Forgotten Battle Of Britain Ace You Should Know
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- Опубликовано: 13 дек 2023
- This is the amazing story of the 22-year-old Henry Michael Ferriss who is buried in a graveyard miles from where I was brought up....and I never knew!
Listen to F/L H.M. Ferriss' wartime broadcast here: • 22-Year-Old Describes ...
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111 comments
I hope you don't mind me saying, but back in the day no one ever said "one eleven squadron" or even "triple one squadron" the correct nomenclature is "treble one squadron". Sorry to nit-pick, apart from that a very good video. Thank you.
Or for some of the people who didn’t serve on Treble one, and probably some who did, “Trembling one Sqn”.
No problem John. As I mentioned to someone else I picked this up from a Harry Broadhurst interview and supposed it was correct enough to say.
Another gem! Nice to see Ferrris story getting out, those guys deserve to be remembered
Cheer mate!
Living in the village of Marden Ferris's exploits that day in August 1940 has been of interest to me, and nice to know some background information I didn't know. Regarding where Feriss crashed, his Hurricane R4193 impacted at Sheephurst Farm on the edge of the village. The Do17 of 7/KG76 came down not far at Moatlands Farm, Brenchley near Paddock Wood. Two bodies were recovered and identified as Ofw Anton Wachter and Fw Edmund Klumb, with Ofw E Brauer and E Riedel missing. Both Wachter and Klumb are buried in the CWGC plot at Tonbridge Cemetery along with some other Battle of Britain Luftwaffe aircrew. As well as the grave of Ferris in Chislehurst, the family also had a memorial stone laid at the farm at the spot he came down. Also a very small piece of R4193 is on display at the BoB Museum at Hawkinge.
Thank you for this extra information.
The former owner of my house was a navigator on a B17G, downed by a Me-262 over Berlin on March 18, 1945. He told me his was the first bomber shot down by a jet. Having done some digging, I believe that day was the first use of the 262 as a fighter against the bomber groups. He spent the remainder of the war in a German POW camp, and made colonel by the time he retired from the USAF. He had built the house in 1955 and lived here until 2011, at the age of 90. Interesting guy.
The first Me-262 kills were in 1944 with multiple claimed kills between Aug 44 and Jan 45.
Haha! The old fellow had bats in his belfry. Probably was never a flyer, more likely the look-out at Pearl Harbour. 😄
A lot of optimistic scoring going on in that little tale.
@beachc You've been skin diving in the sewer again haven't you?
@@markgranger9150 Unlike you I'm not full of shit as I have a high quality wet suit. 😄
Great video. I'd love to see a video on how they repaired shot up aircraft and returned them to battle the next day. These small untold stories are infinitely fascinating. Keep it coming
Cheers Barry! Great idea for a research project.
Great video!! I hadn’t heard of him until just now!! Thanks 🙏🏿 let’s keep his memories alive!!
Thanks for listening
Absolutely top notch presentation . It must have taken hours and hours , searching through records to find this info .
Flying sortie after sortie , and having friends die , really illustrates the fatigue RAF fighter command pilots must have experienced .
.
Thanks for watching. It was a fascinating video to research. I also did another similar video for an airman in the graveyard just up the road. ruclips.net/video/tiLAZyRuCFA/видео.html
So many lives with massive potential wasted in wars across the ages,unfathomable loss.
I was very pleased to come across this tale for several reasons. My middle name is Campbell, because one of the 111 Sqn pilots mentioned in this video is David Campbell Bruce, a contemporary of Michael Ferriss' and they must have known each other well. D.C. Bruce was also a Londoner who joined the RAFVR in the 30s, & was a friend of my father when they were both apprentice technicians with the GPO (Telephones). Bruce must also have been greatly saddened by the death of his friend & comrade, but it was only 3 weeks later, on September 4th 1940 that Acting Flt Lt Bruce was shot down & killed near Folkestone. His body was never recovered, & his name appears on the Battle of Britain memorial on the Embankment in London. In 1940, the tempo of operations was such that most of the pilots engaged were desperately tired. For my own part, I served in the RAF for almost 24 years, coming into contact with 'The Tremblers' when they came to RAF Coningsby in 1979 because the runway at RAF Leuchars was being re-laid.
Thanks for this extra information about Flt Lt Bruce, Tony. Sad he didn't survive the battle.
Thank you for your research and this story about Ferris.
