Stephen Fisher @SeaSpitfires Twitter profile

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Stephen Fisher

4 months

Sword Beach, the first detailed study of the British landings at Ouistreham on D-Day, is now available in a range of formats.

Sword Beach

www.penguin.co.uk

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

This is not an attempt to justify what happened at Stonehenge today, or even to change anyone’s mind about it. I’d simply like to add some context that I feel has been missing from some reports, statements and tweets.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

I’m not interested in the politics of the incident, but I’m faintly amused by the outcry as if this sort of protest-vandalism has never happened at Stonehenge before. It has, more often than you might think.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@realMattToomer No, it's a comment on the archaeological impact on the stones. It's not trying to justify anything.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

3 stones have been impacted, from L to R in the above image they are numbers 23, 22 & 21. They are sarsen stones, a type of sandstone and whilst they are porous, the substance thrown at them was apparently cornflour. The stones are not in any danger, nor are any carvings on them.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@JasperWaale No, it's a comment on the archaeological impact on the stones. It's not trying to justify anything.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

… accessible. As a result few lichens survive below head height because people were touching the stones. Indeed the lichens will suffer far more damage tomorrow night as thousands of festival goers press themselves into the circle.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 months

Wartime photos can tell us so much about how the average infantryman was equipped on D-Day. For instance, knowing the dimensions of a Bergen rucksack, we can work out how big this bulge is. So we can tell that this commandos was equipped with an iPhone 9.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

To do this, the stones were wrapped in metal frames and steel hawsers. A far more abrasive material than cornflour. What about the lichens? As you can see most of the cornflour has fallen on bare stone. This is because until the early 80s, the stone circle was totally…

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

The stones have also suffered far worse. 23 and 22 were both re-erected in the 1960s, 23 after it mysteriously fell over a few years after it was whacked by 22 when it was itself being hoisted up by a crane. The lintel above 22 and 21 was similarly replaced by a crane.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

RIP His Royal Highness Prince Philip. Prince Philip's war service is usually summarised as getting a Mention in Despatches at the Battle of Cape Matapan and saving HMS Wallace at Sicily. But I feel this overlooks so much more, and occasionally errors creep in, so here we go.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@guektiengieline I'm sure they will, but that's not the point of my thread.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@therealboycee You've got it.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

I've recently seen some very questionable archaeology. I don't like politics and happily respect that different people have different views, but on this occasion it has to be said that there is a rise in far-right attacks on the profession, so I want to highlight some examples.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

I'm excited and delighted to tell you that I've signed a contract with Penguin/Random House, and in two years – in time for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings – you'll be able to read about Sword Beach and the events that unfolded there on D-Day. 📷IWM B5103

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

As we're back in lockdown, here's a chart for you all. Think you know your Normandy beaches? There were far more important names out at sea.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@jody04138434 Did you read the very first sentence of the thread?

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@GerryMLibDems @realMattToomer Again, for those struggling, I explicitly make clear I'm not justifying anything. If you take from this that because the archaeological impact is minor that the action was justified, that's your reading. Not mine.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@Phil_Burgundy @JasperWaale Google context. Best of luck.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@XPaint13 But I clearly didn’t say that.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

To secure sufficient energy to supply our empire for the rest of the century, I have today commissioned an expedition to the centre of the earth. Our most eminent scientists assure me that we shall find the world's best coal there, or an infinite supply of valuable salt.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

A lady on a Normandy Facebook group just asked a general question about landing craft. Now she has colour photos of her father's flotilla, film of him on his landing craft, full details of his embarkation of US Rangers at Weymouth, and the story of his landing on Omaha Beach.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

19 days

Quite the letter!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

I think I'll take a break here and complete Prince Philip's service in the Far East tomorrow. Thank you for reading.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

This story is doing the rounds at the moment, so I think it warrants a bit of closer examination. Airfields aren't my speciality, but a few 'facts' about this event stand out...

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@FifTimeLucky Did you read the part where I said I'm not trying to defend it?

