By Sam Normand
Sunday marked the 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the fierce battle of 1940 for control of the skies over Britain.
Members of the 704 Air Cadets, 418 Wing veterans and servicemen from 8th Wing Trenton gathered at Westminster United Church in Belleville to pay tribute to those who fought to protect the British Isles.
“Normally every year we try to pick a different church from one of our members,” said Murray Hope, president of 418th Wing of the Air Force Association of Canada.
Murray says that 418 wing has a large number of veterans, many have seen active service in a number of campaigns.
“We have many members of our wing that were in the service, and did their time over there. As a matter of fact one chap was part of the Great Escape. Not the movie, the actual Great Escape. He was in the compound and helped to distribute the soil around.”
Murray is a veteran of 33 years, serving in both the RCAF and CAF.
The Battle of Britain was the first and largest aerial battle in history, with Allied defenders outnumbered up to 12 to one.
Over 100 Canadian’s took part in the battle; 23 were shot down.
Chris Colton, executive director of the National Air Force Museum in Trenton, said that a combination of skilled training, new tactics and technology, and land-based air defenses are attributed with victory despite overwhelming enemy numbers.
He said that the Germans over-confidence led to their eventual defeat.
“I think that Germany thought that they could just roll in and take control of the skies over Britain, which is of course not what happened,” says Carson. “They defended the air, which is of course very important in a war scenario if you have control over the air you have a very valuable tool. The fact that the German air force could not gain control of the air over Britain forced them to reconsider how they were going to fight.”
Colson says that the period of war during September 1940 was a turning point, eventually leading to the loss of German air superiority over France and then later Germany itself.
Colton said the Trenton museum holds models and full scale aircraft whose designs were used in the battle. These include the Spitfire and the Hurricane, both of which are single-seat fighters.
“There are also actual parts and pieces of aircraft flown during the war, and some during the battle of Britain that have been recovered and brought back, which are on display here,” says Colson. “A number of the displays also include the battle of Britain itself and some of the Canadians who fought in the battle of Britain.”