crash Archive '...oh, look what we found on page...' :) ;)
I have seen that photograph at 2:35 a number of times over the years and as soon as I saw the first few seconds of this excellent video, with the silhouetted 109 with 1 wheel down that very photograph immediately sprang to mind. I LOVE your investigative videos... they REALLY appeal to my own meticulous nature. My own field is family history. I MUCH prefer keeping my tree small but investigating each member as thoroughly as I can to produce as detailed a picture of the individual's life as possible, rather than a huge tree of meaningless, empty names, so to see this snapshot of a particular historical event researched and illustrated in depth & in full is just VERY satisfying to see. Thanks for the production. Another EXCELLENT and concise military channel on YT is "military history in a minute" well worth a look at.
I clicked on this, not expecting anything too revealing. Wrong! It's a fabulous, gripping, well-researched account of a snippet of the Battle of Britain. By pure coincidence, I was in Folkestone, very close to where the first picture was taken, just this weekend. The harbour wall (arm) is still there - now a popular spot full of pop-up bars and eating places. By locating the exact spot where the photo was taken and taking the splash in reference to the harbour wall, it would be straightforward to locate the exact spot of the crash site. There should be plenty of 109 chunks down there if not the whole aircraft itself.
The chances of getting so much footage and a still of the same combat and rescue back then when film was at a premium and movie camera's a rarity. Wow, that's unique.
From PoorOldSpike- Speaking of rescues, it reminds me of a true account I read some years ago of a Brit POW helping to get an injured pilot out of his crashlanded Me 109 in France. (I forget the exact details). A German officer who witnessed the rescue was so impressed that he wrote a little note complimenting the POW and gave it to him.
Fantastic. Knew of the photo and the story behind it, but had never seen the footage before. So this is the most documented combat of the Battle of Britain. Remarkable. I imagine that the aftermath of Ray Holmes' ramming of Feldwebel Zehbe's Do 17 would probably be in second place.
Remarkable collation of historic evidence, and a well told story that really brought to life the events of that day 80 years ago. Really resonated with me.
I believe that the man in a greatcoat with corporal stripes at 4.47 is the same man mentioned at 4.57 as a rescuer. He's not wearing any side cap or helmet; his hair looks out of place, & he has his hands in his pockets suggesting that he may be quite cold. He's also not wearing a collared uniform shirt under the coat, suggesting that he's had to take off his shirt & put on the greatcoat instead. I think it's incredible that they may have caught the face of one of the brave men who jumped in the water to save a downed enemy.
Quite remarkable investigative work, accompanied by an explicit infographic composition. Many thanks to Wing Leader for this initiative and its archival research work. Fred
More original and detailed research, which brings these individual historic elements together to form an interesting and compelling account - delivered in a balanced and fascinating manner. Excellent work. Phil Harvey
Has to the best video I have seen on RUclips, I only live 10 minutes from Folkestone and been there so many times and next visit will be a different one thanks to this video 👍
The piece of land by the shore in the foreground is known as the Warren. I used to live at the top in Capel - le - Ferne. My dad was a Hurricane pilot during the war.
Wow Folkestone's changed a bit. I was there in the early 90s with the tunnel. Iirc there was a gap in the houses in tontine street where a house was bombed during the war and nothing was rebuilt. The railway to the pier (tram road) was still operational , although only used by tourist trains. Now that aspect would be dominated by a hotel that looks a bit like a ship , can't remember its name.. Fascinating footage and amazing that several sources were available for the same event.
I wonder if the 109 is still there or been recovered...Should be relatively easy to find given the footage...That would be great to have it as a museum piece next to the photo and footage...
A friend of mine who has been a commercial fishermen all his life retrieved a messerschit from Hythe Bay (not this one) a book was written about it called 'The reluctant messerschit ' it is worth a read
Great work piecing all that together. So, does the question remain, that there is a 109 still to be found in Folkestone Harbour? Or was it retrieved at the time?
Thanks for advising about Me 109s carrying bombs. I am particularly interested in this aircraft because I only found out in2016 that my father-in-law (pilot of a Beaufighter) was shot up by one over the North Sea.
