Churchill's saying "we will fight them on the beaches" is regularly quoted, but in fact, Britain fought the threat of German invasion largely in the air. The Battle of Britain was genuinely a turning point in the war, with France, Poland and other countries overrun and Hitler very definitely holding the whip-hand. The little Spitfire proved itself one of the great aircraft in history, while Sir Hugh Dowding, then 59 and scheduled for retirement, showed an organisational mastery in handling his limited resources and in baulking the power of the Luftwaffe. It is rather a myth that England was facing Hitler on its own - the nations of the Empire and Commonwealth were at its back; but it was nevertheless a signal victory for the island nation fighting for its life.