My father, Fernand J. Boissonneault, was training in Gypsy Moths in Calgary Alberta in the 1930's but moved to England in 1936 and joined the RAF. While he wanted to become a pilot, he was told they needed aircraft mechanics more so at the time. By the time of the Battle of Britain was a Sargent in charge of aircraft mechanics on an RAF base along the Thames river. After the Battle of Britain he was in North Africa with the RAF until Rommel and his Afrika Corps. was defeated. In the final year of the war he transferred to the RCAF and was stationed in Italy. Dad said little about the war but did mentioned he was on the first boat out of Liverpool heading back to Canada after Germany surrender. Given he had joined the RAF in 1936, and did not return until 1946, I suspect he had earned his berth on that first ship coming back to Canada.
I have never seen a video on the role of the ground support crews that kept the fighters in the air. I am glad however they are at least mentioned.
There should definitely be more videos on the ground crews. Every pilot biography I've read never fails to mention it was a team effort.
I don’t think shooting down your own balloons counts as shots fired in anger, shots fired in mild irritation perhaps. That was a fascinating video. Learning a little about the exploits and premature death of FO Ferris was beyond interesting. I would encourage more episodes along this line.
Thank you for the feedback. I will certainly include more of these passion projects from time to time.
It is “treble one” squadron not “one eleven”
That what they were called when I worked on phantoms long long ago
Just a bit of trivia nothing bad meant
Former blue suiter agreeing. It's just something obvious and grating to those of us who served and know.
@@johnhudghton3535i think he has been using the manual of service writing it delves deep into how to write numbers
Not to worry
Agreed, "Treble one". Used to work with them and others over at Akrotiri when they were on APC back in the eighties. We had a semi permanent detachment of 100 Sqn, Canberra target tugs back then.
@@johnp8131 i started going to Cyprus for APC as an armourer in the late 70‘s spent many months of my life there on and off
I went there from Germany on the phantoms
And then on lightnings from binbrook
both aircraft types called them treble one squadron
Obviously the lightnings converted to phantoms
Treble one is what everybody in the RAF calls the unit, they were also known as the Tremblers. One-Eleven is an F-111 Aardvark or a BAC airliner. The He-111 was called the HE- One - One - One by the RAF in WWII.
I was hoping for a much needed deep dive into RAF's #1 ace South African Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle.
And I read the autobiography of "Johnny" Johnson and highly recommend it. But I'm picky about giving credit where credit is due and "Pat" not only shot down more but in inferior equipment against insurmountable odds.
Great video, as always.
Thank you for the lecture and may he and the others rest in peace. Please bring more of that slack👍👍👍 Merry Christmas to you and yours❤👍🤟
Great story, sad ending of an apparently bright young man.
Like others of his kind in those stormy days, he passed as a gust in the wind, completely forgotten by all till this dated weather report came in. It's painful reading the 'RAF Fighter Command Losses' series.
You're right. I do have to stop myself from time to time and remember that each line is a man and not just a stat.
Yep did enjoy hearing the story PLEASE keep it up
Excellent presentation and we need to.hear more of what these young men did
Thanks Bruce and I agree.
Another superb video. You have a knack for bringing these heroes back to life and showing their humanity.
Thank you Kelly, I appreciate you saying that.
This is excellent. Thorough research and brilliant presentations like this really bring the Battle of Britain period back to life, showing the true human cost and ensuring that heroes like Flt Lt Ferriss will be remembered. It’s personal and deeply poignant. Thank you for posting.
Thanks for this very kind comment Dave, I appreciate you watching the video.
Great video and you managed to create an interesting narrative.
I would love to see an analysis of the success of the Hurricane in the Battle of France. The image I see is that it was out matched by the 109 but when I hear contemporary sources like this one it seems to hold its own and often wins more than it loses.
It is not a widely known fact that the Hurricane had a higher kill count than the Spitfire. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦🇮🇱
@@allandavis8201 Ginger Lacey maintains that he could always out turn a 109 and force them to break away or end up with him on their tail. I wonder whether we read books by the elite who would have won in any aircraft and get a biased view. Hence my question about losses/victories as that includes the novices too.
@@allandavis8201 Seeing there were twice as many of them, that is not surprising. However, if you were shot down in a Hurricane, you were 4 times more likely to die or be badly injured than you where if shot down in a Spitfire. Hurricane had a nasty habit of catching fire and a Bf-109 cannon shell into the fuselage in a Hurricane would normally explode directly on the pilots back armour, blowing a hole in it and killing the pilot. In a Spitfire, the cannon shells normally exploded on contact with the airframe and the back armour saved the pilot from most of the shrapnel.
