At the outbreak of war the Boulton defiant scored very good against the German pilots.German pilots had a big surprise when attacking from behind and instead of having an easy kill,flew straight into the fire of 4   7,62 Browning MG's.They quickly changed their tactics by attacking head-on or from below .Against this the Defiant was a sitting duck.They had another brief spell of succes in the winter of 1940/1941 as nightfigters.Later on they were used as trainers,for towing targets and gunnery practice.
Greetz,Brummbar


P82 Defiant

The Princess Elizabeth Windsor in uniform of junior officer in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) the womens' auxiliary service of the British Army during WW2.  ATS women were barred from (at least direct) combat, but served in a wide range of auxiliary roles, ranging from clerks to searchlight operators, and from anti-aircraft gunners to - as here - drivers.  Princess Elizabeth spent time as a lorry/ambulance driver in the UK and, apparently, was a dab hand at changing tyres.   Postwar, the ATS became the Womens' Royal Army Corps (WRAC), I think, in 1949.  I am pretty sure that this lady is still living - she appears on the telly from time to time in her current title of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... God Save You, Ma'm !  Best regards, JR.

Surviving veteran.

Bernard Montgomery, the hero of El Alamein and North Africa, where he succeeded Auchinleck, was one of the most inspirational military commanders of World War Two. Montgomery was also the senior British military commander at D-Day and retained that position within the west European sphere of the war until the war ended. (Like nobody knew that already) ...Cheers, Storm