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A Polish war veteran is leading a British poll for the greatest Second World War Spitfire pilot by hundreds of thousands of votes. Franciszek Kornicki, 100, the last surviving Second World War Polish squadron commander, leads the online survey by a whopping 300,000 votes following a viral social media campaign by the UK's Polish community. A member of the high-scoring 303 Squadron during World War II, the war hero famously escorted a group of British bombers over northern France, where he led a daring attack on Nazi warplanes.

THE 78th commemoration of the Battle of Britain celebrates the defence of the United Kingdom by the RAF against the Nazi air force, known as the Lutftwaffe, in World War Two. But what exactly happened in 1940 and how is it being marked. Here's all you need to know. The annual Battle of Britain Day is celebrated on September 15. The day is dedicated to the large-scale aerial battle that took place from July 10 until October 31, 1940. The clash was said to be the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. Britain's Royal Air Force defended...

A flypast involving about 40 Spitfires and Hurricanes is taking place to commemorate the 75th anniversary of World War Two's Battle of Britain. The grouping - the biggest in one place since the war - took off in waves from Goodwood airfield in West Sussex before dispersing around the region. Prince Harry was due to take part, but gave up his seat for a battle veteran when one of the Spitfires was grounded.

A specially painted Eurofighter Typhoon commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain has been unveiled. The jet has been painted in the colours used at the time of the battle, which ran from July to September 1940. It also bears a red devil emblem in honour of the only RAF Fighter Command pilot awarded a Victoria Cross in the conflict. It was revealed during a ceremony at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. The Battle of Britain was the German air force's attempt to gain air superiority over the RAF. Their ultimate failure was one of the turning points of the...

Prince Harry is seen flying a Spitfire upside down in footage released from his charity work with injured veterans. The prince was cheering and smiling as he rolled the plane during a flight along the Isle of Wight coastline in August last year. The stunt was to promote his Spitfire scholarship which offers training for wounded servicemen and women. He also met two trainees who are hoping to pilot the aircraft in a Battle of Britain flypast.

LONDON (Reuters) – A rare World War Two German bomber, shot down over the English Channel in 1940 and hidden for years by shifting sands at the bottom of the sea, is so well preserved a British museum wants to raise it. The Dornier 17 -- thought to be world's last known example -- was hit as it took part in the Battle of Britain. It ditched in the sea just off the Kent coast, southeast England, in an area known as the Goodwin Sands. The plane came to rest upside-down in 50 feet of water and has become partially...

They are the glorious Few, the airmen whose extraordinary bravery saved Britain from Nazi invasion. Seventy years on, the heroes who repelled Hitler’s Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain are a dwindling band – it is thought only 79, all recorded on this article, are still alive. Today a special anniversary service at Westminster Abbey will remember the efforts of all those who took part in the pivotal encounter, arguably the most important ever fought by this nation. Aces in the pack: Flanked by Spitfires and Hurricanes at Duxford, 17 of the last remaining Battle of Britain pilots line up...

Prince Charles wiped away a tear yesterday as some of the last of the Few marched past him during a service to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Six frail RAF veterans passed by carrying the roll of honour containing the names of just under 3,000 air crew who prevented a Nazi invasion in 1940. Charles, who is patron of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association, sat beside the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William, who has just graduated as an RAF helicopter pilot, at Westminster Abbey. Commander Bob Foster, one of only 70 surviving members of...

Under a slate grey sky, the words of Winston Churchill rang defiantly around Westminster: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' It may be 70 years old, but the resounding call to arms during the Battle of Britain still stiffened the sinew bringing pride and not a few tears yesterday. Churchill's famous address was delivered by actor Robert Hardy at 3.52pm  -  exactly the time they were originally spoken in Parliament by the wartime Prime Minister on August 20, 1940.   Former fighter pilots, Churchill's daughter Lady Soames and...

