(Hattip Daily Mail) Flying over the green fields of England in World War Two camouflage, two fighter aircraft evoke the brave men who fought and died in the Battle of Britain. One of them, the Hurricane, was the mainstay of the RAF as it defended Britain from the might of the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940. The other is the ultra-modern Typhoon. The jet was painted with the 249 Squadron number of the only Fighter Command pilot awarded a Victoria Cross during the battle – Flight Lieutenant James Brindley Nicolson.
No. 249, founded in 1918 as a seaplane squadron that was shuttered the next year. It was reformed 16 May 1940 with Spitfires, then quickly switched out to Hurricanes with which they became legend in the Battle of Britain. Finishing the war in Mustangs, they later transitioned to Mosquitoes then Tempests and Vampires before flying Venoms out of Kenya before their final disbanding in 1969.
We covered the Canadian CF-18 Battle of Britain tribute plane here.
