Posted on 06/05/2006 6:19:33 AM PDT by Vectorian
The last time they flew across the Channel, they were 32 feet long, with Rolls-Royce engines and wings bristling with 20mm cannons.
Now they measure all of 18 inches, have no engine and not so much as a peashooter - but their "pilots" still risk being thrown into German captivity.
The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that a "big wing" of more than 10,000 inflatable Spitfires will this week cross into Germany and, when the World Cup starts on Friday, they could face the kind of frosty reception encountered by their wartime counterparts.
England football fans have been warned of arrest by the British Home Secretary, threatened with "zero tolerance" by a German police chief, and told not to mention the war by the creator of Basil Fawlty himself.
Some have responded by packing inflatable Spitfires by the thousand into their camper vans to sell throughout Germany and finance their World Cup trips.
Alf Ancell, 31, who designed the Spitfires, admitted he had found plenty of fans willing to sell the planes in Germany.
"I got 10,000 Spitfires in a couple of months ago and I am now down to my last 2,000 and expecting to sell the remainder.
"It's not a link to the War," he insisted. "It's just an English symbol of victory. They look like flags when you hold them aloft. I don't see how that can be inflammatory."
Planning to sell them on campsites, in beer tents, and on beaches, Fred Arnold, Andy Mitchel and Terry Dorell last week vowed never to surrender their blow-up Spitfires until the buyer paid £5. The three have packed their VW camper van with more than 1,000 Spitfires, bought for £3.75 each on a sale-or-return basis, and will this week be selling them to fellow fans all over Germany.
"They're original and brilliant," enthused Mr Dorell about the miniature fighters decorated with St George's Crosses and camouflage patterns. "They may not like it in Germany," he added. "but who gives a sausage?"
The answer, it seems, starts with John Cleese, the German and British police forces, the Home Office - not to mention RAF veterans plus television producers who may not relish deciding what to do when the camera pans to thousands of Spitfire-waving fans.
Cleese, famous for screaming "Don't mention the war" as a goose-stepping Basil Fawlty, has condemned the "ridiculous anti-German prejudices" of his comic creation.
Before he was sacked as home secretary in May, Charles Clarke told the 100,000 England fans expected to visit Germany that glorifying the country's Nazi past is a criminal offence and that brandishing inflatable Spitfires could land them in trouble. "It's not a joke, it is not a comic thing," he said.
Asst Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, who is heading the delegation of 82 British police officers in Germany, admitted that the Spitfire issue was "tricky".
"The Germans," he said, "have a sense of humour. It's not a criminal offence to sell or display these items, but we have real concerns about how people might behave once they have a bit to drink. It could step over into insulting or threatening behaviour."
At the German embassy, optimism was the defensive strategy of choice. "Let's wait and see," said a spokesman. "Maybe they won't inflate these toys."
• Fans have been told not to travel without measles vaccinations because an epidemic has infected more than 1,300 people in Germany this year. One area is North Rhine Westphalia, which includes two cities hosting the World Cup Cologne and Dortmund.
Sorry, i've not posted on this board before, i didn't realize that it would To: to someone in particular. I was actually commenting on the "this is like an a-bomb in japan" comment.
Wait 'til the Muslims hear about all those little St. George's Crosses. That's when the hummus will really hit the fan.
Two bladed prop, an apparent radial engine, and where's the ellipsoid wing? I would never have figured out that is a model of a Spitfire! :-)
-Eric
'No Hurricanes? Churchill boasted of the plane when mentioning the Battle of Britain... “There were two 'Hurries' for every 'Spit'.”'
The hurricanes were superb anti-bomber interceptors but never quite captured the imagination like the Spitfire.
Achtung, Spitfuer! Achtung, Ouragan! just doesn't have the same ring to it does it? :D
"The three have packed their VW camper van with more than 1,000 Spitfires..."
Anyone catch the irony in this?
'would a bunch of germans with blow up Faulker-Wulfs (sp) be in trouble in England? '
Of course not, we have a sense of humour!
"Do they come with signs saying "Two World Wars and one World Cup"?"
LO very Loud.
'Wait 'til the Muslims hear about all those little St. George's Crosses. That's when the hummus will really hit the fan.'
Hard luck they're having if they don't like them, they can always vote with their feet and go and live somewhere else. Having said that, the few muslims I know are all supporting England!
Parking - smarking... it's not as if one can drive an english sportscar anywhere and expect it not to break down anyway!
I vote for inflateable cans of SPAM!
No kidding... it looks more like a FW-190!
Damn... that's a great comeback!
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but weren't Spitfires incapable of long range bomber escort and thus wouldn't have flown over German territory anyway. They were very effective in intercepting incoming german bombers and fighters but did not have the range to fly into Germany and still get home.
In fact i believe that the allies didn't have any fighter that could escort the bombers all the way in until the P-51 Mustang came on the scene. I believe it was Goebbles who said when he looked up and saw the Mustangs flying bomber escort over Germany he knew it was the beginning of the end.
So if the Spitfire played mostly a defensive role, what do the Germans have to complain about? If they were waving inflatable B-17s or B-24s I could understand.
Football? In Europe... Oh, you mean soccer. That is a nice sport for the kids here in the US...
As for the inflatable airplanes, it does seem much ado about nothing. The photo of the three guys with their planes is comical. Their mothers must be so proud of how fat their sons have come....
'Anyone catch the irony in this? '
It's even more ironic when you realise that VW only exists because of the British and their generosity in helping the defeated germans rebuild their country:
'After the war was over, the British Army took over the factory. The British were interested in the factory, because they needed light transportation: what else could they do? The factory was brought back up (it was still damaged, however) with leadership provided by Major Ivan Hirst of the British Army, and by the end of 1945, had produced more than 2000 cars. Most of them were produced from spare parts that were left in the factory. Within a year, the factory had produced over 10,000 cars, all thanks to assistance from the British government. Sometime after 1945, the company was named Volkswagen by the British, who also renamed the town at the factory "Wolfsburg", which was the name of a local castle. The British sought to give control of the company to able hands: the Ford company turned the offer down because it thought it would be a waste of money, the French government refused; nobody seemed to want the company. In 1949, the British government was finally able to relinquish control of the company to the German government. Heinrich Nordhoff was appointed as the senior executive of Volkswagen, a move which proved to be a very good one.'
What everyone...including Cleese himself...seem to forget is that Basil was suffering from a rather serious head wound at the time.
The Batle of Britian redux.
I guess they're not part of the "I'm offended by the Crusader flag" contingent.
They should have made inflatable Lancasters with little inflatable incediary bombs under the wings.
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