From the day they’d moved down from Scotland in early August, 602 Squadron had been in the front line of the air fighting over southern England, bearing the brunt of the Luftwaffe’s increasing attacks. Based at Westhampnett, a satellite of nearby sector station RAF Tangmere, under their commanding officer Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone, they would become one of longest serving front line squadrons during the Battle of Britain and one of the highest scoring.

Depicted here, a typical daily scene at Westhampnett as Flight Lieutenant ‘Mickey’ Mount, flight commander with 602 Squadron, leads the final section of Spitfires away from the base in a frantic scramble to intercept another large Luftwaffe force heading towards the Royal Navy’s main base at Portsmouth and radar stations on the Isle of Wight in August 1940.