Eagle Squadron kills?

plan_D · 09-15-2005, 10:04 PM

I don't even think all those seven Americans were pilots but I may be wrong. It was the British that carried the extent of the Battle of Britain with help from Polish, Canadians, Czechs, French, Australians, New Zealanders, Indians and other nationalities I apologise for not remembering. The two most important being the Canadians and Polish.

evangilder · 09-15-2005, 10:27 PM

Actually, the American involvement was small, and the record is not something that I would consider remarkable. Brave and certainly worthy of mention, but hardly the saviors of Britain.

Pilot- Airplane- Kills during the BoB
Arthur Donahue- Spitfire- No kills recorded
Billy Fiske- Hurricane- Shot down 1 Ju-88
John Haviland- Hurricane- No kills recorded
Vernon Keogh- Spitfire- Shared kill of Do-215
Philip Leckrone- Spitfire- No kills recorded
Andrew Mamedoff- Spitfire- No kills recorded
Eugene Tobin- Spitfire- No kills recorded

plan_D · 09-15-2005, 10:35 PM

That one Ju-88 might have been carrying a nuclear bomb...

schwarzpanzer · 09-15-2005, 11:25 PM

1 1/4 planes total??

and bombers at that??

Still they may have took some heat off other pilots.

Added to the other help, the USA helped a great deal IMHO, its sad that they are mocked this way.

FLYBOYJ · 09-15-2005, 11:26 PM

From the movie Pearl Harbor, Ben Asslax's character was supposed to be 3 guys in one - Gabby Gebreski was at Pearl Harbor and actualy got in the air after the attack. After PH he got over to Europe and flew in the RAF with a Polish Squadron...

"Wheaties Welch" was one of two pilots that got up during the attack and actually shot down several aircraft - nominated for a Medal of Honor, it was turned down because he took off without permission.....

And the Doolittle Raid (I can't believe a Baldwin played Doolittle) I think the producers thought about Ted Lawson....

evangilder · 09-16-2005, 12:06 AM

Not only Alec Baldwins' portrayal of Doolittle, but the way they wrote Doolittle was all wrong too.

Maestro · 09-16-2005, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schwarzpanzer

I'm saying that because Tom cruise, like Mel Gibson, wanted to alter history and it's rumoured even involve Mustangs in the BoB saving the Brits arses?

Yikes !

I'll be honest with everyone. As a writer (hopefully I'll get published by someone), I've slightly altered the history, in my novel. I invented a pilot, put him in a squadron that never existed (RAF 701 Squadron) and gave him a kill ratio that put him with the WW II Top Aces (120 victories at the beginning of the book (May 1944)). Okay, I'll admit I didn't know (when I wrote the novel) that the top RAF Ace was J.E. Johnson with 38 victories.

I've translated the fourth, fifth and sixth paragraphs of the first chapter, when the main character is brought to Colonel Kraatz, director of the prison.

What you'll read is the farthest I have gone in "altering the history".

" - Captain William McAndrew, welcome in my little prison. It's an honour to meet a foe of your caliber. I studied your profile that my spies supplied me with. That's quite impressive : born in Glasgow, Scotland, in an Anglican family, volunteered in the RAF on June 14th 1940 at the age of 21, earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in August, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in September, earned the Distinguished Service Order in October, promoted to Captain at El Alamein in 1942 and earned for a second time the Distinguished Flying Cross at Tripoli in 1943. Your capture prooves that our Luftwaffe is way more powerful than your pitiful RAF.

- Oh, really ? So if your Luftwaffe is so powerful, why in the Hell did they failed to beat us during the Battle of Britain even if we were outnumbered ? Your pilots were a bunch of morons ? replied McAndrew.

Kraatz punched the Captain right on the jaw. William raised in a second but was forced back on his seat by his "escort". The Colonel looked at the soldiers and asked them if they had found anything special on the prisonier. One of them gave him a pistol and the pilot's jacket."

I have no problem in altering history a little, to make the story stronger. But what they did in Pearl Harbour was way too much. What Tom Cruise/Mel Gibson want to do is also way to much.

Aggie08 · 09-16-2005, 01:02 AM

For those of us not in the know...what are Cruise and Gibson planning?

plan_D · 09-16-2005, 01:23 AM

It's "farthest" not 'farest', Maestro. And obviously I cannot comment for all Luftwaffe and RAF pilots but I'd think they would have had more respect for one another than to talk like that.

Maestro · 09-16-2005, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plan_D

It's "farthest" not 'farest', Maestro. And obviously I cannot comment for all Luftwaffe and RAF pilots but I'd think they would have had more respect for one another than to talk like that.

Whoops... Thanks for the spelling correction.

Concerning my novel, I never had a lot of respect for SS guys. From what I heard, you needed to be either a "mad dog" or an ******* to be part of that team. But that's only what I heard...

So, I decided to take the "*******" version for Kraatz.

McAndrew on the other hand, is what we could call a "talented bastard". The kind of guy who is born to be a fighter pilot, but has a hell of a character. In other words, he is the kind of guy that you wish to have with you, rather than against you.

But you're free to think what you want. You're free to think that my writing skill sucks. That's only the way I personnally imagine the war was.

plan_D · 09-16-2005, 03:12 AM

I'm not saying your writing skill is poor. I'm sure there were situations like that but you must remember that most Allied airmen were taken into the care of Luftwaffe officers who had utmost repsect for their opposition.

evangilder · 09-16-2005, 07:26 AM

While that is true, for the most part, d, they were sent to interrogation prior to the Stalag Luft camps. There are cases where the interrogator was a sadist. BUt from what I have read, it was not the general rule and most of the time they would make them sit in solitary if they didn;t talk until someone ran out of patience. I read about one pilot that was in the interrogation camp for about a month before being release to the Stalag Luft.

plan_D · 09-16-2005, 07:36 AM

And it was getting worse by the end of the war. With the terrorflieger and everything.

evangilder · 09-16-2005, 07:44 AM

Good point. From what I have read though, it was better to be captured by anyone in the German military than a civilian late in the war. Some of the stories I have seen about civilians taking out their frustrations on allied pilots have sent shivers up my spine.

plan_D · 09-16-2005, 08:00 AM

I read Zemke's Stalag and it was about his capture, his time in StalagLuft III and post-war. There were a few times his Luftwaffe escorts saved him from the raging civilians.