How A Teenage Girl Helped Win The Battle Of Britain | The Inspiring Story Of Hazel Hill

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Caliban Rising - Aviation History

Caliban Rising - Aviation History

Күн бұрын

The story of Hazel Hill is one of those bizarre tales from World War Two. At just 13 years old, she would help her father help calculate something which would turn the war in the Allies' favour.
At the time, British fighters only had limited armament. It would be Captain Hill and his daughter who figured out that new fighters in the late 1930s would need at least 8 machine guns in order to shoot down modern aircraft.
This is how Hazel Hill helped change the tide of war.
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Welcome to my channel where I share my love of history and aviation. I first fell in love with military aviation when reading Biggles books as a boy, then I studied history at university. I like finding interesting stories and sharing them with others.
I also followed this passion into the real world and managed to get a Private Pilot's Licence on 10th May 2014.
I'll share my gameplay from the IL2 Sturmovik Great Battles series as well as the Cliffs of Dover series and DCS series too, to give my stories drama. Feel free to subscribe, like and comment!
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Пікірлер: 641
@BW022
@BW022 2 жыл бұрын
My mom got a job at with the military in London in 1941. She was 15, sat in a room full of other girls, each doing a simple math operation, and passing the cards down the line. They did calculations for artillery round charts. She almost didn't get the job because (coming from Ireland) when asked to sound out the calculations she did so in Gaelic. Lots of teen girls worked all sorts of jobs -- message running, servers at barracks, directed people into the undergrounds,
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
The original term computer actually referred to people like your mother.
@T0varisch
@T0varisch 2 жыл бұрын
15, wow! She must have been very bright. I know they trawled every girls school in the south east for anyone who came top in maths and wasn't already pregnant. These women were the very stuff of Home Chain, more important than radar.
@michaelhewitt258
@michaelhewitt258 2 жыл бұрын
Those young ladies. In Britain and The United States Who served their Country Are truly unsung heroes
@TroySpace
@TroySpace Жыл бұрын
Beyond the "Rosie the Riveter" posters, people generally aren't aware of the enormous contribution of women to fighting WWII. Late in the war, the Germans also pressed teenage girls into manning AAA. They were called flaktochters (not sure of the spelling). The Russians probably had loads of teenage girls on the frontline, too, though probably not in the air (AFAIK all female USSR pilots, such as the Night Witches, were adults).
@AllahDoesNotExist
@AllahDoesNotExist Жыл бұрын
@@michaelhewitt258 we need women on the Ukrainian frontline now. Let the men go home for winter.
@jq4t49f3
@jq4t49f3 2 жыл бұрын
Hugh Dowding...underappreciated genius architect of victorious RAF!
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Damn right, it's criminal what happened to him post Battle of Britain.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising Indeed, the British always had this blind spot when it came to their heroes, Leigh Mallorie's ideas had some merit but Dowding's prudence and superior managing of limited resources are what won the Battle of Britain. A similar situation happened in WW1 after Jutland when Jellicoe was passed over in favour of the flamboyant Beattie despite the latter being somewhat cavalier and wasteful of his manpower and resources.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising I think he probably made the mistake of telling Churchill he was wrong. I've been reading 'Destiny in the Desert' and Churchill loved to meddle in operational affairs despite little understanding and often with negative effects but telling him this tended to be a career-limiting move.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
@@Deevo037 People concentrate on radar, but also neglect the integration of the Royal Observer Corps and the information management systems he put in which were also crucial. Especially information management and its visual representation. Also the systems of readiness designed to have squadrons ready but not wear out crews, the group system and rotation of units, aircraft repair (with MoS), etc. It was quite brilliant. In terms of Western Europe, given that the UK later gave the USA a base, potentially war-winning.
@Skipper.17
@Skipper.17 2 жыл бұрын
Keith Park played a Hugh role as well.
@tomooo2637
@tomooo2637 2 жыл бұрын
I am dyslexic, and crap at English and was in detention many times as school for being "naughty" in the 1970s. But I write mathematical algorithms for machine learning (the underlying code in pytorch etc), protein crystallography, molecular graphics , genomics information theory and so on. If you are dyslexic don't let the bastards grind you down.
@carlpretorius1584
@carlpretorius1584 2 жыл бұрын
You are absolutely right! Dyslexic people have mental skills that many other people don't have. Kind regards from South Africa.
@daskritterhaus5491
@daskritterhaus5491 2 жыл бұрын
bravo bravo bravo sir. and my dyslexic plumber brother boasting a grade 11 education had more business sense in his baby finger than l ever did and proved to be the most financially successful of me and 6 siblings. he explained how he would memorize common things in his work involving nymbers, didnt have to actually 'do the math' each time
@carbunkle9902
@carbunkle9902 2 жыл бұрын
I'm not dyslexic, thank Dog.
@paulpaintshop103
@paulpaintshop103 Жыл бұрын
My eldest lad is dyslexic, it took years to get him any help so I took him to work with me and he learned manual skills in the garage, he got a job with a great boss doing bcc machining. He now flies a helicopter and runs a machine business. You are correct Sir.
@ToddSauve
@ToddSauve Жыл бұрын
@@paulpaintshop103 Great story to hear!
@paulmk2290
@paulmk2290 Жыл бұрын
From the title I thought that this was going to be about Beatrice Shilling who partially improved a very serious problem with carburation in the Merlin engines. The pilots jokingly called her invention, which was essentially a metal ring, Miss Shillings Orifice. Now, she really did make a difference.
@MelodyMan69
@MelodyMan69 Жыл бұрын
Hi Paul I also thought the same. I believe her nick name was Tilly. She was a motor cycle mechanic before the war. Pilots complained about the loss of engine power during steep climbs and decents. Once tested, the pilots called the "washer" Miss Tilly Shillings orifice with affection.
@Coltnz1
@Coltnz1 Жыл бұрын
@@MelodyMan69The problem wasn’t steep climbs and descents, it was negative G.
@MelodyMan69
@MelodyMan69 Жыл бұрын
@@Coltnz1 Steep climbs are negative G.??
@Coltnz1
@Coltnz1 Жыл бұрын
@@MelodyMan69 That’s not what I said.
@powerjets3512
@powerjets3512 2 жыл бұрын
Dyslexic people can make huge differences, if only the system gives them a chance to do their things. Getting to uni back then as a dyslexic women was a huge achievement too. Great video.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Totally agree. I'm also in this club, so I could relate to the story.
@keithmoore5224
@keithmoore5224 2 жыл бұрын
i sufferd with it didn’t find out till i was in my 20 s back then you were told were ignored i was told i could go to university but my english and maths let me down all other subjects top marks spelling not good
@jeffslade1892
@jeffslade1892 2 жыл бұрын
She became a doctor. Have you seen doctors' handwriting, it's an art form. I've seen three pharmacists trying to decipher a doctor's note.
