Today is Battle of Britain Day

Photo: pilots of No. 610 SQN RAF await the call to scramble from Hawkinge airfield, July 29th 1940.

Between the 10th of July and the 31st of October 1940, German and Italian aircraft repeatedly attacked Britain, aiming to smash the island nation into submission. If they had succeeded, the genocidal terror of Nazism would have been stronger than ever. Standing in their way were the people of Britain and – operating fighter aircraft – 145 Poles, 126 New Zealanders, 98 Canadians, 88 Czechoslovakians, 33 Australians, 29 Belgians, 25 South Africans, 13 Frenchmen, 11 Americans, 10 Irishmen, 3 Rhodesians, a Jamaican, a Barbadian, a Newfoundlander, and an anti-Nazi Austrian. More Allied aircrew from Britain and around the world operated other aircraft types.

The aerial combat that took place over Britain was brutal and chaotic, with masses of aircraft flying at speeds of hundreds of kilometres per hour, twisting and turning, trying to find an enemy to shoot down while trying not to be shot down in turn. It was not a ‘clean’ battle between machines; human beings bled and burned. Aircrew were left physically and mentally exhausted by the non-stop combat and the loss of comrades. Ground crews hurried to repair, refuel, and rearm fighters, while RADAR operators and WAAFs tracked the enemy’s movements, and anti-aircraft gunners provided them with a last line of defence as bombs rained down on them.

None of this defence would be possible without the factory workers and merchant seamen who also came under attack. Allied bomber crews, in the meantime, attacked German airfields and the massing invasion fleet. One such raid saw all the attacking aircraft shot down by the German defences. There were also nightfighter crews, firefighters, volunteer observers, medical personnel, and so, so many others who played a part in the defeat of Axis evil.

Bombs also killed and maimed civilian men, women, and children who lived near airfields, factories, and other targets. Then, on the 7th of September, the Germans began a campaign of deliberately bombing cities, something they had used the defenceless Polish towns of Wielun and Frampol as ‘test runs’ for a year prior. The Blitz had begun. On September 15th, 630 Allied fighters and anti-aircraft defences inflicted heavy losses on 1,120 German aircraft attacking London. While the Battle of Britain would go on for over a month longer, this day has become the day of commemoration for the entire battle.

Losses were high. The Axis forces lost 1,977 aircraft, 735 wounded aircrew, 925 captured aircrew, and 2,585 aircrew killed. The Allies lost 1,744 aircraft, 422 wounded aircrew, and 1,542 aircrew killed. 32,138 civilians were injured and 23,002 were killed. With such large numbers, it can be easy to forget that they represent people who are just as real, once just as full of life and emotion, as you yourself are.

More were killed and wounded in the fighting that took place around Britain before and after the somewhat arbitrarily-selected dates of July 10th and October 31st which officially define the Battle of Britain.

Today, 84 years later, it’s still important to remember these events. To learn from them, to be inspired, and to mourn.

Lest we forget.