On the 10th July 1940, during a showery summer’s day, German forces were beginning actions for a battle known to them as «Luftschlacht um England». After France had surrendered on the 22nd of June 1940, just over 20 miles of water was all that separated Britain from Germany’s forces in mainland Europe.

The Battle of Kursk was one of the largest armoured battles and possibly the single largest air battle in history; it also led to the largest losses in a single day of battle.

Decimated by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the German military entered the 1930s with a burning desire to return to their former place as world leaders. The treaty had prohibited Germany from any military air power, forcing German aviation to develop only in gliding schools, with light training aircraft and as secret endeavors away from the prying eyes of Britain, France and the United States.

Schweinfurt was the location of most of the ball-bearing production in Nazi Germany at the onset of World War II, and was eventually devastated following a series of Allied strategic bombing raids. It was hoped that the destruction of the factories located in the city would cripple the production of new tanks and aircraft.