Eric 'Winkle' Brown | His Fw200 kills flying the F4F
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- Опубликовано: 21 май 2022
- Famous test pilot Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown saw service aboard the world's first escort carrier, HMS Audacity. As a young pilot flying the Royal Navy's first operational squadron of F4F Wildcats (known as Martlets in the Fleet Air Arm), he was pitted against U-boats and Fw 200 Condors in a desperate bid to cut the heavy losses being experienced by convoys crossing the Bay of Biscay between the British Isles and Gibraltar. For four short but spectacular months, HMS Audacity proved the power of even a few small aircraft against the worst Germany could throw against them.
THUMBNAIL ART
www.studio88.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh... ►
'No Place to Land', by Naval aviation painter Michael Turner.
MORE ABOUT 'WINKLE'
books.google.com.au/books/abo... ► Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat, By Captain Eric M. Brown, RN
navalairhistory.com/tag/eric-... ► Eric 'Winkle' Brown, Mathew Willis' website
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► Website - www.armouredcarriers.com/
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Captain Brown was a truly epic pilot. He test flew 487 different types of aircraft…a feat that will never be surpassed. A very brave gentleman indeed.
I suggest chuck yeagar might have something to say about that . Non the less cap winkle brown did over 5 thousand aircraft carrier landings which has never been surpassed . The Americans tried to break that record and assigned a pilot to just do carrier landings and takeoffs for as long as it takes . I believe he got to just over 2 thousand when he had to stop because of a nervous breakdown .
@@pauldirac808 I might be wrong. But I understand "winkle" Brown has the higest number of diferent planes flown/tested.
Many of them under wartime conditions, wich I asume where not the safest...
Also the highest number of arrested landing on carriers, wich is also a rather demanding job.
And he was also somewhat involved in the testing and study of planes max speed and into compresibilty.
I'm sure both men would have had nothing but respect towards one another
@@pauldirac808 Sorry, Brown beats Yeager and all of the others. He tested British, American and captured Axis aircraft during the WW II at an incredible pace. Yeager only took up test flying after the war, and flew overwhelmingly US designs.
@@-few-fernando11 He did indeed have the highest number of types flown. Here's his story ruclips.net/video/CIMk3D-3J-s/видео.html
@@johnfisher723 including the Me 163 Komet!!
Eric Brown...the man, the myth, the legend. He had "the right stuff" before the term was coined, or at least before it became popularized. What an amazing life he led.
I could listen to him all day. RIP. He did WAY more than his share saving the free world!!
That man is a master story teller and has you in the story with him. Bravo to a legend.
Like listening listening to granddads war stories.
My dad was on the Audacity when she went down. He was seconded from the RAF as an armaments specialist as I recall. He survived after being in the water for a while
My Grandfather was RAF seconded to the RN as an engine mechanic, 823 Sqd (Swordfish) A Flight, HMS Glorious. A Flight was transferred off one week before the Glorious was sunk. Guess the were both lucky.
We were once surrounded by so many men and women who faced and like your dad, suffered the real risks involved in their daily lives.
Seldom did I ever hear a complaint, even if you knew of someone's past.
So unlike today, where every minor setback in the lives of far too many people, is a calamity.
@@neddyseagoon9601 We are in their shadow but I don’t think I will ever fully understand the dark time that generation experienced and how it shaped them
Lucky man.
Glad he made it.
Terrifying experience for a young man.
Two legends on the same convoy: Eric Brown and Johnnie Walker. Capt. Johnnie Walker was the most successful anti - submarine commander of the war and was awarded the DSO and 3 bars! A real British hero.
Not fair. Eric hasn't got a drink named after him.