That's a great suggestion. It's also a campaign I'm interested in researching more so expect a video on it in the future.
Lack of an IADS is the biggest problem the Hurricanes had in France. The RAF did deploy 6 Mobile Radio Units (A mini transportable Chain Home Radar equipment) to France, but the performance of the equipment was poor to non existent and the French Observer corps was next to useless.
Thank you. Of interest to me is not just the Aces, not just the survivors. The real victors are those 'bread and butter' pilots who made contribution. Medium contribution, small contribution - the point is: 'contribution'. I humbly request more of this history. Thank you again.
Likes and subscribed sir. Brilliant work
Cheers mate, means a lot to me!
He was a handsome fellow, wasn't he? Rather like a very young Francis Sinatra. And yet his voice sounds like that of a middle aged man.
Thank you, this has been fascinating. The battle, through the eyes of one very talented man.
I also remarked that he seemed to have a very mature voice and of course a very RP accent. You'd never believe that we were born and raised within miles of each other.
Fascinating video, great research. Treble One are my all time favourite squadron, since I was a kid and used to see them at Leuchars with their Phantoms. Did you manage to find any pictures of the Hurricanes they were flying?
I couldn't find that many images I could legally use. The video thumbnail is actually one of Ferriss at readiness with an aircraft he flew (L 1822) in the background.
@@CalibanRising yo I'll i84
Thanks for that Phill. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I'd certainly like to hear about other lesser known pilots who fought during the BOB. RIP Mike Ferris.
Thanks for watching.
Really good factual video, definitely more please
Thanks for watching Arthur.
Very interesting. The brave few who gave so much.
Great project to compile database. I'm interested particularly interested in Sergeant pilots from overseas pilots such as Frantisek from Czechoslovakia to British airmen from modest backgrounds. My mother still around at 93, tells me that I was named after the late Alan Owen RAF of Lynton Road, Kilburn, London NW6, killed during the war. Great analysis of tactics. I believe that 303 squadron of Poles many pilots got within 100 meters of enemy machines, rather than 200 yards of many young British pilots. The Poles were also motivated to kill the enemy pilots, not just shoot them down during 1940.
I did enjoy it, yes. I don't think I have ever heard about H.M. Ferris before. I found the tactical experiment bit interesting. And I liked the 303 Sqn t-shirt.
Thanks for watching. The 303 squadron T-shirt is my new favourite. It's for sale in my channel store if you want to pick one up.
@@CalibanRising Oh, I can see there are hoodies, too. But the shipping cost to where I live is quite high. Maybe will order one when I come to Britain in spring!
Thank you for this video commemorating a remarkable young man; I would like to suggest another such young man - RGA Barclay DFC - as a subject for another video. I became interested in him after unknowingly buying a book once owned by him. He was the only BoB pilot to keep a diary that has been published (Barclay, George. (1977). Angels 22: A Self-Portrait of a Fighter Pilot). Sadly, he was KIA over El Alamein in 1942 as squadron leader of 238 squadron, aged just 22.
Massive tail wind for that 406mph record from Scotland to London
Certainly would have helped.
Another is
Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane...
Wing Commander Hornchurch at 24 years of age
21 actually.. Still the youngest ever Wing Commander in the RAF and by some accounts a top 3 WW2 RAF ace (shared kill attribution disputes mostly)
@@fincorrigan7139
'This is it'
4:16 - very interesting markings. Apparently before they adopted the WW2 scheme of squadron codes on the fuselage. Doesn't look like they're using the gaudy squadron sripes they used on biplanes in the 1930s either.
Watched from Old Harbour 🇯🇲 🇯🇲 🇯🇲
Makes me wonder how many pilots have been forgotten and I do wonder if new info could be found looking though books as I'm suspecting some might not of had there information put online as I'm sure Ferris I've heard somware in one of the many RAF books I've had over the years and would love to see the data table when it's finished be a interesting read
In reply to your question concerning F/Lt Michael Ferris' evasion tactic & survival, I would like to posit the idea that Michael understood that neither The Allies or The Axis Powers had mastered Deflection in the aiming & shooting of their guns.
Michael would have been in the vanguard of F/Commands transformation & died without knowing a certain officer who mastered the concept.
