Colonel Reacts to “Dunkirk" Movie | Air Battle

My Grandfather was there , he was a hero and saved his Commanding Officers life ( he got a mention in dispatches ) and was awarded the oak leaf emblem

Little fun fact the voice off Fortis Leader is Michael Caine who also was in the Classic Battle of Britain Movie which was made in 1969 ❤

this really shows how hard it was to get a good shot. Collins closed the canopy because the thought was that if it was open it might slam shut and jam, which it did anyway. On the side door of the Spitfire was a little crowbar that he didn't use.

You just got yourself a British subscriber. My grandfather was in Electronic Warfare during WW2 in Burma. He received the Burma Star medal.

Great post sir! My farther was Commander USAF. Based RAF LAKENHEATH 🇬🇧 76-89. I’m very proud of his service! My brothers and I would try and prise story’s from him..he was very stoic, and would always say he had none… Tho we all Knew he flew many combat missions. All three of my brothers and my self where born in 🇬🇧. Two are serving RAF. My eldest son is senior air cadet at his squadron. I am Aware more than any his impart on his family journey! Sorry for long reply! Thank you and my brave farther, and thanks to all the brave men and women that serve there country no matter which…

My dad and 4 of my uncles were down on the beaches of Dunkirk.They were fighting Germans all the time for 4 days, till they got rescued from the beaches..They never saw a friendly plane the whole time they were there. caused a lot of bad feeling for the RAF lads..

This was intense. Great scene review! Between the drama of the dogfight and the gorgeous sight of the sun glinting off of the water, really engrossing. I was also confused about the pilot opening and shutting his canopy. But then watched the scene again and realized he changed his mind, since the "swell" in the water looked good, so figured he would ditch, and perhaps figured the closed canopy offered more protection in case the plane broke apart or something. 🤷 Great job, sir. Thanks! 👍🇬🇧🇺🇲

It was a Heinkel 111 that had the right profile on the minesweeper when the Spitfire shot it, not a Messerschmidt.

I’m a Brit. Thank you for your comments Sir. The water temp and survival time is interesting. If one was more secure in knowing your odds of freezing to death would that make you fight better? If it’s death in the air fair enough, but the thought of death in the water would freeze me in the sky. Thanks again.

Such an interesting reaction, many thanks for the video!

Just on the SAR stuff in the channel - I was fortunate enough in my high school aviation club in the 2000s to have an ex RAAF pilot join us for a chat one day. He was an old boy of the school and told us his stories. He flew Halifaxs that weren't fit for Bomber Command doing Meteorological flights out of Scotland into the North Sea, Scandinavia, Europe etc day and night taking readings so forecasts could be done for the RAF and USAAF when planning raids. Shockingly high casualty rate. He got wounded after a EFATO due fuel contamination then sent to a Coastal Command posting flying old Walrus flying boat biplanes on SAR duties in the channel for the bomber streams. Lots of crews bailed out once clearing the coast of France but the sheer bravery to be within range of the Luftwaffe in a string bag of a biplane doing sweeps looking for rafts and crews has never left anything but a permanent impression on me.

Close canopy to ditch because the shock of water hitting you at nearly 200 mph will knock you unconscious

Another great commentary Colonel P.

My grandfather was providing air cover during Dunkirk evacuation in a Bristol Blenheim.

Love this please make more videos!!!

The reason Collins opened his canopy them closed it is because he originally was going to bail in the air, but looked down to see that the water was calm so he could ditch the plane

I was mostly impressed by the lack of spatial awareness by the British pilots. Ooops, look at that, a 109 just shot me.

A belly landing on a spitfire, I don't know I thought they did hand signalling at that time, thank you.

Spitfires would turn turtle and nose in during a water landing. The pilot needed to get out quickly.

The onboards from the "Spits" were actually from Yak-52s. I've got plenty of time in my logbook on them and a close friend was involved with the production. Hence it looks a bit slow. Re the canopy, at least on the warbirds I'm familiar with they don't lock when they're open. They rely on the rake of the fuse on the ground and airflow in the air so (I guess) there would be concerns about it smashing forwards and getting knocked off the rails and jamming. That said, I don't know how it works in the spit myself either. The Yak and Wirraway you can lock it back.