A Duel of Aces - The Famous Dogfight of Werner Molders and Sailor Malan - WWII Historic Recreation

[@TJ3]

Thanks for watching! Please consider joining my Patreon here! www.patreon.com/TJ3Gaming - Also, important historical note - Some recent historians have also considered the possibility that it may have also been J.T. "Terry" Webster of 41 squadron who may have hit Molders on this day. Make sure to click subscribe and comment any ideas for future videos :)

[@antartis73]

Why not correct the title then??? Just wanting those likes 👍🏻 I guess eh? All my sources confirm Flt Lt. John Webster as the pilot that shot down Molders on July 28 1940 hardly the beginning of the battle; Also Molders injuries had him in hospital for a month till he recovered

[@TJ3]

@@antartis73 it is not accepted that JT shot him down, it is just a theory. It is the subject of debate. There are plenty of sources and historians that still believe Malan to be the shooter.

[@andreasbonaparte8171]

Hey can you make a video about a Japanese ace Tetzuo also known as “Tiger Tetzu” who scored 100 kill if I remember. Well Japanese ace are so underrated. It would be nice if you can.

[@steveperreira5850]

Dear. TJ3: If you ever get the chance, look up the encounter that Robert S Johnson had with a superb Nazi fighter pilot, as described in Johnson’s book “thunderbolt.“ In that encounter Johnson eventually got the upper hand and chewed up the Nazi fighter plane and the pilot was attempting to bail out whereas Johnson fired warning salvo bursts to make the pilot get back in the cockpit, which he did. Johnson made that Nazi fly the stricken plane into the ground and die. Johnson did this on purpose because he did not want that “Hun” ( his words) to bail out over friendly territory and live to fight another day where he most certainly would kill other allied aviators, so skilled was he. I really enjoyed this story that you tell because it hasn’t happy ending, the Nazi bastard dies in the end, ha ha Ha. I was born in the 50s so I am exempt from political correctness and don’t forget, you would’ve never been born and neither would have I, and my parents would have been lampshades had the Nazis prevailed.

[@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373]

Germans cold not replace pilots ,when shot down they either died or where captured

[@razorback20]

To Sailor Malan's credit, one must mention a document he released during his career : Sailor Malan's 10 Rules of Air Fighting, which has been a life-saving reminder for many RAF pilots throughout the war.

[@catinthehat906]

Strange that Malan didn't finish him off considering Molders' plane was crippled- would have saved a lot of Allied pilots if he had.

[@michaelschulz9164]

And after the war Gallant was asked by NATO to advise on fighter tactics against the communists.

[@ianrkav]

Ironic his first name was Adolph:-) Anyway, here's his ten rules; Wait until you see the whites of his eyes. Fire short bursts of one to two seconds only when your sights are definitely “ON”. Whilst shooting think of nothing else, brace the whole of your body: have both hands on the stick: concentrate on your ring sight. Always keep a sharp lookout. ‘Keep your finger out’. Height gives you the initiative. Always turn and face the attack. Make your decisions promptly. It is better to act quickly even though your tactics are not the best. Never fly straight and level for more than 30 seconds in the combat area. When diving to attack always leave a proportion of your formation above to act as a top guard. INITIATIVE, AGGRESSION, AIR DISCIPLINE, and TEAMWORK are words that MEAN something in Air Fighting. Go in quickly - Punch hard - Get out!

[@TraditionalAnglican]

@@catinthehat906 - Sailor Malan had no way of knowing he had just hit Werner Molders’ aircraft or how many a/c Molders would shoot down afterwards. He did know there was a melee going on, that the a/c he had just shot was out of the fight & that his mates were outnumbered & couldn’t afford his absence.

[@steveperreira5850]

That is the kind of information other pilots need from the upper crust aviators!!

[@michaelschulz9164]

.... a bit of name dropping .... my uncle put Molders through his basic training in Allenstein East Prussia ... and kept up a correspondence with him until his death.

[@christianmotley262]

Interesting. Thank you for that history.

[@sztypettto]

Thank you for your Uncle and Mölders' service! They will not be forgotten.

[@tarikwildman]

@@sztypettto Well, clearly you are not Jewish !

[@nivek5031]

@@tarikwildman 😁

[@paoloviti6156]

Very interesting, thanks for the heads up 👍👍

[@liverpoolscottish6430]

This account is misleading. Sailor Malan provides an account of this action in the book, 'Sky Tiger.' This action lasted seconds, and didn't involve extensive air combat manoeuvring. Molders had just shot down one of Malan's Sqn members, and Malan was in a position to deliver a quick deflection snap shot at Molder's aircraft. Being a superlative marksman- on par with both Johnny Johnson, and RCAF pilot George Beurling, Malan scored a hit on both the aircraft, and Molder's himself, he sustained a bullet through the thigh. Malan was South African, and earned the soubriquet, 'Sailor,' due to his time in the merchant navy prior to joining the RAF. He was arguably the finest RAF fighter leader of WW2- alongside Johnny Johnson- the highest scoring allied ace.

[@simulatedpilot3441]

I guess you forget that the russians were allies because that's where the highest scoring ace flew, but other than that I agree with your comment completely

[@liverpoolscottish6430]

@@simulatedpilot3441 I was referring to the western allies.

[@therealmrfishpaste]

...you're forgetting about Pat Pattle....

[@simulatedpilot3441]

@@therealmrfishpaste I thought the Western leading allied ace was Richard Bong with 40 or 42 and then the Kozhedub with 62 including a few P-51s that messed with the wrong La7 my kill numbers are approximations off the top of my head. Im 42 years old i've been studying world war II since I was 20 something that's fascinated me so this is not something to argue over, all allied pilots that helped defeat the Nazis are to be revered.

