Warfare in News
Posted on Wednesday 28th March
A memorial commemorating the airmen who flew out of RAF Exeter during the Second World War has been unveiled outside what is now Exeter International Airport.
The statue – a life-size bronze figure of a fighter pilot watching for skies in order to spot fellow pilots returning – was described by the South West Airfields Heritage Trust as a 'well earned tribute' to RAF Exeter's airmen.
During the Battle of Britain in 1940, 22 fighter pilots from RAF Exeter were killed. RAF Exeter was a base for fighter pilots from the UK, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Poland during the war.
The statue – a life-size bronze figure of a fighter pilot watching for skies in order to spot fellow pilots returning – was described by the South West Airfields Heritage Trust as a 'well earned tribute' to RAF Exeter's airmen.
During the Battle of Britain in 1940, 22 fighter pilots from RAF Exeter were killed. RAF Exeter was a base for fighter pilots from the UK, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Poland during the war.
Further Reading
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Battle of Britain
(Commemorative magazine)by Roni Wilkinson
The Battle of Britain took place between July and October 1940.
The Germans needed to control the English Channel to launch their invasion of Britain. To control the Channel the Germans needed control of the air. This meant that they had to take on Fighter Command, led by Sir Hugh Dowding, of the Royal Air Force.
At the start of the war, Germany had 4,000 aircraft compared to… Read more...
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