Battle of Britain

This artwork is for the 1s 3d stamp in a set commemorating the 25^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 1965. Vapour trails from dogfighting planes swirl in the skies above St Paul’s Cathedral. 

The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign of any war to be fought in the air. It is regarded as lasting from July to October 1940, although German bomber units were not withdrawn to attack Russia until the following year.

The Germans’ aim was to knock out the Royal Air Force prior to launching ‘Operation Sea Lion’: the sea-borne invasion of Britain. The German bombers also sought to disrupt communications and demoralise the population.

Thanks to the swiftness of the Spitfire, and the dogged reliability of the Hurricane, the battle turned for Britain. More importantly, Hugh Dowding, head of Fighter Command, had prepared the sophisticated system of detection, command and control that ran the battle, and ensured victory.

The 25th anniversary of the Battle of Britain stamp issue was designed by David Gentleman and Rosalind Dease. Other stamps in the set show representations of a flight of Supermarine Spitfires, a pilot in a Hawker Hurricane, Spitfires attacking a Heinkel Bomber and Anti-Aircraft Artillery in action. You can see the artwork for another stamp - a Spitfire attaching a Stuka bomber - at the start of this slideshow.

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