The fall of Singapore to the Japanese Army on February 15th 1942 is considered one of the greatest defeats in the history of the British Army and probably Britain's worst defeat in World War Two. The fall of Singapore in 1942 clearly illustrated the way Japan was to fight in the Far East - a combination of speed and savagery that only ended with the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945.
MacArthur lobbied for a bigger war with China. He went behind the back of the President and finally he was relieved of command.From the beginning of the war, there was constant friction between MacArthur and the Joint Chiefs in Washington. MacArthur constantly pressured to expand the war, claiming that the only way to bring about victory was by taking the war to China.
Flying a Spitfire for the first time as a newly qualified pilot must have been a daunting prospect. A Spitfire was much faster than any RAF trainer aircraft and far more manoeuvrable - an altogether different flying experience. It was generally thought that if a novice Spitfire pilot could survive his first week in combat during the Battle of Britain, then he had a good chance of lasting for the duration of the battle, as his fist week would have been a very steep learning curve.
De Havilland Mosquito PR Mk IXThe Mosquito B Mk IX saw a change of engine to the 1,680 hp Merlin 72 engines with two stage superchargers that allowed them to produce 1,505 hp at 21,000 feet. The new engines gave the Mk IX a top speed some 50mph faster than the earlier B Mk IV.Of the total of 144 Mk IXs produced, 90 became PR Mk IXs.
The Danish Resistance movement during World War Two was in a curious position. In theory, Denmark was not officially at war with Nazi Germany (though clearly Denmark had been illegally occupied by the Germans in 1940) as the government had not declared war on Germany. The government and king, Christian X, had made a formal protest but agreed to a German decision that gave Denmark 'independence' despite having German troops stationed there against the wishes of the Danish government.