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

1 year

All research is good research, but sometimes the result isn't as good as you'd like. This little warning concerns the tragic death of Reverend Derrick Williams in Southampton – note his date of death.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@Pauliush76 The thread is about the archaeological impact, nothing more. There is no attempt to justify what happened. If that's your reading of the thread, that's your own preconceptions at work.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@JamieDenvers80 @realMattToomer I'm not explaining anything. It's a comment on the (fortunately) very minor archaeological impact of yesterday's actions.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@wendypuabi That’s your interpretation, which I think says much more about you.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

1 year

Damn. Drilling into an account I was going to use and now discover I can't. Still, a lesson in always checking historiography. The account is from Spitfire pilot Wing Cdr Glover who was spotting for Warspite on D-Day. He describes turbulence from Warspite's shells! Except...

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

5 months

Today, after two years of work, #SwordBeach goes to the printers. It’s been a rollercoaster, but overwhelmingly fun. And the final dust jacket cover looks amazing. 🤩

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@guektiengieline I don't disagree with your last point, but I'm only telling people that this has happened before to reassure them that the stones will, despite what some hyperbole would have you believe, survive. It's not whataboutery.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

A dramatic D-Day photo, taken from above Courseulles-sur-Mer, Nan Green Beach, Juno, at approx 8.20am (although no two documents particularly agree on times at Juno!). There's a lot of detail here 📷NARA RG373

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

6 years

#OTD , 100 years ago, the German High Seas Fleet surrendered to the Royal Navy. After they had last met at Jutland, 70 German warships met well over 100 allied warships and sailed into captivity. It was the largest gathering of warships in close company in history.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

There were more Poles than French at Sword Beach...

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@YorkshireLady3 The thread is a comment on the archaeological impact on the stones. It's not trying to justify anything.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@exRAF_Al You should probably have stopped there too then.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

I turn 25 today (again) and as it's my birthday I get to do what I want. That means you all have to suffer another D-Day from above. This time we're at Sword Beach, flying over Queen White at approximately 10:20 on 6 June 📷NARA

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@WehWeh98221 @JasperWaale You've completely misunderstood the thread. But you're a bot, so that's hardly a surprise.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Put simply, Hancock is claiming a version of history based entirely on his own imagination. His argument for it relies not on evidence, but on attacking archaeologists who provide evidence to the contrary or who (not unreasonably) ask for proof. Does this remind you of anyone?

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Some of you already know or have worked it out, but I thought it was time to actually explain my current D-Day project. Essentially an attempt to better understand the loading of this vast force, I’m pleased to announce the forthcoming #EmbarkingtheDDayArmada , the book.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

It would be TV fodder if it wasn't for Hancock's more troubling assertion: that there is a global conspiracy in archaeology academia to supress this history & his work. If Hancock provided evidence of his theory his argument might carry weight. He doesn't.

Lost city of Atlantis rises again to fuel a dangerous myth

Millions have watched Netflix hit Ancient Apocalypse, which is just the latest interpretation of an enduring tale. But in its appeal to ‘race science’ it’s more than merely controversial

www.theguardian.com

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

5 months

Is it too late for me to completely rewrite my book in light of this new information, which totally alters how D-Day at #SwordBeach unfolded?

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

1 year

This photograph taken by Sergeant James Mapham, AFPU, is quite striking. Taken on the lateral road immediately behind Sword Beach on D-Day, it also shows a huge amount of fascinating detail. IWM B5029📷

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

First up, Ancient Apocalypse on Netflix. I haven't watched it, but several friends and colleagues I respect have, and it is as bad as the reviews suggest. Hancock visits various global sites, claiming links to an early civilisation whilst failing to offer any proof whatsoever.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

This concrete, grown in the 1940s, has sadly spoiled. Although it initially flourished and grew across an entire section of beach, the rot you can see is indicative that it has been exposed to too much sewage. This has stunted the concrete's growth and deprived us of its seeds.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

5 months

I’m actually speechless

Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

5 months

Oh

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

9 months

Amongst the other hellish social media platforms, I've always found Twitter to have a nice collection of people to talk to. So in the absence of everyone I know in person right now (they're all away) this is probably the best place for me to confess that I'm not really doing ok.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

In fact there's a very clear implication that 'wokeness' is driving true archaeology underground, and that liberal ideals are forcing dedicated archaeologists who still believe in the profession's true ideals to anonymity. It is utter, utter bulls& @t .