Wonderful video. fwiw I noticed the landing gear down within seconds at first time of watching - maybe I should come and work for you guys @Wingleader Films?! The follow up footage of the Luftwaffe pilot being stretchered is the icing on the cake!
Great stuff!! And i like the comparison of the harbour images. Just look how higher the sea level is. P.S. If you're an aviation buff,you will see that the Bf 109 has a landing gear down. When the plane has only one landing gear leg down,you know it's in trouble. Oh yes,anyone please-where can i get those books about shot down planes? Thank you.
The pilot would have had only seconds to jettison his hood before crashing into the sea. Even then he was fortunate enough to escape from his cockpit though injured. Fate dealt him with a fortunate hand, many pilots and aircrew were never that lucky to escape from the ditching and to then be rescued.
Bf 109E-4 (1969) 2+- of 4/JG2 was shot down by Flight Lieutenant I.H. Cosby and Sergeant N.V. Glew of 72 Squadron whilst defending bombers at 10.00. Aircraft crashed into the Sea between Folkestone Railway Pier and Copt Point, Uffz F. Dilthey, was rescued by a soldier and fishing boat. Wounded in the shoulder and with a broken leg, was in difficulties in the water and jumped in to support him until the pair were picked up by a fishing boat. 72 Sq "Basutoland" - RAF Biggin Hill, pilots: Ivor Henry Cosby , Norman Vipan Glew II./JG2 - Dunkerque / Mardyck, 51°01'50.0"N 2°15'45.0"E II./JG2 - Beaumont-le-Roger, 49°5'42"N 0°47'33"E
Neat to see CloD in the wild being used for the visual aids during the pilot's account.
My deceased father, fought in the Sherwood Foresters during WW2 as well as 8th Army etc.
He was very badly injured in the trenches in Italy when American Artillery short-ranged an assault killing multiple men alongside my dad.
He had a friend “Tim” from Nottingham who was a Spitfire pilot who, shot down multiple German planes .
When I met him some 30 years ago, he had the appearance of a mild- mannered vicar.
I asked him about his exploits, he declined any conversation about his kills, stating that killing anyone is nothing to be proud of.
He did say he cried, every time he shot a plane down, also requesting that kill’s weren’t painted on his fuselage- a real man.
Indeed
It would be interesting to find out what, if anything remains of that 109 in the harbour.
I seen a documentary about the battle of Britain, they interviewed a few surviving 109 pilots ,one said " you could get behind the spitfire,get him in your gun sights,give him every bullet you had ,and still not hit that " little bastard " ..." As he called it!!
The Yanks invented blue on blue.
The most astonishing....or not at all ...was that the German pilot was saved at great risk to his rescuers. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
It’s our islander way of being.
Yes, until some islander decided to relentlessly "carpet bomb" German cities with phosphor, blast and incendiary bombs without any mercy to men, women and children.
I would not have rescued him. Racist Nazi invader.
After Dresden churchill said ,are we monsters, though they did horrible deeds ,that pilot was still someone's son ,someone's dad,or uncle ,we are all human , yes both sides did bad deeds
Well, they were keen to get in to interrogate him, no doubt.
The German pilot was extremely fortunate to survive. I have always admired the tenacity and grit of the English fighter pilots. Great footage and a very well put together documentary.
I was quite surprised that the German pilot survived.
True. And in my opinion this footage clearly shows, that despite radar, observers and careful planning and organisation of fighter aircraft for defensive purposes, air combat itself was comparable with man to man combat.
Best regards from Germany.
Absolutely fantastic!! I love that kind of detective work. Bringing so many pieces together to make a fascinating story. Well done and congratulations Mark and Wing Leader Team.👏🏻😀
Just wow not only we got to see the film towards the end of the dogfight but then to see the film of the Pilot being taken away for medical care. That is just epic. I think this video should be remembered at cost.
