The gripping and heroic story of fighter pilots defending the skies over Britain from unprecedented Nazi attack

For 113 terrifying days in 1940, Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, threw everything it had at Great Britain in hopes of early victory in World War II. The task of defending southern England from airborne attack fell to pilots in the Royal Air Force, supplemented in their darkest hour by more than 100 flyers from Canada. These Canadians, some from famous families, some straight off the farm, served in forty-seven different Battle of Britain squadrons.

Now, for the first time, bestselling military historian Ted Barris’s tells the riveting story of their crucial role in this do-or-die-battle: how they accounted for 130 German aircraft destroyed, another thirty probably destroyed and more than seventy damaged, with twenty pilots dying in action and twelve awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses. Battle of Britain: Canadian Airmen in their Finest Hour is a must for enthusiasts of military and aviation history.

Not a soldier, but the soldier’s storyteller, not a veteran, but recognized by vets as keeper of the flame, TED BARRIS has published eighteen non-fiction books, half of them wartime histories. He has worked as a broadcaster in electronic media in Canada and the US for forty years. He is a full-time journalism professor at Toronto’s Centennial College and the author of the online column the Barris Beat. His book The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 CLA Libris Award for non-fiction book of the year. His latest book, Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen in the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany, is a national bestseller. 

Ted Barris' profile page

“As an RCAF Spitfire pilot conducting photo reconnaissance, I witnessed the final days of the air war over northwestern Europe in 1945. Ted Barris’s work fills an important gap in Air Force history, depicting the role of Canadian airmen during our earliest stand against the Luftwaffe over Britain. It’s an enlightening and comprehensive account of the battle.” —Flying Officer Ken Raven, (Ret’d) RCAF

“Barris’s work is action-packed and fact-filled from the opening paragraph to the final sorties of the Battle of Britain. It is a must read.” —Major-General Richard Rohmer, OC CMM OOnt DFC CD KC, Royal Canadian Air Force

“I marvel at the bravery and guts of the Canadian airmen—in the air and on the ground—who played a significant role in the Battle of Britain. Barris has traced their individual stories with verve and in well-researched detail, showing how decisions from the top brass shaped the lives and deaths of those on the frontline. This is both a triumphant and a poignant account: Canadian fortitude and skill helped keep the Nazis out of Britain in 1940- 1941, but the human cost was appalling. Thanks to Barris’s careful reporting and sense of drama, the casualties will not be forgotten.” —Charlotte Gray, CM, former chair of Canada’s National History Society