This is the most valuable summary in print of the RAF's challenge to Germany's invasion plans for the British Isles. Beginning by describing how «history is swamped by patriotic myths about the summer of 1940», Deighton invalidates any theories of heroes versus villains in this account. The Nazi war machine swept across Western Europe in a stunning series of victories. Only the English Channel and the RAF remained as the final barriers to invasion. It was the Luftwaffe's burden to remove the second obstacle leaving the first to be crossed with minimal opposition. Deighton's excellent account shows how close the Luftwaffe came to success. In fact, credit for the RAF's accomplishment may well come to rest on the shoulders of one man, Hugh Dowding.Deighton takes us through the background of weapons development, from radar to the tracer bullet, explaining how the two sides were closely matched in technology. The long-standing dispute over whether the Bf109 or the Spitfire was superior rests only on how far the pilots were prepared to push their aircraft. The number of pilots in opposition are another matter. For every active RAF pilot, the Germans had four fighter pilots or bomber crews, ranging from central France to the Norwegian coast.. Deighton explains how Dowding husbanded his resources, enabling him to keep sending aircraft against the bomber fleets. All logic suggested the RAF should have been destroyed, but Dowding's strategy and pilot skill resulted in postponement of the German invasion.