Great bit of historical forensics. Before people get too dewy eyed over a downed German fighter, I always remembered an account my mother experienced whilst out shopping in Worthing High street a German fighter came down and strafed the street, luckily my mother was not hit and survived by diving into a shop doorway, others apparently were not so lucky, and luckily I'm here to share her story.
From what I have read, they did this often over the English countryside as well. I suppose that they developed a taste for strafing civilians during the Battle for France: all those columns of refugees.
That's interesting you should mention the Worthing incident. My grandmother who was aged in her 90's when she passed nearly 20 yrs ago also recalled it. Never provided much detail but certainly backed up your mothers experience. To this day I've never heard anyone else mention it.
@@punkybrewster7667 Thank you for your reply, wow to think they were probably in the same area all those years ago? it became a standing joke in our family, because my Mother was pushing my eldest brother in a pram she left the pram and brother in the doorway and went in to the shop for cover, he always joked that she was trying to get rid of him, obviously not true. 😂 she also told me they use to stand in her garden and watch the dog fights going on above.
@@ZedsDeadOK - Ha, yeah I can imagine your brother becoming the joke with that story. My uncles (grandma's kids) used to also watch dog fights overhead and on one occasion found a live round dropped. One tells the story of pushing it into a fresh cow pat while friends gathered around. An air rifle was then used to shoot the primer. On detonation the shooter got a little cow manure around his ankles, the others copped manure in the chest & face. 😁
@@punkybrewster7667 Thats funny, I can imagine just what kids get up too.
The single most important company in putting all the parts together, just bloody marvelous
That was really good. No hype, just clarity and factual and that makes it stick even more in your mind. Thank you.
Nice little presentation, with brilliant footage and impressive CGI - and/or a subtle(ish) advert for the excellent Wingleader Luftwaffe Crash Archive '...oh, look what we found on page...' :) ;)
I have seen that photograph at 2:35 a number of times over the years and as soon as I saw the first few seconds of this excellent video, with the silhouetted 109 with 1 wheel down that very photograph immediately sprang to mind. I LOVE your investigative videos... they REALLY appeal to my own meticulous nature.
My own field is family history. I MUCH prefer keeping my tree small but investigating each member as thoroughly as I can to produce as detailed a picture of the individual's life as possible, rather than a huge tree of meaningless, empty names, so to see this snapshot of a particular historical event researched and illustrated in depth & in full is just VERY satisfying to see. Thanks for the production.
Another EXCELLENT and concise military channel on YT is "military history in a minute" well worth a look at.
I clicked on this, not expecting anything too revealing. Wrong! It's a fabulous, gripping, well-researched account of a snippet of the Battle of Britain. By pure coincidence, I was in Folkestone, very close to where the first picture was taken, just this weekend. The harbour wall (arm) is still there - now a popular spot full of pop-up bars and eating places. By locating the exact spot where the photo was taken and taking the splash in reference to the harbour wall, it would be straightforward to locate the exact spot of the crash site. There should be plenty of 109 chunks down there if not the whole aircraft itself.
At 3:00 in the footage, you can clearly see the left undercard hanging down.
The chances of getting so much footage and a still of the same combat and rescue back then when film was at a premium and movie camera's a rarity. Wow, that's unique.
From PoorOldSpike-
Speaking of rescues, it reminds me of a true account I read some years ago of a Brit POW helping to get an injured pilot out of his crashlanded Me 109 in France. (I forget the exact details).
A German officer who witnessed the rescue was so impressed that he wrote a little note complimenting the POW and gave it to him.
Fantastic. Knew of the photo and the story behind it, but had never seen the footage before. So this is the most documented combat of the Battle of Britain. Remarkable. I imagine that the aftermath of Ray Holmes' ramming of Feldwebel Zehbe's Do 17 would probably be in second place.
Remarkable collation of historic evidence, and a well told story that really brought to life the events of that day 80 years ago. Really resonated with me.
This is the sole occasion when the descriptor awesome is applicable, so pleased to have stumbled on this video.
Brilliant story and detective work. Made my day for sure.
Great detective work ,truly excellent ,love the way the Spitfire peels off its attack then climbs rapidly knowing the 109's done for .