[@therealmrfishpaste]

@@simulatedpilot3441 Pattle was another South African flying in the RAF who is credited with at least 40 kills, probably 57 and possibly as many as 70...his total tally is hard to know because he was operating in an obscure theatre (Crete and Greece) with very few observers to confirm kills, and all of his squadron records were lost during the war, and so were the records of the entire Luftwaffe air wing that faced him. Furthermore, Pattle was famously unconcerned with his kill tally. He achieved 5 kills in one day on three occasions and even managed 6 kills on one day.

[@lancemurdoc6744]

It is always difficult to judge such fights. The fighting time for the BF 109 was extrem limited over Britain. And the Strategie of low flying over the channel set the BF 109 in a bad position. Because height is an advantage. People forgett, the RAF pilotes where albe to play for time. When the enemy run out of Gas, it was easy to chase them on their way home. So I guess this fight was not the dramatic Hollywood-like duell between 2 aces we all expect.

[@geldoncupi1]

@@nolanbowen8800 don't give a fuck of your opinion about luftwaffe, but he was just giving a real good opinion about the video.

[@jamesjack6769]

Bowen is a Brexitard. 😉

[@andym9571]

Well it depends where the dogfight took place. In many cases the Luftwaffe bases in France were actually closer to the fight over southern England than the RAF bases were.

[@jamesjack6769]

@@andym9571 That is not true.

[@hunormagyar1843]

@@andym9571 They still wouldn't become POWs if they didn't land at their home base, instead a random British airfiekd, unlike the Germans...

[@mirkovic]

This encounter was one of the missions in Lucas Art “Battle of Britain” PC game… how graphics have improved since… awesome work… bravo 👏🏼

[@jonathanstapp3234]

Very few remember that old game. It had a cardboard wheel that you had to use to correctly answer the question to let you open the game. Lucasfilm I believe and their finest hour battle of Britain. The graphics are unreal now for sure

[@mirkovic]

@@jonathanstapp3234 graphics were very simple, the flying model a joke... but I stayed up until the crack of dawn building bomber and escort crews....

[@mattboggs]

@@mirkovic Yes, Battlehawks 1942, Their Finest Hour, and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, none of them were as pretty or as realistic as DCS or IL-2, but they were all more fun to play.

[@dariusjavidan5609]

Oh good old BoB. One of my fave games. Wish they would remake it

[@dylanmccallister1888]

You're getting old. But i better be quiet im still old enough to remember a few surviving arcade versions of the game

[@herbertmische8660]

Great, fantastic and immortal Werner Möders!!! Respect forever!!! 👍👍👍

[@kristopherjohnston2216]

Thanks for the video , always enjoyable. The first time I heard about Sailor was while reading a book called “ Tucks Luck” About Stanford R. Tuck . Incredible story, great read . I highly recommend it

[@charlesarmstrong5292]

As a born South African I am so proud to say that Sailor Malan was also a born South African. Malan was born in in 1910 and then served in the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy Reserve, which later earned him the nickname 'Sailor Malan'. He joined the RAF in 1935 and by 1939 was acting flight lieutenant of 74 Squadron.

[@granthendriksz2507]

A little known fact.

[@cl50247]

Germans learned not to mess with a South African sheep farmer!

[@horvathstefan7774]

talking about cmdr. A.G Malan, who had flown with Al Deere, and Pierre 'Clo-Clo' Clostermann?

[@horvathstefan7774]

@Prestallar and He is a Great man, too

[@victorhughadlard1031]

I understood Malan became a politician after the war ...? Am I correct ?

[@andrewb4470]

It should have been mentioned that Sailor Malan was born in South Africa, and did not just go live on a sheep farm in S.A after the war. He was one of 25 South Africans who flew for the RAF in the Battle of Britain.

[@Witsend859]

Also, he gives the impression that the war is between England and Germany, as you say, Sailor was South African and there were many Poles fighting in the RAF. I seem to remember the whole of the UK was part of the war, not just England.

[@andrewb4470]

@@Witsend859 Thank you for your comment and what you say is true - the narration wasn't as explanatory as it should have been.

[@georgemiller151]

This dogfight probably never happened. From Wikipedia: “Legend has it that on 28 July he (Malan) met Werner Mölders in combat, damaging his plane and wounding him, but failing to bring him down. Recent research has suggested however that Mölders was wounded in a fight with No. 41 Squadron RAF.”

[@Barefoot-Bob]

you have to take some of these records with a grain of salt . War is nothing short of organized chaos, and records can easily be faulty , even as meticulous as the Germans tried to be.

[@B4sicKnowledge]

wikipedia isn't really a reliable source.

[@freigeist2814]

everyone wants to be the one who shot down the ace

[@Whoopu2]

Man could you imagine living in Southern England or Wales at the time and watching this stuff go down right over your head day after day? You might even end up capturing a Luftwaffe airman!

[@johncartwright8154]

An Aunt lived in Deal, Kent at the time, and recalled the fighting. she said she felt outraged and personally violated seeing those hundreds of German aircraft crossing the coast, sometimes 300 at a time! My Father was a despatch rider involved in liaison between 'Eastern command' HQ and airfield defence. If he had not stopped one day for a crafty cuppa and a smoke he would of been arriving at North Weald airfield the same time as the Hun bombers did, 16:30 on the 24th August. 9 of the Essex regiment , manning the AA guns there were killed in this first of a number of raids on this fighter Command Field. He 'copped it' later on, almost 80 years to the day, in North Africa, just days before the Axis surrendered in Tunisia. His severe injuries leading to a full leg amputation.

[@Whoopu2]

@@johncartwright8154 Wow thanks for sharing! Tough times for the British people, that's for sure. Greetings from the USA

[@TyroneSayWTF]

Good job putting this short documentary together.

[@robmiller1964]

I have read a great deal of books on Aviation history and Technology of pre WW2 and post WW2 and I have never heard of Sailor Malan. Its great to learn something new!

