Amazing War Stories Bruce Crompton

On the 9th of October, 1943, one of the bloodiest air battles of the war was unfolding over German skies.  Over 300 hundred fighters were attacking the Flying Fortresses of the American 1st air division, who were on a daylight bombing raid to Anklam, East Germany.
The dog fighting was savage, the Germans relentless.  The men on the bombers who flew that day were seasoned war fighters and those that returned said they had never experienced anything like it.
It was one of the first times the American planes from the 8th Airforce had been able to strike this far into the Nazi homeland.  New modifications to their fortresses meant they could now travel much greater distances - but it also presented them with a new problem.
The disadvantage of long range bombing missions meant that the friendly escort fighters with smaller fuel tanks couldn’t keep up with you - so you were flying without their protection.  Without the fighters for cover the Germans would attack with virtual impunity.
This is the remarkable true story of 10 men in one of those flying fortresses, a plane called Lightning Strikes.  By the end of the mission, three quarters of the bomber group were either destroyed or badly damaged and 50 men never made it back…
They were The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourne..
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Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com
Contributors:
Major Rob Paley - Official Historian of the 'Bloody' 100th now known as the 100th Air Refuelling Wing
Jim Cleary - Curator, 453rd Bomb Group Museum, Norfolk - visit https://www.amazingwarstories.com/museum/the-453rd-bombardment-group-museum/
Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Episode Credits-
Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer
Associate Producer Lois Crompton
Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group
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Amazing War Stories: Extra Ammo is the supporting VODCAST of the Amazing War Stories Podcast - click the link in the show notes to watch the video version.
In each of these new episodes, hosts Ed Sayer and Bruce Crompton talk about military heroes and examine rare military artefacts. In this pilot episode, we tell the 'origin' story of Bruce, how he got into military collecting and talk about some of his rarer pieces - including the famous original helmet from the movie Full Metal Jacket, Joker's glasses, and how Stephen Spielberg almost wrote off one of Bruce's vehicles on the set of Saving Private Ryan.
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On a moonlit night of 28th August 1944 an American Sherman M4A1-76 tank sat on a hillside watching the approaching train in the valley below. Sitting on top was a sergeant, Lafayette G Pool. There was nothing normal about this soldier however, he was the US Army’s most feared tank commander and by the end of his service he had clocked over a dozen enemy tank kills.
The war film Fury is a movie like no other - directed by David Ayer it follows the exploits of a tank commander called Don “War Daddy” Collier played by Brad Pitt. Many fans don’t realise that the nickname of Pitt’s character was actually borrowed from a real person, and that man would almost single handedly drive the 3rd Armoured division straight into the guts of Nazi Germany.
This is the true story of War Daddy - The Real Fury.
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Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com
Contributors:
Owen Thornton - Associate Producer, Fury
Davis Smith - Ex-US Marine Tank Commander
David Willey - Curator, The Tank Museum, Bovington
Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Episode Credits-
Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer
Associate Producer Lois Crompton
Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group
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In the early hours of the 15th May 1982 three SeaKing helicopters lifted off the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes in complete darkness. On board were 42 soldiers of the Special Air Service - their destination, an enemy airfield whose position threatened the entire British landing force.
The stakes were high. If the assault failed, the British could not only lose nearly half its special forces soldiers in one go but an Argentinian strike from the airbase could lead to the failure of the troop landings... and the war itself.
Like any SAS raid it was a huge roll of the dice, but as the regiment’s motto says, Who Dares Wins and the troopers on board those helicopters had no intention of losing...They were... The Punishers of Pebble Island.
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Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com
Contributors:
Matt Hellyer, Former SAS Warrant Officer, CEO Pilgrims Bandits
Julie Miller - Curator, Combined Services Museum
Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Episode Credits-
Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer
Associate Producer Lois Crompton
Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group
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On the 29th August 1942 a soldier of the Australian Maroubra Force placed his hand on the bipod of his Bren gun, the barrel was still too hot to hold and loaded a fresh magazine. The enemy, only yards away, were crashing through the jungle towards them. The Australian Force were massively outnumbered, exhausted and disease ridden - they knew they were staring defeat in the face. No Allied army had yet beaten the fearsome Imperial soldiers of the Japanese Army in battle. But that would soon change. The soldier gritted his teeth, grabbed the charging handle and cocked his weapon. As the Japanese ran screaming towards him he charged back at them, firing from the hip...
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Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com
Contributors:
Lt. Col. Todd Vail, Australian Army
Kurtis Lowden - Deputy Curator, Australian Armour and Artillery Museum
Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Episode Credits-
Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer
Additional Research Charles Phillips
Associate Producer Lois Crompton
Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group
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On the morning of June 10th, 1942 six armed men in three rubber dinghies filled with explosives, paddled ashore to a small beach near Malia, Crete. Their mission - to destroy as many planes as possible at the Luftwaffe Airbase at Heraklion.
But already, the operation wasn’t going to plan. They had landed in the wrong location and the occupied island was not only crawling with German soldiers but also Nazi spies the allies called Quislings. 
This is the remarkable true story of the SAS’s first seaborne operation. By the end, the six heroes were forced to play a deadly game of cat and mouse as the nazis and traitors, tried to capture the fleeing SAS operatives. Sadly, not all of them would survive.
They were The Hitmen of Heraklion.

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Have a war story to tell? email mystory@amazingwarstories.com
Contributors:
Jason Fox - Ex-SBS and DS on SAS Who Dares Wins
Dr Chris Mann - Director of The War Studies Department, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Andrew Wallis - Curator, Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, London

Episode Credits-
Written, Researched and Executive Produced by Ed Sayer
Associate Producer Lois Crompton
Editing, Sound design & 3D mastering by Vaudeville Sound Group
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