I noticed that. Possible wanting to remove himself asap from any ground gunnery. I hope he checked his 6!
Nice reconstruction. I wonder if the German pilot ever thanked his rescuers or realised how lucky he'd been.
I'm sure he did know how lucky He was, I hope He thanks his rescuer.
I believe that the man in a greatcoat with corporal stripes at 4.47 is the same man mentioned at 4.57 as a rescuer. He's not wearing any side cap or helmet; his hair looks out of place, & he has his hands in his pockets suggesting that he may be quite cold. He's also not wearing a collared uniform shirt under the coat, suggesting that he's had to take off his shirt & put on the greatcoat instead. I think it's incredible that they may have caught the face of one of the brave men who jumped in the water to save a downed enemy.
So impressive is the lad walking barefoot making sure the Jerry pilot made it.
Wow, I’m floored. Glad I got to watch this. Many thanks for sharing.
Quite remarkable investigative work, accompanied by an explicit infographic composition. Many thanks to Wing Leader for this initiative and its archival research work. Fred
What a story I gotta love the dedication of some people to put in the hard yards and piece together a tale such as this
Awesome footage.. I still remember the radio of the BBC play by play of the stuka attacks on shipping 50 years later mind you
That Was Really Great! Thank You For Sharing.
More original and detailed research, which brings these individual historic elements together to form an interesting and compelling account - delivered in a balanced and fascinating manner. Excellent work. Phil Harvey
Thank you for this interesting video, it's good to hear that the German pilot was helped and survived x
Vivid reconstruction. Living history. Fantastic work.
Has to the best video I have seen on RUclips, I only live 10 minutes from Folkestone and been there so many times and next visit will be a different one thanks to this video 👍
Great work from all involved, I can't wait for more - keep it up!
Peter Cook
Gripping tale, and excellent research to pin all the points together.
Excellent. It makes one wonder what else remains to be discovered.
Simply amazing use of records to find all of these details
Excellent new channel for Battle of Britain era. I’m a long time subscriber to the Battle of Britain Combat Archives series.
Utterly fantastic research!
Really great sleuth work and so interesting - thank you
The piece of land by the shore in the foreground is known as the Warren. I used to live at the top in Capel - le - Ferne. My dad was a Hurricane pilot during the war.
Isn't capel le ferne where the battle of Britain memorial is?
Great detective work!
Remarkable. Ive looked for BoB content for decades, and here it is.
Good work ! Huge respect to the pilots on both sides…… but mostly the RAF 😉
brilliantly interesting, should be shown to school kids, especially in the Kent area
Fascinating stuff and some excellent research done superb all round 👍
Remarkable bit of research, well done.
Wow Folkestone's changed a bit. I was there in the early 90s with the tunnel. Iirc there was a gap in the houses in tontine street where a house was bombed during the war and nothing was rebuilt. The railway to the pier (tram road) was still operational , although only used by tourist trains.
Now that aspect would be dominated by a hotel that looks a bit like a ship , can't remember its name..
Fascinating footage and amazing that several sources were available for the same event.
Fantastic little film. BTW I have 4 of Mark's artwork prints. They are my favourites, hanging on my walls.
Good job Wingleader. You'll be Group Captain soon if you keep this quality up. Thank you .
I wonder if the 109 is still there or been recovered...Should be relatively easy to find given the footage...That would be great to have it as a museum piece next to the photo and footage...
Push for it.
That's the Harbour Arm, Folkestone. The old station has been restored and the signal box is a decent little tea and snack bar.
Really interesting, thank you
This is brilliant plus I have been collecting both sets of books
Very interesting indeed and thank you!
My compliments on a well done piece of detective work! From Calgary, Alberta. 🤠
Utterly remarkable (& I try not to overuse that word) and I'm humbled by the research. Thanks very much!
Incredibly cool and very well done!
Amazing !
Excellent work.
Amazing story. Thanks for posting.
An amazing story. Many thanks for bringing it to us.
Poignant yet immensely absorbing.
