Unseen Grit of Spitfire Pilots - Insights From a Motivational Speaker

Motivational speakers thrive on stories. Here's one of my own experiences I use to help audiences toughen up.

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You know I met a guy once

He was a WW2 Spitfire fighter pilot

and he told me what his job was in world war two

Germany had the famed Stuka Dive Bombers

the British had nothing to match them so they modified the Spitfires to be dive bombers

they physically clipped the ends of the wings so they were shorter

this was completely untested technology,

there was no guarantee this would even work

so there he was at 8000 feet

starting his dive

70 degrees and 500mph

flak exploding everywhere

at 3,000 feet … bombs away

Then with every last fibre of muscle

he would pull back on the stick

and you’ve gotta remember

this was all mechanical linkages back then

he was sitting in two tonne of metal headed straight the ground

he literally had to pull on that stick

like his life depended on it

He’d get the joystick between his knees

then slip this fat rubber band

that he’d made by slicing though an old truck inner tube

and put this makeshift rubber band around his knees

to hold the stick in place

as the plane pulled out of the dive

the G forces were so strong he’d black out

and he’d come to …. fifteen seconds later

and when he opened his eyes

everything looked pink

because his retinas had detached

from the G forces

and were eyeballs were bleeding

on the inside

Summary:

A WWII Spitfire fighter pilot shared the intense and dangerous experience of flying modified Spitfires as dive bombers. To counter Germany's Stuka Dive Bombers, the British shortened the wings of their Spitfires to make them suitable for dive-bombing—a completely untested modification. At 8,000 feet, he would begin his dive at 500 mph, braving exploding flak. After releasing the bombs at 3,000 feet, he’d use all his strength to pull back the joystick in a life-or-death struggle to prevent crashing. The G-forces were so intense that he blacked out, and when he regained consciousness, his vision was pink due to his retinas detaching and internal bleeding in his eyes.

Lessons Learned:

• Innovation in crisis: Sometimes, new and untested solutions are the only options in dire situations, even if there’s no guarantee they’ll work.
• Enduring extreme physical challenges: Pilots needed immense physical strength to withstand intense G-forces and navigate mechanical aircraft.
• Resilience under pressure: Despite the life-threatening situations, pilots had to trust their training, technology, and resourcefulness to survive.
• Improvisation and adaptation: The pilot's use of a makeshift rubber band to steady the joystick shows how creativity can be critical in survival.
• The unseen toll of war: The physical consequences, such as blacking out and internal bleeding in the eyes, reveal the often-overlooked toll war takes on those involved.