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Blackleaf
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10,000 inflatable Spitfires head for the World Cup.Fears for the worst as 10,000 Spitfires head for Germany
By Adam Lusher
(Filed: 04/06/2006)
The last time they flew across the Channel, they were 32 feet long, with Rolls-Royce engines and wings bristling with 20mm cannons.
Now they measure all of 18 inches, have no engine and not so much as a peashooter - but their "pilots" still risk being thrown into German captivity.
Fred Arnold, Andy Mitchel and Terry Dorell plan to sell thousands of planes emblazoned with the English flag.
The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that a "big wing" of more than 10,000 inflatable Spitfires will this week cross into Germany and, when the World Cup starts on Friday, they could face the kind of frosty reception encountered by their wartime counterparts.
England football fans have been warned of arrest by the British Home Secretary, threatened with "zero tolerance" by a German police chief, and told not to mention the war by the creator of Basil Fawlty himself.
Some have responded by packing inflatable Spitfires by the thousand into their camper vans to sell throughout Germany and finance their World Cup trips.
Alf Ancell, 31, who designed the Spitfires, admitted he had found plenty of fans willing to sell the planes in Germany.
"I got 10,000 Spitfires in a couple of months ago and I am now down to my last 2,000 and expecting to sell the remainder.
"It's not a link to the War," he insisted. "It's just an English symbol of victory. They look like flags when you hold them aloft. I don't see how that can be inflammatory."
Planning to sell them on campsites, in beer tents, and on beaches, Fred Arnold, Andy Mitchel and Terry Dorell last week vowed never to surrender their blow-up Spitfires until the buyer paid £5. The three have packed their VW camper van with more than 1,000 Spitfires, bought for £3.75 each on a sale-or-return basis, and will this week be selling them to fellow fans all over Germany.
"They're original and brilliant," enthused Mr Dorell about the miniature fighters decorated with St George's Crosses and camouflage patterns. "They may not like it in Germany," he added. "but who gives a sausage?"
The answer, it seems, starts with John Cleese, the German and British police forces, the Home Office - not to mention RAF veterans plus television producers who may not relish deciding what to do when the camera pans to thousands of Spitfire-waving fans.
Cleese, famous for screaming "Don't mention the war" as a goose-stepping Basil Fawlty, has condemned the "ridiculous anti-German prejudices" of his comic creation.
Before he was sacked as home secretary in May, Charles Clarke told the 100,000 England fans expected to visit Germany that glorifying the country's Nazi past is a criminal offence and that brandishing inflatable Spitfires could land them in trouble. "It's not a joke, it is not a comic thing," he said.
Asst Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, who is heading the delegation of 82 British police officers in Germany, admitted that the Spitfire issue was "tricky".
"The Germans," he said, "have a sense of humour. It's not a criminal offence to sell or display these items, but we have real concerns about how people might behave once they have a bit to drink. It could step over into insulting or threatening behaviour."
At the German embassy, optimism was the defensive strategy of choice. "Let's wait and see," said a spokesman. "Maybe they won't inflate these toys."
• Fans have been told not to travel without measles vaccinations because an epidemic has infected more than 1,300 people in Germany this year. One area is North Rhine Westphalia, which includes two cities hosting the World Cup Cologne and Dortmund.
telegraph.co.uk
Remember, England fans in Germany - if England meet Germany in the World Cup (will be a Last 16 game if they do), when you're in the stadium watching the game remember to stick your arms out pretending to be Spitfires, sing the theme tune to a Great Escape and perform the "Two World Wars and one World Cup" chant . Never mind what the authorities tell you.
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Celyn
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I didn't notice that England had won two world wars. How remiss of me.
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SLG
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If this is anything to go by, I can see the English fans getting in a lot of trouble with the locals. The Telegraph don't seem to be very disapproving.
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Wolf of Badenoch
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Aye thaur nae mony ae the english media been disapproving ae this kind ae carry oan.Thaur wis a piece oan Sky Sports news last week talking tae aulder english fans and they waur promoting the "tommy helmets" that thaur gonnae be wearing.Tae me this is whaur the english an their nationalism falls doon,they complain they cannae fly thaur flags withoot fear ae being called racists which is fair enough,i think they should be able tae fly thaur flags withoot any racist tag being put oan them.......but whit is the problem wi the majority ae them that they need tae start being offensive tae other nationalities.I cannae work them oot ataw,is it cause english nationalism is in its infancy? i dinnae ken but this kindae behaviour happens aw the time wi them an its usually spurred oan by their media,a media that sees fit tae call Scots racist cause they wilnae support an english team at a sport. 
