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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Monday, March 18, 2024


Just Finished Reading: Battle of Britain by Patrick Bishop (FP: 2009) [332pp] 

It is virtually without argument that the Battle of Britain, fought mostly in the skies over southern England between 10 July and 31 October 1940, was the most significant conflict in the country's modern era. If the battle had been lost and the Luftwaffe had gained even temporary air-superiority over the coast there was a real danger that an invasion could have been attempted (it would have failed IMO). Fortunately for Britain and, again arguably, the world the battle was won and Operation Sealion – the ‘planned’ invasion of Great Britain – was postponed indefinitely. 

Organised in 5 sections covering (very roughly) 2-6 weeks depending on the level of activity, this well written and often fascinating study lays out the battle as it ramped up. Initially German High Command (or at least AH himself) fully expected Britain to seek terms following the retreat from Dunkirk. Of course, Churchill had no intention of surrendering and it was always going to be ‘fight on’. Although essentially on our own – not strictly true in the grand scope of things – the UK had a lot going for it. The English Channel was only 26 miles at its most narrow point but was often both a treacherous and unpredictable stretch of water. However much the Germans thought of it as a particularly wide river it was nothing of the sort. Despite the loss of a great deal of equipment in France the British army was far from defeated and would, it was expected, give a good account of itself if any planned invasion did occur. What is more, the Royal Navy was still the largest in the world and would be expected the throw everything it had at any invasion fleet. It would be far from plain sailing even across a theoretically calm English Channel. But it was the RAF that was Britain’s first line of defence. If it could hold back the might of the Luftwaffe all bets would be off – but could it do so? 

On the face of things, it was going to be a very hard fight indeed for the RAF. Not only were they greatly outnumbered in both fighters and bombers, but the German pilots had gained a great deal of valuable experience on their European battlefields. However, that wasn’t a completely good thing. OK, they had gained experience – but at the cost of overconfidence. Most of their enemies across Europe had been using out of date aircraft and had quickly succumbed to highly effective tactics and had been largely destroyed on the ground. Such conditions would not prevail over England. Likewise, the Luftwaffe was mainly designed to excel at one task – supporting the army in its Blitzkrieg tactics – and this it did very well indeed (at least early on). But over England these tactics would not be required and a whole other skill set would be needed. The German bomber force, likewise, was a tactical rather than a strategic one. In 1940 the Germans did not possess a single 4 engine bomber, so their range and bomb load were limited. 

Facing them were two fighters – the Hurricane and Spitfire – that were at least the equal of anything the Germans had to oppose them. On top of this the British boasted probably the most sophisticated and technically advanced air-defence system in the world – something the Luftwaffe had never faced before. Although outnumbered, the RAF fighters always seemed to be in the right place and the right time. It was very rare indeed for any number of German aircraft not to be intercepted either on their way to a target, on their way back or even both. Although initial losses for Germany were light, they were constant. What made things worse of course, was that a German pilot bailing out over England was captured whereas a RAF pilot doing likewise could be back in a fighter the very next day. What was even more telling was the disparity in aircraft production. During the battle the RAF were hardly ever short of fighters – indeed production of new planes and recovery of damaged ones increased during the fight. The shortage – sometimes desperate – was pilots, especially experienced ones. There are so many stories of fresh, incredibly young, pilots who went straight from minimal training into combat within hours of arriving at their new squadrons only never to come back. 

Without trying to precis the whole book, the Battle of Britain amounted to a massive miscalculation on the part of the Luftwaffe and most especially of Herman Goering who promised AH that he could defeat England in a matter of weeks. German ‘intelligence’ was quite pitiful consistently underestimating the strength of the RAF until it became obvious that they could not be defeated in the given timeframe with the planned invasion of the Soviet Union pressing. But failing to knock Britain out of the war allowed for the dreaded ‘war on two fronts’ that the German High Commanded worried about so much – rightly. Ultimately, of course, it allowed Britain to be a jumping off point for European liberation and as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for bombing raids deep into the Reich itself. 

Even if you have a good grasp of the Battle of Britain this is definitely worth a read. Although I regard myself as reasonably knowledgeable, I still picked up on a few things – even such basics as why the RAF fighters flew in ‘Vic threes’ whilst the Luftwaffe flew in ‘Finger fours’ - which always pleases me. I think this is my second book by this author and it won’t be my last. Recommended.  

Saturday, March 16, 2024


VERY clever........................!!


Happy Birthday: Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer and humanitarian who was famously nicknamed "The King of Comedy", with a career lasting over eight decades. He appeared in more than 60 motion pictures, starting in 1949 including sixteen Martin and Lewis musical comedy films with Dean Martin, as his partner.

Thursday, March 14, 2024


Just Finished Reading: The Z Murders by J. Jefferson Farjeon (FP: 1932) [272pp] 

It all started with an annoying carriage companion on the journey from the North. By the time Richard Temperley had arrived in London in the early hours of the morning he was both exhausted and unwilling to wake his sister at an ungodly hour. Taking advice from a station porter he heads for a nearby hotel to freshen up and rest before journeying on only to find his snoring companion has already arrived. Too tired to change his plans, Richard decides to stay and starts to drift off before realising that something is wrong – the silence. Approaching the now quiet ex-companion Richard discovers, to his horror, that he’s quite dead – shot through the chest. Questioned by the police he has little information to offer. For some reason he fails to tell them about the attractive young woman who left just as he had arrived. He also fails to mention that he has in his possession her left-behind purse and that he knows both her name and home address. Wanting to know if she was indeed somehow involved in the bizarre death of a seemingly harmless man, he makes his way to her apartment only to realise he’s being followed – by the police or by the murderer? What Richard doesn’t know is that the girl is at the very centre of things and that more bodies are already on the horizon.  

This was a bit of a strange one. At times it felt all rather Hitchcockian, and I had flashes of ‘North by Northwest’ going through my mind. Essentially it was two previously unconnected people – both young & both single naturally – thrown together by circumstance and trying to figure dangerous things out as they race across an equally dangerous landscape in pursuit of a murderer – whilst in turn being pursued (or used as bait) by the police. Although I found the plot a little on the ‘thin’ side from time-to-time the actual mechanics of the tale were mostly well done. Both Richard Temperley and his motivating love interest, Sylvia Wynne, were well drawn and likable. The baddie was a rather over-the-top cardboard villain though nasty with it. The side characters, Richard’s sister, the police inspector and the put-upon taxi driver, were fun (and often funny) which lightened the mood when necessary and I liked all three. The long-distance chase gave characters time to know each other as well as muse on the case at hand which was a decent way of progressing things. The end scene was suitably dramatic and cinematic, and the wrap-up made sense. Despite being a little too chaotic from time to time and a touch overly contrived here and there this was still mostly a fun read. Not one of the best BLCC books I’ve read but still above average in the grand scheme. Reasonable.