I photographed and interviewed 40 WWII veterans in 10 countries.
My father was a WWII fighter pilot and later civil pilot. As a wide-eyed boy I listened to my father and his friends tell their stories. Often told as they drank copious amounts of alcohol. Stories told by British, Australian and American pilots who flew some of the greatest aircraft ever built. Their exploits thrilled me as a boy and they thrill me now. Hopefully that sense of awe shines through in my work.
Recently I have been doing pencil drawings depicting combat events described to me by the pilots themselves. My drawings are intentionally rendered to look like old photographs.
My work is available for purchase via my website JohnMartinBradley.com
I would have loved to meet and talk with this great man, I find that most of the German soldiers were very intelligent, articulate, honorable, and very disciplined.
This man flew everyting from Me 262 to British Harriers, and at the same time is so humble and kind in the interview. 🤯 "He was very clear that I had one hour of his time and then I must leave. Four hours later we were drinking Scotch." LOL🤣
I believe most Luftwaffe fighters at the time did not believe in(nor care about) the Nazi political ideology. What they cared about are their planes, honing their skills and how not to get killed either in combat or in accidents. People like Galland, Hartmann, Rall etc are no different. They are true professionals.
A legend, a hero, and a great "man" ... when men were men. One of my favorite interviews (and yours is great, don't get me wrong) is Gunther's successive meet-up with the American Pilot (nicknamed Shorty) who not only shot him down, but shot off his left thumb (watch the video again and you'll see it's missing) in the process. The flight glove Gunther was wearing at the time is displayed in a museum in Germany and is missing the thumb section as a result of the event. This glorious man deserves every accolade we can bestow upon him. GOD SPEED GUNTHER ...
Bonjour de France. Formidable recording of an already very old but energetic man. He had so much to tell us. Thanks to all who recorded these men and women who experienced the most unbelievable war of all times, wether they were on one side or another.
What an honor to have talked with him. Yeah he was out enemy once but making amends after is what counts. I'm very fascinated by him always happen since all I can remember being an American
It took me a while to get my head around this too. Unbeknown to me at the time, the 109 had slots on the leading edge of the wings that extended on, eg, landing to reduce the stall speed (at least I think that was the purpose). This meant the aircraft could be flown from less than ideal airfields without ripping off or damaging the undercarriage, when hitting potholes etc etc. Apparently these slots had a habit of extending unexpectedly in tight turns, occasionally putting the plane into a spin.
An absolutely amazing man. His autobiography is incredible. He always managed to have the best attitude despite the circumstances and believed strongly in putting forth every effort every day to succeed. He is my biggest hero’s in life. God bless you General Rall.
I was amazed by how clear his English was like almost no accent at all but you can tell how sharp he is as if he all those years did not effect him all together what a chance of a lifetime to interview him
Im of course sad that hes gone but at least he does not have to witness the overall awful actions of the Russian airforce in Ukraine ... although I would love to hear his opinion and judgement. Because its something else if someone like him or some random analyst of some kind sais certain things.
I can’t believe you passed up a session with this living legend. This interview would have been very different if you had stayed for a few whiskies. He was desperate to get drunk and shoot the breeze. You big fool, I would have left the car and walked through a blizzard the next morning.
I loved that man! I did not agree when he said a invasion of England would of failed in his book.Even Churchill said it probably would of been successful. I meet him, great person!!
German planes fidnt have the high octane gas; and not able to pull manifold pressure like our planes could; this did make a difference in performance...
It sure did, in the Battle of Britain luckily it kept the Spit on par with the 109 compared with the Battle of France. Illegal of course, the USA was neutral at the time.
Interesting that this came up about " the good guys" i.e. Yanks and brits, were shooting parachutes. More and more is coming out about the deficiencies and moral lapses from the Allied side.
Oh , I would luv 2 c this. There's alot of dirt under the rug from the allied side and axis side(including Japans view of allied airmen parachuting; allied airmen captured were often beheaded)!
I wish the reporter would ask for more detailed questions regarding dogfighting tactics against the P-51, Spitfire, and P-47. How did the ME-109 stack up dogfighting against these types?
Thank you so much, for this interview. From all i've seen with this gentleman, he seemed like such a nice person to chat with. Do you have recordings of the interview with the Czechoslovakian pilot you've talked about in this video? I would love to hear that as well.
Thank you for your kind words, Jonas. Yes he was a remarkable man to chat with and kind too. In due course I shall be posting the Czech pilot, whom I also liked very much. A different man completely, but also an extraordinary man. General Miroslav Standerer from Pilzen. We also drank Scotch, except we drank an entire bottle. When his wife came home from work she was furious with me and kicked me out of the apartment :)
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuff That sounds, like a pleasant kind of interview. Maybe it will become something like "your thing" to chat with the pilots with a bottle of Scotch next to you. You might get more information from them haha. I really look forward for that interview. Keep up the good work John! Greeting from Czech Republic. :)
@@jonascerny9499 haha Jonas, that is a brilliant idea, I wish I had thought of that sooner! And thank you again. I shall tell you a little story about Miroslav. There was something Kafkaesque about his life, including his time flying. He was involved in several dogfights with the Luftwaffe, but never shot down a single aircraft (a very common thing among fighter pilots, BTW). But the point I want to make is that while people like Gunther Rall were extraordinary and indisputably brave, for me, the most brave of all the dozens of combat pilots I interviewed was Miroslav. Why? Because he told me that after his initial taste of combat, he was terrified every time he climbed into the cockpit. He was sure that "this is it, this is my last flight, I am going to die now". But he went up again, again and again. That is the sign of a truly brave man, in my opinion. I liked him very much and I admire him greatly. A truly brave and humble man, with a great deprecating sense of humour and a big heart.
@@JohnMartinBradleyStuff Thank you for this brief part of the interview! I belive that Miroslav fought for the RAF, correct? If so, i wonder what he told you about his return to (then) Czechoslovakia. It's crazy, what the communist did to these heroes who came back. That's one of the things from our history, for what i'am as a Czech citizen really ashamed of. Anyway like i've said, really looking forward for that interview John, cheers!
@@jonascerny9499 Jonas, one of the reasons I have been so tardy in dong General Standerer's interview is because I want to "do him justice". There are several extraordinary stories here. Firstly, Miroslav escaping Czechoslovakia (with many other Czechs and Moravians etc. and not just pilots) to join the French air force with whom they fought against the Germans. And then a large number of them made their way to England after the fall of France, in Miroslav's case, over the Pyrenees and eventually to Lisbon and Liverpool. Where we (the British) were slow to appreciate this gift from the universe and later shamefully poor at acknowledging and respecting (e.g. Battle of Britain celebrations not including Czechs and Poles so as not to offend Uncle Joseph). The second story is that when these Czech heroes returned to their home country, many were later imprisoned by the communists and quite a few put to death. Miroslav escaped Czechoslovakia a second time and made his way back to Britain to re- rejoin the RAF after the war. In addition to a fine bottle of Scotch I sent him as a present after meeting him, I sent him a DVD of the outstanding film DARK BLUE WORLD.