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Greetings from Labrador Battery, and possibly the best interpretation of a coastal defence battery I've seen.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Oh thank God for that

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Good morning from Normandy. If you're wondering, yes. Yes it is.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@davefreersf No, it's a comment on the archaeological impact on the stones. It's not trying to justify anything.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

7 months

Oh my goodness, this just got very real!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

10 months

Well this is absolutely terrifying.

Sword Beach: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Forgotten Victory

www.amazon.co.uk

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Did the Allies almost land on Gem Beach on D-Day? Turns out, yes. So let's try and work out how and why this happened and what (if anything) it tells us about the final choice of perhaps the most famous beach names in the world.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Nearly 2 years ago I tweeted a brief clip from this D-Day film and some of us wondered about the identity of some vessels seen in it, not least the ship from which it was filmed. I've finally worked it out with a happy case of serendipity. 📷IWM ADM1258

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@andyharrisd The thread is a comment on the archaeological impact on the stones. It's not trying to justify anything.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

6 years

The #selfie stick: a military history thread. Selfie sticks have, of course, been around as long as the wheel. But despite this, their use in the military can only be traced back to the 17th century.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

Visitors to #LCT7074 are on for a treat!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Something I've been meaning to do for a while is accurately map the bombardment of Sword Beach – not just the targets, but the ships involved as well. I've finally got around to it and made some interesting discoveries as well.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Take cover!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 months

On this important #Maythe4thBeWithYou anniversary, let’s look at whether 21 Panzer Division’s counter attack at Sword on 6 June might have been more successful if they had deployed their AT-ATs on the left flank instead of the right. In this thread I shall consider…. 1/265

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 months

TODAY’S THE DAY!!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

I've seen this photo claimed to be every single D-Day landing beach in the past, or at the very least Normandy. It's actually Ault in Hauts-de-France and was captured by Lt. Albert Lanker of the 31st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, USAAF 📷Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

HMS Warspite bombards German positions on 6 June 1944. Probably the best picture I've seen of her in action on D-Day, just found in the IWM archive. 📷IWM A23916

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Read it again and it's suddenly easy to see the long-term strategy. Claim that archaeology has become politicised and that a left-wing conspiracy bent on avoiding racial or national overtones is stymying the profession. It's b0110x. This para for instance, simply isn't true.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@Dave_Garner68 You've clearly misunderstood what I'm faintly amused about.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

A bit of weekend #EmbarkingtheDDayArmada goodness for you today, with a dip into the Western Task Force embarkation at Weymouth – specifically the US Army Rangers. This is quite a long one and I won’t do it all at once, but I hope it’ll be of interest.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

7 days

In the end it was all very peaceful, and mercifully short. Bye dad, you were the best.

Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

9 days

Thank you everyone for your kind words. I’m fine honestly, but I confess waiting for the inevitable loss of a parent isn’t the most cheerful of times. So brain breaks are very very welcome.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Philip’s role has been misdescribed recently, and sometimes exaggerated to commanding a 'battery' of searchlights and even being the person who ‘found’ the enemy fleet in the night action. Here is the Naval staff history, and Philip’s own words on his role.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@MatthewPope That sounds familiar. Unfortunately googling anything related to vandalism at Stonehenge right now only brings up much more recent photos!

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

I'm mildly tempted to let this D-Day picture speak for itself.... But I'll add a few details below. 📷NARA RG373

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@LeMoustier The graffiti was added in 1961 and followed up with paintings of animals. It was all gone within a week, again with no lasting damage.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Crikey, I just passed 7,000 followers. I'm flattered that so many people (and 3,000 bots) find my history and archaeology ramblings so interesting. As we journey into 2022 I hope to bring you even more exciting concrete, earth banks, duff history exposes, and of course, Flynn.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@jody04138434 Did I say that previous vandalism was ok and therefore this incident is as well? This very short thread is literally what it says it is – context. The stones have not been irreparably damaged as some commentators would have you believe, and they are not as fragile as claimed.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

The D-Day map at Southwick house, showing the state of the amphibious assault on Normandy at 7.25am on 6 June. The big white stripe across the English Channel is a German minefield – ten safe channels were cleared through it by RN and RCN minesweepers just before the landings.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

