The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60% of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War.
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
David Arthur Coke, DFC, was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War, and is credited with two destroyed, two probables, and two damaged aircraft during his service. He is known in popular culture for his friendship with the author Roald Dahl while serving in the Royal Air Force.
Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle,, usually known as Pat Pattle, was a South African-born English Second World War fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Frank Reginald "Chota" Carey, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace who served during World War II.
John Everitt Frost, was a South African fighter ace during the Second World War. He was the highest-scoring member of a South African Air Force squadron during the war, credited with the destruction of 15 Axis aircraft. South African pilots with higher numbers of kills, such as Pat Pattle and Adolph "Sailor" Malan, were members of the British Royal Air Force.
Number 80 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 15 April 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, after the numberplate was awarded to the British team at the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL). It was a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both the First and Second World Wars.
No. 238 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed in 1918 by combining number 347, 348 and 349 Flights at RAF Cattewater by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed for the Second World War, the Berlin Airlift and currently is a Line Training Flight (LTF) squadron based at RAF Cosford, albeit in a non-flying capacity. It is among those officially acknowledged Battle of Britain squadrons.
Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter wing of World War II.
John Albert Axel Gibson, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and a flying ace of the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of at least 13 enemy aircraft.
James Archibald Findlay MacLachlan was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. MacLachlan was credited with 16 German and Italian aircraft shot down in approximately 250 missions—7 were at night of which two were achieved over Malta in 1941 and 5 over France in 1942.
Sophus Baagoe was a German fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe and fought during World War II. Baagoe was credited with fourteen aerial victories, making him a fighter ace. A fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.
The Hardest Day was a Second World War air battle fought on 18 August 1940 during the Battle of Britain between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force (RAF). On that day, the Luftwaffe made an all-out effort to destroy RAF Fighter Command. The air battles that took place on that day were amongst the largest aerial engagements in history to that time. Both sides suffered heavy losses. In the air, the British shot down twice as many Luftwaffe aircraft as they lost. However, many RAF aircraft were destroyed on the ground, equalising the total losses of both sides. Further large and costly aerial battles took place after 18 August, but both sides lost more aircraft combined on this day than at any other point during the campaign, including 15 September, the Battle of Britain Day, generally considered the climax of the fighting. For this reason, Sunday 18 August 1940 became known as "the Hardest Day" in Britain.
Thomas Frederick Dalton-Morgan, was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He flew during the Battle of Britain, and is counted amongst the ranks of 'The Few'.
The Kanalkampf was the German term for air operations by the Luftwaffe against the Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940, beginning the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Britain had rejected peace overtures and on 16 July, Adolf Hitler issued Directive 16 to the Wehrmacht, ordering preparations for an invasion of Britain, under the codename Unternehmen Seelöwe.
In late 1937, the Royal Yugoslav Air Force placed an order with Hawker Aircraft for twelve Hawker Hurricane Mk I fighters, the first foreign purchase of the aircraft. The VVKJ operated the British Hawker Hurricane Mk I from 1938 to 1941. Between 1938 and 1940, the VVKJ obtained 24 Hurricane Mk Is from early production batches, marking the first foreign sale of the aircraft. Twenty additional aircraft were built by Zmaj under licence in Yugoslavia. When the country was drawn into World War II by the German-led Axis invasion of April 1941, a total of 41 Hurricane Mk I's were in service as fighters. They achieved some successes against Luftwaffe aircraft, but all Yugoslav Hurricanes were destroyed or captured during the 11-day invasion.
Zerstörergeschwader 2 was a Luftwaffe heavy/destroyer Fighter Aircraft-wing of World War II.
William Henry Millington was an Australian fighter pilot and flying ace who flew in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with at least nine aerial victories.
Joseph Émile Paul Larichelière was a Canadian officer who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with six aerial victories.
John Reynolds Cock, was an Australian-born flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with at least ten aerial victories.
