On the other hand even the Tomahawk Mk 1 with its twin fifties and four 0.30 guns had better firepower than the Mk1 Spit or Hurricane with their eight 303s. Thus the Tomahawk would have been a better bomber destroyer than the two British fighters.

In the seventies I read a book which I think was called “Who Really Won the Battle of Britain?” The author was an B of B pilot,”I think his name was “Dizzy” Allen. A whole chapter of his book was devoted to the inadequacies of the 0.303 Browning machine gun and the merits of the 50 cal. Allen said far more German aircraft (especially bombers) would have been brought down in 1940 if the Hurricanes and Spitfires had just four fifties each instead of eight 303s. Allen mentioned numerous instances where German bombers returned safely to their bases with up to 300 rifle calibre bullet holes in their structure.

He said that just 50 hits with fifty calibre rounds would have caused a 1940 German bomber to explode.

Obviously as has been pointed out the Tomahawk wouldn’t have been a match for the German fighters but it could have handled the bombers. I remember reading about an incident in the Battle of France when a squadron of P 36 Hawks shot down 16 unescorted Stukas without loss.

Colin

Mossie Simulator

Many years ago the IWM in Lambeth did indeed have a Mossie simulator. The film footage employed was the actual black and white footage shot from the nose of a Mosquito during the 1944 Amiens raid. However I have not seen this particular attraction on the last few occasions that I have visited the IWM. Does anyone know what happened to it?

Colin

I recall that Guy Gibson VC started off by flying Hampdens and he once wrote of an incident in which he and his crew chased a German Dornier which was returning from a bombing mission over England. They pulled alongside the Dornier and raked it with fire from their dorsal and ventral gun positions ,bringing it down.

I read somewhere that Gibson shot down a second German bomber in a similar fashion on a separate occasion. Does anyone have further details?

Colin

Nitrous Oxide in Mossies

Many years ago I read a book about John “Catseyes” Cunningham’s nightfighter exploits during WW2 . I remember in one chapter he mentioned how his Mosquito’s engines had been fitted with nitrous oxide bottles to improve combat performance.

Colin

The Pathfinders TV Series

Airline did screen in New Zealand – probably around 1983 or 84. A great series.

According to IMDb it first aired in the UK on the 3rd of January 1982.

I remember Wings well too. It has screened several times over in NZ, but not for about ten or more years now sadly.

I also very vaguely recall The Pathfinders about a bomber squadron, but no real details about the series.

“Pathfinders” was a 13 episode TV series based on the exploits of the Pathfinder Squadrons in WW2. It was made by Toledo Productions and filmed mainly at West Malling Airfield in the Summer of 1971. The series’ technical adviser was Hamish Mahaddie (of “Battle of Britain” film fame).

Unfortunately it was a rather cheapskate production. Though a small amount of footage of PA474 was taken and used throughout the production,the Lancaster scenes were mainly created using full scale wooden mock ups (which were not all that authentic ) and some equally unconvincing radio controlled models.Much stock footage (some in black and white) was also employed.

The series also suffered from poor scripts and hammy acting and the low production values were very evident in some episodes. Mike Pratt’s Scottish accent in one episode (where he portrays a Scottish boffin) must be heard to be believed – he sounds more like a Pakistani than a Scot!

The best feature of the series was Malcolm Lockyer’s theme and incidental music. The series was released on VHS video through DD video some years ago and may still be available.

One high point of the series (for aviation buffs) is that in one scene you can see Hamish Mahaddie’s Mosquito RS 712 parked in the background. At the time it was based at West Malling.

Colin

Some Airline facts

I believe Airline was filmed in 1981 which I guess means it would have screened the following year. Does anyone know if was ever shown outside the UK.

Septic.

I know quite a lot about the “Airline” TV series. It was filmed in 1981 and screened in 1982. It was written by Wilfrid Greatorex who had previously written “The Planemakers” ( (later called “The Power Game”) and co-scripted “Battle of Britain”. There was a dispute between Wilfrid Greatorex and Yorkshire TV about the series. Greatorex was upset about some script changes and asked for his name to be removed from the credits from some episodes. I think this was the reason why the second season was scrapped.
I think some episodes from Season 1 were not screened or not made for the same reason.

The second season was to have featured a Lockheed Constellation and possibly a Bristol Freighter.

The series was repeated on Satellite TV about 10 years ago but I think the past dispute between Greatorex and Yorkshire TV may explain its non – appearance on VHS or DVD.

Colin