@powerjets3512
@powerjets3512 2 жыл бұрын
@@jeffslade1892 There are cases of doctors incorrectly calculating dosage for patient weight with the resulting deaths. It is no trival thing that your doctor can do simple arithmetic and understands the principles.
@chrisyoung5929
@chrisyoung5929 2 жыл бұрын
I am lucky enough to have sex daily, no I mean the other one dyslexia. We see patterns and English spelling has none so makes no sense. Give me a map or a diagram and I see it all. I had a career building computer networks as they are patterns.
@ericalawson631
@ericalawson631 2 жыл бұрын
Mr. Hill, Ms. Hill along with Mr.Camm and Mr. Mitchell stand in the exalted ranks of "The Few" Respect and thanks
@jeffhester1443
@jeffhester1443 2 жыл бұрын
Very few in the US realized just how crucial the air battle of Britain truly was at the time. Not only for Britain, but for Europe and the world.
@robertnegron9706
@robertnegron9706 2 жыл бұрын
Germans knew they would have a battle attacking the USA
@patrioticaussiesams8581
@patrioticaussiesams8581 2 жыл бұрын
Certainly it brought time to fight another day. RAF learnt Fighter tactics from the Germans especially changing from the 3 planes in formation to the finger 4 formation. Lord Hugh Dowding's push for the Defense system use of Radar and His push for getting bulletproof front windshields helped in his Fighter pilots confidence that Dowding was fighting for his men too
@mikecoulson9709
@mikecoulson9709 Жыл бұрын
@@user-otzlixr Yet there were a few Americans who flew with the RAF before the USA entered the war. The Eagle Squadrons
@jamestregler1584
@jamestregler1584 Жыл бұрын
So true, an old English man who helped me rebuild my 1960 M G A told me many a story of the war ; GOD rest his Soul !
@bokarlsson1027
@bokarlsson1027 Жыл бұрын
I know What Churchill said about these heroic pilots.
@bbb8182
@bbb8182 2 жыл бұрын
I'm so tickled by her contribution. I love underdogs and overlooked people who come to the rescue of the many who dismiss them! It reminds me of several small childhood accomplishments i had in spite of ADHD and Asperger's syndrome. Human's can really surprise you.
@ToddSauve
@ToddSauve Жыл бұрын
I know a young fellow here in Alberta who is 24 and suffers from Aspergers. I get after him when he lets fly with a bunch of f bombs on Facebook. I don't know if he will ever be able to get over it, but I keep telling him he can do it. He is such a smart young man!
@anaussie213
@anaussie213 Жыл бұрын
As a fellow dyslexic (unfortunately also pretty bad at maths) I loved the story too. Also love it when underdogs/the little man have an impact on history, like the hobbits from LOTR.
@VileCAESARB
@VileCAESARB Жыл бұрын
Brother, no one dismissed her. She was asked by her dad, Victim mentality showing itself here.
@couttsy222
@couttsy222 2 жыл бұрын
I just read about Hazel Hill and her father a couple of weeks ago in the book "The Spitfire Kids". It is wonderful, despite the passing of time since the end of the war, that so many interesting stories are coming to light.
@WX4CB
@WX4CB Жыл бұрын
thats a great book.. have it on the shelf alongside "sigh for a merlin" by alex henshaw :D
@couttsy222
@couttsy222 Жыл бұрын
@@WX4CB - SFaM is one of my most treasured books. 😁
@WX4CB
@WX4CB Жыл бұрын
@@couttsy222 my dad has a first edition the last time i was back over in the UK
@tectorama
@tectorama 2 жыл бұрын
I think the later success of the Spitfires and Hurricanes was due to the range at which the guns were harmonized. This was born out by the Polish pilots who attacked from a much closer range than the RAF. Which made them the highest scoring squadrons.
@vintagebollinger4439
@vintagebollinger4439 Жыл бұрын
Not really surprising. The Polish Pilots were highly trained with a lot of flight time. By the time they were allowed to take part in the BoB, a lot of experienced pilots had been shot down, partially while the most appropriate tactics and formations were sorted out, so many of the British pilots who were replacing them were going up with only 8 hours training. Thank Gid we had the Polish and Czech pilots at the time.
@cozmcwillie7897
@cozmcwillie7897 Жыл бұрын
@@vintagebollinger4439 The Polish squadrons came in later phases of the Battle of Britain, (not for the want of trying). However there were individual Polish pilots in RAF squadrons all over from the start. In fact apart from Brits there were pilots from 16 different nations in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. There was a sad footnote to some of the British recruits. Because of the losses, the RAF began recruiting NCO's, usually from aircraft mechanics. However for an NCO to have his guns harmonized as mentioned, it needed written permission from a CO next in the chain of command. Often this was not forthcoming because the CO's didn't want any NCO's becoming air aces before them. This resulted in many 109's etc getting away looking like Swiss cheese. Whereas 8 guns focused at 100yds smashed huge holes in. Nevertheless there were sergeant Aces. There were quite a few instances of great snobbery. In one, two new CO's arrived at an airfield. When they discovered their squadron leader was a sergeant they went to the commander telling him they wouldn't take orders from a mere NCO. The commander told them they better had because he was a bloody good pilot.
@davidpeters6536
@davidpeters6536 Жыл бұрын
Yes indeed the Polish lads were indeed fine pilots and fought like devils.
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
There's another correction, the Hurricane was designed with 4 guns, and one can see this in photos of the wooden mock-up. Two Vickers Mk V firing through the airscrew (low down in the cowl) and two in one wing (strange but true, the space on the other wing carried the landing light). When the 8-gun business came out it was discovered that the Vickers gun could not be speeded up beyond about 800 rounds per minute, it started to fail unacceptably. A contest was organised to select a new gun for the RAF. The Browning M1917 was selected as it could be speeded up to 1100-1200 rpm, modified to fire from an open breech, and capable of feeding .303 rimmed ammunition. They also modified the recoil booster, and all sorts of details, it was almost a new gun.The other near-winner was the French Darne gun, which had a very different feed mechanism and probably could not be modified to fire .303. The open-breech thing was to do with cook-off prevention, but it also made it impossible to use as a synchronised gun. Hence in the Swordfish the forward-firing gun is a Vickers (and a waste of space it was...). It was Dowding who told the chap that came up with the sums to go and show them to Hawker's and Supermarine, to include the 8 guns in their designs. What made them so effective, in spite of the relatively low power of the .303 ammo, was advanced projectile technology, namely the DeWilde bullet (which wasn't a DeWilde bullet...).
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the feedback.
