The Battle of Britain (Shire Library)

In the skies above south-east England in 1940, battle was waged between the men and machines of the Royal Air Force and Hitler's Luftwaffe. At stake was air superiority, and the Germans intended this to be a first step in the invasion of Britain. Squadrons of Hurricanes and Spitfires, then among the best and most modern fighter aircraft in the world, took on the threat and defeated the Luftwaffe. This extensively illustrated history of the battle looks at the origins and events of the battle, at the men and women of the RAF who prepared for and fought in it, and at the ordinary people of Britain who saw a battle for their nation waged above their heads.