Fantastic stuff – I really wait on these reports with anticipation. :eagerness:

That’s very interesting as well as satisfying my weekly Meteor fix. Keep up the good work.

A question – what do you think caused that marked deterioration in that area?

Now that’s funny. 😉

As ever – interesting and extremely enjoyable to see.

I think that some of the criticism of the series was down to the audience being weaned on the image of magnificently brave, polite and self controlled individuals being the norm for personnel serving in these violent, dangerous and frightening conditions. Piece of Cake took the opposite tack and simply showed that kids, and let’s face it most of the fighter pilots of the period were just that really, were having to cope with stresses and threats far beyond what the target audience could conceive. Stiff upper lip, jolly japes and calm acceptance of danger might have gone down a treat amongst the war film audience of the post-war period but Piece of Cake appeared at a time when TV coverage of modern war was normal and immediate (that’s why the Vietnam War drew such opposition). The audience may not have been in a jungle or desert somewhere being attacked or amongst the attackers but they could see the blood and therefore the psychological effects on those who were the participants.

I enjoyed Piece of Cake simply because it cut to the truth of the inexperience of young kids adjusting to fast fighting machines and their complexities; the often less than stellar performance of peace time officers thrust into commands that they were ill-equipped for; the numbing boredom and mistakes of the Phoney War and the sudden shock of reality when the Germans attacked in the west and Dunkirk then the desperate days of the Battle of Britain. Of course these young pilots were not going to react in any other way than being almost overwhelmed by events with which they struggled to cope.

The published memoirs and the various histories of the period show that the pilots of Fighter command were not 100% perfect and that some were arrogant fools, some were cowards or personally ill-disciplined. But on the whole the majority, no matter how they managed to cope, lived and died in a manner that did ensure victory. Piece of Cake despite the necessities of dramatic licence shows how they did that and while it mightn’t at times be what we expect, or pleasant, I think it comes close to the truth. Heroes don’t wear white hats and behave like saints, they’re just ordinary imperfect human beings upon whom fate suddenly drops a load of trouble.

Perhaps a photo essay titled “The artist at work” ? 😀

It lives!!!!!! – well done. :applause:

^

Amateur!!!

I have for sale the actual bomb that destroyed the Mohne Dam. It comes with Guy Gibson’s actual signature and a damp stain from where his dog blessed it before take off.