Incredible research. You guys are great historians.
A friend of mine who has been a commercial fishermen all his life retrieved a messerschit from Hythe Bay (not this one) a book was written about it called 'The reluctant messerschit ' it is worth a read
Good to know they both not only survived the encounter but also the war.
Amazing. Love this kind of stuff
Absolutely phenomenal!
Great work piecing all that together. So, does the question remain, that there is a 109 still to be found in Folkestone Harbour? Or was it retrieved at the time?
Isn't it outside of the harbour? That's where I understood it was?
Amazing bit of detective work sir (:
Thanks for advising about Me 109s carrying bombs. I am particularly interested in this aircraft because I only found out in2016 that my father-in-law (pilot of a Beaufighter) was shot up by one over the North Sea.
I have a friend who lost his great uncle in a Beaufighter over the Mediterranean to a 109 in WW2
Fantastic, thank you.
Wonderful video. fwiw I noticed the landing gear down within seconds at first time of watching - maybe I should come and work for you guys @Wingleader Films?! The follow up footage of the Luftwaffe pilot being stretchered is the icing on the cake!
Fascinating video, and great research work there!
Very nice work.
Very interesting stuff 😉
For a change not just click bate. Very interesting thank you.
Absolutely love this type information. Subscribed
As they survived the war, I wonder if the two pilots ever met?
Really enjoyed your video
Thanks .
Fantastic work many thanks 👍
WOW!!! Thank you, and subbed! I wonder if the 109 is still down there??
In WW1 there was an Albatros pilot shot down, the pilot's name was Helmut Dilthey. Wonder if there was any relation to the pilot in this video.
Amazing!. Just discovered this channel, hooked!. Nuff said!. 🙂
Amazing, including that people jumped into the water to save the German pilot, what a crazy world it was.
As Churchill said never was so much owed by so many to so few. Would love to know more about the RAF hero and his career in the war.
Joh --these report -said everything --good luck to find the BF109--tue rollf
Is the 109 still sat off the pier or was it recovered? Have seen the famous photo several times over the years
The Battle of Britain was the first bloody nose that the Germans experienced in the war. Thank God the Brits prevailed!
this needs more views
Does anyone know if the German plane was ever recovered from the sea? Or could it still be there?
Great stuff!! And i like the comparison of the harbour images. Just look how higher the sea level is. P.S. If you're an aviation buff,you will see that the Bf 109 has a landing gear down. When the plane has only one landing gear leg down,you know it's in trouble. Oh yes,anyone please-where can i get those books about shot down planes? Thank you.
Great report---thx rollf
The pilot would have had only seconds to jettison his hood before crashing into the sea. Even then he was fortunate enough to escape from his cockpit though injured. Fate dealt him with a fortunate hand, many pilots and aircrew were never that lucky to escape from the ditching and to then be rescued.
The 109 only 400 yards from the pier. Likely still there intact. Wonder if it could be retrieved and brought to restoration?
It's obvious to those whom know - It's 'The Harbour Arm', Folkestone. The other side of 'The Harbour Arm' is not the Harbour it is 'open sea'.
Fascinating
Wow. What a great report and footage. Have not seen this one before.
I wonder if the ME109 is still there under the sea.
amazing
Bf 109E-4 (1969) 2+- of 4/JG2 was shot down by Flight Lieutenant I.H. Cosby and Sergeant N.V. Glew of 72 Squadron whilst defending bombers at 10.00. Aircraft crashed into the Sea between Folkestone Railway Pier and Copt Point, Uffz F. Dilthey, was rescued by a soldier and fishing boat. Wounded in the shoulder and with a broken leg, was in difficulties in the water and jumped in to support him until the pair were picked up by a fishing boat.
72 Sq "Basutoland" - RAF Biggin Hill, pilots: Ivor Henry Cosby , Norman Vipan Glew
II./JG2 - Dunkerque / Mardyck, 51°01'50.0"N 2°15'45.0"E
II./JG2 - Beaumont-le-Roger, 49°5'42"N 0°47'33"E