[@benlewis2475]

He was probably the most effective fighter leader of the battle. According to Johnnie Johnson who ended the war as the top RAF fighter pilot in terms of kills.

[@blackbaron2572]

He's fairly prominent, really. 34 kills. Almost every book on ww2 aces includes him

[@Skye-xj3bx]

I love love LOVE it that you show us the battle on il2 with a mix of real videos, just amazing editing and content

[@losonsrenoster]

I did not know of this dogfight, thanks for showing this, just for acuracy: Sailor Malans Spitfire was marked ZP A.

[@DannyBoy777777]

@Johan Ferreira Thats because it didn't happen. Historians now know that neither came into contact with the other; the times and place of their engagements that day do not match.

[@philpeko1796]

@@DannyBoy777777 Interesting, I would like to read your Historical sources, sincerely. What are they?

[@mikebrase5161]

The Museum of Flight in Seattle at Boeing field has a pretty good plaque/monument on Sailor Malan. I have a good friend from South Africa who I sent the pictures to.

[@rybuds47]

Cool where is that if you dont mind i would like to see it next time i go the museum. Cheers.

[@mikebrase5161]

@@rybuds47 re-read what I posted. Boeing field Seattle.

[@michaelbatson1879]

The funeral Molders was on his way to was for Ernst Udet, who was the 2nd highest German fighter ace of WWI. Udet shot down 62 aircraft during WWI.

[@Tiberius_I]

Udet's suicide was caused because Hitler and Goerring over-evaluated his abilities and placed him in to high a position that he couldn't handle... and Udet was too proud to admit it until his self-destruction made the statement instead -

[@steveperreira5850]

DressUpYourPet2 : It is interesting to note in just about everywhere I read how psychotic the entire Nazi regime was. Quite a master race wouldn’t you say?

[@neilpemberton5523]

@@steveperreira5850 Loyalty to Hitler not competence was the criteria, which explains Goering's disastrous career.

[@nolanbowen8800]

He was lucky Guynemer was a gentleman and spared his life when his guns jammed.

[@YankeeCommie]

@@steveperreira5850 The Nazi were horrible pieces of shit but if you've ever been to Germany you know it's clean and just so we'll run. It's an amazing place.

[@andrewbranch4918]

In all these years I never realised it was Malan that wounded Molders. Good video 👍

[@leighjones5551]

I like your work and realise how much goes into it . One small criticism. The the German numerical number is always quoted but that was combined bombers and fighters the fighter number were always very close the British figher production was getting into full swing but the shortage of pilots was a factor and the Germans always had the psychological dissatisfied of being over enemy territory low fuel and getting over the Channel . However still great stuff from you 👍

[@WHJeffB]

In short... Context is relevant. The British pilots didn't have to worry about capture or getting beaten to death by the locals if they landed in a field after battle damage or running out of fuel. That played a part in how the Luftwaffe pilots conducted themselves over Britain. As has been mentioned, a Bf109 is a "boom and zoom" fighter. Not a low altitude or mid altitude turn fighter like the Spitfire. Most often the German pilots were at a tactical disadvantage, be it from their own doctrine (flying cover at mid to low altitude for the bombers), or engaging British pilots when they should have known better. I'm not saying that the British pilots were inferior, they were not and even many of the surviving Luftwaffe pilots had very favorable things to say about their bravery, skill and tenacity. Nor am I saying that the 109 was superior to the Spitfire. They had different strengths and weaknesses, and were pretty much equal in the hands of skilled pilots. But context matters...

[@iansneddon2956]

Correction. The "shortage" of pilots was due to pilot training not being able to keep up with aircraft production. Britain had three sources of aircraft in 1940: (1) domestic production, which was almost twice the rate of German production, (2) purchase from USA (about $21 billion US in current dollars), and (3) aircraft produced in Canada (factories set up before the war).. With Britain's industrial capacity and wealth, procuring aircraft was not the problem. They were training pilots faster than the Luftwaffe, and weren't losing pilots as fast as about half of RAF pilots shot down survived and could return to service, but still couldn't find pilots for all the planes they were building/acquiring. Add to this the Polish and Czech air force pilots, and the German advantage in numbers disappeared over the course of the Battle. Luftwaffe squadrons were down to about 2/3 strength by September. They made up for their reduced numbers by having their pilots fly more sorties (up to four per day). This caused some concern for the RAF as they began to take more and more casualties in August-September. They thought the Luftwaffe was larger than it really was, and seemed to be growing. That was a trend throughout the Battle. The massive acquisition of aircraft and expansion of flight schools was driven by a belief that the Luftwaffe was larger and they needed to catch up - still believing this after they surpassed the Luftwaffe in numbers. For about a week or two in August 1940 the RAF was losing pilots faster than they could replace them and thought this could eventually break them. Problem for the Luftwaffe was they were still losing pilots faster than the RAF and allied nations, and couldn't keep this up.

[@scratchy996]

The RAF learned that the hard way during the "Leaning forward into France" operations, when they attacked over the Channel and lost many fighters.

[@Brian-om2hh]

The Me 109 allegedly had just 10 minutes worth of duration over London, after which there would not be sufficient fuel to make it back to France. I should imagine Me 109 pilots were extremely conscious of not getting into a dogfight at 9 minutes 45 seconds over London.....

[@dariojimenez708]

Thanks for your great job, TJ3. It's a pleasure to enjoying your videos.

[@LeopardIL2]

Outstanding! i´m loving wour content. As a long time WW2 freak this is bold to watch. Malan was that kind of guy any pilot should beware before challeging him. He actually performed an electrical troubleshoot in his plane control gauges while in the middle of a dogfight! Remarkable... Molders was lucky a few inches up of his leg and for certain he wound´t survive that encounter. How the heck a man of this skill became a sheep rancher?! Salute from Portugal.

