Tri-Service
The Spitfire Pilot Who Re-Wrote RAF Tactics
On the 75th anniversary of the climax of the Battle of Britain, Forces TV has met the son of one of those who was right in the thick of the action.
Group Captain George Darley was put in charge of No. 609 Squadron RAF, which had just lost five pilots in one week over Dunkirk, at the age of 26.
But despite his relatively tender age, he ended up re-writing RAF tactics, formation flying, and the art of shooting.
More from Forces TV: The Importance Of Remembering British Battles
By September 1940, No. 609 Squadron had shot down 100 enemy aircraft, the first Spitfire squadron to do so.
The Spitfire flown by the Battle of Britain flying ace now hangs in London's Imperial War Museum as a testament to he and other pilots' efforts and sacrifices.
The Battle ended in a decisive British victory, with the German Luftwaffe having failed in their attempt to win air supremacy over England.
And the Allied pilots later became immortalised as "The Few" in a speech by Winston Churchill.
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