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Morph
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Thats Different Wolf, weve go to support them apparently. Was watching that World Cup "Heaven And Hell" on the telly the other night. When covering Scotlands trip to Argentina wae Ally's Army, the english 'talking heads' were all talking about how stupid the Scots were for thinking they were going to win. Wonder if that makes them racist for not supporting us back then?
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azzuri
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I think this inflatable spitfire thing is in very poor taste.
No doubt the sorts of people who will buy this crap will sing the dambuster song at games - how terribly BRITISH!
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Wolf of Badenoch
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Aye yer richt thaur .........dreadfully british!!
I can see them aw noo getting thaur tommy helmets oan an thaur booncy spitfires getting ready tae bring the good ol world cup back tae dear ol blighty from those ghastly foreigners. 
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kalashnikov
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| Quote: | | "It's not a link to the War," he insisted |
Of course it isn't, in fact i'm surprised anyone has even found a link between inflatable WW2 fighter planes and WW2!
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Wolf of Badenoch
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Could ye imagine the uproar in england if it wis the Germans that wis daein the same sort ae thing while they were in england.
I think there wid probably be German cars getting attacked again.
German car = must be Germans inside it!
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Blackleaf
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DO mention the war!
By NICK FRANCIS and JOHN TROUP
ENGLAND fans were given the go-ahead yesterday to wear plastic, wartime-style helmets bearing the Cross of St George — by a GERMAN police chief.
Supporters were banned from donning the £2.99 hats at England’s friendly against Hungary last week.
But Insp Sandra Kessing, of the German Federal Police, said: “If the England fans put the St George’s flags on the old wartime helmets I have got no problem with that at all.
“They just want to have fun and are going to enjoy themselves.
“I don’t understand why anybody should make a fuss about it. I think the whole atmosphere in Germany will be a party atmosphere. It will be very relaxed.”
But Insp Kessing, attending an anti-hooligan operation with English cops at Stansted airport, warned that any supporters caught doing a Nazi salute faced immediate arrest.
Wolfgang Ischinger, German ambassador to London, made a jokey reference to the war yesterday as he claimed his compatriots had a great sense of humour.
He said: “You know, the way the British tease us for being quick to lay a towel on the beach is no different to Germans, perhaps, referring to the British as ‘Tommies’.
The thing about Germany is that we are one of the most fun-loving nations in the world, people just don’t realise it yet. We see something like The Sun’s giant beach towel and we laugh, it’s our nature.
“It’s a great thing to be able to share a joke like that, and that stunt took some balls. It was great.
“It’s not meant to be offensive. It’s just the way we joke and banter, which comes naturally to both nations, I think.”
Mr Ischinger added: “The World Cup is a perfect example of Germany’s funloving nature. Right now the entire nation is in a vacation mood.
“To us the World Cup isn’t about combating other nations with a ‘have to win’ attitude, it’s an opportunity to greet the world and have a good time.
“The English are famed for their brilliant, dry sense of humour and I truly hope we as a nation can have the same.
“The banter between German and English fans will be in great faith.”
In answer to the crunch question, he said: “Who do I support?
“Well, I truly want to see England do well out there, but I’d be lying if I said I want them to win. Come on, I am German after all.”
Earlier, Page 3 girls Becky Rule and Mel Doornan met England fans at Frankfurt Airport, including Chris O’Hanlon from Birmingham.
thesun.co.uk
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RadgeJougal
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The ideal British TV programme is something that manages to connect WWII & the Nazis, with 1966 and Elizabeth Tudor.
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Wolf of Badenoch
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| RadgeJougal wrote: | | The ideal British TV programme is something that manages to connect WWII & the Nazis, with 1966 and Elizabeth Tudor. |
Aye!  Im sure the english fitba commentators hae probably managed that.
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Lothian Sky
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Gordon Broon justifies his treachery by saying you don't have to be anti-English to be pro Scottish.
The question should have been, do you have to be anti-German to be pro English.
The answer to that one appears to be "Jawohl". How sad.
I've never seen the French, Poles, Czechs (or Scots) stoping this low.
Even the Dutch manage to keep a lid on it.
these are the "best fans in the world" now, apparently! 
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Rinty
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nI take it Blackleaf that if 10,000 people turned up in London tube stations dressed as suicide bombers, you and the George flag waving English fans would think it is a hilarious joke?
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