Apparently after this an old retired RAF gentleman wrote a letter to the times saying that it was bad form, in his day the whole Squadron would have followed him through.
As a RAF officer, this was outrageous. As a man, this was outstanding. Throughout his stunts, he knew all along what he was awaited for. When you've got nothing to lose, you push to the maximum. That's what he did.
As a sixteen year old college kid I was standing on Southwark Bridge have a smoke when I saw the Hunter fly through Tower Bridge. It was an amazing sight.
Yeah it would be great to see but I guess not many people had cameras in 1968 and those who did definitely didn't expect a jet to fly under the bridge that day
I remember this happening, I was driving up Tower Bridge Road to cross the bridge. I didn't see the actual event but heard (and felt) the bloody thing head east up the river and just caught sight of it as it turned to the north. I felt at the time, and still do, what a marvellous adventure and how brilliant was the pilot. It's a bloody shame that he was basically sacked. We needed then, and still do top quality pilots, though I'm sure that most of our blokes are still damn great.
I actually saw this happen, from the eighth floor of an office block near the end of Southwark bridge. As far as I can remember, , he flew just above the river suface, leapfrogging each bridge in turn, before flying through Tower Bridge. 339
@@sp4rtavus244 Yes we do, it was guys like this that defended the freedom you take for granted today in 2 world wars, it was guys like this that have pushed the envelope of human endevour & advancement. What we need is less people like you, sitting in your little snowflake bubble spouting namby-pamby,sissy bullshit.
There was some damage from the incident, a cyclist on the bridge tore his trousers as he reacted (not a messy situation btw). The gallant Flt-Lt offered to pay for the damage, but the cyclist declined.
I was speaking to an old Rhodesian pilot, who flew Hunters, in war. He said that the Hunter was a great ground attack aircraft, with high presision.. He had many stories of the accuracy of the cannon.
G'day Mark, As an ex-RAAF member, stories like this make my blood boil. Historically, there are demonstrable cycles where governments go from ruthless slashing of military budgets and then, sooner or later, caught short when they are threatened. This forces them to throw huge amounts of money back into defence when the total bill would have been far less had they maintained a credible fighting force. Nobody likes war, most of all service people, however, a sufficient, balanced force is needed as a deterrent. Flt.Lt. Pollack should have been awarded the DFC, just for his piloting skills; then promoted to Air Commodore and placed in charge of RAF commemorative events. As Alf Garnet used to say, "Harold bloody Wilson!". What a pity there is no film of Pollock's flight through Tower Bridge. Done today that would go mega-viral in seconds. Thanks for another great video. Cheers, BH
Really. If this happened today, the jet would have been shot down as a terrorist threat. That the RAF failed to intercept this threat. Who would know what he intended. That the pilot was not jailed is pathetic. If it had been the USA or France he would have. If Soviet Union he'd have been executed. In wartime the RAF would have done the same.
@@russellmiles2861 Whats more pathetic is your bundled panties, it's thanks to guys like this, that you can enjoy the freedom you take for granted today, the freedom that gives you the right to sit there with your "I'm so offended by this" horse-shit.
There was once a time were politicians were real men, with fists and hard shoe tips. Sometimes we would need that to clear the offices now occupied by corrupt, unable, fucked up students in our parliaments.
You must be kidding. This was a stupid, selfish stunt that could have killed dozens of innocent civilians on the ground. All it would have taken would have been for the least thing to go wrong -- a bird strike, an unexpected gust of wind, a minor mechanical fault -- and things like this do indeed happen. Saying that he made it home safely is EXACTLY the excuse people give for why it was OK for them to have driven home drunk last night. He should have gone to jail. He should have saved his political protests for his own time.
In what sense? heh. Like it's impressive yeah, & super cool, but under what circumstance would this be useful? One of the highest scoring aces of the Battle of Britain, was a Polish guys, he died while preforming tricks to impressive his girl. If he could have kept it in his underpants, he could have continued to serve the RAF, and so could have this lad.
14 years late.... He is a hero, Knowing, the punishment would be terrible. He challenged them any ways. His courage and bravery, Is what you want in any military. I would have been very proud to have served with him.
It puts a smile on my face thinking of Pollock's victory flyby the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge. Britain needs brave men like Pollock now more than ever. Makes you proud to be British.
I guess the American in me always searches the memory banks for a "one ups manship" candidate but I've gotta say nothing I got comes close to this. The bridge bit alone was just insane crazy.
Little known fact - the pilot was given the option of discharge from the RAF or spending the next 10 years flying a cargo plane full of rubber dogshit out of Hong Kong
New to the channel. As a Veteran and Military Historian for a Military Museum, I appreciate your efforts and the work that goes into your videos. Very rare on the internet. Great job. Thanks
Never heard of this, thank you so much for posting. All I can say is good on you and well done. As an ex USAF I can really appreciate and admire what he did.
He should have been awarded a medal for giving the airfields and the country a salute. As apposed to the two fingers that the government seems to have been doing since 1968 and not stopped yet. He was the kind of pilot that made the RAF the greatest in the world. Full of guts and determination. 👌 Tally Ho! Tally Ho!
The present day RAF should honour this man by returning his wings and reinstating his status. He was the first jet to fly through Tower Bridge validating the squadrons motto. The politicians were wrong, so let's honour him by making him a patron of the squadron and take him up in a Tornado for a faster than sound flight. LIKE if you support my idea.
This pilot deserved a promotion for his bravery, skills and the genuine love for the RAF. A real British gentleman and aggressive soldier down to the bone.
