Q&A / Request Section - Ask your questions, or post suggestions, here :)

The Warburton story is very interesting and sad. I am from Malta where he obtained his fame for reconnaissance. He was the most decorated reconnaissance pilot in the RAF, and as said here, an ace.
He had a girlfriend here, an English woman by the name of Cristina Ratcliffe, a dancer, who got trapped in Malta when the war broke out.
Warburton went missing over Germany in 1944, and was never found. Cristina, never left Malta, died here, waiting for him in the late 1980's.
In 2002, a P38 wreck was found. It was Warburton' s plane, with parts of his  body still in it.

My father served with RAF mobile radar units in the middle east during the war. Near Haifa, Palestine, he had the unique experience of being bombed by French (Vichy) airmen in American bombers (Marylands) but being protected by German (Jewish refugees) anti-aircraft gunners.

Maryland was LOVED by the British pilots, because it was so much faster than Blenheims they were using for reconnaissance. I read a book written by a Polish observer/navigator flying in a Photo Reconnaissance Unit describing a feeling of invincibility when flying Marylands due to their superior speed. The only problem was cramped crew positions (in the navigator/bombardiers' words "if one got tired of sitting, the only other option was kneeling"), which was an issue on a 9 hrs+ flights, and a complete isolation between crew members. Also, the cramped quarters caused some injuries to the crew member, most common in the hot African climate, where the crew wore shorts and short sleeves. For instant, the navigators table had sharp edges, which tended to cut the navigator's knees...

My grandfather was a shift supervisor at the factory that built the Martin 167 Maryland!  He participated in a ferry run that transported the planes from Maryland to Africa.

Nice to see a proto pre-Havoc Havoc and a proto pre-Mitchell Mitchell among the competition.

Can’t believe there are still several aircraft that I’ve never heard of in my 75 years. Wonderful presentations !

There were pictures of a surviving fuselage of a Martin 167 in north Africa, that appeared in magazines c2015.  It was believed to be an ex-french aircraft used as a VIP transport.  I don't know what became of it.

Fun fact, legend has it that the French at this time liked a throttle that operated in the opposite direction to those used by the Americans and British

Great video Rex. My grandmother was actually one of those teething problems for the Glen L. Martin company. She and my aunt were one of the right out of high school employees that the Martin company hired. One story that she told was of the training process where they were learning how to weld aluminum sheets. She said they would take their time, make the best bead possible and stand back and be proud of their work and as soon as the torches were cut the 2 metal sheets would fall apart from each other. The factory where these airplanes were constructed is still there but unfortunately it is in a state of disrepair. I can't wait to see the episode that you do on the Baltimore whore.

Everyone knows the "super awesome" B-25 and Marauder... and everyone forgets the planes that held the brunt of the work before these showed up.

Less than 100 years ago, "a bunch of untrained teenagers building military aircrafts..."

I, personally, take the attitude that a programme is the right length if it successfully communicates. This one did - with bells on. Frankly, if anyone has trouble staying with you, when you are in this form, for 30 minutes, then they have a problem with their attention span. You just keep getting better and better, Rex.

Like so many RAF aircraft between the BoB and the night bomber missions over Germany in 1943-1945, essentially forgotten.

Even then, look at the difference in appreciation between the Halifax & the Lancaster.

Warburton's and his squadron mates' often served as plausible deniability for ULTRA intercepts. They were often sent where they already knew italian convoys or fleet units already were.

True hero of WW2. Thanks for homage to air and ground crew who fought with this nice aircraft.

Yes, our South African pilots liked the Maryland a lot more than the Blenheim IV, which was too underpowered to operate in desert conditions.

On 11 December 1941, 21 Squadron SAAF were tasked to intercept fuel-laden Ju-52s out to sea off Derna. Maryland 1668 'L' pilot Capt Thackwray attacked one with his guns and claimed it destroyed, while rear gunner Air Sgt Jones claimed another. Later, in 1942, 16 Squadron used 5 of them for ground attack in Madagascar; only one was lost to ground fire.

In James Holland's excellent book: North Africa 1942–194: Turning the Tide in the West . He called out the Martin Maryland as an outstanding aircraft that helped win the battle for North Africa.

Brilliant. Back once again, doing what you do best. NEVER apologise for long videos if the subject matter justifies it - as this unappreciated beauty definitely does.  (If we want short, misleading and frequently inaccurate vids, we can go watch Dark Skies ;) )

Thank you for recognizing the South African Air forces since the new South African history narrative, this does does not exit.