About this episode
In a year which has already seen the world commemorating and celebrating several significant WWII anniversaries, this year’s Battle of Britain Day commemorations will be marking 85 years since the pilots of Fighter Command repelled the incessant Luftwaffe attacks against British targets, including day and night attacks against London. With Britain standing alone, and Europe firmly under the heel of the Wehrmacht, the summer of 1940 would see a nation preparing to face an onslaught the like of which had never been seen, a fight for its very survival, along with that of the free world at that time. With the English Channel acting as a natural barrier to invasion, German military planners knew they would have to rule the skies over Britain, if a risky amphibious assault against the country had any hope of success, but with the Luftwaffe sweeping all before it during the early months of the war, and with overwhelming odds in their favour, surely such a victory was only a matter of time. On this side of the Channel, Britain prepared to defend everything they held dear, and whilst the Battle of Britain is often championed as the ‘Few’ facing the many, what the Luftwaffe and German forces were up against was an entire nation, a Britain steadfast in its resolve, and ready for the challenge ahead. In this latest edition of Workbench, through the medium of scale modelling, we will be attempting to highlight how the Battle of Britain was much more than just Spitfires against Messerschmitts, and how this aerial struggle proved to be pivotal in the wider context of the Second World War, with many different facets making significant contributions. It's Battle of Britain anniversary weekend in this latest edition of Workbench.