80th Anniversary of the Second World War - The Airman - 2019 Uncirculated Cupro Nickel

The Royal Air Force underwent rapid expansion prior to, and during, the Second World War. This included the training in other Commonwealth nations of half of British and Commonwealth Aircrews, some 167,000 men in all. 

The RAF had three major combat commands based in the United Kingdom: RAF Fighter Command charged with defence of the UK, RAF Bomber Command (formed 1936) which operated the bombers that would be offensive against the enemy, and RAF Coastal Command which was to protect Allied shipping and attack enemy shipping.

In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe. In what is perhaps the most prolonged and complicated air campaign in history, the Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the delay and subsequent indefinite postponement of plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom.