How Belgian Biplane Pilots Bravely Fought the Luftwaffe in 1940

[Your Old Comrade]

Early in WWII, several small European air forces attempted to stop the mighty Luftwaffe. The outcome is well known but individual stories and achievements are very obscure. This video will hopefully bring some attention to the efforts of brave Belgian pilots flying the Fiat CR.42 biplane in 1940.

Sources:

- Gianni Cattaneo - Aircraft Profile No. 16: The Fiat CR.42
https://amzn.to/3O2vSUx
- Apostolo Giorgio - Fiat CR 42
https://amzn.to/3B9Xe3k
- Håkans aviation page
http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/

[Tooting Carmen]

Slightly off-topic, but I'd like to know what percentage of people around 1940 in France, Netherlands and Belgium were Nazi sympathisers and thus supported, or at least tolerated, the Nazi occupation of their respective countries.

[Your Old Comrade]

Unsure. But the membership of the NSB rose during the first months of the occupation by around 90,000 to 100,000 (Netherlands pop. around 9 million - pre-war NSB- membership being 32.000) to 125.000 to 130.000. 20.000 Dutch served on the Eastern Front. Half of those died.

[Tooting Carmen]

Unsure. But the membership of the NSB rose during the first months of the occupation by around 90,000 to 100,000 (Netherlands pop. around 9 million - pre-war NSB- membership being 32.000) to 125.000 to 130.000. 20.000 Dutch served on the Eastern Front. Half of those died.

Also, who got to man Suriname and the Dutch Antilles at the time? Because of course the Nazi-allied Japanese took over the Dutch East Indies.

[Your Old Comrade]

Also, who got to man Suriname and the Dutch Antilles at the time? Because of course the Nazi-allied Japanese took over the Dutch East Indies.

At first the Dutch Army, then, between '42 and '45, US troops were brought in.