One additional thing I would say on this topic, and it's not pilot related so I apologize for thread drift, is that everyone should read The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer at some point in their lives. Regardless of any minor quibbles over historical details, it is a remarkable and powerful book that serves to humanise the scared face of youth in an adversaries' uniform.
And it's easy to forget how young a lot of the combatants were, both on the ground and in the air (both in the Battle of Britain and later in the war). I'm still amazed at what Geoffrey Wellum was doing at 17, and that Guy Gibson was a Wing Commander by 23. What was I doing between those ages? Not a great deal to write home about!
Cheers, Spinner
Last edited by AWL_Spinner; 11-24-2010 at 06:33 AM.
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