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
@@touristguy87 True, but range is not an issue in air combat at that time. At 600 yards you can barely see an enemy fighter, by 400 yards you have a chance of hitting but a remote one. The RAF manual, written by some desk pilot, instructed that the guns should be harmonised at 400 yards. Experienced pilots like the Poles were coming as close as 100-150 yards to fire. I expect they got their mechanics to re-harmonise the guns, it would in part explain their higher success rate. At that range you are having something like 150 rounds per second on the target rather than in the general area, a half second accurate burst would be enough to down an enemy fighter. Hitting power very definitely was an issue, and .303 was not much (no practical difference to 30-06 or 7.92mm), which is why the RAF got explosive bullets. There was the Mk VIII .303 bullet that was boat-tailed (Spitzer) to increase the range of ground-fired machine guns, as this bullet shape handles the downrange transition from supersonic to subsonic somewhat better that the standard straight tailed bullet. This was not authorised for use in rifles nor was it used in aircraft guns. The extra 300-400 yards at maximum range is irrelevant here as combat takes place at short ranges, and the boat-tailed bullet causes much more barrel erosion with cordite propellant, which is somewhat hotter than the mono basic powders used by the US or the German propellant that had less nitro. In ground-fired machine guns a short barrel life was par for the course, and Vickers teams always had a ready stock of barrels and locks, replacing a barrel takes at most 10 minutes
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
@@touristguy87 I'll overlook the personal remarks and get to the point. The issue with mounting guns in the nose of a single-engined aircraft are 1) the rate of fire will be reduced by the interrupter gear 2) there is a limit to the number of weapons you can fit 3) some weapons are totally unsuited to synchronised firing, Taking the Fw 190 as an example, it retains the nose guns but at some point upgrades them to 13 mm, it keeps Oerlikon FF cannon but puts them in the wings outside the propellor arc, as they are impossible to synchronise, and it installs different 20 mm guns in the wing roots, firing through the propellor arc. Even so we are limited to 2 cowl guns and 2 20 mm cannon, no motor-cannon as this had a radial engine. At a squeeze they could have put 4 20 mm cannon in the wing roots and moved the undercarriage further out, obviously they thought it wasn't worth the return. For these guns to work well it was necessary to develop a reliable electrically-fired primer. I don't know all the details of this particular development, I suggest you download "The Machine Gun" by a guy called Chinn, that is a real encyclopaedia.
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
@@touristguy87 I don't really see the point of this reply. The P-51 (Merlin-engined variants) and P-47 did not have nose guns. There must have been a reason... For a start they take up valuable space near the centre of gravity of the aircraft that could be used for a fuel tank.
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
@@touristguy87 Yes and no, most designs place a fuel tank behind the engine so that it is close to the cg, it would be a bulky tank maximising capacity in relation to its (empty) weight, which depends on its wall area. Wing tanks are slender affairs that weigh more per litre carried, as well as being awkward to repair. Putting 300 litres of aviation fuel in front of the pilot and over his legs can be a bit dangerous. Hurricanes had a fuselage tank and two large wing root tanks under the pilot. Spitfires had just the fuselage tanks. The germans put a large L-shaped tank in the Bf109 behind and below the pilot which meant that as fuel was consumed there would be a significant trim change. The fuel tank was also more exposed as it was not in the "shadow" of the pilot's armour, as seen from behind. It did however provide an effective shield against small caliber inert bullets. Against explosive or incendiary bullets it was a very different business.
@gordonmurray3153
@gordonmurray3153 Жыл бұрын
In fairness, the Spitfire and Hurricane fighter pilots helped Hazel in her battle against the nazi luftewaffe. She didn't win the Battle of Britain just by herself, she had help.
@jfurl5900
@jfurl5900 Жыл бұрын
JUST A LITTLE BIT .
@davidllewis4075
@davidllewis4075 2 жыл бұрын
In 1sr grade (think 1949) our parents solemnly informed my brother and I that our sister was "retarded". She has a Masters in education, spent her life teaching children with 'developmental disabilities" and could not go on to a Doctorate because she never could do math. She is still dyslectic.
@joenisnapje712
@joenisnapje712 Жыл бұрын
It takes many ‘insignificant people’ to create an army of unsung heroes. Here is a post mortem hooray for Hazel 👏🏽🙂
@aussiefan354
@aussiefan354 2 жыл бұрын
What a hero. We need more dedicated people like her nowadays .
@davidlawrence4467
@davidlawrence4467 2 жыл бұрын
@ Bollocks.
@VileCAESARB
@VileCAESARB Жыл бұрын
Not her dad who through living a CAREER, allowed her the opportunity to help with solving the problem, Jesus people these days.
@seventhson27
@seventhson27 2 жыл бұрын
That's why the P-47 was such a badass (8x.50)
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
Would have been better off with 4 20mm cannon, to be honest. More total destructive power (by about 30%) with lower overall weight. However, US Hispanos were dimensionally incorrect and unreliable. In the P-38 there was space to recock and no issue with uneven recoil if it failed. It was finally solved right at the end of WW2 with some F4Us getting four cannon, for example, as well as the P-61, etc.
@j.dunlop8295
@j.dunlop8295 2 жыл бұрын
In 1970 the celebration of 30 anniversary of the battle of Britain I was at a boy scout jamboree London England, pilots and survivors shared their stories, and we would take a life time to appreciate it's significants! "A close run thing!" I remember.
@ninjaproofreader8289
@ninjaproofreader8289 2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting story. Thank God for the Hills
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching
@davidrumbelow
@davidrumbelow 2 жыл бұрын
I enjoyed your story, easy to listen to voice. My mum had a great story, she worked on project Pluto, checking on production quality. Whilst my father was an unwilling guest of the German government after Dunkirk. After the war he had to go back to Germany to buy machines for the company he worked for. The sales engineer just happened to be the POW camp commander.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing David
@philgiglio7922
@philgiglio7922 2 жыл бұрын
That had to be uncomfortable
@zeviono4562
@zeviono4562 Жыл бұрын
Frig! I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall then... 😂
@lambastepirate
@lambastepirate 2 жыл бұрын
The machine guns they both used where basically the same size .303 = 7.69 mm Germans used 7.92 mm and fired 50 more rounds in a minute, so very little difference. The cannons is what made the difference!
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Great feedback, thanks!
@PassportToPimlico
@PassportToPimlico 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising The argument will always exist that the RAF should have switched to heavier guns, which they did well into the war. The only other sensible point for doing this would have been to 0.5 in the very early specification. Not only would it have given greater damage but the higher velocity would have made deflection shooting much easier. Once the war had started and German invasion seemed imminent, drastic changes to ammunition supply was the last thing that was needed.
@jbepsilon
@jbepsilon 2 жыл бұрын
@@PassportToPimlico IIRC they had problems getting the reliability of the .50 MG to a satisfactory level. By the time it was good enough, they had already decided to switch to 20mm autocannons for the next generation. And of course, the early 20mm had reliability problems as well, so early in the war they got stuck with the .303. Mid-late war Spitfires usually had 2x20mm + 2x.50 standard armament, as the 4x20mm seen in later fighters like Typhoon and Tempest were considered too heavy for the lightweight Spitfire.
