OpenTube

How The RAF Finally Broke The Luftwaffe | The Battle of Britain's Final Weeks

WW2 Headquarters

99,848 views

PART 12 | WW2 historians Al Murray and James Holland are on location to trace the dramatic final weeks of the Battle of Britain in 1940. They reveal how German morale crumbled and how Dowding's revolutionary air defence system changed warfare forever -- only for him to be dismissed weeks later. They examine a captured Heinkel at Duxford, and uncover the secret bugging that revealed what German pilots really thought. 👉 Previous Episode: Why Is Battle of Britain Day On September ... 🔔 / @ww2headquarters 🌐 https://www.ww2headquarters.com

📱 Follow Us:
Instagram: /ww2headquarters
X/Twitter: /ww2headquarters
TikTok: /ww2walkingtheground

Chapters
00:00 – “We are the boys of 92 Squadron” — decompressing like Fighter Command
00:44 – Captured Heinkel & the end of the battle
01:07 – Interrogations at Trent Park — bugging the Luftwaffe
03:49 – RAF morale vs. German morale
06:09 – The pressure of failure — Bomber Command’s nuisance raids
08:47 – Exhaustion & attrition inside the Luftwaffe
11:05 – The Dowding System — the world’s first integrated air defence
14:03 – Calm under pressure — how culture won the day
16:10 – The RAF’s shield wall holds
17:02 – The many, not the few — unsung heroes of Fighter Command
18:08 – Dowding & Park — the architects of victory
19:10 – Hitler’s failure and what came next
21:03 – Dowding’s dismissal & injustice
22:02 – Victory secured — and a new war ahead

Credits & Thanks
Filmed with the kind support of:
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Bentley Priory and The Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne

Archival footage credited to Imperial War Museums. © Crown copyright IWM.
https://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/co...

Presenters: Al Murray & James Holland
Produced by WW2 Headquarters
Research & script: WW2HQ Production Team
With thanks to the curators, volunteers, and staff preserving Britain’s wartime heritage.

#BattleOfBritain #WW2 #JamesHolland #Luftwaffe #WW2History #RAF #FighterCommand #DowdingSystem #AlMurray #ImperialWarMuseum #IWM #Duxford #TrentPark #BattleOfBritainMemorial #HughDowding #KeithPark #BigginHill #Spitfire #Hurricane #Luftwaffe #Heinkel111 #WW2Headquarters #WeHaveWays #WalkingTheGround #AviationHistory #MilitaryHistory #Churchill #OperationSeaLion

20 Comments

@ardshielcomplex8917 9 months ago Pinned

I started watching this series 2 days ago, and couldnt take a break other than to sleep late at night. Al & James....James & Al, seriously you're a great team with a unique style of relating history. Please continue into the future for the remainder of my life. Subscribed of course.

@darsalas1 11 months ago

No AI generated videos or voice overs. Just two chaps who know what they're talking about whilst also being respectful of the subject. Thanks to all who worked on this

@davidwebster5235 11 months ago

This is the best thing on the internet in my opinion.
Outstanding! No voice overs no slick editing, just two wonderful experts talking.

@leecoates3674 11 months ago

Genius way to get a couple of pints written off to the taxman as expenses by showing how the average1940s pilot deals with all the mental trauma they just have to deal with...

@csoanes01 11 months ago

That ending! Goosebumps….

@stephensaulters2161 11 months ago

Genuinely the best Ww2 channel (and podcast) out there. Two passionate historians bringing history to life. Also not to spoil the ending but watch until the end.

@timctnc 11 months ago (edited)

I Drove 180 miles to the White Heart after watching this video and raised a glass and had a meal in honour to the fighter pilots
Also thanks to these two guys for their absolutely brilliant videos that go to an amazing depth- These videos are better than any TV production I’ve ever seen
Really appreciated.

@colintwyning9614 11 months ago

I love the way, for enemy information, we switched torture chambers for tea and biscuits.

@GrayNeko 11 months ago

My apologies for double-dipping in the comments, but am I the only one who is absolutely staggered that Sir Hugh Dowding was not only able to develop this air defense system in the mid 1930's, which must have seemed like absolute science fiction, but he was able to explain it well enough to his subordinates that they could not only take his idea, but run with it? That boggles my brain. WAAF's only needing two weeks of training before taking their place? Are you kidding me? I've had massive respect for Sir Hugh since I read Korda's 'With Wings Like Eagles', now it is over the top. Reading about it was one thing, seeing it with my own eyes is quite another. To call him a visionary is to do him a disservice, IMHO.

@trevorbromidge2076 11 months ago

I grew up on a Council Estate in Plymouth called Ernesettle, built post war in the early 50's to replace blitz damaged housing, where all the streets were named after Battle of Britain airfields so names like Biggin Hill, Tangmere, Hawkinge, Uxbridge et al were the norm, interesting to hear these guys mentioning the names.

@AlexJudge-n6m 11 months ago

This was an awesome series to watch and listen to. This series has provided me with a deeper understanding of what occurred and to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Al and James that was an amazing series! Please continue making such great content

@marcussimmons7388 11 months ago

I hope we can mention Coastal Command at some point

@zippy5131 11 months ago

The mention of 19 sqn, made me smile with fond memories. I was on 19 when it was finally disbanded at RAF Valley. Sad day.
Playing these for my mum who's 90 in three days, as a little girl she stood and watched the battle from the start to the finish.
My grandfather was in London on recruitment duty for the RAF (After getting back from France) and watched St. Pauls get hit.

@andrewshylan9187 11 months ago

What a great series, please well done Al and James, thank you for the mention of bomber command that hit the barges, caused a nuisance and also suffered from attacks on their bases.

@kesfitzgerald1084 11 months ago

As an ex-radioman and telecommunication chap, I have to just remind people, specifically, how important having an integrated telecommunications system was to the air defence of Britain. At a time, I might add, when home telephones were a rarity. That was a major infrastructure achievement.

@Andy85uk 11 months ago

23:13 dammit I was expecting the Battle of Britain theme to kick in there I was enjoying that

@paulsansome1628 11 months ago

According to reports from after the war, German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt allegedly told Russian interrogators that the Battle of Britain was the most important battle of the war. It was not what the Russians wnated to hear
While other battles, such as Stalingrad or Kursk, were devastating, Rundstedt's observation highlights the pivotal, war-defining consequences of Germany's defeat in 1940.

@citsport 11 months ago

Lovely ending, many thanks to you both and I suspect some behind the scenes people. Extremely interesting and respectful of our past endeavours against tyranny. I hope we find that courage again.

@hanscombe72 11 months ago

Putting the Olivier part in was magnificent! My wife wondered why I was applauding!

@ronnyrocket5847 11 months ago

Outstanding!

I’ve just made it through the final episode of this series.

Al and James work so well together and bring a wealth of knowledge, and humour, to this remarkable period of proud British history.

Many thanks for posting all of these episodes, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.