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This week the LAST Battle of Britain 'Ace' pilot Paul Farnes died aged 101.
RIP ... Brave Warrior
There are now only 2 surviving members of "The Few" ... the 3,000 airmen who fought in The Battle of Britain - William Clark and John Hemingway, both aged 100.
* 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' *
Everyday above ground ... Is a good day! 😎
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 13:11 - Jan 31 with 1582 views
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 16:09 - Jan 31 by Lord_Bony
Any of us would. Let's not forget they were mostly kids, the average age was 20, about 1500 were killed on the allied side, the Germans,much more.
We will never forget, had we lost that battle the Nazis were ready to invade.
The Nazis would have had control of the skies, but the RN still had control of the seas, so any invasion would have been met by dozens of destroyers ready to blow them out of the water, but it would have been messy without control of the skies
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:21 - Jan 31 with 1499 views
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:12 - Jan 31 by controversial_jack
The Nazis would have had control of the skies, but the RN still had control of the seas, so any invasion would have been met by dozens of destroyers ready to blow them out of the water, but it would have been messy without control of the skies
I think the fate of The Prince of Wales and Repulse proved pretty conclusively the redundancy of sea power without air cover.
An idea isn't responsible for those who believe in it.
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:24 - Jan 31 with 1493 views
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:12 - Jan 31 by controversial_jack
The Nazis would have had control of the skies, but the RN still had control of the seas, so any invasion would have been met by dozens of destroyers ready to blow them out of the water, but it would have been messy without control of the skies
The Germans also had a Navy which would have mined the flanks.supported by the Luftwaffe. British ships would be easy targets as in Dunkirk, there were also Uboat packs under Donetz that could have been drawn in. There was about half million invaders ready to go.
Of course it's hypothetical and no-one can know the true outcome of Sea Lion but it would have been a close call.
Luckily for us Hitler lost all interest afterwards and turned east.for Operation Barbabrossa...the invasion of Russia, a bad decision that ultimately cost him the war.
PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE THIRD PLANET SWANS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.
"Per ardua ad astra"
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:21 - Jan 31 by Lohengrin
I think the fate of The Prince of Wales and Repulse proved pretty conclusively the redundancy of sea power without air cover.
The invasion fleet would have been in troop carrying barges and and would have been sitting ducks. The RN was extremely powerfull at this time and faster destroyers would have been difficult targets for the Luftwafe , but it's all conjecture as someone has mentioned.
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 21:16 - Jan 31 with 1396 views
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 17:21 - Jan 31 by Lohengrin
I think the fate of The Prince of Wales and Repulse proved pretty conclusively the redundancy of sea power without air cover.
Yep, the U boats and Stukas would have massacred our navy in the channel if we had no air cover. The Germans feared the Spitfire (though the Hurrican was arguably more succesful) and without it and the Hurri things would have been very different I think.
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 21:16 - Jan 31 by Catullus
Yep, the U boats and Stukas would have massacred our navy in the channel if we had no air cover. The Germans feared the Spitfire (though the Hurrican was arguably more succesful) and without it and the Hurri things would have been very different I think.
The channel is too narrow for u boats, they would have been easily detected and mined
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 21:40 - Jan 31 with 1378 views
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 21:21 - Jan 31 by controversial_jack
The channel is too narrow for u boats, they would have been easily detected and mined
The RN ships would have to have sailed to the channel, the U boats would be sitting there just waiting. The fast destroyers could not possibly outrun a Stuka, the very fastest detroyer coud do roughly 45 knots (51mph) but a Stuka had a top speed of 255mph, FW's and Messerschmitts were much faster again (FW over 400mph) besides which, without aircover the Germans would have bombed our navy to death first. The U boats would have covered the North sea and Atlantic sea lanes, the Kriegsgsmarine would have provided close escort and the Luftwaffe would have attacked the coastal batteries and any RN ships. Air superiority was a vital factor.
Edit, the channel isn't too narrow but it is too shallow.
Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 21:40 - Jan 31 by Catullus
The RN ships would have to have sailed to the channel, the U boats would be sitting there just waiting. The fast destroyers could not possibly outrun a Stuka, the very fastest detroyer coud do roughly 45 knots (51mph) but a Stuka had a top speed of 255mph, FW's and Messerschmitts were much faster again (FW over 400mph) besides which, without aircover the Germans would have bombed our navy to death first. The U boats would have covered the North sea and Atlantic sea lanes, the Kriegsgsmarine would have provided close escort and the Luftwaffe would have attacked the coastal batteries and any RN ships. Air superiority was a vital factor.
Edit, the channel isn't too narrow but it is too shallow.
[Post edited 31 Jan 2020 21:41]
Before any invasion, there would have been a massive build up of troops barges and equipment Mines and RN would be there in no time. The U boats were terrified of destroyers and Corvetes and didn't seek confrontation with them at all.The RN also had anti aircraft ships and so did the shore batteries. There would have been mass sinkings i agree,but any troop carriers would have been sunk with relative ease. Even if we had lost the battle for air superiority, we would still have had sufficient aircraft and more coming off the factory lines to enable any invasion to be prevented. Thankfully we never found out
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 23:22 - Jan 31 with 1348 views
The whole point of the Battle of Britain was so Germany could gain the air superiority they needed to counteract the Royal Navy. They knew they wouldn't have had a chance without it.
If they'd achieved that then with their proven airpower there's little the RN could have done to stymie an invasion attempt.
Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair, or f*cking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back.
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Last Battle of Britain 'ace' pilot Paul Farnes dies ... on 23:34 - Jan 31 with 1344 views