Michael Doughty

Today, on #BattleofBritain Day, we commemorate The Few, those brave men who took to the skies to defend this land at its darkest moment "If the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their Finest Hour'." (Churchill) The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign fought entirely in the air and ended with Germany's first major defeat of WW2 Much of America's top brass had previously assumed Britain would lose the war. Hitler's defeat shifted opinion in America and caused Franklin Roosevelt to believe that Britain should be given every assistance possible. With the Luftwaffe unable to achieve air superiority over the UK, Britain was able to rebuild its military strength and, crucially, would serve as the base from which Allied forces could launch Operation Overlord, the campaign to liberate Western Europe from the Nazi jackboot. The most successful Fighter Command squadron in the Battle of Britain was the Polish 303 Squadron, one of two Polish squadrons in the Battle. Despite joining the Battle two months after it had started, the Squadron shot down 126 German planes in only 42 days. With 17 kills flying a Hurricane, one of the squadron's pilots, a Czech national named Sergeant Josef Frantisek, became Fighter Command's fourth most successful pilot in the Battle. The top-ranking fighting ace in the Battle of Britain was an Englishman: Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock DSO DFC of 41 Squadron. During the Battle he achieved 21 kills, flying a Spitfire. Victory in the Battle of Britain came at a heavy price, however. Fighter Command lost 520 men and 1250 aircraft, incl. 1017 fighers. Additionally, during the period of the Battle, Bomber Command suffered 700 fatalities, whilst 200 were killed flying for Coastal Command. The greatest loss of life was civilian, with more than 43,500 Britons killed and countless wounded, mainly through the aerial bombing of British cities and industrial centres. We remember and pay tribute to them all. 🇬🇧✌️ – at London, England