The stress killed Johnny Walker ……
Just looked up Johnnie Walker,wasn't familiar with him.Incredible commander that evidently won with unorthodox,briliant methods.Just finished a long article that said:
Officially he died of a cerebral thrombosis. In fact, he died of overstrain, overwork and war weariness; his mind and body had been driven beyond the normal limits in a life dedicated to the total destruction of the enemy, revenge for his son and to the service of his country. 👍
2 books worth reading about these are Walker RN and Wings on my sleeve
There is film of Walkers funeral. Still moving. The Western Approaches Museum is worth a visit as well. In Liverpool.
A touch of irony was Empire/HMS Audacity was originally the German refrigerated cargo liner MV Hannover captured by the RN in 1940 in the West Indies.
They don't come like Captain Brown anymore. Hero is a term that is overused but winkle was a true hero.
The intellectual precision of these men is amazing. They were true professionals.
i cannot convey how much respect i have for this gentleman. To be the one of a very few to fly the most advanced aircraft in the world.at a time of huge leaps of engineering, it would have been like stepping into a time machine and seeing the future. What a lucky man. Captain Brown can never be forgotten
When studying "real history" as told by those that were there at the time as opposed to an academic many years later you are sometimes privileged to learn of someone who was not only a brave hero but also an outstanding human being. Such a man was Captain Brown. I wish I could have met and talked with him it would have been a great honour.
His enthusiasm is infectious. Just listening to him, even as an old man, you can almost hear the sparkle in his eyes, and I instantly want to climb into a cockpit and get up into the blue
I need to get the decals for a Wildcat that Eric Brown flew. He is a legend.
I believe arma hobby have his decals in one of their 1/72 kits, please don’t quote me on that but it might be worth having a look, the wildcats they do are absolutely exquisite.
That’s an understatement!
Richard, you could do well to contact the Fleet Air Arm museum at Yeovilton England, they are extremely proud of Eric and no doubt would be delighted to supply details of the aircraft he flew. It is also a superb museum and well worth a visit.
@@scrumpydrinker Cheers. It's not too far away from me. They put on a lovely flying display in his honour following his passing and their shop is good for Christmas stocking fillers.
@@robertwoodroffe123 Get your careers advice off a bigwig in the Luftwaffe then help interrogate them, test fly their aircraft and shoot a couple down. I could never understand how he could fit into a cockpit. That gentleman was a flying Buster Gonad! Wings On My Sleeve is worth listening to on Audible.
Eric Brown must have flown nearly every aircraft that could get off the ground, truly an exceptional airman.
First man to land a twin prop plane on a carrier and a jet !
Flown more types of aircraft than anyone in history.
He holds the world record for flying more aircraft types than any other man.
@@nigelmitchell351 On one of those tests, the arrestor hook broke off the mossie, he instinctively firewalled the throttles. The mossie skimmed the water but did not go in, he was able to land ashore.
@@Will_CH1 what does firewalled the throttles mean?
As I understand it Captain Eric Brown has held the record for flying the most types of aircraft ever.
Just started reading Captain Brown’s biography Wings on my Sleeve so glad I found this video and can hear him tell some of his story. Thanks 🙏🏽 for posting great job.
Any interview with Eric Brown is a true gem 💎… and this channel is a diamond mine of stories
So glad you used my interview with Eric Brown. I remember the occasion well. I believe he lived near Gatwick. You even got my voice at the end with a question about enemy casualties. Conrad Wood.
I think your voice pops in with pertinent questions in several videos ... Thanks very much for saving these voices for posterity.
I love those little old aerial recognition clips showing the main points to identify the aircraft:)
Such a decent man. I have so much respect for him and all he achieved. What he doesn’t say is after the sinking of the Audacity he was in the water for several hours waiting rescue.
I want to do an episode on Audacity - if I ever find enough suitable photos and footage. His account of the sinking and surviving some 18 hours in the water are remarkable.
@@ArmouredCarriers I knew that he was in the water for quite some time but had forgotten that it was 18 hours. That is absolutely amazing and incredible to have survived for so long in the water.
