Spitfires of No 72 Squadron climb to height in the spring of 1941

The title for the painting came from the radio parlance used by fighter controllers on the ground. When directing a squadron leader in which direction, and how high to fly, they used a sort of code. The height element of these instructions would be termed as “angels”. So, an order to “ make angels 15” would mean “climb to 15,000 feet”.

What a full Squadron take off must have looked and sounded like is probably something we will never know. We have been lucky to sometimes have as many as nine spitfires flying in formation in the UK, which must have been amazing