@davidjones332
@davidjones332 2 жыл бұрын
The RAF knew that cannons were the answer, and had looked seriously at the Hispano 20mm. However, they found the French had designed it to be mounted solidly on the engine, so the gun lacked rigidity and the stoppage rate was unacceptable in a wing installation. The Swiss Oerlikon, adopted by the Germans, had been shortened and lightened for aircraft use, giving it a poor muzzle velocity and it was fed by only a 60-round drum. The only .50 then available was long obsolete, so the multiple .303 installation was the least worst option in the late 1930s. A lot of very rapid development went on in Britain to improve the Hispano sufficiently to make it a reliable weapon.
@wanyelewis9667
@wanyelewis9667 2 жыл бұрын
The larger caliber mg's, such as the Browning .50 cal, were much more instrumental in moving air combat forward. The cannon round, the 20mm used by the Americans, was unfortunately married to the Hispano gun, which was notoriously unreliable & prone to jam. The P-38, P-61, & later versions of the F4U Corsair used it effectively. The German and Japanese 20 & 30mm cannons were more reliable, but the cartridge they used had a slow muzzle velocity and very arced trajectory. The Browning M2 essentially won the air war in WW2.
@robertnegron9706
@robertnegron9706 2 жыл бұрын
Bloody outstanding
@kiwisteve6598
@kiwisteve6598 2 жыл бұрын
I understand the same work also led to the air ministry requiring the guns not fire through the prop, as the required synchronisation reduces the rate of fire. Hence both hurricane and spitfire have all their guns outside of the propeller arc.
@carbunkle9902
@carbunkle9902 2 жыл бұрын
I'm not dyslexic, thank Dog.
@tempest957
@tempest957 Жыл бұрын
Superb, interesting, video Well done!
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@rodsmith3911
@rodsmith3911 Жыл бұрын
The dedicated women of Britain made a huge contribution to the war effort that has been sadly underestimated. My mother worked in an iron foundry, Richards in Leicester, making the cores for casting Rolls Royce aero engines for much of the war. She became forewoman over one of the production shops later in the war, but she was only one among the thousands of women who worked daily to keep our troops armed fed and able to fight. None of the victories would have been possible without their work and sacrifices.
@donaldbest1295
@donaldbest1295 2 жыл бұрын
Excellent historical details with entertainment... thanks! Subscribed to your channel.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Donald!
@mbryson2899
@mbryson2899 2 жыл бұрын
Let's not forget the significance of Miss Shilling's orifice in also making Hurricanes and Spits more effective.
@celticguy197531
@celticguy197531 2 жыл бұрын
RAE Farnborough
@brunopadovani7347
@brunopadovani7347 2 жыл бұрын
?
@mbryson2899
@mbryson2899 2 жыл бұрын
@@brunopadovani7347 Early Merlins could choke and die from certain combat maneuvers. She invented an economical and effective remedy. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Shilling%27s_orifice
@Spookieham
@Spookieham 2 жыл бұрын
@@brunopadovani7347 Miss Tilly Shilling was an engineer who solved a fuel starvation problem in combat by putting a specific hole in part of the Merlin carburettor - hence it was known as Miss Shillings orifice by the very young and extremely randy pilots.
@brunopadovani7347
@brunopadovani7347 2 жыл бұрын
@@Spookieham :) Thanks!
@helveticaification
@helveticaification Жыл бұрын
Good old/young Hazel Hill & her dad. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do - let's hope some teachers see this.
@davidwood1923
@davidwood1923 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for Sharing... Very Nice Video
@williamvasilakis9619
@williamvasilakis9619 Жыл бұрын
I loved this story...never knew this.Thank you
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@NoName-ds5uq
@NoName-ds5uq Жыл бұрын
Stories like this are just astounding! There are so many but this has to be one one the best and surprising stories of innovation as far as military aviation in the interwar years goes! Hazel deserves more credit!
@paulcrilly5773
@paulcrilly5773 2 жыл бұрын
I work with Sir Hugh downing grandson, he is a very proud of who and what his grandfather did during the war
@tuc-dh4df
@tuc-dh4df Жыл бұрын
So he should be👍👍
@silksheen100
@silksheen100 Жыл бұрын
Was it Lord Piers or his brother Mark, my step nephews?
@paulcrilly5773
@paulcrilly5773 Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your reply, I understand that you appreciate that what I have said
@robertmiller2173
@robertmiller2173 2 жыл бұрын
Good old Keith Park saved Britain and the British Empire! God Bless the Queen and God save the New King! all the way from New Zealand!
@Scriptorsilentum
@Scriptorsilentum Жыл бұрын
NZ was no slouch. I have heard accounts of what the japanese thought about the kiwis and the tongan battalion - it wasn't good. In the province of Ontario from the first part of the war there is a shrine to the Australian and New Zealand pilots KIA when training with the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. God bless Elizabeth the Second and God bless our new King! God bless the "Dominion of New Zealand"! Thank you from Canada.
@concise707
@concise707 Жыл бұрын
And his is the statue that should occupy the vacant 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square
@colinbarron4
@colinbarron4 2 жыл бұрын
There's an intersting book called 'Who Really Won the Battle of Britain' by H.R. 'Dizzy Allen. Ex - RAF fighter pilot. He said the RAF should never have used the 0.303 in Browning at all and instead gone for an armament of 4 x 0.50 in cal M2 Brownings. This would produce the same weight of fire as 12 x0.303s and had greater range. Allen said the 0.303 often failed to down aircraft. He cited examples in which a fighter fired a thousand rounds of .303 at a German bomber and it kept flying. Later in the war the Soviets received Hurricans IIbs which has 12 x 303 guns. They considered even this to have inadequate firepower and often fitted their own 12.7mm and 20mm guns to Hurricanes. The RAF should really have had the 0.50 at the start of the war and upgraded to 20mm as soon as it was available.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting you should bring this up, I've got a video coming out soon about this very question.
@colinbarron4
@colinbarron4 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising It is also well worth reading an article by Anthony G. Williams called 'Cannon or Machine Gun?'. It was published in 'Aeroplane' magazine in 2004 but also widely available on the internet via a Google search.
@operator6471
@operator6471 Жыл бұрын
makes me wonder why some info is restricted for so long- this is a beautiful, uplifting, morale-boosting story- I would have released it during the war.
@Kevin-mx1vi
@Kevin-mx1vi Жыл бұрын
I read somewhere that it was calculated that it took an average of 12 pounds (dead weight) of bullets of any calibre to hit and thereby bring down a bomber. The smaller the calibre, the more bullets were needed to make up the required 12 pounds, and the more difficult it was to get the right number of shots on target. This prompted the move toward higher calibres throughout the war, until many fighter aircraft were armed with 20mm cannons which only needed to get a small number of shots on target to deal fatal damage - a single 20mm shell would smash a main wing spar or engine block that wouldn't have been seriously damaged by a dozen .303 bullets.
@alt5494
@alt5494 Жыл бұрын
It amazing how often notable beginnings start on the kitchen table.