@@markfryer9880 It was absolutely at least overnight. He credits his survival to his Fleet Air Arm issue 'mae west' - and the demise of the merchant marine sailors to their inflatable waist tubes ...
i met the bloke seen the pics in his house asked what he did started to tell me i had to fix his toilet so did that he made me a cup of tea and we had a chat about his flying what a great man amazing
My Granny's brother flew off Audacity and survived the sinking. He was awarded a Condor kill. He died later on Avenger. I had a wonderful chat with Eric at Duxford and learnt so much about David we never knew. Amazing man. My Granny never forgave the Germans for killing her brother but I managed to get her to watch Das Boot series on the telly. I believe she made her peace afterwards.
😢
Im glad she made her peace and Im glad you helped her.
everyone who lived during the war had their hate...for my mom its the russians and poles who kicked her from her home after the war.
@@mikepette4422 German or Ukrainian?
This man is truly great! His attitude about his duties in combat is exactly what you would hope for from fighting men and women. Not angry, or bloodthirsty, just a sense of duty, "get on with it", he said.
I watch ALOT of RUclips docs and this is one of the best I've seen. Well don't for not playing unnecessary music and keeping the people and the story as the focus. Well done again, that was brilliant 🎉
Thank you Captain Brown (and all your shipmates). Thank you Armoured Carriers.
Amazing footage, all topical to the subject instead of being whatever footage the producer could find from WWII. Very impressive presentation!
Thanks so much for that, it was brilliant. Eric "Winkle" Brown is my hero, after Douglas Bader and me Dad who was on the convoys from Feb'41. I just love the understated, gentle touch of these guys who faced adversity that few people these days could ever comprehend. Great video, a fucking giant of a man.
I believe there was an encounter between a Condor and a RAF Sunderland flying boat over the Bay of Biscay. Must have been interesting at very low level with the hard turning to get each aircrafts guns able to be on target. I was a RNZAF navigator on Sunderlands which also meant I was qualified on the beam .5 Brownings - same as the B17.
Both aircraft had guns pointing all over the place. They're not like Spitfires & Me 109s here.
Wow!! You were a Navi on Sunderlands? My Grandpa was an Engineer on Sunderlands for the RAF. You must've had a hell of an innings sir.
my great uncle Stuart Robertson served with Winckle Brown on Audacity and was killed when it capsized after being torpedoed. We had the opportunity to talk with Capt WB about the event. Quite a man!
Complements from Eric "Winkle" Brown on another pilot's ability really mean something!
Superb little doc'' thank you for posting
A Dutch fighter pilot who was defending the then Dutch East Indies, recalled in an interview how he felt as he dove down on a Japanese troop transport.
This was, like the interview in this video, a very long time after the war.
So the Dutch pilot knew about the cruelty of the Japanese troops against the Allied POWs and civilians who were also captured.
Yet, at the time he was ordered to strafe the troop transport, it was just the beginning of the War in the Pacific and even with his later memories, he said, "I could see those boys in uniform below me, boys who had never done anything to hurt me, and I was going to strafe them."
You'd expect that, many years later, he would recount the incident with grim satisfaction but he didn't. He was still feeling guilty that he was shooting them like fish in a barrel.
A Wake Island defender recalled how he totally machine gunned a cluster of Japanese Marines sheltering behind a truck, and how guilty he felt about it ever since.
It never ends. My dad mortored an undisclosed target in 1960s Cyprus of all places.
All they got was "target eliminated" and packed up fast and moved out. He never knew, who or what they'd hit and were never told.
It's obviously been on his mind since then but he only mentioned it to me, very recently.
Nice to have you back. Thanks for another fine video.
Brilliant video!
