How One RAF Pilot's "Suicidal" Upside-Down Trick Let Hurricanes Shoot Stukas From Below скачать в хорошем качестве

How One RAF Pilot's "Suicidal" Upside-Down Trick Let Hurricanes Shoot Stukas From Below

Discover the incredible true story of how one RAF pilot's desperate innovation during the Battle of Britain changed aerial combat forever. When conventional attacks failed against heavily-armoured Stuka dive-bombers in summer 1940, Flight Lieutenant James Nicolson made a split-second decision that defied every rule in the RAF playbook—he rolled his Hurricane upside-down and attacked from below. This documentary reveals the engineering challenges, the physics that made it barely possible, and how this "suicidal" tactic spread throughout Fighter Command and beyond. Learn about the Stuka's armoured design, why standard attacks failed, and how inverted flight pushed the Hawker Hurricane and Rolls-Royce Merlin engine to their absolute limits. From the desperate skies over Southampton to the deserts of North Africa, follow the evolution of a technique that improved kill ratios by over 60% and influenced aircraft design for generations. Featuring detailed analysis of the Battle of Britain, technical insights into WWII aircraft capabilities, and the lasting legacy of unconventional tactical thinking. #worldwar2 #britishsoldier #battleofbritain #ww2 #britishhistory Sources Primary Historical Sources: RAF Fighter Command Combat Reports, July-September 1940 (The National Archives, Kew) Air Ministry Weekly Intelligence Summaries, 1940-1941 Squadron Operation Record Books: 249, 243, 501, 601, 32, 253, 274, 185 Squadrons Victoria Cross Citation for Flight Lieutenant J.B. Nicolson, London Gazette, 15 November 1940 Fighter Command Tactical Memoranda, 1940 (Air Historical Branch) Published Works: Price, Alfred. The Hardest Day: 18 August 1940. Arms & Armour Press, 1988 Bungay, Stephen. The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. Aurum Press, 2000 Shores, Christopher & Williams, Clive. Aces High: A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots. Grub Street, 1994 Bishop, Patrick. Fighter Boys: Saving Britain 1940. Harper Perennial, 2004 Orange, Vincent. Park: The Biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park. Grub Street, 2000 Technical References: Mason, Francis K. The Hawker Hurricane. Aston Publications, 1987 Smith, J.R. & Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. Putnam, 1972 Price, Alfred. The Spitfire Story. Arms & Armour Press, 1982 (comparative analysis) Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. The Merlin in Perspective: The Combat Years. 1983 Mediterranean Theatre: Shores, Christopher. Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete 1940-41. Grub Street, 1987 Shores, Christopher & Ring, Hans. Fighters Over the Desert. Neville Spearman, 1969 Spooner, Tony. Supreme Gallantry: Malta's Role in the Allied Victory 1939-1945. John Murray, 1996