[@noelirabagon6499]

Thanks for reminding of sailor malan.

[@dougbarker1328]

Thanks for taking the time to tell this story. You might like to note that at 4:33 you mention "the English pilots" - there were many nationalities involved flying with the British forces....and that England is not the same as Great Britain.

[@rogerduncan2603]

Wasn't Malan south African

[@orpaspar]

@@rogerduncan2603 Yes, he was.

[@michaelschulz9164]

.... the english think of only england when they talk about Britain.... the Scots know that and hate them with a passion that comes from 400 years of oppression.

[@veritasvincit2745]

@@michaelschulz9164 Where did you pick that horseshit from? Braveheart? Any of my Scottish brothers out of short trousers like to offer their opinion?

[@davidleitch2298]

@@michaelschulz9164 lol 'oppression'? They were brought education, sanitation etc, same as we were. I'm Irish BTW. Served in the BRITISH army...no oppression here in a long time. Oppression is ALWAYS the rich against the poor, politics has NOTHING to do with it.

[@blank557]

Air Marshall Hugh Dowding and Keith Parks are the true unsung heroes of the Battle of Britain. Dowding, nicknamed "Stuffy" for his reserved personality, instituted the first modern air defense combining radar, spotters, and plotting room to command and control his squadrons to intercept the Luftwaffe. Dowding kept Churchill from throwing away more of his Spitfire squadrons into the losing battle of France, thus saving them for use in the Battle of Britain.Dowding also advocated for his pilots, demanding things like bullet-proof windshields to protect them in combat. Dowding understood that not only was the RAF outnumbered, it didn't have enough fighter pilots to replace losses and give relief to his active ones. He also recognized the limited time Radar gave him, to allow enough fighters to get to attitude and meet the German aircraft. So he deftly used small numbers of fighters to break up the German bomber formations so they would drop their bombs and run. Doing so allowed him to have enough aircraft to meet new attacks and allow others to refuel and rearm. But unfortunately, some in the RAF like Leigh Mallory criticized Dowding for not forming huge wings to knock down lots of German aircraft, and won the ear of Churchill. Never mind that the time it took to form a big group could result in being too late to intercept the bombers before they reached their target, and leave other parts of Britain defenseless without air cover. After the Battle was over, Dowding was relieved and Mallory put in his place. Dowding was shuffled off into obscurity, deserving better. I think much of it was he didn't have the engaging personality to hit it off with his peers and superiors, but his pilots admired him for watching out for them.

[@liverpoolscottish6430]

Agree 100% with the content of your comment. Spot on. Dowding was treated poorly post BoB. He was the real architect of victory. Not only did he create the superb command system- the world's first intranet, he cleverly husbanded his limited resources and his tactics were spot on under the prevailing circumstances.

[@thomasaquinas2600]

Here, here. You say what I've been saying for years: the 'Big Wing' was decisive, but in the early days, it was far too clumsy and slow forming and would've been disastrous. England was so lucky not only to have such great leaders and pilots, along with radar and spotters, but it also had luck. Remember Napoleon said he preferred lucky commanders to great ones...

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Ironically it was the Luftwaffe who were outnumbered in available pilots by the end of August 1940. The RAF grew in strength month by month. Much stronger in September than in July. The Luftwaffe simply couldn't handle the attrition rates.

[@blank557]

@@lyndoncmp5751 I understand that they removed one officer co-pilot or crew member on their bombers as a result of their ongoing losses.

[@JP-su8bp]

Good graphics and pacing, but disappointing in other areas, the most glaring of which is this: "Fueled by skill and instinct, he jerked his Spit into a tight turn and, through some skilled maneuvering, he was able to not only evade the fighter on his tale, but actually place himself behind the German aircraft." In this one sentence, you summarize the most important part of the story. Big letdown, that. I'd like to see the aforementioned skilled maneuvering, and understand how Molders attempted to counter.

[@TJ3]

Agreed. Unfortunately this was the most detailed description of the encounter I was able to locate. If I could have found more info on the specific maneuvers I would have put that in.

[@steveperreira5850]

JP, you make an excellent point. I would like to have known what that maneuver was also and that is the thing that should be graphically shown from like a Birdseye view. I think TJ3 He’s doing a fair job here, but the problem with most of these KZbin people if they just want to spit out so many videos as fast as possible without doing a really great job. It is endemic on KZbin

[@alanjm1234]

It's OK, it was later described as luck.

[@JP-su8bp]

@@alanjm1234 Do tell! Especially who described it as luck?

[@edwardjohansson2909]

@@steveperreira5850 Since nobody knows, I'm glad that TJ3 didn't just invent some kind of a maneuvre.

[@aro4098]

Next video: Snoopy vs. The Red Baron. Lol. Great video, as usual!

[@gertvanniekerk46]

Thanks for giving credit to a South African in WW2-sailor Malan! Molders was brilliant but do not forget Erich Hartman and others!

[@gertvanniekerk9783]

@Hoa Tattis You are correct but Hartman's achieved scores were +-325 according German stats. Russia imprisoned him for +- 4years for a ‘Destructor of a Soviet Industry and they and some of his squadron’s stats stated his tally was 456. After the war he flew Star Fighter jets with very little training! Exceptional & Brilliant fighter pilot!

[@kennygottlieb3628]

Galland and Mölders compared having same Ranks and kills.. Mölders died in crash in 41 as generalinspektor of the jagdfliegers with the rank of colonel, later hes friend and competitor Galland became a Lt. General..!!

[@kennygottlieb3628]

@Hoa Tattis he shot Down 11 mustangs at one day in a me 262!!

[@louisavondart9178]

@@gertvanniekerk9783 : not quite. He resigned his post as the Commander of the West German Airforce in protest at the governments decision to buy the F104. He did not want to be responsible for the deaths of his own pilots.

