It’s late August 1940 and it’s been a very long day for Fighter Command. After a late afternoon interception sortie a section of 54 Squadron’s Spitfire 1A’s return to Hornchurch. This time everyone returns safely as the sun starts to dip towards dusk.
54 Squadron has been a frontline unit since Dunkirk and had been in constant action through July and August. A few days after the setting for this painting, the Squadron was withdrawn to Catterick in North Yorkshire to be rested.