Dogfight in the Battle of Britain (from The Last Enemy)
Channel: English Readings
Date: 2018-04-15

The Last Enemy is a classic of Second World War literature. It was written by Richard Hillary, a fighter pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain. The book recounts his experiences and the aftermath of being shot down and suffering appalling burns to the face and hands. He recovered well enough to fly again, but not fighters. He was killed in a training accident while flying a Bristol Blenheim. He was just 24.

This short extract describes two encounters Hillary has with the enemy on one sortie, the second being rather unusual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3bZreK3kxw - a documentary on Richard Hillary.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/display-teams/battle-of-britain-memorial-flight/  - The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) in Lincolnshire.

As well as introducing people to a classic book it seemed appropriate to upload this during the centenary of the founding of the RAF.

The image, Battle of Britain, by Paul Nash, is reproduced here courtesy of The Imperial War Museum under Non-Commercial Licence  © IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 1550)

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