Hauksbee Posted December 2, 2014 Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Saw an interesting aviation film on Netflix Instant last night: "Memories of a WWII Hero: Captain Brown's Story". Great stuff. Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown narrates his own "there I was.." stories. This guy was everywhere. As a teenager he met Udet in Germany who took him for a hair-raising flight. Brown was so cool about it that after they landed, Udet told him, : "Kid, you'd make a great fighter pilot someday. Learn to fly and speak German". Brown did both. He joined the Royal Navy, flew Hellcats off the carrier H.M.S. Audacity, got torpedoed, spent the night in the water tied to 24 others. As they died one by one from hypothermia they were cut loose. Brown was one of two pulled out the next morning. Got assigned to Farnborough as a test pilot. Flew over 480 different types during his career. Explains the art of sneaking up behind V-1's and flipping them over with a wingtip. Went to Germany right after the war and flew every German prototype 'Wonder Weapon" 'Loved the Me-262. don't miss it if you've got Netflix. For our purposes here, I made screenies from a WWI German newsreel. Here's a few pics of von Richtofen that are rare(ish) and one of Udet. Edited December 2, 2014 by Hauksbee Quote
JimAttrill Posted December 2, 2014 Posted December 2, 2014 I don't have Netflix but I have all his books. "Wings on my sleeve" is his autobiography and his book "Wings of the Luftwaffe" is fascinating. He got to know the systems of German aircraft very well. He must also be one of the few pilots who shot down two aircraft and then flew the type himself later on - the Fw200 Condor. He should have been the first through the 'sound barrier' if not let down by the British Government for some reason that has never been published. He holds numerous records - most aircraft types flown, most carrier deck landings, first landing of a tricycle aircraft on a carrier (P39 Airacobra), first twin engine landing on a carrier (Mosquito) first Jet Landing on a carrier etc etc. About the only record he doesn't hold is first four-engine landing on a carrier which was done with a C130 Hercules much later. A remarkable man! Quote
Hauksbee Posted December 2, 2014 Author Posted December 2, 2014 I don't have Netflix but I have all his books. A remarkable man! Yes, if you've got all his books, then you've read all the good bits. I liked his speculation about what killed Geoffery DeHaviland. Quote
JimAttrill Posted December 7, 2014 Posted December 7, 2014 And I think that he was right in that he was saved by being much shorter than Geoffrey. BTW those photos of BVR and Udet are new to me. Thanks for them. Richthofen seemed to be in a very good mood! Quote
Hauksbee Posted December 8, 2014 Author Posted December 8, 2014 BTW those photos of BVR and Udet are new to me. Thanks for them. Richthofen seemed to be in a very good mood! When he's smiling you can see how young they all were. Quote
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