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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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Surviving the Battle of Britain

29/09/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - More or Less, Surviving the Battle of Britain

Were Spitfire pilots killed after an average of four weeks in the World War Two battle?

From the 10th July to the 31st of October 1940 the skies above Britain were a battle zone. The German Luftwaffe launched large scale attacks aiming to reach London, they were held back and ultimately defeated by the Royal Air Force which included many nationalities. The bravery of the pilots – known as ‘The Few’ - cannot be disputed but is it really true that the average life expectancy of a spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain was just four weeks, as is often claimed. Tim Harford and Lizzy McNeill look into the statistics and consider which of the armed forces had the highest death rate.

(image: RAF pilots fighting the air war over occupied France relax with their mascots beside a Spitfire aircraft during the Second World War. Copyright BBC)

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