Comments by "Big Blue" (@bigblue6917) on "The Blackburn Firebrand; Complete Dog or Critical Strategic Asset?" video.

  1. The Blackburn factory was right next to the River Humber. So to protect the site there was a bank built around it between it and the river. To test the Firebrand's guns the tail was raised to sit the aircraft in a level position. The guns could then be fired at a target to make sure the were grouped correctly. This was done with the bank as a backstop for safety reasons. One day while testing the guns Blackburn got a telephone call from an irate ships captain wanting to know what he was being shot at. It turned out that because the same position had been used for so long the shells had drilled a hole through the bank. Whatever people may say about Blackburn they built the Buccaneer. The finest low level attack aircraft of its time. When flying at Red Flag the USAF could not get anywhere near it. Even when the fighters tried to catch them flying over the ridge to exit from the site the Buccaneer pilots just flipped it on its back and flew over the ridge upside down so the fighters could not get a shot.
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  2.  @BucketBucket275  I've seen that bank. That will have taken some doing.
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  3.  @EricIrl  It's been all down hill since Eric Bloodaxe. Eric got something of a bad reputation for other Eric's after him.
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  4. So have I. It was used throughout most of WW2. So several years. And we are talking 20mm cannons.
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