If you ask me, the Focke Wulf 200 "Condor" was one of the most beautiful aircraft of WWII - maybe because the design wasn't military at all, it being an adapted pre- war civilian trans- Atlantic airliner. Because of this, the Fw200 wasn't very sturdy when it was forced into air combat, being unable to maneuvre adequately without causing serious fuselage or wing damage. It was however very heavily armed and could defend itself when attacked, but air combat was not something the Luftwaffe pilots and crews flying this wonderful aircraft happily engaged in due to the above reasons and due to the fact that when shot down far away from land the survival rate for ditched aircrew was minute to say the least. Unlike the RAF and the US Forces in England, the Luftwaffe did not have a search and rescue organisation after the Battle of Britain period, during which floating safety rafts had been situated in the Channel for downed Luftwaffe crews. In the Atlantic, far away from France, the only way to survive was when allied vessels picked survivors out of the sea. However, seeing how hated these aircraft and their aircrews were to allied sailors, it must be doubted that many ships went out of their way to save the crew of a shot down Condor, especially not after bombing a hospital ship - which was a particularly lousy thing to do, it must be said.
The very last hope of course would have been for a nearby U-Boat to have witnessed the ditching of a Fw200, subsequently saving the airmen from the sea - which actually happened in a few cases.
Very interesting. Those pilots taking off and landing on those tiny flight decks on a pitching ocean must have had nerves of steel.
Excellent presentation all the way through! Thank you. And, thank you to Capt. Brown's CO for giving a damn for his young pilots. Outstanding!
Really enjoyed hearing and seeing this footage and Narration! Thank you for sharing this.❤👍
I have read some of Erik Browns books. Just great to hear him talking about WW2 actions. Respect
until now, I only knew Eric Brown as a test pilot.
I knew he had to have had pervious experience of some sort,
but I had never bothered to research what that might have been.
Thank you for filling in that gap.
I believe that the only bi-plane kill of the Battle of Britain was Browns. He was on a test flight with a reserve squadron when they came upon an HE 111. I think the Heinkels' defences took care of the other two that were with him but were, of course, no match for Winkle no matter what he happened to be flying.
Test pilot was just the *tip* of the iceberg......Eric Brown packed an incredible amount into his WW2 service....
A privilege to listen to this. What a man.
Thank you for all that you do! I know this is just a hobby for you but every time I see you upload I just have to stop whatever it is I’m doing, grab a coffee and enjoy! You’re doing a really brilliant thing and I and many others massively appreciate it.
Thanks very much. High praise indeed.
We were lucky to have him, legend.
The famous banana boat squadron - didn't know he flew there. Thanks!
Thank you. A well told story by the legend himself. Conversely, I wonder how many Allied lives Capt. Brown saved through his decades of service. Splended job of editing.
Captain Brown was one of the very best Allied pilots, truly a legend and a hero in his own time.
Winkle is the greatest pilot of all time
Test pilot maybe
@@bigwoody4704 - by different type of craft flown he dominates
He certainly was a good pilot probably amonst the best. It depends on how many times you fought the enemy in the air. Not test flights. many times the best never returned home because of all the ordinance in the air at one time. For instance at Midway 4 IJN aircraft carriers versus 3 from the USN. Many American aircraft from the USS Hornet, USS Yorktown, and USS Enterprise returned with dozens of holes in them.As Brown himself mentioned many never came home so respect to all
I could listen to Eric 'Winkle' Brown talking forever.
Having met Commander Brown on a number of occasions I can confirm him to have been a most intelligent and decent person, he should have got a Knighthood, but they were too busy giving them to the likes of keir starmer and tony blair, how far have we fallen?
...and Elton John. I know longer have any respect for these awards they should called the show biz and luvvie award. SBL.
You can sense and know that's true intuitively. That's the reason he didn't get one. Such trinkets are for the a66 lickers. Bomber Command.
We're plummeting to the depths - I fear we still have a long way yet to fall if we allow it.
@Alfred Wedmore
Cdr Brown only died 3 or 4 years ago now do you understand?
@Alfred Wedmore
It doesn't seem that long ago, anyway we have no dispute it seems.
Fantastic film about a fantastic man.
The Luftwaffe pilots also learned to "joust" the USAAF bombers. Hence the addition of the chin turret of the B-17G.
