9:00 PM - Saturday, September 7. 1940
Group Captain John H. Barrow flew his Hawker Hurricane through the skies over East London. His wingman, Flight Lieutenant David Jones, flew a Supermarine Spitfire, which was a superior aircraft, though there were not enough of them. There weren't enough Hurricanes either, for that matter. Jones had been a Welsh coal miner until September 3, 1939, when he had enlisted in the Royal Air Force as soon as war was declared. He had often said that flying was safer than working in the coal mines, and John couldn't be sure if he was kidding or not. It might have been true during the Phoney War, but the last few months had taken a toll on the RAF. Too many of the men he had flown with weren't around any more.
The two fighters soared towards a squadron of Heinkel He 111 bombers they had spotted which were escorted by a pair of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The bombers had just dropped their deadly payloads and done their damage and were now trying to escape, but it was still worth shooting them down. Every bomber and crew that didn't make it back to France was one less that would return to haunt them later. Jones waggled his wings and sped ahead to engage the two German fighters and draw them away from the bombers. That was his job, as he flew the Spitfire. John's Hurricane, the less effective fighter, would go after the bombers. Once the fighters had been diverted, he dove on his target, lining up his fighter's 20mm cannons...
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