Battle of Britain   Narrator: Mark Dexter Acorn Media UK RRP: £19.99 AV9420 Certificate: E Available 02 August 2010

This is the true story of human endeavour. A contest between British and German air forces as they fought for superiority in the air over England during 1940. It was to have been the beginning of an invasion that would see Hitler’s reign of terror extend throughout Europe. Instead it was the beginning of the end. Using enlightening interviews with surviving British and German pilots and reconstruction sequences, illustrated with unseen footage from the classic feature film Battle of Britain, this DVD release offers an unbiased account of a country preparing to defend itself against a rising German empire...

Battle of Britain is an engaging and fascinating three-part documentary that examines the short period in 1940 in which Hitler believed he could invade Britain by air, bombing our cities until the people, demoralised would turned on their government, forcing it to seek an agreement with Germany. The exact opposite occurred, with the British people pulling together and refusing to give into the German invaders.

Several factors helped the British pilots (who were greatly out numbered) including the introduction of radar, the fact that the German planes could only just about make it to our shores and back again on the fuel they carried and, maybe not surprisingly, the British weather.

Over the course of these three programme's (The Few; Darkest Hour; and The Blitz), several surviving British and German pilots tell their stories of what it was like to go up in battle against each other. What's particularly enlightening is the tales from both sides of when it first really hit them that they weren't just shooting at planes, but that they were also shooting at men. Also interviewed are people who were in London during The Blitz as well other ground based personnel employed by the Royal Air Force.

These stories are tied together by a breakdown of each day in the battle; what the weather was like; what happened in the air; and how many planes were lost on each side.

Extras include a documentary on the Sea Hurricane (58 min, 01 sec which is a fascinating look at the restoration of a Sea Hurricane aircraft); a picture gallery (9 photos) and a background to the Battle of Britain.

8

Darren Rea