God Bless the WOMEN and Men who built America's Bombers for five years during WWII !
Brilliant video. I’ll have to pick up and read “Wings on my sleeve” again.
Ty for posting good short flick on convoys their Close air support and their pilots and the Condor
He gave real meaning to the term "An officer and a gentleman" A very knowledgable man, with a sounfd engineerong background. Modest about his own part in thewar but unusually for the time willing to speak of his experiences. A totally unforgettable man who I am proud to say I had the honour of meeting.
That story at 14mins is brutal - imagine surviving the crash and then sitting on the floating wing with no way to call for help, just waiting for the wing to sink
I read his auto biography Wings on my sleeve. Fascinating read. He wrote about his adventures on Audacity. He became a test pilot, which is where he gained his enormous score of aircraft flown, and after the war investigated a lot of captured German aircraft. It's a go to manual if you want a pilots opinion of some of these experimental planes the Germans were producing at the end of the conflict.
Excellent video covering this mostly unpublicized theater of the war. Unglamorous, dangerous and under-appreciated.
Your channel and 'homemade documentaries' have some of the best content and it's such a pity the subscriber numbers of both channels do not match the quality of the content. I hope the numbers continue to rise
Thanks. But this is a hobby. Not a business. So I understand it has niche appeal. The advertising pocket money helps though (just paid for a new video-optimised graphics card, for example). But my aim is to counterbalance the "pop" perspectives and deep-dive analytical analysis out there with the (often inaccurate, but truly "in the moment") perspectives of those who actually had to contend with these machines and situations.
@@ArmouredCarriers great work. I love hearing the accounts from the men involved as well as watching channels such as drachinifel and the operations room giving details on the strategy. All good stuff far better than anything from mainstream media
@@DONALDSON51 Mainstream media has to condend with producers and other executive who always look at what has worked well in the past to reduce the risk of their investment. Unfortunately, it can also result in tired re-hashing of the status quo. While social media such as RUclips does undoubtedly promote extremism, it is also a means of demonstrating alternative approaches (or at least satisfying the needs of large - but not necessarily majority bloc - consumer groups).
@@ArmouredCarriers well said - it's an execllent home for the excellent amateur like yourself who isn't there just to make money!
@@ArmouredCarriers perhaps a collab with Drachinifel might gain you some subs ;-)
a great man ,pilot and human being
A Genuine LEGENDARY Man, just like so many of his Fellow Countrymen whose Bravery was not recorded or witnessed.
Thank you for adding that the F4F in RN service was called the Martlet in the notes - it would be nice to have it referred to as such in the video opening title too, rather than Wildcat? But that's nitpicking. Looking forward to your next release. EDIT - and Ive just read RN naming changed in 1944 to call it the Wildcat anyway... I'll sht up and get my coat :-(
Yes ... But far more people know of it was Wildcat than Martlet. I was able to squeeze both names into the episode I deal specifically with the aircraft in RN service. But space can be a killer!
@@ArmouredCarriers yup, just re-edited my edit... I'll wind my neck in!!
In the computer game - IL2 Sturmovik Blitz, they just added a Martlet. And the game has had a early Condor since release. All we need now is Audacity.
When one considers it is Eric Brown, having flown the F4F, referring to it as the Wildcat the name is not out of place.
Brown is truly one of the aviators who ranks in the top tier with Moelders, Galland, Yeager, Hoover and others.
Uh uh Armstrong gets on my team.
Fantastic story!!!! Thanks!
The Condor was such a gorgeous plane to me! Beautiful in every way except for its vertical stabilizer (IMO). If it had something more akin to a Boeing tail, it would have been perfect!
...just a beautiful plane!
I agree wholeheartedly about the Condor’s overall beauty. As for its tail, we need to keep in mind the earlier timeframe of the Condor. Remember the initial tail on the early B-17’s? Now THAT was an ugly tail!
@@markfreiberg9906 I'll say!
