To Rule The Skies: The Greatest Fighter Planes of WWII | Classic Fighter | Timeline

The story of the great piston-engined fighters of World War Two. A tribute to the men who flew them, and to the men and women who guided them and kept them in the air. Made in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, this programme tells the story of these great war planes. Stunning air-to-air flying sequences are intercut with interviews with pilots and aircrew of the British and American air forces. Some of the fighter aircraft featured are the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane, the Messerschmitt Bf109, the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang.
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[@jimbobmcdougal6983]

I can’t imagine being a pilot that serves the whole war and gets to fly most, if not all, of the spitfire or 109 models… incredible bravery

[@Bugsygb1]

People who look after and fly old planes are legends, How else would we hear the iconic sounds

[@juanvargas2776]

Thank you, to all service men and women, your sacrifice will never be forgotten!

[@kimberlyholyk6791]

Great documentary, thank you.

[@paule6945]

No truer a word said........

[@perrymccallum8931]

Yes Thank you all.Being British,American,or German they all had the same thoughts when they got airborne."Will I see my little ones and wife again or my mother or father?" And then here we go.

[@jimbeaux89]

There’s something about hearing these pilots talk about the birds they flew in the war. They speak of them with such glee, love and passion.

[@jamessveinsson6006]

A last of a great generation

[@zdzichus.3264]

as opposed to that stupid narration... E.G. : a wide range (...) from Hellcat to Corsair... seriously, a very wide range...

[@sodoffbaldrick3038]

My uncle flew Corsairs as a Marine in the Pacific, and my aunt always said her biggest rival for his affections was that plane...he named his for her, but she said if they asked him which Katie he was most in love with, she wasn't sure she was #1...lol!

[@graham2631]

I know,l love that all we got was...off you go. And they hand you a spitfire.

[@trevking3772]

@@sodoffbaldrick3038 I can believe it - NZ flew Corsairs too. I recently saw 1 do a low level pass & pull up - heaven help any Zeros or Kates etc jeez could that plane fly ! . Trev. New Zealand.

[@MountainrunnerTn]

Awesome tribute to brave men that flew into history in magnificent flying machines.

[@peterkeane7767]

Always a heartbreaker to see Mark Hanna again.He was my hero when we were younger and he kept alive the Fighter Pilot tradition as much as the Aircraft he flew with such skill and grace.

[@nigeh5326]

His father Ray was also a legend leading the Red Arrows and being the best Spitfire display pilot around in his day.

[@khaccanhle1930]

It's really good to see these airmen and hear their stories. It's sad that we didn't have each one, sit down and record as much as possible of their memories. I imagine all the men we see here are gone, and their memories with them. I had the privilege of talking in detail with several pilots, I feel it was an honor.

[@Mrtweet81]

Probably all gone, even Mark Hanna is gone and he was so young.

[@BirdWhisperer46]

I was riding to a VA hospital a couple years ago in the DAV van and the guy sitting next to me was a really old guy. He had been a P-51 pilot in England during WW2. He had some real stories to tell about it.

[@Wolvieonepunch]

@@Mrtweet81 aààaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@martindavidson6259]

@@Mrtweet81 was

[@nigeh5326]

Johnnie Johnson wrote a few v interesting books one is called ‘Wing Leader’ the other ‘the history of air fighting’. Both can be found secondhand and are good reads, especially ‘Wing Leader’. I would also recommend Dilip Sarkar’s books especially the ones about Johnnie Johnson as he was a friend of Johnnie Johnson and Johnnie gave him access to his diaries and was interviewed at length by Dilip Sarkar. ‘Johnnie Johnson’s great adventure’ and Johnnie Johnson Spitfire Top Gun are great reads 👍

[@larrylaurenzi1625]

There is nothing more sad than the stories of bomber crewman. Their sacrifice is the ultimate human experience.

[@frankmccann29]

Mastery of the sky over Europe was guaranteed by men like these. I'm proud to be part of the ground crew tradition in another war.down the line. You have always been my heroes. And, thank you Sirs, for mentioning the ground crew so fondly. We do deserve more credit. Thanks.

[@steijny]

Great men,I have nothing but respect for these men.

