The Battle of Britain: “Their finest hour”

Thanks to the Royal Canadian Air Force pilots who risked and gave their lives to defend my family.

We shall remember them. The Few.

The Splendid Hundred......

The hangar I worked in at RAF Lyneham, Wilts, still has a cannon shell hole that went through 3 steel support girders from a strafing run by the Luftwaffe.

The Pennines where I spent my teens were littered with old AA emplacements and RAF/RCAF/RAAF/USAAF aircraft remains.

A lot of the barely trained teenagers who flew combat aircraft during WW2 crashed into the hills and moorland in bad weather.

My family would recount the air raids on Manchester during the Blitz of 1940 and point out the areas bombed when I was a child.

It was their finest hour unfortunately for many their last hour. They not only were defending England, but they were defending the world against an evil that could well have enveloped the world.

My mother lived through the London Blitz, the "few" are remembered.

An amazing and outstanding bit of bravery, that.

Easily one of the most important battles of WW2. The courage of these young men was unbelievable. Everything was going Germany's way.France had fallen.Britain had left tons of war equipment on the beachs of France.Vital war supplies that were desperately needed by Britain were being sent to a watery grave {along with the ships crews} courtesy of Germany's uboat fleet.

Hitler made his "appeal to reason" to Britain.Britain could have easily walked away from the war with minimal losses.Lessor countries would have done just that.The world owes a debt of gratitude to Britain for standing up at a time when everything was going against them.Hitler would get his first taste of defeat during the Battle of Britain.Germany would never recover from the loss of experienced air crews and airplanes.

Thank you to the brave young men in thier hurricanes and spitfires who met the challenge in 1940.

The Glory of the Few will live for eternity.

My in-laws lived through it too. When it comes to my father in-law.........I sometimes wish the Germans had better aim.

J/K

Remember to all those helped the British:

Sabaton honors Poles, Czechs, and Canadians who flew for Britain.

Lyrics:
In the skies above the isle, Aces in exile prevail

From near and far they arrived, joined the force
Ready to serve the allied command
Sent into training though they already earned their wings
They were ready fly, they were fit for the fight

Once in the air, the battle begins
They have proven their worth, now they fly for revenge

Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land
Let their story be heard, tell of 303:rd
Fighter pilots from Poland in the battle of Britain
Guarding the skies of the isle

Even at night shadows cover the ground
And the fighting goes on from dusk until dawn
With the claw of the reich with the claw of the eagle
They were ready to fly, they were ready to die

Up in the air the battle goes on
They have proven their worth, now they have their revenge

Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land
Tell their story again, tell of 310
Men from Czechoslovakia in the battle of Britain
Guarding the skies of the isle

Over the battlefield brave men long way from home
few are the chosen ones sent to the sky to die

Fly, it echoes in history
Turning the tide in the heavens above

Fighter pilots in exile fly over foreign land
When the battle has been won, tell of 401
Fighter pilots from Canada in the battle of Britain
Guarding the skies of the isle

On wings of history they turned from home to live eternally skybound they roam
In all of history, never before was more owed to so few

Fighter pilots in exile!

This was one of the battles that was not only pivotal, but where the fickle finger of fate stepped in and played a huge role. If not for the 2 German bomber crews that got lost on one night mission and jettisoned their bombs on London proper, the outcome may have been a lot different.

Of course, this still does nothing to take away from the stupendous job all the crews accomplished. Despite being on the ropes and reeling from the onslaught, the pilots of the RAF never gave up, nor would they have dreamed of doing so.

May those that made the ultimate sacrifice RIP knowing they helped get the job done against very long odds.

There were a lot of things going for the RAF and against the Luftwaffe, despite the Nazi's having a 4 to 1 supremacy in numbers.

I love this quote from the movie 'Battle of Britain';

Senior civil servant: "Churchill puts great faith in radar."

Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: "It's vital, but it won't shoot down aircraft."

Senior civil servant: ” Ha... well I must say you don't, exactly exude a spirit of optimism.”

Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: “God willing we will hold out minister. “

Senior civil servant: “I see. So I tell the cabinet, that you're trusting in radar and praying to God, is that right?”

Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding: “More accurately the other way round. Trusting in god and praying for radar.
But the essential arithmetic is that our young men will have to shoot down their young men at the rate of four to one, if we're to keep pace at all.”