70 years on

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Britain which raged from July to September 1940 in the skies above (mainly) south-east England, although Winston Churchill's famous words, 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few', were actually spoken on almost a month earlier on 20 August. Despite this, it is generally agreed that the end of the battle occurred on 15 September when two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF and the date became known as Battle of Britain Day.

Things today could have been so different. Hitler had made plans for the invasion of Britain but needed air superiority before launching Operation Sea Lion. Had the Luftwaffe succeeded in beating the RAF, goodness knows what might have happened.

The picture, which I stole from an unsuspecting source,
shows a Spitfire off Beachy Head, Sussex.