HELL FIRE CORNER

Towering clouds, the setting sun and the softness of summer in the England countryside. What could be more peaceful? There was a time, however, when that scene was punctured by the sharp edge of war. It was during the Battle of Britain in the early days of World War II and it is a time the world will never forget. Although historians have largely concentrated on the serial combat over London, there was an area south of the city that saw more than its share of action. In fact, German and allied pilots met so often over a rocky promontory of land that the area earned the title "Hellfire Corner." Countersigners: British - Air Vice Marshal J. E. Johnson, Group Captain Brian Kingcome, Wing Commander Geoffrey Page, and Wing Commander Bob Stanford-Tuck. German - Lt. Gen. Walter Krupinski, Lt. Gen. Adolf Galland, Lt. Gen. Gunther Rall and Gen. Johannes Steinhoff. American - Col. Francis S. Gabreski. Canadian - Wing Commander Hugh C. Godefroy.