This was amazing. I could not stop myself from saying "Wow!" several times during the video. Thanks for passing on this pilot's extraordinary protest flight.
Many years ago, a pilot demonstrated to me how "we do a strafing run in Nam". His "target" was a yacht where some people were enjoying evening drinks near the fantail. They ducked as we swooped down, across the deck and then shot skyward. Unfortunately one of the guests was the Vice President of the U.S. Words were passed down the chain of command and the M.P.s were waiting for us when we returned to base. Fortunately I was just an innocent bystander so to speak. Other guys asked me whether I recognized the celebrity but I was too busy keeping my lunch down.
Courageous Pilot! His deed won’t be soon forgotten! The words of your great leader Winston Churchill are rekindled, Never was so much owed by so many to so few! All Pilots, living or dead would honor Pollock for that Patriotic deed! Great Video Mark! Thanks! 🇺🇸🇬🇧
I thought you might like to know that I saw the plane as it flew over my school! It buzzed the school twice before flying off towards the river and was so low in the sky that we got a very good look at it. I was in a Maths lesson at the time in Beaufoy Technical School, Lollard Street, Kennington. I was not near the windows, but as soon as we (the pupils) heard the roar of the engine, we all (teacher included) rushed over to see what it was. It was one of the most exciting things I've ever seen. We had no clue what was going on and I only found out what happened when I got home to watch the evening news. As you can appreciate, very few people carried cameras around with them in those days, so I doubt if any footage exists of it, which is a shame. Things would be very different today because of the mobile phones we have. There must be people around who, like me, saw the plane, but I've never personally come across anyone. My school changed its name eventually to Lilian Baylis and it has since moved to a different location. Beaufoy school, which was built in the sixties, has now been turned into apartments. It was only a stone's throw from the Lambeth Walk.
I would like to requisition the form I need to fill out in order to give 199 thumbs up to Pollock and his principles. Scaring the bejeesus out of the pools of pudding that are the politicians is the highest honor achievable, I say.
My granddad flew in the same squadron as this guy, he took off with Pollock earlier that day. Granddad didn't know what Pollock had done until later that day when a friend told him he saw a Hunter fly under him, while he was in one of London's skyscrapers.
Not many fighter aircraft small enough. He was ready to leave the R A F, I believe,due to boredom. He served in Aden bombing terrorists hiding in caves in the Hadramat Mountains, The Yemen. A Sterling man.
Ex Army officer here. Always been a certain rivalry/tension between the Green and Light Blue services. Delighted though to take my beret off to this young pilot. We need a repeat performance!
Good for him. Pollock's flight is the stuff of legend among pilots worldwide. It has been said by some uncharitable types it was unfortunate that the Hunter wasn't bombed up and gave Parliament a proper beating up. Wilson and Labour were disasters for more than just the RAF.
Sar Jim no worse than the Tories who cancelled nearly everything in the 1950s and who were also mismanaging the economy at the same time, which lead to the financial crisis that Wilson's government had to deal with.
Sar Jim Wisdom is knowing where the line between RAF & Fuerza Aérea Chilena falls - whilst stipulating that its not always obvious. (And for those to whom my joke's not obvious, Gen. Pinochet strafed & bombed the Presidential Palace on September 11, 1973 using the Chilean Air Force)
Guys... UK bankrupted itself in WW1 and in WW2 fighting lesser powers than its main competitor for ruling the waves the US - who in the end didn't even need to fight UK to gain it. After WW2 UK lost most of its previous colonies (many of them to neo-colonial US influence) that fed its overhyped pre-WW1 economy. The reasons UK is not a world power any more but a mere sidekick to the US are rooted in 19th century and world wars. Everything after that was consequental fading away which this or that political option could do very little to slow down.
Man that's a great story...we felt the same way in the USAF in the 80's when they started cutting back hard... A note on the Hunter: Old guys had advised me to "never choose a woman or a vehicle by a photo" " One has to go down there and try them" they said amonst laughter. So I never thought much about the Hunter, wing too big, tail too small... until I saw one in real life all painted in red, it was one of the most beautiful aircraft I ever seen.
When I was a kid in Hong Kong, the RAF flew Mk XVII Spits, they had some WW2 pilots and some were aces. They'd take the "new lads" up and teach them what it meant to be a fighter pilot, two squared off against 4 or 6 and put on fantastic dog fights right over the city. The "old boys" knew how low they could go and if you were on high enough ground you'd be looking down as they flew by and pulled up under their "victim", who pretty soon got the idea. A few years later the Spits were replaced by Mosquitoes and one day a friend and I walking down the long road to Kai Tak terminal heard a distinctive humming sound behind us, turned around, it was approaching Merlins on a pair of Mosquitoes that split to either side. We were in white KGV uniforms, the pilots who'd been up pretty high, spotted an opportunity for some fun and didn't miss a beat, their prop tips were less than 20 feet above us. They were that sharp, came around again, took off their oxygen masks so we could see their big grins. We were jumping up and down, yelling and waving back. They weren't that much older than we were!! Those were the days when things like this were possible, not any more.
Breaking mach 1 at low altitude when passing the house of parliament shattering all windows and hopefully even rupturing the eardrums of the Prime Minister
It would need to be an AFC (Air Force Cross) because Distinguished Flying Crosses are only awarded for action against an enemy... unless you think parliament was his enemy?
That was a nice touch of "British". Hat off to that pilot. Also I'd like to add that there are still very patriotic individuals out there in our sad , grey Britain. Chin up