[@PeteCourtier]

Read “German aces speak” Excellent stuff from Galland, Steinhoff et al. They amassed massive kill scores due to never being rested. They fought till death or defeat. Fascinating and chivalrous men.

[@philipneri9482]

I enjoyed it immensely! Keep it up with accurate history..the good and the bad!

[@your_royal_highness]

You could hang out by the coast and watch dogfights over the Channel….amazing

[@jetaddicted]

“Werner Mölders vs Sailor Moon” Surely I can’t be the only one…

[@staxtry]

The codes on Sailor Malan's Spitfire were ZP-A when he was with 74 Squadron in the Summer of 1940.

[@roberts1938]

It would be nice to see another episode about the pilot Antoni Głowacki, who shot down 5 planes in the Battle of Britain in one day. Antoni Głowacki - the Polish Ace in a Day !

[@rjwohlman]

This is slick reminds me of those dog fighting shows from the early 2000s on the History channel. Except way better... bravo to you.

[@robtankbuster5215]

I agree, the history channel was at that time great, now it's just dumb shows about stupid fake reality stuff.

[@sigeberhtmercia767]

Thank you for the video and animation. My apologies for the length of the post, it is longer than I would like. Respect to both pilots, one a South African of Huguenot descent and the other a devout Catholic who served previously in the Spanish Civil War for the Nationalists earning 15 credited kills. A comparison between the bf 109 E-3 and the Spitfire I might provide some perspective on this encounter. While the debate still continues as to which was better (often judgment here is clouded by prejudice), I understand that it's somewhat situational and very often that outcome depended on the quality of the pilot rather than the plane. Messerschmitt bf 109 E-3: Performance: Maximum speed: 354 mph at 19,700 ft Range: 410 miles Ceiling: 36,000 ft Rate of climb: 3,280 ft/min Armament: 2 x 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns (in cowling) 2 x 20mm MG FF cannon (in wings) 1 x 20mm MG FF cannon (in nose). These cannon had a low velocity and rate of fire compared to the upgrade in the F + series. Advantages: better climb rate, dive rate and overall vertical manoeuvring than the Spitfire (early Merlin design prevented negative G force manoeuvres). Poor escort fighter but excellent in hunter packs. (note contrast between strategies of Goering and Galland). High climb rate means better able to gain height advantage when not tied to escort duties. Better recovery of height advantage when lost. Which side had the advantage often depended on which strategy was employed. Spitfire I: Performance: Maximum speed: 362 mph at 18,500 ft Combat Range: 395 miles Ceiling: 31,900 Rate of climb: 2,530 ft/min Armament: 8 x .303 in Browning machine guns (in wings) (experimental variants had 20 mm cannons but were prone to jamming and hence unpopular. The difficulty in introducing cannons was the RAF doctrine that said cannons were only of any use against bombers.) Advantages: Good in an horizontal dogfight. Better horizontal manoeuvrability than the bf 109 E-3. Better suited to an escort role though range would negate that advantage. While it had shorter range it's intercept role negated the disadvantage, while the bf 109 had expended much of its fuel crossing the channel. (hence the comment Spitfire comment made by Galland when responding to Goering's request. It had more to do with the strategy enforced by Goering than any comparison between the planes.) Interesting trials were done between the Hurricane and bf 109 E during the war and concluded that the Hurricane was better able to when it was on the tail of its opponent than the other way round (the pilot knew he could maintain his position without stalling in that situation). I presume would be true to some degree of the Spitfire.

[@TJ3]

Cool information! Thanks for watching.

[@sigeberhtmercia767]

@@TJ3 My pleasure, glad to be of service. :)

[@johncraig9011]

@@sigeberhtmercia767 Sailor Malian mother was English, her parents were English born, hence that saw why Malan was 'accepted' by the RAF in the years just before ww2, into the old boys club. English society was very class conscious

[@sigeberhtmercia767]

@@johncraig9011 That's good to know, thank you for that update.

[@FC-cd9oh]

@@johncraig9011 Nah Afrikaner parents of Huguenot descent.

[@zenonelealainen3750]

Helmut Wick, the commander of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", was the leading ace in 1940. Wick was shot down and killed in november 1940.

[@dorothyburry42]

Wick finished 1940 as the third highest ace behind Adolf Galland and Werner Moelders. Know your facts

[@zenonelealainen3750]

​@@dorothyburry42 True, I made a mistake, he was actually not the top scorer overall, but the top scorer in the Battle of Britain. Mölders was the top scorer overall until june 1940, then Balthasar was the leading scorer from june to september and after that it was again Mölders. Galland was always at the second or third place, never led the scoring.

[@dorothyburry42]

@@zenonelealainen3750 Not true, try again

[@zenonelealainen3750]

@@dorothyburry42 What was no true?

[@alexanderk7776]

The Hurricane is the first plane I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old. Everytime I see one, it gives me a shot in the past.

[@benwelch4076]

Excellent production value as always, I do feel this video could have used a bit more on the Battle of Britain, but I really enjoyed just the same. I do know that Japanese planes in the game are just reskins of others, but maybe Saburo Sakai. I am currently reading his book. Cheers as always.

[@roybrowning2685]

Sakai once managed to fly his fighter back to his airfield while being completely blind because of wounds received during a dogfight....and what's more amazing, he managed to land safely although he was unable to see anything, just guided by radio from the control tower and his own pilot's instinct.

[@benwelch4076]

@@roybrowning2685 I have actually read his book Samarai. A fascinating read.

[@IngemarGustavsson]

According to records from both sides, The Luftwaffe and The RAF, this alleged fight never took place between the two. Yes Mölders was nearly shot down as the story tells, but it wasn't by Sailor Malan, but somebody else in the same Squadron.

[@JFDA5458]

Enjoyable video and great effects. Just one point to mention is that Molders may have actually been hit by Flt/Lt Terry Webster of 41 Squadron.