@ppgwhereeverett4412
@ppgwhereeverett4412 Жыл бұрын
From a 68 year old Los Angeles kid. I have dyslexia and was paddled in the fifth grade a bunch to see if that would "help" me learn better ! I too can do algebra and trig in my head !! Drives people nuts.
@dougerrohmer
@dougerrohmer Жыл бұрын
It's debatable how important in a strategic sense the Battle of Britain was. A victory at that time was definitely good for morale, but if Britain had absolutely no aircraft and pilots left by the end, they still had the Royal Navy and there was the small matter of the English Channel. Also, Winkel Brown interviewed Goering after the war, and Goering claimed that they didn't lose the Battle of Britain, it was a draw. Winkel said words to the effect "I couldn't argue that".
@upayemoony1157
@upayemoony1157 Жыл бұрын
My Grandmother made Gloucester Gladiators in the factory during the war. Bless.
@amramjose
@amramjose 2 жыл бұрын
Brilliant.
@paulinecabbed1271
@paulinecabbed1271 Жыл бұрын
How my family and people I know helped to win the war, In such a vast enterprise everyone played a part.
@fernandochavez4312
@fernandochavez4312 2 жыл бұрын
Everyone did their part, from child to old people. That’s how we were able to survive that war. Let’s hope we have what it takes to survive the next. Sadly, thank you.
@jfurl5900
@jfurl5900 Жыл бұрын
It just goes to show how every little thing affects our lives and how much even a little girl can do with a bit of help from her dad.
@tarnishedknight9909
@tarnishedknight9909 Жыл бұрын
That was a amazing story, Hazel deserves MUCH more reconnition
@anthonybanchero3072
@anthonybanchero3072 8 ай бұрын
Especially now.
@richardmoss5934
@richardmoss5934 2 жыл бұрын
3:00 Decimate? Either you destroy it or you don't!!
@Allan_aka_RocKITEman
@Allan_aka_RocKITEman 8 ай бұрын
Great video, Phil...👍
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 8 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@marvwatkins7029
@marvwatkins7029 2 жыл бұрын
Hooray for Hazel Hill! Name a plane or base for her, RAF!
@raymondweaver8526
@raymondweaver8526 Жыл бұрын
Or an airbase
@timengineman2nd714
@timengineman2nd714 Жыл бұрын
My parents were baffled by the fact I was great at math, until it came to adding and/or subtracting a lot of numbers in a single problem (like adding the total cost of 12 parts for my hobby before my paying them and their writing a check for the mail order....). It wasn't until 1996 that when I was reading a log report from the shift before me that I "proved" to myself that I was indeed Dyslexic (I had begun to suspect once more and more shows had a dyslexic person on them...) And during school when reading something quickly (like reviewing the textbook the night before a big test) something didn't make any sense, but when I reread the passage, it made perfect sense! (Namely I had flipped a letter or lost a space between words)).
@maxmoore9955
@maxmoore9955 2 жыл бұрын
I've heard the story before, but after school, and higher education, Why this Girl is Not Recognised more ,I'm at a Loss to understand.
@thehorsecockexpress1068
@thehorsecockexpress1068 2 жыл бұрын
Because she was not the first to do it, the Germans a s Americans had already worked the math out.
@maxmoore9955
@maxmoore9955 2 жыл бұрын
@@thehorsecockexpress1068 Her and her Father were 1st to do it for the British Spitfire .What the hell l you on about Americans,
@jeffslade1892
@jeffslade1892 2 жыл бұрын
One reason for Britain persisting to use the .303 was that we had such a huge surplus of them from WW1 that there was no need to manufacture any during WW2. At the time fire rate was not measured in rounds per minute but pounds per minute and the rifle guns acquitted themselves quite well. British cannon were not explosive but solid shell, much heavier but slower fire rate. The 12-gun Hurrie Mk.IIA Series 2 (Feb 41) where largely converted to Mk.IIB (April 41) and Mk.IIC (cannons) as by then taking on ground attack roles. The cannons were probably more effective against light armour than the Mk.IID Tin Opener
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Great info, thanks!
@JevansUK
@JevansUK 2 жыл бұрын
I was under the impression the British developed Ball, AP, HE, Incendiary and Tracer rounds for the HS 20mm and the loads were mixed.
@alexsandersmith1880
@alexsandersmith1880 2 жыл бұрын
I thought you were covering Miss Shilling. Very good video, I just subscribed.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the sub! Ms Shilling is on my list for a future video.
@bobrussell3602
@bobrussell3602 Жыл бұрын
Wow ! What a brilliant video. Keep 'em coming !!
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Will do!
@iRDaBrit
@iRDaBrit 2 жыл бұрын
Thank you, Hazel.
@kuukeli
@kuukeli Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the video
@gustavoheberle6265
@gustavoheberle6265 Жыл бұрын
What a beautiful story ! Congratulations Hazel !
@richardbell466
@richardbell466 2 жыл бұрын
Unsung hero
@kevin-parratt-artist
@kevin-parratt-artist Жыл бұрын
Fascinating. ☆☆☆☆☆ Liked and subscribed. Thank you 👌
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising Жыл бұрын
Awesome, thank you!
@batreddivenkataramarao8115
@batreddivenkataramarao8115 2 жыл бұрын
Air Marshal Hugh Dowdings vision Won the air battle of Britain and the air support during the operation overlord and allies landing on the beaches of Normandy and the race to Berlin. Unsung hero of WW2.GOD BLESS HIS SOUL🌹💐🙏
@ricardodavidson3813
@ricardodavidson3813 2 жыл бұрын
There is an error here (at least one!), the Bf109's armament was 2 x 7.92 mm MG17 machine guns on the cowling, a favourite of German (and Soviet) pilots. They. tried putting in a third one firing through the airscrew when the proposed armament of the Hurricane became known, but this was a failure and it remained a 2-gun fighter almost up to the start of WW2. Only the D model had 4 MG17 guns, 2 in the cowl and 2 in the wings. The Bf109E, which was the mainstay during the BoB and had 2 x MG17 and 2 x Oerlikon FF cannon in gondolas under the wing, no "motor cannon". Later variants dropped the wing guns altogether and put 13 mm machine guns in the nose and a large, powerful cannon firing through the airscrew. The wings of the Bf109 were not suitable for armament due to space and structural limitations.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the feedback.
