British soldiers of the 1st Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment, search two POWs of the 6th German Parachute Division (6. Fallschirmjäger) in a field near the Dutch town of Soest, 5 miles north-west from the city of Utrecht; May 10, 1945.

Searching captive Germans

August 18th is known as the “Hardest Day” during the Battle of Britain.

The Luftwaffe set out to destroy Fighter Command Airfields. They flew 850 sorties with 2200 aircrew and the RAF 927 sorties with 600 aircrew. Target airfields were Kenley, Biggin Hill, Gosport, Ford, Thorne Island Hornchurch, North Weald along with the radar station at Poling.

Re-arming and refuelling the fighter aircraft was carried out as quickly as possible as the pilots would have to be ready to fly several sorties.

The day ended with the Germans losing 69 aircraft and the RAF 68, 31 of these was during air combat.

The face of Sqn Ldr Brian “Sandy” Lane tells the story of being a fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain.
taken from fb/Battle of Britain Memorial Flight

Battle fatigued fighter pilot

British soldiers escort the crew of the downed German bomber He. 111, parachuted in the Goodwood, Sussex, England area. Smoking wreckage of the bomber is visible in the background; September 12, 1940.
