Battle of Britain - videos fra BBC

Battle of Britain: Historic flypast for 75th anniversary

• 15 September 2015
• From the section UK

Sjekk den eneste gjenværende Hawker Hurricane som var med for 75 år siden, gjøre sin første tur på Duxford etter restaurering: http://tinyurl.com/o43ylgc

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Hurricane fighters taking off from Gravesend in Kent during the Battle of Britain in September 1940

A flypast involving about 40 Spitfires and Hurricanes is set to take place to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Prince Harry will join veterans to see the fleet of Battle of Britain aircraft take to the air - the most in any one place since World War Two.
A service will also be held at London's St Paul's Cathedral at 11:00 BST.
The Battle of Britain, in the summer of 1940, was one of the pivotal moments in UK history.
A range of events has already been staged over the past few months to mark the aerial battle, which raged between July and October 1940 as Germany attempted to destroy the fighting capacity of the RAF.

Battle of Britain: July to October 1940

Image copyright Getty Images

• The Battle of Britain was a pivotal moment in WW2 when the country stood alone against Hitler's seemingly unstoppable military power
• In July 1940 RAF Fighter Command had only 640 planes to combat the Luftwaffe's 2,600 fighters and bombers
• Nearly 3,000 aircrew served with RAF Fighter Command during the battle
• The average age of a pilot was 20 years old.
• 20% of the pilots were from the British Dominions, and occupied European or neutral countries
• The RAF lost 1,023 planes and the Luftwaffe lost 1,887 planes in the battle

What was the secret to winning the Battle of Britain?
Why do we love the Spitfire?

'The Few'

Tuesday's flypast and service are being held on Battle of Britain Day - the name given to the day, on 15 September 1940, when the German Luftwaffe launched its largest and most concentrated attack against London in the hope of drawing out the RAF.
Spitfires, Hurricanes and Blenheims, from across the UK, US and Europe will come together at Goodwood Aerodrome, West Sussex, to take part in the flypast. Present-day owners, operators, pilots and engineers will be there alongside veterans.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Several events have already taken place to mark the milestone, such as this re-enactment of a "scramble" during a flypast at Biggin Hill airport in August                

Video: http://tinyurl.com/pcg9d6x

Media caption In August a flypast marked the Hardest Day, as Richard Lister reports

Battle of Britain pilot Wing Commander Tom Neil, now 95, will lead the formation from the rear seat of a two-seat Spitfire.
He will be joined by wounded service personnel who have been training to fly the Spitfire as part of the Spitfire Scholarship set up by the Boultbee Flight Academy in partnership with the Royal Foundation's Endeavour Fund, which Prince Harry launched at Goodwood in 2014.
The aircraft will take off in groups from 12:00 BST and fly over Goodwood before dispersing around the South of England.
Some will return to Goodwood, while others will end up at Battle of Britain airfields including Biggin Hill and Northolt.
The Battle of Britain Day flypast website has maps of the approximate routes.
Live information on the departure times of each group will be posted on Boultbee Academy's twitter feed.
Prince Edward is expected to attend the St Paul's service, which has been organised by the RAF Association.
It will commemorate all those involved in the battle, including ground crew, radar operatives and maintenance operatives, as well as flight crew and pilots.
After the service there will be a march past by about 75 standard bearers, and a scale-model Spitfire will be positioned at the west front of the cathedral.
The Battle of Britain was an aerial struggle between the German Luftwaffe, intent on wiping out Britain's air defences, and the RAF.
The pilots of the RAF, who became known as "The Few", successfully stood up to wave after wave of German fighters and bombers.
In his famous speech, wartime leader Winston Churchill spoke of the sacrifices made during this period: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."