@markfryer9880
@markfryer9880 2 жыл бұрын
Of course inspection of downed aircraft during the BoB showed that it was taking too many rounds of 303 ammunition to bring down the bombers. The only way to successfully down an enemy aircraft was to attack head on and aim for the cockpit to take out the pilot and crew. This was a bit too blood thirsty for most RAF pilots who preferred to shoot down the aircraft. Examination of damage to Hurricanes and Spitfires also showed clearly the effects of 20 mm cannon fire on aircraft structures. There was one Squadron trialling cannon armed Spitfires during the Battle, but they experienced so many stoppages that they reverted back to their 8 303 machine gun armed Spitfires. Later Marks of Spitfires would be armed with an increasing weight of fire power from cannons and also .50 Cal. machine guns. Mark from Melbourne Australia
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
I remember reading that Douglas Bader dragged his feet on converting to a cannon armed VB post-BOB. He let everyone else get equipped with one before he swapped out his VA. Didn't trust the new guns apparently.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising From what I've heard of Bader he had a reputation of being a ... well despite his heroic achievements and undoubted skills ... a bit of a dick. Not an uncommon affliction from some of the higher ranking British officers of the time. Its understandable that he would want to stick with what he knew worked and wouldn't be happy about change.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
@@Deevo037 Yes, I heard he was a bit of a bastard too. He's definitely one of my boyhood heroes, but facts are facts, lol.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising As a bi lateral amputee myself I can respect his achievements but for disability advocacy I have more time for Adam Hills quite frankly.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
The use of 20mm cannon for RAF fighters was IIRC, from 1937. Certainly the Hawker proposals for a Hurricane follow-on from that year included them, and I think that was a response to the specification that led to the Whirlwind. So the RAF knew 20mm cannon were going to be required. Supermarine's response was the 'double Spitfire' (323?) with 6 20mm cannon and optionally 12 .303s in addition, but for ground strafing only for the latter.
@johnchen9930
@johnchen9930 2 жыл бұрын
My uncle Moon flew P-47 with 14th Air Force over China during WW 2. In order to take more ammo and rockets they strip P-47 from 8 to 6 x M2 Browning .50 guns. A 2-second burst on a Zero would chop the wing off, or blow it up when hitting the fuselage. He got shot down near the Chinese coast but survived to tell stories. 😎
@clavo3352
@clavo3352 2 жыл бұрын
Very good story! Hazel Hill is my hero for now!
@janwitts2688
@janwitts2688 2 жыл бұрын
I think I remember some gladiator being fitted with 6 mgs which given reduced speed was equivalent to about 7.2mgs for a pass
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Interesting, have to look that up.
@markl1733
@markl1733 2 жыл бұрын
When was this information finally declassified and made available to the public?
@carlgomm9699
@carlgomm9699 Жыл бұрын
It may be a little off topic but many years ago I was given an English 5 pound note by a lady that survived the bombing of London, will never forget how she described that time in life to me,yes I still have the note, it's a very cherished belonging to me
@ScooterFXRS
@ScooterFXRS 2 жыл бұрын
.303 when you should have developed a much bigger caliber gun with better ballistics. Then again Britain had it's back to the wall and had to make use of available resources.
@paulpaxtop1580
@paulpaxtop1580 2 жыл бұрын
Despite the magnificent efforts of the RAF in the Battle of Britain any invasion plans of Hitler had already been nullified by the Royal Navies actions in Norway when the German navy was badly beaten with several key ships destroyed, Hitler simply did not have the naval ships available to protect an invasion.
@shivajivythi7307
@shivajivythi7307 Жыл бұрын
Thank you Hesel. 🙏🙏🙏 regards from india
@niklar55
@niklar55 Жыл бұрын
I'm also dyslexic, but didn't discover that until I was around 60, which went a long way to explaining my problems with school teachers. However, Math was also one of my strong subjects.😊 .
@andrewcomerford264
@andrewcomerford264 2 жыл бұрын
Ironically, the Bf109 was designed for only 2 machine-guns, according to specification.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
1 20mm cannon or 2 MGs as originally required by the RLM.
@the.parks.of.no.return
@the.parks.of.no.return 2 жыл бұрын
Its like the film with those ladies that made the moon missions possible, if that school girl hadn't done those calculations britain would have lost the war. Statue anyone?
@larryweiss7170
@larryweiss7170 2 жыл бұрын
The .50 machine gun was developed to stop machines. The .30/.303 was developed to use against troops. What idiot chose a .303 over the readily available .50? That has constantly amazed me.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
I'm with you on that one.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
The RAF intended to move to 20mm and skip .50 by-and-large. However, prior to WW2 a lot of work was being done on moving to .50 defensive armament for bombers, but even that was expected to move to 20mm cannon (see the Bristol B.17 in the Lincoln) and for .50 to be a stop-gap it wasn't worth developing ammunition production for. The eight-gun fighters were 1934 designs, the RAF asked for 4 20mm cannon in 1937. So the stop-gap stop-gap was putting on lots of .303s which were thought to be sufficient for the 1937-40 period before 20mm was fitted and was still expected to be prior to an outbreak of WW2 reckoned to be in the 1941-2 period. So it wasn't really a case of choosing 303 over 50 but more not choosing 50 over 20mm. In the end, war was declared and instead 50 was put on hold as it wasn't then possible to get information to allow manufacture, it was too expensive to buy them for cash, and it was important for the fighters to have SOMETHING, and the Browning and its ammunition were in local production. When the USA joined the war, 50s could then have been obtained or local production set up, but by then 20mm was entrenched for fighters and the USA wanted all the 50s it could make. Arthur Harris was livid that all the 50 turrets had been cancelled in 1939, though, and wanted 50s for bomber ASAP, but MAP dithered, authorised, cancelled, re-authorised etc.
@HORNET6
@HORNET6 2 жыл бұрын
Read Sigh for a Merlin by Alex Henshaw and Hurricane by Leo McKinstry
@larryweiss7170
@larryweiss7170 2 жыл бұрын
@@wbertie2604 The problem that I have is that they COULD have started with the readily available .50 Browning, a machine killer, THEN switched to whatever they wanted. .303's puts the pilot at an extreme disadvantage in a dog fight or even, for example, strafing most ground targets. The range differences between the 2 are extreme. Even the Japanese had 2 7.7's AND 2 20mm cannons from the beginning.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
@@larryweiss7170 in the mid 1930s the UK had large stocks of 303 ammunition and a multiplicity of machine guns firing that apparently seemed like a good option as a stop gap pending cannon. The RAF wasn't really expecting to actually have to go to war with machine gun armed fighters. To the RAF, as a fighter armanent, 50 calibre probably looked like a distraction and France, Germany, USSR, Japan AND the USA were all looking to cannon in the second half of the 1930s. The USA luckily had a good heavy machine gun to fallback on as it couldn't get its preferred cannon and messed up dimensionally with the Hispano. The UK looking even at 50 calibre guns for turrets was only supposed to be a stop gap with bombers expected to have 8 20mm cannon by around 1944, not that thus actually happened, but there was work on cannon turrets
@Completeaerogeek
@Completeaerogeek Жыл бұрын
There's a bit more to it than that. Then SQNLDR Ralph Sorley leading the Operational Requirements section at the Air Ministry in 1933 when Operational Requirement F.36/34, which governed the procurement of both the Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane, was actually the driving force behind this change. The specification was amended on his recommendation (assisted by Hill's data) to change the armament from two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine guns in each wing to four .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings.. This was not an easy argument to win add he fought very hard to make the 8 gun fighter a reality.