[@josefrancis7126]

every WORRKING DAY THEY FACED THE ULTIMATE RISK!

[@mikemalone4013]

The Big Ten thumbs up for all on Military that's out there protecting us God be with them and may they make it home safe and sound

[@catfish252]

Great Men, Great Airplanes, I am grateful for their sacrifices. God Bless the all!

[@ryreinhardt]

Yes but they are aeroplanes

[@boris1387]

Nothing beats the sound of those old engines. ❤️

[@jonboy9912]

The sound of the now departed brave men who flew them sounds better to me! RIP all of them!

[@JamesSmith-op7yc]

Excellent documentary on on a very heavy subject. Everyone should give these guys a big thank you for their service in WWII. My Father was in the Pacific Theater. He would appreciate this. I do.

[@antoinettesera9390]

Wow

[@camrenwick]

What impressed me most, was that this was dedicated to all the men and women who lost their lives, regardless of nationality.

[@cwvereyken]

There is too much than Can be witnessed from the experience of these pilots. Had to watch over and over to really listen and obsorb what was truly witnessed. We all ow our relitive existence to these few men and the many others that have the ultimate sacrifice.

[@markpaul8178]

These pilots can actually go back in time in their mind as though they are sitting in the cockpit with all guns blazing.Remarkable.

[@tomasinacovell4293]

How Credulous! You don't care, you don't!

[@pagarb]

This is one of the best videos on the WW2 air war, it got into the story and respected the efforts of the pilots about the challenges they faced.

[@wannahuckaloogy5]

I've always had a sweet spot for the P-40. Absolutely beautiful aircraft

[@nationalistcanuck7800]

It was a piece of junk. Grandpa took one apart and couldn't stop laughing.

[@corwintipper7317]

The P-51 A was better and it didn't even have the Merlin

[@peterlisyak5396]

Don't forget the women who packed the parachutes for the pilots and the ground crews who serviced them all heroes each and every one

[@jeffrobdine]

Also, the women who delivered a lot of those planes!

[@suzyqualcast6269]

@@jeffrobdine : Indeed, don't know about in America but certainly single handedly delivering bombers to airfields in 🇬🇧.

[@sarahhall738]

Yes granddad was an engine fitter rose to be a seargent and was on France and Belgium

[@stephenconnolly3018]

All the ground crew and many more played their part.

[@rippertrain]

I love these docs. Thumbs up. I pay 125 bucks a month for tv and all i watch are documentaries on youtube

[@davidlynch8091]

Me Too

[@troynov1965]

I got rid of TV years ago and do not regret it at all.

[@rugosetexture2716]

I was paying $70 a month and all I always ended up watching the Weather Channel . . . I dumped the cable and now I watch stuff like this in the evenings. :o)

[@SilverFox-qr1ci]

testify

[@johnelliott7850]

Ha! Ha! Ha! Similarly, I watch KZbin much more than the TV.

[@danclayberger770]

This is the best all inclusive documentary of the war planes of WWII that I have seen. Great narration, film, and sound track. And the comments of actual pilots who flew them. EXCELLENT.,.,.,.,.

[@heatherstub]

This reminds me of the recordings known as "I can Hear it now!" My mother still has the box set featuring so many recordings from 1919-1949. That particular set won a grammy award for Best Spoken word series with a Lifetime designation. I was so pleased when it finally won that distinguished award.

[@badmasis]

THESE are real hero who fought in air fighters or bomber

[@jamesclark9479]

So the infantry and tankers were not heroes?.. some say those who didn't make it home or the heroes regardless of what they did

[@joshuasill1141]

If you think about it, the path that these men took to becoming fighter pilots is akin to a 16 year just getting their driver license then being tossed the keys to a race car a few weeks later and then expected to run in the Daytona 500, Indy 500, any F1 Grand Prix race, or the 24 Hours at Le Mans within a few days after that.

[@vernonfindlay1314]

Not many words,greatest generation, God bless them,we thank you from 2020.Most honourable men,and women, 🙏🇨🇦🎄

[@paullanfear5762]

This is brilliant! Living memory... people who were there... how come so many thumbs downs! The greatest generation!

