Downed Luftwaffe Aircraft during the Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was Germany's first major defeat in World War II, and it convinced Germany not to invade the islands. But it was long and hard -raging from July through October in 1940.

The first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, Germany’s efforts to gain air superiority over Britain by destroying airfields, factories, ground infrastructure and Channel convoys were repelled against all odds by the pilots of RAF Fighter Command.

Britain’s decisive victory prevented Hitler from launching Operation Sea Lion – the German invasion of Britain – and is considered a major turning point in World War Two. But the cost was significant – 544 allied and 2,698 German aircrew killed in action, with 1,547 British and 1,887 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed.

What did England do with all those wrecked planes? They recycled them, using the metal to manufacture new planes for the war effort. But first, they posed for pictures with them. See 20 Historic Photos of Downed Luftwaffe Aircraft during the Battle of Britain at Urban Ghosts. Link

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"What did England do...", really? "England"? "England" equals "Britain"? I'm sure the tens of thousands of Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish men who laid down their lives to defeat the Nazis would be proud to know their sacrifice meant so little.
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I worked with a man who was assigned the task of reverse engineering the propellers from German planes. At the time they were 50% more efficient than the allies. The "recycling" in that case was replacing our props with theirs until we could figure out how to make them. (more details upon request for history buffs)
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Why is it that in old photos whether of a train wreck or a captured plane there are always people posing all over the thing? I feel like we don't do that enough anymore. Must be some liability thing.
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