@bentonmarcum8924
@bentonmarcum8924 Жыл бұрын
Took a long time getting to the point
@Joe3pops
@Joe3pops 2 жыл бұрын
Very inspiring war story! Youth of merely 13 helps laying groundwork for airborne air interception. You need to award her or her surviving family a kind of air medal or a medal recognizing superior citizenship effort.
@craigpennington1251
@craigpennington1251 Жыл бұрын
Hazel was cute too. The younger generation knows more than given credit for & this proves it. England had all ages working & contributing to the effort of keeping their country. I don't think it would be so for America today or England either if it were to happen again. Who knows. Great video on a forgotten subject.
@daveintheblackhills282
@daveintheblackhills282 Жыл бұрын
The number of guns was a constraint that did not have to be. The British were FIXED on using their standard 303 round for most of their rifles and guns. The round was developed in 1888 as a black powder round then upgraded to use smokeless powder. They used that round for their rifles and later machine guns. They had plants all set up to make that round and millions of rounds in storage. They just could not afford the time and money it would take to come up with a bigger better round. So what you miss in mass you make up in volume of guns firing. Today you see the opposite with planes like the A10 that has only one gun but it fires a massive round of depleted uranium.
@barry7608
@barry7608 Жыл бұрын
Awesome thanks
@georgeferguson7114
@georgeferguson7114 2 жыл бұрын
The Navy and the Army used half inch Vickers machine guns. Surely a tad short sighted for the RAF not to use them as a stop gap.
@taffwob
@taffwob 2 жыл бұрын
The 0.5 Vickers was not conducive to being wing mounted in aircraft hence the use of Browning model guns in 0.303. The RAF was looking before WW2 to move from rifle calibre weapons to 20mm cannon and by-passed the interim use of 0.5 calibre machine guns. Some late model Spitfires did replaced the 4 x x0.303 guns for 2 x 0.5 guns though. Additionally though they were were of the same calibre as M2 Browning's the Vickers cartridge had a lot less power than the 0.50 BMG cartridge. The Army & Navy soon phased out the 0.5 Vickers as soon as it could, relegating it's use to arm Coastal Vessels until adequate supplies of 20mm cannon could be sourced. It was also used to beef up the armament of LRDG trucks and the like. I agree that the RAF hanging on to the rifle calibre machine gun as an aircraft armament was flawed and a larger calibre gun would have been much more effective but like lots of things with military procurement, events and circumstances get in the way of future plans and you get stuck with weapons that were due to be replaced.
@HORNET6
@HORNET6 2 жыл бұрын
It wouldn’t fit in the wings
@carlwessels2671
@carlwessels2671 2 жыл бұрын
@@taffwob The Browning .50 was about 5 times the muzzle energy of the .303, the Vickers .50 was about 3 times the muzzle energy of the .303,and might have been pushed a bit harder with American powders. Still herder hitting as is than the .303.
@carlwessels2671
@carlwessels2671 2 жыл бұрын
Harder.
@PaulP999
@PaulP999 Жыл бұрын
Don't forget the mum who kept them supplied with tea and the family dog who was careful not to disturb them.
@jamessimms415
@jamessimms415 Жыл бұрын
I suspect I was Dyslexic back when I was growing up, but it wasn’t a ‘Thing’ back in the mid 70’s. I had an Algebra (the Common Core math of the day) teacher dog cuss me out in front of the class one day. I was still having problems even w/an out of class Tutor. Couldn’t do anything to him because he belonged to a special class of people in Selma, AL less than 10 years after the Marches.
@chrisaskin6144
@chrisaskin6144 Жыл бұрын
Didn't Hazel Hill (and her father) also work out that Hurricane and Spitfire machine guns should be harmonised to converge at a point (about 300yds possibly?) that was closer than what was the previously accepted norm for maximum effectiveness?
@Trillock-hy1cf
@Trillock-hy1cf Жыл бұрын
Just a quick note, that on those pictures of machine guns, those pictured are not Brownings, but German MG42's. Interesting video though, and did not know about this young talented girl helping her father to sort our the fire power problems of the Spitfire, and Hurricane, so have another 'like'.....😀
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the correction.
@Trillock-hy1cf
@Trillock-hy1cf Жыл бұрын
@@CalibanRising Thanks for the video....subscribed...
@paulbrennan3091
@paulbrennan3091 2 жыл бұрын
All very well to have Good artillery at hand ,What about the Pilots & men that used them ! Perhaps ,that attributed to Win the battle of Britain ,more then anything Else ! In my mind ,I believe the Polish fighter pilot's,that flew the Spitfires, were the finest fighter Pilots to fight for the British Empire in Word war 2. My Dad wanted & tried to be a Spitfire fighter pilot, passed all the necessary exams,but still did not get a Seat ! But The Stories He told me were nothing more then amazing, Fornominal , to Say the least ! And when it was won,Received very little Reward or Accommodation from Any one ! But had they not been there ,Maybe it may well have been a very different outcome ? He believed their Contribution to Win against the Lufawauffer, Can never be under estimated ! Thank U ,always appreciated .
@Scriptorsilentum
@Scriptorsilentum Жыл бұрын
the poles engaged german bombers at much closer ranges bringing all eight MGs on their hurricanes to bear - their gunfire "harmonised" on a target. literally, the poles grabbed the germans "by the belt buckle".
@benjaminrush4443
@benjaminrush4443 Жыл бұрын
Great Story.
@roccobruno8027
@roccobruno8027 2 жыл бұрын
What a wonderful history.
@Crusty_Camper
@Crusty_Camper Жыл бұрын
There was another lady, I believe she was a secretary in the war office, who also made a difference in the performance of fighters in WW2. The problem was that in periods of negative G, fuel would move away from the carburettor, starving the engine. Her idea was to fit a barrier that would slow the movement of fuel during violent manoeuvres but allow it to flow sufficient to power the engine at all times. The young pilots called it, "Miss Shilling's Orifice".
@donerskine7935
@donerskine7935 Жыл бұрын
Almost correct. In fact, Beatrice Shilling was an accomplished and experienced aeronautical engineer, with a Master's degree in mechanical engineering.
@Sinistercabbage
@Sinistercabbage 2 жыл бұрын
So some person who never came up with the idea of uparming fighters (tbh it was obvious to everyone) is given credit for winning BoB? Let me guess, the (average) number of bullets required to bring an aircraft down probably had to stem from some real life experiment/experience, not from calculation. Then knowing how long of a time on target you get and the available armament ie its rate of fire and dispersion you can work out how many guns you need. But...this isnt exactly groundbreaking. So what exactly did she do? Just this? IE what I am saying is that the real work is to design some sort of methodology to work out how many bullets you need to shoot down enemy aircraft, not how many guns you need to deliver the bullets.
