Perhaps the essential myth of the Battle of Britain can be
summed up in the idea that this was a victory gained by young
British officer pilots flying Spitfires. Many were far from
young. Teenagers fought in the Battle, but so did men in their
20, 30s and 40s. One air gunner was 51. Many were not from the
United Kingdom. The countries represented in Fighter Command in
1940 included Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia,
France, Ireland, Jamaica, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Poland, the
Rhodesias, South Africa and the United States. Many were not
officers – among the high scoring NCO pilots of the Battle were
Sergeant “Ginger” Lacey (501 Squadron), Sergeant Jim Hallowes
(43 Squadron) and Flight Sergeant “Grumpy” Unwin (19 Squadron).
Multi-crewed aircraft, such as the Blenheim and Defiant, took
part in the Battle, so not all the aircrew were pilots. The
Hurricane flew in much greater numbers in the Battle than the
Spitfire and shot down far more enemy aircraft. After the Battle
it was decided that every Alli