I think the Condor could have had the 190's tail and it would have been flawless.
Especially since they were both designed by the same guy!
I had no idea the Brits used the F4F, learn something new every day.
Can someone answer me the simple question ,hollywood and uk film makers love to churn out rubbish films yet not one of them have done a film about this MAN
Wouldn't be able to make it Hollywood and change the narrative to make money
@@alangulliver3212 Hollyweird's SOP: Minority/female character, hooks up for "parachute shed sex," and "boozes like 'Starbuck." Hmm, the "writers" could make "Winkle" Brown Australian, as well. Should ba a box office hit!:(
@@Otokichi786 Only if he was a homosexual Aborigine with his love interest being a Black lesbian
The problem may be finding a through story. He had lots of amazing anecdotes, any one of which would make a half-hour short play, but his life overall was kind of straightforward.
An excellent production! Just a thought though, when you put up the written stuff, could you leave it up for one, or two seconds longer, please, as I never managed to finish reading them before they disappeared....🤪👍🏻👍🏻
Noted!
Yessssss this was maddening! I couldn’t read the comments before they disappeared!! Thanks great content, loved the Great Man’s commentary in his words!! Rest In Peace ☮️
@@ArmouredCarriers Sorry, it seemed extremely churlish to complain, as the content and production are so very good!
@@richardbaxter2057 Respectufl feedback is not a complaint. I'm just beginning to putt up some quotes / explanatory text in these videos. (The audio accounts don't always provide all the detail necessary for an overview narrative). But I suspect I'm putting up too many words ...
@@ArmouredCarriers No, not too many words, just read it back to yourself slowly and that way you’ll get the right time length sorted out....
I had the pleasure of knowing an FAA Chap who’d flown out in the Pacific (sadly no longer with us) and he’d been behind some USN flyer, who managed to put his Bomb down the smoke stack of some Japanese Ship.....”huge explosion, nearly went with it....acres of soot....”! 😂😂
The MV Walmer Castle mentioned at 6:10 was NOT a hospital ship. She was a specialized "convoy rescue ship", a converted fast merchantman with extra accomodations and scrambling nets on her sides to pick up survivors from other sunk vessels, usually stationed at the rear of the convoy for that purpose. She also was armed with AA, and carried HF/DF radio direction equipment for detecting enemy U-Boats. That made her a perfectly legitimate target for the Condor.
So because she could protect herself she wasn't a hospital ship? And that makes it 'legitimate' Tell me how did the German pilot know what you say is the case? Did they not sink it anyway? Hair and splitting come to mind,
I guess we have different standards on what is a war crime and what is not. For me attacking a ship with a big red cross on it is a crime and the Germans did it so many times. Strafing helpless people in the water is a crime (read about the sinking of the Lancastria in the second evacuation of France after Dunkirk) which was Britain's worst-ever disaster at sea and the Germans strafed and bombed survivors swimming in the sea. Finally, whether we split hairs over what the ship was the fact is the pilots bombed her 'thinking she was a hospital ship' and it would not have the slightest difference to them if it had been full of sick and injured or not (as it was). What we are talking about here is a regime that was responsible for millions of deaths of innocent men women and children. Many Germans who fought in the war were decent honorable people and war is a dirty business on all sides but sometimes some people do bad things. Anyway have a good day
If she was armed, the big red cross was a lie. Hospital ships were covered by strict regulations. Painted white, green horizontal stripe near the top of the hull, red crosses, lit up at night. A red cross without the rest of it is not a legal hospital ship. Hospital ships cannot be armed nor sail in the company of warships. Lusitania was another lie, carrying munitions cargo made her a legit target.
@@grizwoldphantasia5005 A Lie .............. These people killed helpless survivors in the water and supported a regime that murdered and tortured millions of people and displaced tens of millions more. Most probably the most despicable bunch of thugs the world has ever seen. So what do you think would have happened if these people had won the war? So dream on and pontificate all you want from the safety of your keyboard
I loved watching this guy over the years. Just a great big man but was in a small stature
Thanks for the upload.