Battle of Britain (Luftschlacht um England) was one of the most famous battles of World War Two. Take control of a Polish airmen of the 303 Squadron during World War II. Play with friends or fight against other human opponents in multiplayer mode. Use arrow keys to control your plane and press Z to increase to full throttle. Press X to fire machine guns. Much fun with Battle of Britain.

So, not much text necessary... enjoy, think, and remember!

The UK's 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Britain attracted an unusual visitor to the Royal International Air Tattoo: a rare Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. Owned by EADS, the aircraft is one of only a handful of the more than 34,000 Bf 109-class fighters produced which remain airworthy. Also known as "Red Seven", the aircraft was built in 1958 and served with the Spanish air force until 1965, before later taking a starring role in the 1969 film The Battle of Britain. Now carrying Luftwaffe markings, the Bf 109 was due to mark the anniversary by flying in formation...

The Battle of Britain - 10 July 1940 - 31 Oct 1940

An RAF pilot and an aviator from the Luftwaffe have flown together on a combat mission for the first time since Britain and Germany were bitter Second World War enemies. The two airmen joined forces in the skies above Afghanistan in the war against the Taliban. Last night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that an RAF flight lieutenant had piloted a Tornado GR4 supersonic jet with a German navigator behind him in the cockpit. The Luftwaffe major - the equivalent of a squadron leader in the RAF - speaks perfect English and is said to have fitted in well with...

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight faces the axe as the Ministry of Defence attempts to close a £6billion hole in its finances. Senior RAF sources have warned that the flight could be cut on 'cost grounds' as the MoD is forced to make drastic savings in the next defence review. This year is the Battle of Britain's 70th anniversary and yesterday MPs and veterans' groups described the threat to the flight as a 'crying shame' and an insult to the fighter pilots - 'The Few' - who defended Britain against the German Luftwaffe. Every year hundreds of thousands of...

In the year that sees the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War, a previously untold story has emerged of how, through a "miracle" chemical breakthrough, Spitfire and Hurricane fighters gained the edge over German fighters to win the Battle of Britain. An American scientist and author has claimed that the famed pair of war-winning aeroplanes gained superior altitude, manoeuvrability and rate of climb by a revolutionary high-octane fuel supplied to Britain by the USA just in time for the battle. Books, documentaries, and movies have chronicled the brilliant contribution of UK designers and engineers behind the...

As the sun shone across London this weekend a number of events were taking place to commemorate the Battle of Britain, veterans standing shoulder to shoulder with serving military figures and civilians to remember their comrades who battled so doggedly for their country during the summer of 1940 and throughout World War II. A permanent reminder of the debt owed to 'The Few' was revealed on Saturday 15 September 2007 in Westminster when the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Fighter Association unveiled the Battle of Britain Heritage Walk. The 45 minute walk links five sites of significance to...

1940: Luftwaffe launches Battle of Britain The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, has mounted a series of attacks on shipping convoys off the south-east coast of England. It is the first major assault by the Luftwaffe and is being seen as what the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, dubbed in a speech three weeks ago as the beginning of the "Battle of Britain". Although heavily outnumbered, the British fighter pilots put up a fierce fight and succeeded in driving off the attackers. The Air Ministry says they inflicted "the greatest damage on the German air force since bombing raids on this...

by Mark Finkelstein September 27, 2006 - 08:05 "Good morning, this is Harry Smith reporting from London today, June 10th, 1940. With Luftwaffe pilots now brazenly carrying out daylight bombing raids on London, it's clear that Britain's war against Nazism is a failure." Judging by his take on Iraq, that's presumably how Harry would have reported matters had he been around during the dark days of WWII. Fortunately, Churchill was there: "Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and...

Wing Commander George “Grumpy” Unwin, who has died aged 93, was one of the most successful fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain and was twice awarded the DFM; he was one of only 60 men to receive the double award during the Second World War.In August 1938 Unwin was a sergeant pilot serving on No 19 Squadron when it became the first to receive the Spitfire. He was one of the original RAF pilots to fly the new fighter and, in the early days, he flew regularly as Douglas Bader’s wingman.No 19 was heavily engaged during the Dunkirk crisis...