A last visit to #LCT7074 this morning, before she opens to the public tomorrow. She looks absolutely fantastic – nowhere else can you walk onto a Landing Craft Tank loaded with real tanks. She's chock full of incredible D-Day detail as well.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

Good morning Twitter

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

I think we need a bit of a break from the news and it's been a while since I did one of these, so here's another D-Day from above. I don't think I've done this photo before (hope not) but it's a good one. 📷NARA

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Last night, Max Hastings repeated the traditional myth that the DD tanks at Omaha were launched too far from the beach and sank. Additionally, I found his language unnecessarily directed at an unnamed 'they', which can only really refer to the US Navy. So what actually happened?

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Today I'm trolling Wikipedia. I wonder how long these edits will last... Before and after.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

7 months

Bahahahahahahahahaha Ahahahahaha Breathe Ahahahahahahahahahaha

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

A few weeks ago, I got a call from a production company who are touching on the Normandy landings in an upcoming BBC series. I'm always happy to help, so I don't mind an hour's chat helping them out (and they needed it – they hadn't even heard of Pegasus Bridge). But...

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

9 days

Just like Sword, the more I dig into Walcheren – a battle I already know well – the more astonishing stories I discover. It’s honestly worthy of a script to rival Band of Brothers. 📷 IWM B11638

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

#LCT7074 now has her tanks on board so she's almost complete. Both tanks used to be outside @TheDDayStory : the Churchill has had it's original markings refreshed, but the Grizzly has been given the markings of a tank that 7074 actually carried to Normandy for D-Day. 1/10

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

4 years

I've been asked a few times (both on social media and in person) about #LCT7074 's eclectic markings, so here are a few details to help make sense of it all. 1/7

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

10 months

Although im back in the UK, as my body still thinks it’s on SW Pacific time I’m not leaving the house today. Which gives me a chance to tweet about 3 of the most isolated @CWGC graves I've seen, located on Norfolk Island halfway between New Caledonia and New Zealand.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

6 years

WOW!!!! Whilst searching for something else entirely, I've just stumbled on 20 minutes of colour footage from Operation Neptune in the IWM collection. Why has nobody told me about this before?? Screenshots below - you have to read to the end of the thread for the link 😉

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

After completing officer training at Dartmouth, on 23 February 1940 the 18 year old midshipman joined HMS Ramillies at Colombo. He would spend most of 1940 with the venerable battleship and the cruisers Kent and Shropshire. 📷 IWM A8858

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

There is no such conspiracy in archaeology to restrict what we can learn from evidence. In reality this is an exaggeration of the normal practice and warnings from professionals to not make sweeping assumptions based on limited evidence. It's not a woke agenda.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

And the article's underlying agenda is disturbingly close to that of another in the UK: Restore Trust. I'll be blunt, there's never been a more obvious right wing attempt to take over an organisation than this. Their playbook is straight out of Trump.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Last week I discovered that a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless for his own safety) has never heard of: •Richard Burton •Where Eagles Dare •Ron Goodwin's soundtrack. The therapy is about to start.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 months

@SomersetOaf See the last post in the thread, from 1961.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Next up, this twisted article that did the rounds at the weekend. At face value, even on first read, it seems to suggest that inter-disciplinary arguments are curtailing the research of some aspects of history. But look deeper and there's something else.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

2 years

Ugh, this nonsense is back.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

6 months

In Shackleton’s footsteps. The view over Stromness that greeted ‘the Boss’, Worsley and Crean after their hike across South Georgia’s mountains, finding civilisation almost 7 months after Endurance sank.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Something to end the day on. Trying to kill another D-Day myth.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

5 years

RIP Kirk Douglas. During the Second World War, he served on the little ships of the USN. Submarine chasers were broadly similar to RN Fairmile motor launches, if a little longer. Lieutenant Douglas served on USS PC-1139 in the Pacific.

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Stephen Fisher

@SeaSpitfires

3 years

Early in 1941 he joined the battleship HMS Valiant in the Mediterranean. The Royal website confusingly claims that Philip joined HMS Valiant at the age of 17, which isn’t really possible. It appears he joined her in January 1941, at the age of 19. 📷IWM A12126

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