Much has been written about the pilots who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. While ‘The Few’ were recognised as the saviours of England even as the bombs fell, Great Britain successfully resisted the German attacks with a national response. The latter included the commitment of pilots of the RAF Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands, the Royal Navy, as well as that of the people of England.
Because of the romantic image of the fighter pilot, RAF aviators captured much of the glory in the war’s early days – they provided an inspiring example. But although the pilots gained much of the credit for victory in what became known as the Battle of Britain, it is a legacy that has been challenged in recent years. Some historians have given credit to the Royal Navy for dissuading Hitler from invading Britain, while others have argued that the Battle of Britain was won not so much by ‘The Few’, but by the many – the tenacious British citizenry who were determined to see that democracy would continue in Europe even as the Axis forces conquered one country after another from 1939 to 1940.
Hurricane fighters of No. 242 Squadron at Duxford. This Hurricane crashed on 28 March 1941, killing its pilot, Arthur William Smith.
The everyday heroism displayed by the people of Great Britain was inspired and sustained by the brave example exhibited by the RAF. Whether British born or as refugees from nations already conquered by the Axis forces, RAF pilots were motivated to engage the enemy for a variety of reasons. Some were determined to defend their homeland, while the Belgian, French, Czech and Polish RAF pilots sought to avenge what had already been inflicted upon their nations, and to try to turn the tide of fortune. American, Canadian and Commonwealth nation pilots saw what was happening over Britain as a battleground for democracy and understood that if the Axis powers were not defeated, the war would expand. Regardless of national identity or individual motivation, RAF pilots fought with fierce tenacity.
A German Bf 109E-1, downed near Lewes in August 1940. Unterofficer Leo Zaunbrecher survived the crash and was captured.
There was a great deal of stress inherent in the operations. Pilots were awakened to begin a day’s work that would not end until sunset. Transported out to the airfields, they would wait for the ‘scramble’ call in full kit, playing card games or reading newspapers to pass the time. When the telephone rang, the pilots would sprint to their planes and be strapped into their seats. The fighters would rumble down grassy runways to gain speed for take-off. Once in the air, just a few minutes of combat could exhaust a pilot flying at 30,000 feet in an unpressurised aircraft. The noise of battle and the roar of engines pounded on eardrums and the G-forces associated with the violent twists and turns of dogfighting brought the pilots to the verge of blacking out. They needed to focus all of their energy and concentration on flying while their body endured incredible physical forces. Every pilot knew the dangers of combat flying – they had lost friends and comrades in fiery crashes or seen young lives ruined by wounds and the disfigurement caused by burning cockpits. War took its toll on these young men every day.
RAF pilots re-enacting a ‘scramble’ in 1946. Note the pilot (second left) carrying a squadron dog in his arms.
Pilot Officer Peter Parrott remembered: ‘once you were in action, you were too busy trying to shoot something down or trying not to be shot down yourself to be frightened.’ Pilot Officer John Ellacombe recalled:
[T]here were fourteen, fifteen hours of daylight each day. You were on duty right through. Chaps were being lost all the time. We had seventeen out of twenty-three killed or wounded in my squadron in less than three weeks. We had another eight aircraft shot down with the chaps unhurt, including myself twice. It was a fight for survival. There was a tremendous ‘twitch’. If somebody slammed a door, half the chaps would jump out of their chairs. There were times when you were so tired, you’d pick up your pint of beer with two hands. But no one was cowering, terrified in a corner. My greatest fear was that I’d reach the stage where I’d show fear. But it took me years after the war to get rid of my twitch.
John Ellacombe joined the RAF in 1939 and served in No. 151 Squadron.
Those who served during the Battle of Britain never forgot the experience. It was, for most, the central moment of their lives. Although many went on to serve in other places during the war, the experiences of 1940 coloured every hour and made forgetting the war experience very difficult. In 1972, a historian wrote to the pilot Ronald ‘Ras’ Berry of No. 603 Squadron requesting information about ‘his most memorable victory’ during the Battle of Britain. Berry bluntly responded: ‘My most memorable victory was waking up for another day having survived the day before.’ Pilot Christopher Foxley-Norris recalled:
I still don’t like the telephone because you’d be sitting there in the dispersal hut, playing cards or reading a book or something like that, and the telephone would ring. Everyone froze. An orderly answered. It might be ‘Squadron scramble’ or something quite unimportant … But the tension which built up between the ringing of the phone and learning what it was is my hangover from the Battle of Britain. I still don’t like telephones.
In such simple things was the line between the relatively peaceful life on the ground and the violent confrontations that took place in the sky. It was a daily tension. Richard Hillary, a pilot who did not survive the war, described it as ‘moments of great boredom interspersed with moments of great excitement.’
Ronald ‘Ras’ Berry during the Battle of Britain.