[@maryrafuse3851]

Must be closet Nazi's or cannot relate to this heroism. In every way this is the greatest generation. I find the way they dressed as young people so interesting. Even the teens dressed as if they were adults. Now every style is casual and it is so repetitive and dull.

[@bosse641]

Must be so much fun flying a Spitfire. ...such a beauty.

[@madlab7141]

these aircraft are very important it is a part of our history that made a difference in our lives to this very day and the men who flew them are heroes of the past they should never be forgotten

[@antoinettesera9390]

God bless

[@stevenholton438]

The finale music leaves a deep impression! Excellent documentary!

[@MrDaiseymay]

Completing a superb documentary perfectly.

[@daijones101]

I don’t like war but I found this moving. These men are of my father’s generation.

[@MarcStjames-rq1dm]

I love the iconic images of a P-51 with it's prop spinning visible.... awesome.....

[@danielgriffin121]

They don't make 'em like that anymore ... They made the greatest sacrifice & were happy with a pat on the back ... Thank you to all

[@bushwhackerinc.4668]

Far cry from todays generation

[@poulon]

Fantastic documentary. One of the best I have ever see. Thank you.

[@berniedehmel7104]

thanks for this wonderful documentary 👍

[@willowpitts6539]

Thankyou so much for the great doc. Lots of info

[@Kiutlanuxiwaj]

Nice documentary. The most shown Spitfire carries Czech insignia, that is lovely :-)

[@johnnichols9056]

Being 1/2 Czech I'm pretty proud of it, though I wasn't born yet.

[@LETOUR7TIMESFRANCE]

These are our heroes..may we never forget their bravery..

[@diogopinto9462]

*their

[@FourProngedFork]

What's with all the random capitalization?

[@LETOUR7TIMESFRANCE]

@@FourProngedFork Sorry maybe I'll get an A+ next time you grade my report card..just don't tell my parents.😟😂😂😂

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

I love more and more people are restoring world war planes.

[@TranscendianIntendor]

In the early '80 and then for another year in the early '90s I worked with mechanics on DC-4s, DC-6s and Convair 240s and 340s. One of my loves in life has been odd for I am very fond of the R-2800 engine.

[@davidh6300]

Well, it was a brilliant engine. Without it there would have been no Hellcat, Corsair or Thunderbolt.

[@ringo1692]

38:50 (or so) being able to see yourself in a historical documentary has to be an incredible feeling!!!

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , up-loaders , Thank you all .

[@janiekcarney5482]

Thank you for including American and Canadian planes.

[@goldbell1972]

ME262 and P51 Mustang are the best and the most beautiful planes ever. Nothing comes close.

[@ianlowery6014]

Really? Mark XIV Spitfires with the powerful Griffon engine and running on 150 octane fuel were stationed in France towards the end of the war. 4 times Spitfires were misidentified by Mustang pilots and were jumped. On each occasion the Spitfire was able to escape. The Mustang did not have the speed, nor anything like the climb rate, or the agility of the Spitfire. The Mustang never struck terror into the Luftwaffe pilots, the later versions of the Spitfire did. In Malta, the scramble to keep away from the Spitfires led to BF109s shooting down other BF109s on 2 occasions. When the VIV was jumped and dived, Luftwaffe pilots were shocked to see the Spitfire climb back up almost vertically and at a frightening speed.

[@johnelliott7850]

Great documentary of an outstanding piece of history.

[@gordonfrickers5592]

Excellent, needed to be done, thank you.

[@niceozyguy]

Love the sound of those piston engines

[@DerredmaxTRIAX]

This documentary is just perfect! Thank you!!

[@petermontagnon4440]

My Mother's Father, my Grandfather was an engineer on a Lanck. on his crews last mission on his tour, he was hit and lost part of his heel. While he was in hospital , his crew and plane left never to come back. After he was healed he re upped for another tour. And as you can see he came back alive.

[@nemesis1291]

Great story, sad to hear about the crew though. Homage to your grandfather.

[@michiganwoodsman2199]

What do you mean as you can see he made it back?

[@nemesis1291]

@@michiganwoodsman2199 read it again...

[@nemesis1291]

@@michiganwoodsman2199 the crew never came back while he was in the hospital.

[@dcolb121]

What a great video. Good narrative and no constantly playing music in the background.

