Battle of Britain 109 vs Spitfire Which Was Better?

Comments · 552

• JO

  @joemueller-zt9hn · 1 day ago

  "greetings, this is Greg"  👌

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• ME

  @Mechoselachia · 2 days ago

  Why, the Hawker Hurricane, of course

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• TO

  @tomandtinadixon · 1 day ago

  So my wife and I have decided on two coffee mugs, the 109 and the Spitfire. We will put them together on the coffee table and see if they fight.

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• WA

  @walkergarya · 1 day ago

  In a nutreal dogfight, in the summer of 1940, the 109 I think had a narrow edge, such that a better British Pilot would be able to out fly an average German pilot but in the actual BoB, the 109 was crippled by it's range. While the Spitfire and Hurricane had similar range limits, they were fighting over home ground. My conclusion is that the 109 was NOT fit for purpose as a bomber escort over Britain while the Spitfire and Hurricane were fit for purpose as interceptor fighters.

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• GO

  @gort8203 · 1 day ago

  Glad to see the shout out for Jimmy Doolittle.  Most people have little idea of how wide and deep his contributions extend.

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• CO

  @conroypaw · 1 day ago (edited)

  I think a lot of the confusion regarding the Spitfire and the Battle of France is due to the RAF not basing Spitfires in France, unlike the Hurricane.<br><br>I believe the main concern for the RAF at the time was the limited number of Spitfires available for service and with the impending Battle of Britain ahead, they wanted to preserve as many Spitfires for national defense as possible. &nbsp;They also wanted to avoid having an intact Spitfire fall into German hands. &nbsp;I don&apos;t know for sure if that was true as I haven&apos;t done any further research into that, but I&apos;ve seen that reason given by more than a handful of sources as for the reason why Spitfires were held back in Britain.

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• 77

  @777driver7 · 1 day ago

  Great content as always Greg..as someone who has had the privilege of engaging in mock air to air combat in a more modern setting, I&apos;d just like to point out that one important thing was overlooked.<br>Cockpit visibility, the bubble canopy whilst not perfect on the Spitfire gave significantly better all round visibility than the heavy frame 109 E4 canopy.<br>In a visual fight it makes a huge difference....and probably saved many Spitfire pilots lives.

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• BI

  @billy.g3597 · 1 day ago (edited)

  There is a scene in the BoB movie, that depicts a pilot with severe facial scaring from burns.<br>This guy was not an actor &nbsp;in makeup. He was a former RAF Squadron Leader Bill Foxley. He was a bomber navigator, when he was burned in 1944. He underwent reconstructive surgery by Sir Archibald McIndoe.<br>Whose work was not just for burns victims, but also for those terrible maimed by frostbite.<br>There was that many aircrew who received this pioneering, experimental plastic surgery, that they formed an association called,<br>&quot;The Guinea Pig Club&quot;.

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• JF

  @jfess1911 · 1 day ago

  When you get down to the range of 5-10mph differences, that is within the plane-to-plane variation. &nbsp;For the planes in this video (if they were performing correctly), pilot talent made a huge difference, but or even small advantages like starting off just a little higher, faster, or in a better position could be difference in winning or losing. &nbsp;It was also well within the &quot;good day versus bad day&quot; performance levels for individual pilots.

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• DA

  @davidolie8392 · 15 hours ago

  Excellent video. I have to tell you that 2 years ago, when I was waiting for cataract surgery and could not see well enough to work, your videos and a few others helped keep me sane. When I hear your voice it reminds me that I&apos;m past that short chapter. Best regards.

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• MP

  @mpersad · 21 hours ago

  A great comparison of two excellent fighter aircraft. Thank you for mentioning Dr. McIndoe and his work on plastic surgery. I live very close to East Grinstead Hospital, which is where the &quot;guinea pigs&quot; were cared for. The work that they did in that hospital during the war was extraordinary, and men had their lives returned to them by the dedication of the staff, their parents, and their families. Thank you.

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• SI

  @simonburch4434 · 9 hours ago

  Thank you Greg - superb as always. &nbsp;Perhaps one thing worth mentioning is that, judging by contemporary tests conducted by German pilots, allied test pilots, and indeed reports from modern-day pilots, the Spitfire was/is much easier to fly than the Bf109. &nbsp;<br>I&apos;d say that an expert fighter pilot might have chosen the Bf109E over the Spitfire but, for anyone else - &nbsp;especially a new pilot being thown into the maelstrom of the Battle of Britain - the Spitfire was surely the better bet.<br><br>German fighter pilot Werner Mölders described the Spitfire (and Hurricane) as being &apos;simple to fly compared with our aircraft, and childishly easy to take off and land&apos;. &nbsp;The ultimate turning performance of both types might have been &nbsp;similar, but the Bf109E&apos;s handling in the turn was complicated by its leading edge slats - something the Spitfire pilot didn&apos;t need to worry about.<br><br>While the Bf109 might have been technically superior, it probably needed an expert pilot to realise the benefits. &nbsp;The Spitfire, by contrast, probably gave a novice or average pilot more confidence and a better chance.

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