It is easy to romanticise the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain as larger-than-life characters – the stuff of legend. What the celebrated ‘Few’ accomplished during the course of just a few months in 1940 was inspiring. Had Britain failed in 1940, the war would have progressed very differently for the Allies. It is remarkable to consider how much rested on the shoulders of the young RAF fighter pilots whose average age fell between just nineteen and twenty-four.
Undated photo of Polish RAF pilots in the dispersal hut awaiting orders, their Mae West jackets partially inflated in readiness for action.
The timeframe for the Battle of Britain period was defined as 10 July to 31 October 1940. These dates were used to determine eligibility for the Battle of Britain clasp, which is worn as an attachment on the 1939–45 Star medal, and is accompanied by a silver gilt rosette sewn to the ribbon bar. Only those who flew operationally during the 114 days of recognised battle duration qualify to be considered as one of ‘The Few’.
RAF pilots relaxing at Tangmere in February 1941. Four of the six pictured did not survive the war.
Fewer than 3,000 pilots were awarded the Battle of Britain clasp. Most of these (2,334 to be precise) were British born. Non-British aircrews totalled 583 men, of which Poles were the largest contingent (145) followed by New Zealanders (126), Canadians (98) and Czechs (88). Australia provided 33 aircrew, with Belgium (29), South Africa (25), Free France (13) and the United States (9) supplying the rest. The Olympian Billy Fiske of No. 601 Squadron was the first American to be killed in RAF service during the Second World War. He died on 17 August 1940, one day after being critically wounded during a dogfight.
Roughly half of those who earned the Battle of Britain clasp were commissioned officers and many who survived the battle went on to attain higher rank in the RAF. About 42 per cent of the Battle of Britain pilots were non-commissioned officers (NCOs). These men flew fighters but also served as aircrew in other planes such as Boulton Paul Defiants, Bristol Beaufighters or Bristol Blenheims. Those NCOs who qualified for the clasp included warrant officers, flight sergeants, sergeants and even corporals and aircraftmen. Women who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) performed admirably and were essential to flight operations, but were never made eligible to wear the Battle of Britain clasp.
Casualty figures for the Battle of Britain lack consistency. One study reports that 544 aircrew lost their lives in the battle. The Air Ministry claimed 375 killed and 358 wounded, while recent historians have identified 443 killed. The numbers translate into about thirty-three RAF pilots killed each week – or five men per day. Commissioned officers accounted for 62 per cent of the losses. About 38 per cent (193) were NCOs. Of ‘The Few’ who continued fighting after 1940, 795 had lost their lives by 1945. Of the 2,917 men who made up ‘The Few’, 45.9 per cent (1,339) did not survive the war. The RAF recognises 814 of ‘The Few’ who died in subsequent operations.
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots, B. F. Christmas (left) and W. P. Sprenger in 1940. Sprenger was killed on 26 November 1940.
After the war, ‘The Few’ were commemorated with fly-past ceremonies, receptions, monument dedications and in hundreds of published historical accounts. As time passed, the retelling of the stories made the men who fought for the RAF seem larger than life. In the popular story of the battle, its veterans were like the knights of old England. They were a small and elite band of brothers joined together in common purpose against the enemy. It was an image that many of the pilots embraced and may have been part of the coping mechanisms they applied to the grim fighting days of their youth. The odds were against them – both personally and for Britain. What kept them going was an understanding that what they were fighting for was better than the cause of their enemy. A failure to succeed in their mission would have had grave implications for the world.
Yet in all this adoration, something was lost – a chapter hidden from popular understanding. The RAF pilot Brian Kingcome, of No. 92 Squadron, questioned in his memoir published in 1999: ‘Why can’t they just talk about Battle of Britain pilots? Why does it always have to be heroes? I think it devalues the word and denigrates all those who were called on to face just as great odds.’ Indeed, not every RAF pilot flew in the Battle of Britain and the RAF’s different forces – Fighter, Bomber, and Coastal commands – were active in all theatres during the Second World War, including North Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific – and some were even stationed in North America. The RAF was a multinational force that defended many nations during the war. Its intelligence officers helped to crack secret German codes, and the WAAF provided essential support to air operations.
RAF pilots resting in front of their Spitfires at Biggin Hill late in the war. Ground crew are at work in the background.
The RAF personnel of 1939–45 were men of flesh and blood who gave all that they could give for victory. This book is a reminder that while what they achieved was remarkable, they were ordinary people facing a common challenge. During the Second World War, the fate of the free world rested in their hands. The uniforms they wore, the medals they earned and the things they carried to war are reminders that connect us to them long after their deeds have become history. These pilots understood that if fighting for their country was not enough, they were risking their lives for something that was even greater than that. As Hitler’s forces rumbled across Europe and a third of the world fell under his regime, it was the RAF that helped to resist that advance.