[@katherinewelling6026]

Thanks for this. Really good documentary about some amazing engineering.

[@markpaul8178]

The very best video of WW2 aircraft that I have ever watched,period!

[@michiganwoodsman2199]

Crazy stuff! My dad was an F4 F16 fighter pilot. Some people are absolutely obsessed with flying. Like if they don’t do it the world will end….

[@alanwitton5039]

Total respect to these men!

[@thejackrabbithole-5311]

Thank you for your service gentleman. 🇬🇧 🇺🇸

[@seanmccann8368]

Great documentary, thank you.

[@stardog1066]

The Bravest and best generation ,,thank you for your sacrifice and courage. ❤❤❤

[@kenflagler635]

I haven't had TV in my life in about a year and a half. All I watch are docs on KZbin. Thanks KZbin! And thanks to everyone involved in the making of this one.😎😎😎

[@jimbeckwith5949]

46:42: Pierre Closterman, French fighter pilot. His book "The big Show" is one of the best war diaries I ever read

[@grumpycalenzana7514]

Try his other WWII book, Feux du Ciel

[@SvenTviking]

If a little exaggerated.

[@martybaran5509]

Great book read it many years ago. About the Typhoon

[@johnnichols9056]

I got to talk with a couple of the Tuskegee pilots at an air show 20 years ago, what an honor. I wound up emptying my wallet of cash for their donation box. So few of these pilots wound up wealthy in later life let alone their ground crew. For what they gave to the rest of us and the generations to come they deserve our respect, as do the ground pounders and tankers. Kudos on a great documentary.

[@shawnsan9]

Amen. So true.

[@billotto602]

God bless those men & God bless you sir 🙏 ❤🙏❤🙏❤

[@gerhardusvanrooyen6663]

Wonderful! and outstanding.

[@robertgarrett4046]

Great video ,and a tribute to all the allied air force crew's / men ,from WW2 , who defeated the nazi's. Rob.

[@Crashed131963]

The Russian nonstop march to Berlin after the German defeat at Kursk in 1943 won the war.

[@thelastdruidofscotland]

9.40 "been ashamed of it ever since".........that was gold

[@carlparlatore294]

Flew F-4s in Nam - great experience however I know the feeling of coming back from a mission and finding out one of your sq. mates didn't make it - still hurts after 50 yrs.

[@nigeh5326]

How air crew went back time and again knowing the odds and having seen others go down is to me incredible. You, and all air crew in all conflicts, who have flown and fought again and again have my total respect. Cheers from a UK Phantom fan

[@carcharinus6367]

48:12 - something about German 7-th Army and - we are looking at soviet IS-2... Absolutely impressive!

[@richardlahan7068]

My favorites are the P-47 and B-17. I used to know a woman in the 90s that assembled P-47s for Republic Aircraft during WWII. I could talk to her for hours.

[@dinihandayani852]

Richard Lahan I Like The Spitfire Mk 9

[@FuriousFlamingFuckFires]

@@dinihandayani852 I like turtles

[@josephstalin364]

Dini Handayani I like the Bf-110s. Sure they were slow and impracticable but damnit it looked menacing especially with the sharkteeth

[@codinginthesaddle5641]

I like the p-51 mustang and the mishibishi zero

[@davidrobinson4553]

Listening to true Hero's, Quality pure and Simple, Thank You.

[@jeffreywaugh926]

Never before in history have so many owed so much, to so few.

[@theccpisaparasite8813]

It's always good to get a reminder of how beautiful these planes were.

[@janiekcarney5482]

Excellent program.

[@gershonperry5952]

I am glad you saw Bergen Belsen yourselves because here comes a new generation that refused to believe that Germany was so evil.

[@andrewmcneil2110]

Great vid. May they Rest In Peace.

[@alantoon5708]

The interviews with the flight crews are priceless, as most have now flown west.

[@dwightehowell8179]

One of my 8th grade teachers, a Mister Peppers, had served on a bomber during WW II. I believe they were doing missions in Italy and Eastern Europe. In any event he said he and his buddies used to collect all the empty bottles they could find and load them up and on the way back from a mission they'd drop the bottles. These would produce the most horrible screaming sound on the way down though of course the damage they'd do was rather monomial. It was still a significant emotional event for the people on the ground.

