oggbashan
Dying Truth seeker
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2002
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"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Winston Churchill in August 1940 referring to the RAF Battle of Britain pilots.
From Wikipedia:
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had included personnel from outside the United Kingdom from before the beginning of the Second World War and many served in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Many were volunteers from the British Empire and refugees and exiles from occupied countries in Europe.
The RAF Roll of Honour recognises 574 pilots, from countries other than the United Kingdom, as flying at least one authorized, operational sortie with an eligible unit during the period between 10 July to 31 October 1940, alongside 2,353 British pilots. The numbers differ slightly from the participants whose names are engraved on the Battle of Britain Monument in London, unveiled on 18 September 2005.
All pilots, regardless of nationality, who flew with British units during the Battle are known collectively, after a phrase coined by Winston Churchill, as "The Few".
For example, the Poles:
Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the Battle; most had hundreds of hours of pre-war flying experience and had fought in the 1939 Defensive War and/or the Battle of France. The Polish pilots had been well trained in formation flying and had learned from combat experience to fire from close range. By comparison, one Polish pilot referred to the close formation flying and set-piece attacks practised in the RAF as "simply suicidal".
The 147 Polish pilots claimed 201 aircraft shot down. 303 Squadron claimed the highest number of kills (126) of all Allied squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain. Witold Urbanowicz of 303 Squadron was the top Polish scorer with 15 claims. Sgt Tony Glowacki was one of two Allied pilots in the Battle to shoot down five German aircraft in one day, on 24 August (the other being New Zealander Brian Carbury). One Polish veteran, Stanislaw Skalski, became the top-scoring Polish fighter ace of the Second World War.
Winston Churchill in August 1940 referring to the RAF Battle of Britain pilots.
From Wikipedia:
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had included personnel from outside the United Kingdom from before the beginning of the Second World War and many served in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Many were volunteers from the British Empire and refugees and exiles from occupied countries in Europe.
The RAF Roll of Honour recognises 574 pilots, from countries other than the United Kingdom, as flying at least one authorized, operational sortie with an eligible unit during the period between 10 July to 31 October 1940, alongside 2,353 British pilots. The numbers differ slightly from the participants whose names are engraved on the Battle of Britain Monument in London, unveiled on 18 September 2005.
All pilots, regardless of nationality, who flew with British units during the Battle are known collectively, after a phrase coined by Winston Churchill, as "The Few".
For example, the Poles:
Polish pilots were among the most experienced in the Battle; most had hundreds of hours of pre-war flying experience and had fought in the 1939 Defensive War and/or the Battle of France. The Polish pilots had been well trained in formation flying and had learned from combat experience to fire from close range. By comparison, one Polish pilot referred to the close formation flying and set-piece attacks practised in the RAF as "simply suicidal".
The 147 Polish pilots claimed 201 aircraft shot down. 303 Squadron claimed the highest number of kills (126) of all Allied squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain. Witold Urbanowicz of 303 Squadron was the top Polish scorer with 15 claims. Sgt Tony Glowacki was one of two Allied pilots in the Battle to shoot down five German aircraft in one day, on 24 August (the other being New Zealander Brian Carbury). One Polish veteran, Stanislaw Skalski, became the top-scoring Polish fighter ace of the Second World War.