[@TJ3]

Correct, I tried to note this in the description.

[@JFDA5458]

@@TJ3 That'll teach me to read the description properly.

[@rolfhauf4266]

a little correction. The unfortunate Heinkel came into a evening storm and brushed against a power line on approach. That was the end of the ace

[@Dormidont882]

В туман .

[@roybrowning2685]

Great video and well explained...Just let me make a small correction in your pronunciation of the Mölders name..it sounds like Melders instead of Molders.

[@GM-fh5jp]

Nice work on the video TJ. Perhaps you could research the career of Robert Stanford Tuck, one of England's greatest aces. He certainly led the life and times of the gentleman fighter pilot of England's RAF during WW2.

[@garykuhn735]

Or Douglas Bader...the English fighter ace who lost both legs and continued to pilot fighter planes after his recovery.

[@stanleybuchan4610]

The RAF had pilots from throughout the UK, Europe, the Commonwealth and the USA, so don't give me this "English RAF" crap.

[@GM-fh5jp]

@@stanleybuchan4610 Oh really, that was a secret(eye roll)...oh wait...get a life hater.

[@garykuhn735]

@@ArtyEffem I didn't say how he lost his legs. I stated that he fought as a pilot after losing them, becoming an ace in the process. To me, he is a hero. It takes a lot of courage to do this.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Good video ...but, please get your facts correct. The Bf 109 was an "E" model - Emil.. and British fighters, Hurricanes and Spitfire had NO cannons in the BOB - 8 x 303 machine guns only.

[@razorback20]

Maybe the Spitfire Mk 1 add-on for IL-2 GB hasn't been released yet and TJ3 did with what was currently available.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

@@razorback20 All aircraft i mentioned are available in IL2 Cliffs of Dover Blitz.

[@raypurchase801]

You're correct, but here's a little-known fact: There were indeed two squadrons of cannon-armed Spitfires in the BoB. Johnnie Johnson was with one of those squadrons. His autobiography reveals how the 20mm cannon were utterly unreliable. The Spitfires would close for the kill and one or more cannon would immediately fail. The pilots were almost weeping with angry frustration on their return. This also explains why early Typhoons and some Hurricanes had 12 X .303 machine guns. The wings had been designed for 4 X 20mm cannon, but the cannon weren't fitted until the bugs had been ironed-out.

[@rszanger]

Werner Mölders was one of the best Luftwaffe aces all time along with Adolph Galland, Erich Hartmann, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Barkhorn, Hans-Joachim Marseille, Günther Rall, Josef Priller, Walter Nowotny, Johannes Steinhoff ( Johannes Steinhoff suffered burn, but survived, and became West Germany's Luftwaffe general, and NATO officer after WW2), Wilhelm Batz, Heinrich Ehrler, Emil Lang, Peter Düttmann, Franz Schall, Walter Krupenski, and Junkers Ju87, also known as Sturzkampfflugzeug pilot, Hans-Ulrich Rudel (Germany has had too many German aces therefore can't list every aces)

[@andrewlerdard-dickson5201]

Go on add one more....you can do it !

[@michaelschulz9164]

... they had an embarrassing riches of outstanding pilots .... but for what?

[@finntastique3891]

Germany was indeed in a league of its own, when it comes to top-scoring aces.

[@michaelschulz9164]

@@finntastique3891 as Gunter Rall said when questioned about the kill scores of the Luftwaffe aces .... there were a lot of targets and not many of us....

[@finntastique3891]

@@michaelschulz9164 Absolutely so. For me, the definitive source about the subject is "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces" by Mike Spick (1996). Highly recommended - but I suppose you might be familiar with it already.

[@KurtKn1sp3l]

Noone wrote this so far? I will do it then. Although I read the titel right, I instantly rephrased it to. "The famous dogfight of Werner Molders and Sailor Moon" On a more serious note, you are doing some really nice videos.

[@bonnerscott5374]

Nicely done my friend, with clinical precision. nice.

[@colinwinship1231]

Here in S. A. In a little Dunnottar we had the Central flying school SAAF which is now no more there bomber crews from the U. K. were trained I was very young at the time but I remember we entertained some of them in our home

[@GT_Racer347]

These videos are incredible! Wow.

[@joemarsala8722]

Great work, sorry that everyone thinks they know something, but you took the time to put it together..

[@TJ3]

Thank you Joe, haha yeah sometimes I have to just ignore the comments. I'm not perfect but I do my best.

[@michaelfrick3687]

Thank you for that interesting slice of fighter ace history....especially the German side. Well done except for one thing: it's the wrong prop spinner on the 109 for that year of the Bf-109.

[@eggescobar]

That spinner was used by Bf-109E-4 version, and Moelders flew in a Bf-109E3, with open spinner

[@michaelfrick3687]

@@eggescobar Thank you for enlightening me....very surprised by that upgrade; never saw it before on that model. Better aero and better looking!

[@javlin36859bb]

@@eggescobar they had recently took the 20mm cannon out of the nose,and never got round to getting a closed spinner at that time.

[@paoloviti6156]

@@javlin36859bb not entirely true because altrough it was not installed the 20 mm MG FF/M Motorkanone firing through the propeller hub during the battle of Britain it was slowly installed on the Bf 109E-7 during beginning of Operation Barbarossa but still gave problems but it was finally solved with the Bf 109F...

[@fakumadda1632]

I'd like to add......WHO GIVES A FUCK!!

[@gertvanniekerk9783]

Hoa Tattis-----You are correct but Hartman's achieved scores were +-325 according German stats. Russia imprisoned him for +- 4 years for a ‘Destructor of a Soviet Industry and they and some of his squadron’s stats stated his tally was 456. After the war he flew Star Fighter jets with very little training! Exceptional & Brilliant fighter pilot!