@gordonmurray3153
@gordonmurray3153 Жыл бұрын
We might realistically ask why the RAF settled on •303 machineguns, instead of •5 calibre machineguns, or 20mm autocanons. But Hazel reckoned •303s were the way to go.
@nightjarflying
@nightjarflying Жыл бұрын
This is before WWII & firing tests indicated that a “bigger bullet” was of marginal benefit compared to the much greater number of bullets that 303 weapons could deliver & at that time armour plating was hardly used. For the same weight, you could have eight 303s and send 160 bullets a second towards your target or three M2 .50″ guns, firing 30-40 bullets a second between them. At that time 20 mm cannon was out of the question because they weren't reliable - the cannon used a 60-round drum magazine that jammed often. The RAF stripped cannon out of their Battle of Britain fighters & replaced with machine guns. The 303 was frustratingly ineffective against the Germans early on because the guns were set up to converge at a point too far away in front - around 250 metres. The very effective interim solution was to fly a lot closer to the target with guns converging to a point as little as 110 metres away - thus the BIG problem turned out to be not the guns, but the way they were used. It was all about getting in close & blasting away for two seconds - that delivered a lot of lead on target. Notably the Hurricane [the BoB killer] had a heavier 'punch' than the Spit because it was set to converge closer than the Spit in the early days & it was used against bigger, less nimble targets. Cannon didn't become practical until 1941-42 with improvements such as belt feed
@gordonmurray3153
@gordonmurray3153 Жыл бұрын
@@nightjarflying yeah because nobody else in the world had machine guns or Motorkanone with a calibre greater than •303 before the nazis invaded Belgium and the Low Countries, so it would never have occured to anybody to use multiples of 50cal or 20mm.
@nightjarflying
@nightjarflying Жыл бұрын
@@gordonmurray3153 Oh, you are one of those snippy little fellows who asks a question & ungratefully leans on the sarcasm when he dislikes an answer. Different rules for know-it-all Scots cvnts I suppose. The RAF was well aware of the need for something like an Hispano, but it took a devilishly long time to integrate a reliable version with belt feed into operational aircraft. Now away with you back to your ukulele, porridge & Jamie Oliver recipes you prize chump.
@gordonmurray3153
@gordonmurray3153 Жыл бұрын
@@nightjarflying my bad, I simply don't suffer fools gladly. When folk say stupid stuff it brings out the dry wit, that sadly fools have a tendency to do. Not that I'm saying you're stupid, just that you're talking stupid. The Luftewaffe was using the Bf109 throughout the Spanish civil war, with eg that characteristic 20mm Motorkanone firing though the hub of its spinner. My understanding is that we have the Poles to thank for the innovation of having the •303s on their Hurricanes zeroed in so close, based on their own preferences, drawn from fighting experience. I've read that British and Commonwealth RAF pilots, were reported as initially believing the Poles were so crazed with hatred, thought they were actually trying to ram Luftewaffe aircraft.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
Wow. I had heard the story that RJ Mitchell and Henry Royce between them had decided to disregard the RAF specification and came up with the Spitfire (and the Merlin engine) design and that eight guns were needed to be effective but I wasn't aware that this was the source of those figures.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
The specification was changed from four to eight and Mitchel struggled to fit them in. The Hurricane had a thicker, more basic wing design not so tightly packed with stuff, making it easier.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
@@wbertie2604 That was one of the main reasons the Spitfire had such a broad wing surface, it also had the side effect of making the design have a very low stall speed.
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
@@Deevo037 Indeed. 'The smallest wing that could fit eight guns' Mitchell is alleged to have said. The wing shape of the immediate 4 gun predecessor was different.
@Deevo037
@Deevo037 2 жыл бұрын
@@wbertie2604 The initial design that Mitchell came up with looked more like a cross between a Stuka and an F4 Corsair. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Type_224
@wbertie2604
@wbertie2604 2 жыл бұрын
@@Deevo037 that's a design for a - from memory - 1930 specification. There were a series of intermediate steps before the Spitfire itself. For example, the move to a flat wing rather than inverted gull but still retaining evaporative cooling. That's the period of development I'm really alluding to with a four gun armament. At this point the wing plaform was more reminiscent of a Bf. 109F, but with a bit more taper at the rear. I'd need to find a link as I can't attach a scan from my books. Given the location of other structures in the wings it wasn't then possible to put a bank of four guns next to each other in the wing, so they got dotted around with the ones furthest out requiring an elliptical wing to fit them in.
@jerrybailey5797
@jerrybailey5797 2 жыл бұрын
Very interesting topic . Alot of things tye women did during the second WW , was pivtol in keeping Britain ahead of the game
@dabouras
@dabouras 2 жыл бұрын
The US considered upgrading to 60 caliber machine guns but decided against it as the manufacturing and stocking expenses were not worth the extra punch. Later on jets the US tried numerous small diameter unguided rockets to replace the 50s, but accuracy just wasn't there.
@CalibanRising
@CalibanRising 2 жыл бұрын
Interesting!
@jeffward9174
@jeffward9174 Жыл бұрын
Is the .303 round the same as the calibre as the Lee Enfield rifle.
@kristoffersmith8289
@kristoffersmith8289 Жыл бұрын
Gees what an Disney exaggeration.. "the teenage girl that won the battle of Britain". She helped her genius dad a bit.
@aaronsanborn4291
@aaronsanborn4291 2 жыл бұрын
The .303 was honestly too lightweight a round. Even the original P-40s had two .50cal guns from the start (later models had 6) and the Wildcat had 4 of the .50cal. The British should have at least had a mix of .303s and .50cal on their fighters the same as we Americans had .30-06 and .50cal on several models leading up to and into WW2
@ericadams3428
@ericadams3428 Жыл бұрын
The .50 calibre was looked at pre war by the British but the guns they examined had a much slower rate of fire and each one weighed three times the weight of a .303 browning gun and so eight .303 brownings were seen as the better bet. The .50 calibre was greatly improved to give a much higher rate of fire which was handy for the US as it entered WW2 and by the time the RAF looked at it again during the war the 20mm cannon was seen as the future though some 0.50's were fitted to some RAF aircraft.
@GenerationKill001
@GenerationKill001 Жыл бұрын
At 5:12... "So the story goes..." Basically, maybe it happened or maybe it didn't.
@thefurrybastard1964
@thefurrybastard1964 Жыл бұрын
Liked and shared. Heroes should always be remembered!
@RedRodders
@RedRodders Жыл бұрын
The way the eight guns were zeroed made a difference RAF zeroing scattered bullets from wing tip to wing tip of an enemy plane. Polish pilots had their zero set to concentrate fire on the engine and pilot area and from a closer distance, this they proved to be devastating!
@stevenwilgus8982
@stevenwilgus8982 2 жыл бұрын
So often, the absolutely indispensable contribution by women was not appreciated. Hedy Lamar is also one such lady.
@thehorsecockexpress1068
@thehorsecockexpress1068 2 жыл бұрын
Hedy idea was never used and was shelved. She sold war bonds..
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