With the Battle of Britain at its height, Spitfires from 603 Squadron provide protective air cover to an RAF high-speed Air Sea Rescue launch which, assisted by the crew of a small armed trawler, has just rescued a downed airman off the entrance to Dover harbour.

No one can deny that the Battle of Britain was won by a few thousand young pilots from Fighter Command. The bravery, skill and resilience of Winston Churchill's 'Few' is beyond doubt and without their heroism Hitler's legions might well have been marching along Whitehall. Yet there is another, often understated truth: had it not been for the men upon whose shoulders was the responsibility for planning the air defence of Britain, or the tireless, dedicated support given by those 'behind the scenes', there would have been no victory.

Men such as ACM Sir Hugh Dowding, AOC Fighter Command who'd spent years meticulously planning the tactics for just such an event, or his Group commanders, including AVM Trafford Leigh-Mallory at 12 Group, and AVM Keith Park in charge of 11 Group in south-east England that would face the brunt of the fighting.