[@countrichardvoncoudenhovek8855]

Moulders was on his way to the funeral of Ernst Udet who had committed suicide. I never knew of this encounter, thanks for posting

[@littlefishy6316]

The irony of a fighter ace dying on a non combat flight while as a passenger......unlucky

[@samkangal8428]

This is so good ,i love those animations .

[@Steveman61]

The Heinkel He 111 in which Mölders lost his life lost the left engine a few miles before Breslau. Unfortunately the right engine also quit during final approach , after the landing gear had been extended. The pilot, Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Georg Kolbe had no chance to keep the plane level. Kolbe also died in the crash.

[@andrewbranch4918]

Excellent video. Would you do a feature on the career of Hans Joachim Marseille? He was an extraordinary character and had no respect for the nazis, plus the fact of being a superb fighter pilot. His gunnery skills bordered on the supernatural. Thanks for all your videos ✌️😎👍

[@Dormidont882]

Много пил и водил баб на аэродром !😉

[@andrewwerk224]

Another great video!

[@ajubbgs1679]

I love this channel... the ilustration, sounde,voice is good..🥰😍

[@at6686]

It’s interesting how the Germans didn’t get the message of how a battle of attrition would become their problem as they continued to accumulate enemies throughout the war, stretching the Luftwaffe beyond the breaking point.

[@mgkoll]

The Germans where attact from all sides.

[@tmcmrh]

Was even worst, till 1943 they just replace their losses, not making more airplanes to the demands of 4 fronts.

[@michaelschulz9164]

No ..... they were very aware of it for the previous 100 years .... thus they were the specialists in fire and movement and the development of their manpower. The General staff knew once the Moscow offensive failed ... the epitaph could begin to be written .... and with a micro managing corporal at the helm ... that they held out for so long .... is the unwritten story (too politically embarrassing to tell)

[@jimmyboomsemtex9735]

what would happen if the E model 109 had belly drop tanks for greater flight endurance? good vid never knew of this...

[@miloslavbritovic1012]

If there is any interest here, the 2008 movie The Red Baron has some of the best aerial dogfight footage. As for accuracy, 🤷‍♂️ but as for entertainment value it was worth the time.

[@americanpatriot2422]

Outstanding video and presentation

[@buckwheatINtheCity]

The He 111 was withdrawn from daylight service over England during the Battle of Britain. It suffered the highest loss rate of any bomber.

[@bbvollmer]

Im fairly positive American and British bombers suffered a wwaaayyyy higher loss rate in the campaign over Germany

[@realtruth4260]

Beautiful graphics

[@bigbaba1111]

amazing quality!

[@burakgencturk9549]

the date was:28 july 1940.that pilot was probably john t. webster not sailor malan.from 41 Squadron

[@jamesbaker7112]

"Nevah in the field of human confli..." Grammarly commercial.

[@marya7057]

Thanks for the video

[@deanobrovo8595]

At 3:32 is that Werner Moulders on the left and Adolf Galland on the right?

[@brodyberry6253]

Wow this looks amazing what game is the footage from? I want to play ASAP! lol.

[@richardtaylor3032]

The battle markings are not up to scratch,Staffel Kapitans had chevrons and haken kreuz,s on all of their aircraft

[@maximushartung2375]

Hochgerechnet 30 Abschüsse, siebzehn beschädigte feindliche Flugzeuge. Eine beachtliche Leistung für allierte Piloten. Ein guter Durchschnitt für einen mittelmäßig erfolgreichen Luftwaffenpilot.

[@mskiUSMC]

HEY GREAT CONTENT!

[@shootfirst2097]

Skip ahead to 4:50 to get to the battle. BTW, 25% of the fighter pilots flying for Britain were from other countries. Without them, Britain would not have made it.

[@jsmariani4180]

I believe the BF109s were not painted with the yellow nose etc. until later in the summer (after this dogfight).

[@bmcg5296]

Moulders was Germany’s greatest race in the air and a master of combat no one would want to face! Man it’s horrendous on war and wars mess that the civilians suffer the most harm from!

[@number8485]

So nice to have some genuine US interest in this critical air battle fought by a handful of RAF pilots against all the odds of being outnumbered 3-1 by the mighty Luftwaffe.It is also interesting to note that this battle wasn’t without American support in the air.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

What support in the air? A dozen pilots? Just saying.

[@number8485]

@Charlyn Joy Dumlao Castro Yes there is much to be said for that.Neville Chamberlain was PM when war was declared not Churchill.Britain declared war because the Nazis refused to back down after invading Poland.

[@number8485]

@@lyndoncmp5751 No it wasn’t much but at least one pilot risked his neck.

[@number8485]

It should perhaps be remembered that the Soviet Union were eventually able to deliver a crushing defeat on the Nazis but this might not have been possible without the general allied effort.The perilous artic convoys from the UK to Russia were very heavily attacked with huge loss of ships and life.Russia remained unimpressed and probably to this very day and it is doubtful whether the Nazis would have succeeded anyway due to the huge logistical challenge and of course the freezing temperatures.

[@speedomars]

Always ironic that these guys often die on an aircraft but not in a dogfight. The Red Baron was chasing someone and was shot down by Aussie ground troops. This guy dies as a passenger.

[@HeyZeus096]

The #1 US ace from WWII survived the war and then died testing the P80 iirc

[@alastairward2774]

The Luftwaffe were beginning to feel the stress of the air war too, suffering "Channel Sickness"; en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanalkrankheit "our briefings were always held outside in the open air. Immediately after it finished and before we went to our planes, we all ran to the latrines and sat on the toilet. At first we thought it was sabotage but in fact it was fear"

[@cryptoslacker-464]

Enjoyed that story , kept me engaged the whole time 🤟

[@spanishpeaches2930]

A .303 round would never leave holes that size in Molders aircraft. He did not down a hundred aircraft over Britain , but shot down many on the Russian front too

[@sigeberhtmercia767]

And fought for the Spanish Nationalists during the civil war prior to the commencement of WW2.

