David Matusek personal photo"Yeah, I've seen some action. I was one of seven Americans at Duxford, England last summer training pilots for the Royal Air Force. Ended up flying myself. I was sent here to get patched up after the Battle of Britain; I was shot down and ditched my plane during the last couple of days. My leg was broken, and they sent me here to recuperate.
The battle was over Britain's skies! Hitler wanted control of their airways, so that he could bomb them into submission.
David Matusek personal photo"What was the fighting like? Like nothin' you've ever seen. Planes were goin' down right and left. By the end of the first day, the RAF lost 14 planes, but the Krauts... lost 46. We hurt ‘em bad. Like a hornet's nest, day after day. Those Krauts had us outnumbered three to one... should have been all over, but the way those Brits and Polish guys fought...it was beautiful. They had some Czech squads too. We didn't stop to sleep either! If the plane was still workin', we only stopped long enough to refuel and rearm. It was a real group effort. Brits, Poles, Czechs, Canadians..... anyone who could fly! After weeks of losses like that, I guess they gave up and thought better of messin' with the Brits.
Of course the radar was a big help. With it, we knew when they were coming and where they were going to hit. Radar, that's the ticket, that's what won the fight; that, the pilots and ground crews that just wouldn't give up."
