I should point out that Hitler gave up trying to invade the UK after the
Battle of Britain in 1940 and tried to invade Russia instead, so we at
least achieved a draw against Nazi Germany before the US even entered the
war.

What we would not have been able to do without US help was to re-invade
Europe in 1944, so the French have much more to thank you and us for, not
that they generally show it!

The Spitfire was initially built at Supermarine in Southampton and was
developed before the war started, so less urgency in peacetime. It also
incorporated a lot of new technology for the time and was somewhat more
complicated to build than the Hawker Hurricane, which was available in
much greater numbers at the time of the Battle of Britain, and in reality
shot down far more German aircraft than the Spitfire.

The Castle Bromwich works near Birmingham involved building an entire new
factory, so it is not surprising that it took twelve months to come on
line. See:

http://tinyurl.com/5pfk6f

Derek Copeland



At 00:20 25 July 2009, brian whatcott wrote:
Del C wrote:
.....
Don't worry Peter! Bill thinks that anything not made in the USA is
no
good. He is from the country that came up with the supposedly self
defending B17 Bomber that your lot shot down in droves in WW2, at
least
until the long range Mustang fighters with UK designed Merlin engines
came
along to defend them. ....
Derek Copeland


This sentiment is unbecoming a UK citizen whose liberty depended on the
War materiel support and post-war aid that the USA provided Europe, and

in particular Britain. If Americans sometimes talk like 19th century
British Imperialists, it is because they too have drunk deep of the same

heady wine - world dominion - but only for a while.....

Even talk of war-planes can easily turn to one's disadvantage:
try comparing the Mustang, from first drawing, to first proto in six
months - compared with say the Spitfire assembly at Castle Bromwich
satellite factory from parts - first product out of the hangar took
TWELVE months....

Brian W