# Battle of Britain 75th anniversary **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375 "2015-09-15T17:02:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375/21 "2015-10-03T18:54:13Z")
And on a lighter note: [Monty Python RAF Banter - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rKYL0tW-Ek) ---
**Author:** ![Futurist110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e4f/32.png) [@Futurist110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futurist110)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375/22 "2015-10-04T02:09:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Raise a glass today to the gallant lads of the RAF… > > “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” - Winston Churchill > > [Battle of Britain: Historic flypast for 75th anniversary - BBC News](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34250794) > [http://www.raf.mod.uk/campaign/battle-of-britain-75th/](http://www.raf.mod.uk/campaign/battle-of-britain-75th/) > [Battle of Britain Day - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain_Day) Ah, Yes, the Battle of Britain–Adolf Hitler’s first setback in World War II! 😃 Hip hip hooray! 😃 Hip hip hooray! 😃 Hip hip hooray! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375/23 "2015-10-04T02:27:43Z")
Video of incredibly low-flying Spitfire buzzing a newsman and probably making him soil his pants (as I’m sure it would mine in the circumstances). _[His reaction includes NSFW language]_ [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpq4Tu2NnrQ) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375/24 "2015-10-04T09:52:28Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > As an American, I tend to think of all of those as outlying parts of Britain. Possibly that’s assuming too much. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > There’s that old comment that when you’re in a deep hole you should stop digging…. :rolleyes: Indeed. **Sailboat** , I am pleased to see that you have stopped digging. You may be interested to know how many “non-British” combatants participated in the Battle of Britain. From the Wiki entry on [the Battle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain): > [@](#): > > The Royal Air Force roll of honour for the Battle of Britain recognises 595 non-British pilots (out of 2,936) as flying at least one authorised operational sortie with an eligible unit of the RAF or Fleet Air Arm between 10 July and 31 October 1940… These included 145 Poles, 127 New Zealanders, 112 Canadians, 88 Czechoslovaks, 10 Irish, 32 Australians, 28 Belgians, 25 South Africans, 13 French, 7 Americans, 3 Southern Rhodesians and one each from Jamaica and Mandatory Palestine."Altogether in the fighter battles, the bombing raids, and the various patrols flown between 10 July and 31 October 1940 by the Royal Air Force, 1495 aircrew were killed, of whom … those killed were 47 airmen from Canada, 24 from Australia, 17 from South Africa, 35 from Poland, 20 from Czechoslovakia and six from Belgium. Forty-seven New Zealanders lost their lives, including 15 fighter pilots, 24 bomber and eight coastal aircrew. Britain had allies during the Battle of Britain. They were all independent countries. Though many were part of the Commonwealth, as per the Statute of Westminster, they were not “British.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battle-of-britain-75th-anniversary/731375.md?page=1)