July 10th 1940 is officially the start of the Battle of Britain. To mark that summer of aerial warfare, History Hit is showing this special documentary series.

With Hitler determined to bring Britain to its knees, Nazi bombers unleashed a campaign of terror. From north to south, the skies were darkened by bombs and dogfights. And though heavily outnumbered, the pilots, ground crews and operations staff of the Royal Air Force pushed back the invaders and turned the tide of the war.

On Battle of Britain: Three Days That Saved the Nation, Dan Snow and Kate Humble explore three pivotal days in a detailed minute-by-minute account. From August 15th, when Hitler’s attacks began in earnest to August 30th, the RAF’s most intense day of fighting when a British defeat seemed imminent and finally September 15th, when Britain’s exhausted defenders put everything on the line to win the battle for air supremacy.

Told from the perspective of the brave and largely unknown souls who put their lives on the line, this compelling three-part series puts a uniquely human face on the war.