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The WW2 Podcast

47 - Flying to Victory: The Western Desert Campaign 1940-41

The WW2 Podcast

Angus Wallace

Society & Culture, History

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2017

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode we're in the Western Desert in 1940-41 looking at the air campaign fought by Raymond Collishaw and his RAF crews.

Collishaw was a WW1 fighter ace. When the war broke out in 1939 now Air Commodore Collishaw he commanded an RAF Group in Egypt. The fighting in the western desert in 1940 and early 41 is often overlooked yet with his army counterpart, Richard O'Connor they scored some stunning successes. Collishaws ideas on tactical air support would become the blue print for allied air operations later in the war.

Joining me is Mike Bechthold.

Mike is the author of Flying to Victory: Raymond Collishaw and the Western Desert Campaign 1940-41.

 

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and campaign fought by Raymond Coleshoe on his area of crews.

0:14.1

Coleshoe was a World War I fighter race.

0:17.0

When the war broke out in 1939, now Air Commodore,

0:20.8

Coleshoe, he commanded an RAF group in Egypt. The fighting in the Western Desert

0:26.4

in 1940 and early 41 is often overlooked, yet with his army counterpart Richard O'Connor, they scored some stunning successes.

0:37.0

Koeshore's ideas on tactical air support will become the blueprint for Allied operations later in the war.

0:44.8

But before I get started, just a quick reminder that this podcast is funded by patrons of

0:50.9

the show like yourself.

0:53.0

This kind of niche programming

0:55.1

would not be possible on regular broadcast networks.

0:58.7

Whilst download figures to me are pretty good

1:01.0

with 30 or 40,000 downloads a month. I don't have advertisers throwing themselves

1:06.0

at me to fund making the show. The funding of this show comes from those kind listeners who contribute a dollar or two each month.

1:16.0

This patronage helps me to put the show together for everyone.

1:20.8

So if you're interested in sporting the show you can either go to

1:23.8

W. W.2 podcast.com and click on donate or go to patreon.com slash

1:30.1

W. W. W.2 Podcast.

1:34.0

Your support is invaluable to programming like this and I thank those who are already patrons

1:40.0

of the show. So that's Patreon.com slash W.W.2 podcast. So joining me today is Mike Bechtold.

1:50.0

Mike is author of Flying to Victory, Raymond Coleshoe and the Western Desert Campaign 194041.

1:57.8

So thanks for joining me.

1:59.6

We're going to look at the early campaigns in the Western Desert but before we get there I wondered

...

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