Battle of Athens (1941)

The Battle of Athens (20 April 1941) was an air battle over Athens between the RAF and the Luftwaffe. Marmaduke Pattle died in the battle in which Roald Dahl also fought.

The battle began when the dozen remaining Hawker Hurricane aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF)'s 80 Squadron, flying in formation over Athens were attacked by a large group of German Luftwaffe planes (which, according to the citizens of Athens, had 200 planes), mostly Messerschmitt ME-109s and ME-110s. In the resulting battle four RAF pilots were shot down and killed, including the famous Marmaduke "Pat" Pattle and one pilot lost his Hawker Hurricane. However, in this first sortie as many as twenty-two German fighters were also downed.