Remembering 'The Few'
This year marks 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain ( July- October 1940), with numbers of flying displays and other special events to mark the memorable occasion. Vayu’s UK Editor Richard Gardner writes on the commemorations.
The number of surviving veterans from this epic air battle is sadly reducing quite rapidly, as even the youngest combat pilots at the time (some were mere teenagers) are now in their 90s. The fact that ‘The Few’ are becoming fewer has not prevented many of them continuing to take part in various anniversary events, including squadron reunions and airfield visits, and wherever they appear they are rightly treated as the real national heroes. Most of them, when interviewed show the same levels of amazing modesty, even all these years later, which was also a hallmark of their earlier lives when after the Second World War, they simply blended into normal society to carry on with their careers, whether in the Royal Air Force, commercial aviation or industry, or something completely different.
It was only two decades or more later when more official records were released and biographies and auto-biographies appeared, plus the ultimate star-studded big-screen movie ‘The Battle of Britain,’ that a wider audience was able to appreciate in the true sense global significance of what ‘The Few’ had achieved, and how that changed the history of the world. In more recent times, as the results of further research have emerged in book-form, articles and films, the important role played by all the other nationalities who fought overhead in
This year marks 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain (July-October 1940), and there are numerous flying displays and other special events to mark the memorable occasion.
British skies alongside the RAF has received wider recognition. Pilots from as far away as India, Australia, Canada and New Zealand as well as those who escaped from Occupied Europe, played a key role in helping to defeat the Nazi Luftwaffe bombers which came so close to achieving their aim of clearing the skies in preparation for the invasion of the British Isles. The outstanding contribution made by the Polish squadrons in particular has only been fully appreciated quite recently.
The decisive day in the battle is regarded as 15 September 1940, which is the official commemorative day each year when RAF ceremonies take place in London and at other locations in the UK. But the number of air displays is spread across the whole summer, and this year most of them have a Battle of Britain theme, as well as exhibitions in the RAF Museum and other heritage centres. The biggest international gathering this year of military aircraft and high level military guests was at the Royal International Air Tattoo held at RAF Fairford 17-19 July. As well as participants from air forces and army and naval air squadrons from all over the world, there was also a nostalgic pageant of vintage and classic warbirds representing a century of military aviation. The most impressive flying display item was a mass flypast of 16 Spitfires and Hurricanes, representing almost every different version of these two Battle of Britain fighters. Four of the vintage aircraft actually took part in the real battle, and the flypast began with aircraft taking off in twos and threes before forming up to fly in a mass formation. The spectacle provided the unique sight of four airworthy Hurricanes, including a Mk.1, and the only two airworthy Spitfire Mk.1s in the world. Also in the formation were several late-model Griffon-engined Spitfires and a Seafire. Other anniversary air displays are taking place in many locations around Great Britain, from Prestwick in Scotland to Bournemouth on the South Coast, as well as at such well-known heritage airfields as Duxford and Biggleswade, where newly restored veteran aircraft demonstrate the ongoing enthusiasm and dedication that keeps alive interest in aviation history for the benefit of future generations.
To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain a contemporary Royal Air Force Typhoon of No 29 Squadron was repainted in the 1940 wartime colour scheme with the identification code of the aircraft flown by Flt Lt James Brindley Nicholson, the only Fighter Command pilot awarded the Victoria Cross during the battle. This Typhoon has carried out displays this summer in a unique synchro-pair sequence with a Spitfire from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The display routine requires great skill as the two fighters fly in close formation despite the great disparity in their performance. Needless to say, the Mach 2 Typhoon has to throttle back with a high angle of attack as the Spitfire maintains maximum speed !
With the enduring popularity of the Spitfire and Hurricane, and each year more airworthy restorations increasing the total number of flying examples, it is a fair bet that there will still be RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes flying long after the last Typhoon has been retired around 2030 !