Paul F Moore

German Propaganda poster from the Second World War

​"Victory will be Ours!"

This is the famous photo of the tailless Dornier Do17 rammed by Sergeant Ray Holmes in his Hurricane having run out of ammunition. He had already had an interesting day. This aircraft was one of a flight of three that Holmes attacked. The first fired a flamethrower at him but, designed for ground use only, it didn't work at 16,000 feet. Windscreen obscured with oil, as it cleared he nearly hit the 17. The second he fired on, bits came off including what looked like a large white piece. This turned out to be one of the crew bailing out. The parachute caught on Holmes' wing and stayed there briefly until he shook him loose. By the time he attacked the third, he had nothing left. The Do17 looked like it was going to bomb Buckingham Palace so he took the decision to ram it. Thinking he would just knock the tail fin off, he sliced the entire tail section away. His own Hurricane now crippled he bailed out landing in a large dustbin. Three of the Do17 crew bailed out but only two survived. The other two were killed in the crash.

Holmes was commissioned later in the war leaving the RAF in 1945.

Clicking on the image will take you to Amazon should you wish to purchase Sgt Holmes Autobiography.

Cutaway poster of the Junkers Ju87 Stuka Dive Bomber

These two photos depict the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on their tour of Germany in 1937.

Supermarine Spitfire over the cliffs at Dover