In September 1943, Canada's top air ace, the “Falcon of Malta,” Flying Officer George Beurling, had. His RAF instructor had known them all but said of George, that nobody else came close.
Heard of his name some few years before, but never of his status as an ace. Quite the interesting figure indeed.
3:27 No British Men sound like these gentlemen did. Thanks to technology the accent has morphed. some really interesting research has been completed on the subject. Thanks for the content. Great Job!
My uncle did!
@@edfisher8725 I could not help notice you said did. Sorry for your loss.
What about all the foreign aces that we should know. Canadian, Australian, New Zealanders, Polish, French and the many others?
Wasn't Keith Park the commander of 111 squadron briefly in the late 1930s? Arguably, ( along with Dowding and the few) saved the UK but almost forgotten these days.
Not forgotten by me or many of my age(69) having grown up reading the exploits of the " Few" and being the son of an RAF Sergeant ( he was a trained nurse, joining up in November 1940 having just qualified, he went with the very first RAF field hospital into France on D+7 . The field hospital was pretty close to the front lines,through Belgium and spent the winter of 1944-45 on Eindhoven airfield in Holland. Then into Germany eventually ending up on the Danish border. He was given a 350 BSA motorcycle and told to " bugger off back to Blighty for demob" by his CO. Which happened at RAF Cardington where the huge airship hangers were. This was in mid February 1946. Dad's original CO was Wing Commander Ingram who's father in law was Air Marshal Sir Harold E Whittingham, Director General of RAF Medical services 1941-1946
Great subject and the story behind it. Too bad that there isn't more Hurricanes in flying order. Super cool aircraft & more capable than most give credit for. Thanks for posting some great history.
Thanks for watching Craig.
He could be claimed either by JG 3 or even JG 26 pilot on 16.8.40.
He wasn't shot down by a fighter.
One of the most disturbing/intriguing military graves I have ever seen was near Darwin, Northern Territory. It looks like your standard military grave. Gave details of who he was, birth, death, service but underneath it said ‘May God forgive him for what he did’. Have never found out any further details.
Possibly that man came from a strictly pacifist religion like the Quakers. My grandfather was called an alcoholic by one of his sisters as after returning home from service in WW2 (North Africa (Op Torch) and Italy) he enjoyed a pint on his way home fro work as a teacher. As a Methodist he was not supposed to drink, but he the war had changed him.
I am surprised that they used numbers 111 for a squadron being as a lot of the pilots would of been cricketers and that number is considered unlucky and therefore not a good number to have
Worth sussing out the story of 'Bluey Truscott' RAAF. Look for 'Bluey Truscott by Ivan Southall.
On 13.8.40 3 Hurricanes were damaged after attack on Do 17s.
Great story! Very poignant. We must remember these heroes.
He should have been a basis character in “Piece Of Cake”.
I'm not sure how much he would have liked that. I watched an interesting interview with Roland Beaumont which opened my eyes to how much pilots of that era disliked Derek Robinson's book. Here is the part where Beaumont makes the comment: ruclips.net/video/qzJ0sOoBVAk/видео.htmlsi=fZ0P6XOPG7folHTj&t=105
What was Ferris'es over all Tally ?
15 victory's with a further 5 possible ?
Is this correct or am I randomly guessing, as l know nothing really of this RAF Pilot
Total claims: 12 ⅓ destroyed, 1 probably destroyed, 5 damaged, 1 ½ unconfirmed destroyed.
These are his claims according to John Foreman. My plan is to eventually match up claims to LW losses (of course not all records exist), so it's not a definitive tally yet.
they are a part of the greatest generation.
15.8.40 losses were 2 Cat.3, 4 damaged.
So if i understood this correctly at 19:28 they shot down red cross airplanes?
Apparently an order was given to the RAF to disregard those markings on these particular aircraft as they had been involved in offensive activities as well as air sea rescue.
On 11.8.40 all 5 were shot down and destroyed by JG 51 fighters.
How can you forget something you've never known?
You don't forget they are forgotten. Time passes, things are forgotten exploits fade from memory. You don't have to know someone to miss them. I don't know Joe Montana but I miss him.
Ferris was damaged on 10.7.40 and shot down on 15.8.40.
Yes, but not shot down as such.
Guy looks like a young Putin in the photo at 9:04 lol
Isn't he meant to be a time traveller or something? Always popping up in photos from the past.
I prefer, "these blokes" to "you guys."