19:11 Sublime recount of post-victory experience.
Wonderful presentation and story-telling. Thanks. Subscribed.
A pure Scotsman and a real hero
Excellent.
Great story
Great pilot 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Can you imagine seeing the world thru his eyes ?
Had a pilot done 1/10 of what Capt. Brown had done it would have been unbelievable. Thank you for posting it. Head on attack was also used against the B17. By the Luftwaffe.
A total legend along with all who served
And now the Wildcat helicopter is firing the new Martlet missile.
Perfect.
Captain Walker was the RN's best ASW officer of the war. He passed away during the war, probably due to extreme exhaustion.
Nicely done.
Bloody marvellous!! I wonder how many he’d have ended up with if he’d stayed flying combat?
Anyway, great work. Well done. A great spot for a topic!,
Anything with Captain Eric "Winkle " Brown , am sold..the Man's a Legend anything with wings he flew it.
What a wonderful video. I had no idea British escort carriers were crewed by merchant seamen - this was the biggest revelation to me of the whole presentation. Did this continue throughout the war or was it only a feature at the beginning?
An interesting question. I'll have to dig around to find out. I know MAC ships were almost entirely merchant seamen (after all, they were just flight decks bolted on top of bulk carriers carrying cargo). But the escort carriers - especially as they were often given an "assault" role in places like the South of France and Indian Ocean, probably had a major RN component. I'll have to check.
I hope to find more escort carrier footage and oral histories for a standalone video.
Pragmatic response to a huge threat. That flight deck doesn't look very big though! Nevertheless a much more proactive and better proposition than the (also successful) CAM ships.
A quote from a movie of the time . "The flight deck looks like a tombstone on the ocean. Yours"
Flight decks so short that similar ones, on USS Wolverine and USS Sable ( which started life as luxury side paddle steamers and were converted to training carriers on Lake Michigan) resulted in dozens of Wildcats missing and littering the bottom- and some retrieved, in quite good shape, to this day.
It takes balls or steel to attack a heavily defended aircraft. It takes even bigger balls of steel to land on a carrier as small as Audacity.
Especially at night, they did an evening patrol meaning they landed in the dark.
My uncle flew Sea Vixens off Eagle. A very big plane on a very small ship. After retiring he suffered what would best be described as risk perception issues. He was killed in a car crash overtaking a long line of cars on single carriageway road in his tuned Rover SD1. The police couldn't understand why he'd attempted it... my aunt could.
@@duncanhamilton5841 Interesting way to describe things; risk perception issues.
Very brave thing indeed to fly from such a small aircraft carrier and attack a big airplane in the middle of the Atlantic. Same thing ( bravery) is to be said for the FW 200 crews.
I met Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown, very briefly, when he gave a lecture at Yeovilton a couple of years before he died. In introducing him, I think it was his host who told us that he had just bought himself a new sports car. My recollection is that he spoke for the best part of an hour, without any reference to notes: he had none.
I have a copy of 'Wings On My Sleeve', and I've watched several of the interviews that he gave. As I recall, he had a close shave getting out of Germany into Switzerland at the outbreak of war.
As has been stated elsewhere, he has set a record that can never be surpassed, of flying more types of aircraft than any other pilot. In claiming a "type", such as the Spitfire, although he flew fourteen marks, he recorded the aircraft as one type.
Lovin' it!
If you enjoyed this pick up a copy of, Wings on my sleeve, his auto biography, quite a life story !
A great, Great, GREAT MAN.
I am not a slow reader but barely make it through the texts before they disappear, please give them more time in future episodes.
What a great fighter pilot. Interesting he discovered long before the Germans the tactic of head-on attacks against heavy bombers, which the Luftwaffe would eventually employ against US B-17's. resulting in later models of the Bomber having a twin .50 chin turret. In the Humphrey Bogart movie, "Passage to Marseilles. " there is a great action scene towards the end of the movie where a FW200 attacks a French freighter. The model work is brilliantly done and the scene is very exciting.
