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** In a word, yes. Minimum height for a parachute by the RAF was considered to be around 1000 feet, and Farrier is definitely lower than that when he pulls the cockpit open to consider it. And that's only IF the chute opens immediately after bailing out - ANY problem with the chute and he's a pancake. Also doubles as TruthInTelevision - the bulk of RAF fighter pilots stayed in an aircraft which was still relatively under their control and considered it better odds for survival than the unreliable chutes they were given.
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* Farrier might also have been concerned about not letting the Spit survive intact enough to be salvageable (or its design at least) by his captors. The British evacuating forces took destroying their own equipment and even horses as they left seriously, and Spitfires were a major technological advantage for the British. A pilot would likely go to some lengths to keep a chance to look closely at the engineering and design out of enemy hands.
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** Conscription was phased in relatively slowly at first, there were only so many soldiers available to be trainers, and the British Army was hoping to hold the Germans in France like in the previous war so had been hoping to keep call up numbers to a minimum. It only really ramped up after Dunkirk, partially because the returning Expeditionary Force was available to carry out the training of the newly called up instead of being engaged in actual combat or holding manoeuvrers. It is also possible he may have had a reserved occupation entitlement which would have let him opt out of being conscripted, but not volunteering for Dunkirk or Home Guard duties (the status of people in reserved occupations formed part of a subplot of the 1958 Dunkirk movie).
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** British destroyers at the real Dunkirk were sunk by U-boats or German torpedo boats. It could have been either.
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** Note that Farrier seems to consider bailing out, opening his cockpit window, but then closes it again when he decides he can land on the beach.
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** It was a damaged spitfire - perhaps the tail had holes that allowed it to flood more quickly, and kept it more level as it sank?
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** There were lots of able men in England who weren't drafted or who hadn't enlisted yet by 1940.
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** Yes, it's quite possible for an oil slick of ship fuel to burn, and it's not unreasonable for a crashing bomber to set one off.
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[[folder: Floating sunken ships?]]
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[[folder: Floating sunken ships?]]ships]]
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* I'm not really a history buff, but I'm interested in learning more about it. According to some of the history websites I looked up, most of the Little Ships of Dunkirk are ships that are requisitioned by the British to assist in the evacuation, yet some of the private boat owners (like Mr.Dawson in the film) simply take their boats and go to Dunkirk themselves. Why's that? The requisitioned boats were going to Dunkirk anyway and with actual navy sailors in command of the ships, they would know how to handle things better, and the owners themselves could volunteer to come along as well if they're feeling helpful or worried about their ships. Why did ship owners like Mr.Dawson decide to go at it alone? Just wondering.
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* Why did some of the 'Little Ships' of Dunkirk, such as Mr.Dawson's, refused to be requisitioned by the British Navy? I'm not really a history buff, but I'm interested in learning more about it. According to some of the history websites I looked up, most of the Little Ships of Dunkirk are ships that are requisitioned by the British to assist in the evacuation, yet some of the private boat owners (like Mr.Dawson in the film) simply take their boats and go to Dunkirk themselves. Why's that? The requisitioned boats were going to Dunkirk anyway and with actual navy sailors in command of the ships, they would know how to handle things better, and the owners themselves could volunteer to come along as well if they're feeling helpful or worried about their ships. Why did ship owners like Mr.Dawson decide to go at it alone? Just wondering.
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[[folder:Why did some of the 'Little Ships' of Dunkirk, such as Mr.Dawson's, refused to be requisitioned by the British Navy?]]
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* How was Farrier [[able to burn his plane upon landing at the beach so quickly, given that it was out of fuel?
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* How was Farrier [[able able to burn his plane upon landing at the beach so quickly, given that it was out of fuel?
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[[folder: The burning oil slick]]
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[[folder: Farrier's Burning Plane]]
* How was Farrier [[able to burn his plane upon landing at the beach so quickly, given that it was out of fuel?
** Farrier [[spoiler:shot his flare gun into the cockpit of his plane. Flares are a mix between a pyrotechnic compound (like potassium nitrate) and natural fuel (like sulfur or charcoal), which makes them highly flammable regardless of the presence of fuel in the reservoir.]]
** There is always a little bit of unusable fuel in the bottom of the tanks, where the pumps can't reach it. This is partly by design, to ensure that sludge and contaminants settle to the bottom and aren't sucked wholesale into the engine. This would be more than enough to doom the aircraft, on top of which the residual fumes in the tanks can also burn rather fiercely or even explode.
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[[folder: Theburning oil slick]]Burning Oil Slick]]
* How was Farrier [[able to burn his plane upon landing at the beach so quickly, given that it was out of fuel?
** Farrier [[spoiler:shot his flare gun into the cockpit of his plane. Flares are a mix between a pyrotechnic compound (like potassium nitrate) and natural fuel (like sulfur or charcoal), which makes them highly flammable regardless of the presence of fuel in the reservoir.]]
** There is always a little bit of unusable fuel in the bottom of the tanks, where the pumps can't reach it. This is partly by design, to ensure that sludge and contaminants settle to the bottom and aren't sucked wholesale into the engine. This would be more than enough to doom the aircraft, on top of which the residual fumes in the tanks can also burn rather fiercely or even explode.
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[[folder: The