[@BirdWhisperer46]

I won't ask, "Load them up with what" HEHEHE

[@dwightehowell8179]

@@BirdWhisperer46 Load them on the plane.

[@senormedia]

Imagine being glad you were outside the bombed city and then getting Nehi-ed to death.

[@gregoryphillips2939]

Beautiful.

[@andrewmetcalfe9898]

13:00 - Jimmie Johnson ignores what Dowding and Park wanted No.10 and 12 Group to actually do: take off immediately in single squadron formation and go directly to the airfields of the No.11 Group coastal squadrons that had been scrambled to provide cover and protection whilst their fighters were engaged with the primary formation.

[@michaelbarrett5925]

Excellent!

[@tophat2115]

Dedicated to the US Air Corp and the RAF, but not the Canadians, French, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Indians, Poles, Norwegians, who also fought in the air war? What a thank you, Timeline. Arrogant jerks.

[@andrewneedham9601]

The music at the beginning is brutal. It'd be nice to hear the airplanes.

[@camerong5513]

i see your point but don't agree at all - the music is ethereal

[@patsmightymovers3885]

this was excellent

[@jacktattis143]

RIP Mark Hanna

[@hawkeyed77]

It's unfortunate that the de Havilland mosquito was not included in the Documentary as it was probably the first multi role fighter!

[@alanrickett2537]

Any doc with that lord's the P38 skip the mosquito and the PE-2

[@PhantomSturm]

Probably already noted but a lot of the 109s used in this footage are Spanish built examples w a V-12 instead of the inverted version. Think they called it the Buchon. They were used in the Battle of Britain movie.

[@Ryan-lx6oh]

Forever grateful to the GREATEST GENERATION who insured are way of life.. Lest We Forget...

[@tripacer8259]

HOW could you give this a thumbs down??

[@brucekendall52]

Outstanding,thk you.JHB-SA.

[@marcallen7233]

👍 Great documentary! I am glad these old fighters are being preserved. Spitfires,Corsairs , Thunderbolts and Mustangs are still awesome planes.

[@paradisefound100]

Yet the Mosquito didn't get a mention once. I have a feeling that it was made by an American.

[@Musique61414]

Outstanding. Thank you for your tribute to our heroes.

[@devgupta8815]

A documentary on the best Fighter airplanes that leaves out the FW 190, the Me 262 and the Zero !

[@bigdeal6852]

Truly ..."The Greatest Generation" as they have been referred to ! Wow! 👍 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

[@sarahhall738]

Framlingham airfeild known as Parham because it's in Parham village, only about 12 miles from us it's museum is well worth a visit.

[@budlawrence4847]

Excellent

[@fasx56]

Documentary was informative and well done and made it so clear the cost of lives of the Air Force and the Allies in total. Brave men who gave their all to defeat an enemy who was responsible for millions of lives throughout Europe. The determined group of men who have preserve the fighters and bombers of WW 11 in working order demonstrates the respect for the men who flew them and respect for their service and sacrifice. The music at the closing was very peaceful and beautiful, thank you.

[@MrOlgrumpy]

The true heros are in the ground in enemy territory,gone to their destiny half knowing it was a one way trip,but they went anyway !

[@dukecraig2402]

Great airplanes, I'd love to have any of them, or just be allowed to run the engine for awhile.

[@Bill23799]

Beautiful aircraft.

[@savagesaint4966]

Epic.

[@tbwpiper189]

You can see the transition between the Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Hurricane. Take off the biplane wings of the Gladiator and you see a very rudimentary Hurricane

[@donner5383]

Same with the 1930s hawker fury

[@mikhailiagacesa3406]

Nice seeing J. Johnson speak. Read his book in the early 70's.

[@blowmeyotbweknowugoodfklit2549]

The most beautiful fighter plain ever made.

[@jnielsen90]

Thanks to these veterans and their sacrifices that allow me to live free today in the best Country on the planet

[@SBBSBBZ]

Which is?

[@jnielsen90]

@@SBBSBBZ Canada

[@macemichellemiller6275]

Commenting on old video I've always like the hellcat but the spitfire just looks sleek gorgeous