Canadian pilots from the 1st Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Canadian pilots from the 1st Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (No.1 Squadron RCAF) sprint to their Hawker Hurricane fighters after enemy air contacts are picked up and the order to “scramble” is given. September-December, 1940.

2021 marks 81 years since the Battle of Britain began and was fought by the pilots of the RAF over a 3 month period versus the Luftwaffe for the control of the skies over Britain.

The Luftwaffe needed to establish air superiority over what is now the United Kingdom in order to ensure the success over Operation Sealion, their planned invasion of the island.

The RAF, already battered from their brief yet grueling days over France, barely held on against a seemingly endless onslaught of German bombers and fighters. Men from all nations, Polish, Czech, Canadian, and even Americans volunteered to man the machines that would take this threat head-on.

Some flew up to 7 sorties a day, catching up on what little sleep they had in between sorties on lawn chairs, awoken by a bell and the call to “scramble!” Losses were high but the RAF possessed some advantages her adversary did not.

It had the support of a vast radar network that gave early warning as to the number and direction of approaching enemy aircraft.

Additionally, unlike the Germans who had to nurse their aircraft back over the channel or be captured, British pilots landed in friendly territory if they bailed/crashed and could be back up flying the very next day.

It was this war of attrition that eventually ground down the Luftwaffe and prevented them from achieving air superiority. Thus the Third Reich shifted their sights eastward to the USSR.

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