“The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion.
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power.
On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers, who will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous occasions to restrain.”
Delivered in the House of Commons, Westminster, on 20 August 1940.
W S Churchill - Prime Minister
@FlightPolish via X
On August 19, 1942, Dieppe turned into hell. Operation Jubilee was meant to test an attack on a fortified port: thousands of soldiers, hundreds of ships, and massive RAF forces. The air raid ended in heavy losses, but the experiences from Dieppe influenced the preparation of future Allied invasions. #Dieppe #WWII
@JanMace1970 via X
20 August 1912. Birth of František Fajtl (d. 4 October 2006). WWII Czech fighter pilot with the Armée de l'Air and RAF during the Battle of Britain. 122 Squadron Leader and later Wing Commander, he led a group of Czechoslovak fighter pilots who formed an air regiment under Soviet Air Force command, supporting the Slovak National Uprising in 1944.
@ron_eisele via X
During Operation Jubilee on 19 August 1942, Czechoslovak RAF fighters also struck. Their tally: 1.5 confirmed kills, 4 probable, 15 damaged aircraft, and 1 sunk ship. Among them fought Miroslav Liškutín in EP660 DU-O, who destroyed a Do 217.
One of the great days of Czech. aviation. #Dieppe
@JanMace1970 via X
I love this story about how Douglas Bader, the British RAF hero, saw the medal of Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the former German ace pilot, and sighed, "How many British people died for that medal?"—and then when Rudel explained, "This one's earned against the Soviet forces," Douglas suddenly got in a great mood and they became super close buddies.
@donchowping via X
20 August 1914. Birth of Raymond Towers "Ray" Holmes (d. 27 June 2005). British fighter pilot who was feted by the press as a war hero after saving Buckingham Palace from being severely damaged by German bombing during the Battle of Britain.🇬🇧
@ron_eisele via X
On August 18, 1944, during an air battle near Beauvais in France, Capt. Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, commander of the 315th Fighter Division, was killed.
His Mustang Mk.III crashed near the village of Valennes; the remains of "Dziubek" were recovered in 1947 and buried in the British section of the Creil cemetery. 1/
"Dziubek" was, for me, the best of the best, and I feel a bit connected to that Polish fighter ace, which stuck with me from my interest in aviation.
In 2018, I visited "Dziubek's" grave in Creil, where he's buried next to a subordinate who died just a few days earlier.
In 2024, I went to Vélennes, where I was on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the death.
It was a very rainy August, but over Vélennes the sky calmed down. And the "Dziubek" monument is beautiful, right next to the field where his "Mustang" crashed.
The only place left for me to visit was the former RAF airfield in Brenzett, from where he took off for the last time.
And I'll probably end up there someday too.
@MakoweicPawe via X