Battle of Britain
Thanks for the link, Mike. There is, for me, no more compelling story of the Second World War than that of the RAF and its defense of the British homeland beginning in the summer of 1940. I have read numerous accounts and dozens of books on the topic, beginning with Quentin Reynolds' "Battle of Britain" written in 1953, found in the library of St. John Elementary when I was just an eight or nine year-old student there. Quentins' book, along with much of the subsequent offerings regarding the earliest days, seem overly romantic and sentimental. The most clear-headed account I have found is Stephen Bungay's "The Most Dangerous Enemy", a great slog of a tome that covers those early days in great detail. The real story, however, is one of the years 1940-1945, encompassing all of "The Blitz" including those last days when the Germans unleashed the V-weapons. Eighty-two years on from the start of this epic confrontation, the story still has me look up when I hear a small plane fly overhead on a warm summer day.
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