They were doing head on attacks during the Battle of Britain. It's pretty obvious that if you kill the pilots - the plane is in major trouble. Also - the increased closing speed helped the fighter. Coming from behind - your relative speed is much lower - and that makes you much easier to hit.
.
In one of my books, there is an RAF pilot saying how he could see in head on attacks against the HE111, the crew scrambling trying to get out of the way of the bullets.
@@grahvis I bet they were.
.
Brilliant!
Eric Brown actually landed a DeHavilland Mosquito on a carrier. Stall speed was something like 120 he had to touch the deck at 80. Although Mossies would have hammered U-boats its use was far too risky. Nobody else tried.
While not up to the par of the F6F Hellcat or F4U Corsair (the two fighters that replaced it), the Wildcat was a fine machine with a very good record. In the Pacific, against Zeros, while it couldn't match them in maneuverability, its rugged design let it take punishment that would've easily destroyed a Zero. And, when competently manned by pilots who knew how to work its attributes to their optimal benefit (eg. John Thatch), it could come out on top in a dogfight.
Try flying either off those off a tiny escort carrier. The Corsair's nose is longer than the flight deck. But yeah, _biGGor is MoaR bettOr iNNit._
I think they were still in production after the introduction of the F6F andF4U as they were more suitable for use on the small escort carriers.
@@scrumpydrinker yes production continued after 1943 purely for Escort Carrier use whilst Fleet Carriers switched to bigger and better fighters.
Bravo!
Capt. Walker took responsibility for the loss of the Audacity in his report on the convoy but the Admiralty dismissed the claim. There had been a division of command between Walker and the captain of the Audacity as to who had responsibility for the placement of the ship during night hours. During the day the carrier was placed inside the screen of escorts but at night she would move clear of the convoy to one side or another. On the night she was sunk Walker suggested she place herself to the west of the convoy but Mackendrick, the captain of the Audacity and who had seniority on Walker, wanted to go east because if the convoy was attacked it would turn to the west and he didn't want to be in the way. Walker suspected that any attack by u-boats would be from the east. The Audacity was seen by the light of another ship that had been torpedoed and took 3 torpedo hits and sank in 10 minutes.
The scenes in this video showing a sloop with the registration "U 66" is HMS Starling, Captain Walker's later command when he returned to sea. HIs command at the time of the Gibraltar convoys was HMS Stork. Both ships were Black Swan class sloops.
My father went to Dartmouth aged 13 in 1936, and was a First Lieutenant on HMS Torbay with a DSC by 1945 ( later commanded subs until 1956 ), so although I took to the army side of the family, I grew up with the traditions of the Royal Navy. ...... My grandfather was at Jutland, and the ships bell of HMS Colossus was our front door bell. ...... My family also supplied the 4.5 million tons of stone that built Plymouth Breakwater from 1812-1841, and cut stone throughout Devonport Dockyard, so it is rather in the blood!
So I know about Captain Walker, and how his relentless determination to sink German submarines eventually wore him out, and death claimed him. ...... He saved a lot of lives.
For this reason, I am glad to read your comment - Captain Walker deserves to be remembered.
What a story !!
Watched from Jamaica, the US had 2 military bases on my island during the war.
Watching this a second time, I realized that Eric Brown must have been flying the F4F-3, the four-gun, fixed-wing, version of the Wildcat that could turn Japanese aircraft into cigarette lighters. However, the FAA wanted six .50 calibers guns, with folding wings, because German aircraft like the Condor had armor...and that became the F4F-4, the main USN and USMC fighter in later 1942 and 1943. To shoot down a Condor with fewer guns: yet another reason for a hats-off to Winkle Brown!
More about Eric Brown, please!
I shall. Once I find enough suitable footage to support it.