[@WHJeffB]

I don't have source material in front of me, but I don't think Molders ever flew on the Eastern front. Most of his kills were in the Western theater, with the exceptions being the Spanish Civil War.

[@blackbaron2572]

@@WHJeffB theres all kinds of info on molders. There should be Numerous sources that come up with a basic google search. At least 30 kills in the east.

[@WHJeffB]

@@blackbaron2572 You are correct! I was confusing him with another Luftwaffe ace, or just plain wrong.

[@blackbaron2572]

@@WHJeffB yes, you are correct like Koresh.

[@josephgibbs7423]

Both pilots should be considered as "Dragons Teeth". Worthy adversaries.

[@tessaleroux7725]

If I’m correct Malian was stationed at Biggen Hill

[@pnzrldr]

Pretty sure 3:27 is a FW-190. Post-BoB gun camera piece spliced into Molders dialogue.

[@Cachoeira1986]

you did an excellent Job

[@GunnyKeith]

GREAT WORK bro

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

He was more probably hit by F/Lt Johna Terrance Webstera of 41 Squadron and crash-landed at Saint-Inglever with 80% damaged machine (W/O). One bullet in thigh, one inthe knee cap and the third in the foot. He came back on 7.8.41 and on 26.8.40 finally shot down his 27th victim. On 28.7.40 at 15.30 he shot down Spitfire.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

6:19 - it must have come as a shock to Molders that a spit could outperform his 109: only a month before he had extensively tested a captured spitfire after the battle of France and found it to inferior in climb, turn and dive. While that captured spit might have been suffering from battle damage, the performance data that the Germans obtained was roughly comparable to what British test pilots recorded. So what happened in that month? Two things: 1. Operational squadron spitfires were all retrofitted the Rotol constant speed prop (which new production models had coming off the production lines since earlier that year), replacing the De Haviland 2 speed props. 2. The RAF switched from 87 Octane duel to 100 octane fuel: allowing RAF pilots to use 12lb ‘emergency boost’ manifold pressure effectively at will. The transformation in performance because of these two measures was astonishing.

[@michaelschulz9164]

I read the squadron diary of JG26 the famous Deauville boys that Gallant led for a while. It was accepted doctrine tactic not to engage spitfires in dogfights as it had a far superior turning radius to the 109. Molder's comments would have been hyperbole of the era .... what is now technically referred to as "wank".

[@michaelschulz9164]

Yes it would have been. The access to higher octane fuel was a significant advantage. The germans could only get 83 I read somewhere... thus they had to work around it ... but they had the engineers.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

@@michaelschulz9164 Im not so sure about that. Molders was an ‘Expert’. Plus the 109 had slats in the leading edge of its wings: in theory it could turn with the spitfire Mk I. But those slats were unreliable and tricky - especially for the average pilot - when they did work. Ultimately the combination of 100 octane fuel and constant speed props gave the spitfire a real advantage in climb and turning performance.

[@michaelschulz9164]

@@andrewmetcalfe9898 .... the spitfire had a recognised better airframe .... with the 109 being able to snap its own wings off in certain manoeuvres... But perhaps the final word on the matter belongs to Gallant who when asked by Göring what he needed to win the battle against the RAF said without blinking .... some spitfire squadrons ... thereby putting himself on the hate list of Göring.

[@offlimits4635]

@@michaelschulz9164 If you actually read Galland's book, he states that he considered the 109 superior for attack and the Spitfire superior for area defence, he actually preferred the 109 - see 'The First and the Last' - he made this request in order to annoy Goering

[@andrzejrada86]

Next video : Stanislaw Skalski , polish fighter ace

[@MGB-learning]

Great video!

[@jlouisdebondt8411]

On the way to the funeral of Udet the pilot hit a chimney when landing at Breslaw airport (now Wroclaw in Poland)killing Mölders.

[@pekkakoski6595]

All OK exept paint scheme: yellow was East Front only.. Those was never seen in Europe :)

[@rocketeer.]

Great animation

[@ondrejdobrota7344]

It wasnt radar, but RAF until September 1943. I dont know about any combat between Malan and Molders.

[@georgejones8481]

Malan 🇿🇦🇬🇧 Pattle South Africans with hearts of Iions. They shall not grow old as we grow old.

[@zenonelealainen3750]

Pattle was the best allied ace during the war and in my opinion on the par with the best german aces. He shot down some 50 german planes in two months. There should be a movie about him.

[@eeroaitamaa2012]

The German pilot was Werner Mölders, not "Molders".

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nice video

[@cocodog85]

from wikipedia Mölders flew his first combat sortie with JG 51 on 28 July, attacking a No. 41 Squadron RAF Supermarine Spitfire flown by Flying Officer Tony Lovell.[45][46] On this mission, according to legend, Mölders was hit in a dogfight over Dover by the South African ace Sailor Malan, sustaining three splinter wounds in the lower leg, one in the knee and one in the left foot. Oberleutnant Richard Leppla shot down the pursuing Spitfire, and Mölders was able to make an emergency landing at Wissant, France.[47][48] Recent research suggests Mölders was actually wounded in combat by Flight Lieutenant J.T (John Terence) "Terry" Webster DFC in a Spitfire of No. 41 Squadron RAF.

[@brydenmathieson6241]

Nice video, just for the record, Malan was a South African on loan to the RAF, one of several

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

'Britain' in WW2 parlance meant 'The British Empire and its Dominions and Commonwealth ' Germany was fighting a global empire of many nations and peoples. It was a propaganda coup of Churchill to present Britain as an 'underdog'. On land, in 1940, certainly but definitely not at sea and the economy of the Empire was a critical factor in the defeat of Germany.