Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. Squadron Leader B J E 'Sandy' Lane, Officer Commanding No. 19 Squadron RAF, standing in front of his Supermarine Spitfire Mark I at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Lane joined the RAF in 1936 and flew with Nos. 66 and 213 Squadrons RAF before the outbreak of the Second World War. He joined 19 Squadron as a flight commander in 1939 and became temporary commanding officer when the existing CO was killed over Dunkirk on 25 May 1940. He fought through the Battle of Britain and was formally appointed as the Squadron Commander after the demise of the next CO on 5 September 1940. Between November 1941 and February 1942 Lane served on staff appointments in the Middle East, before returning to the United Kingdom to command No. 61 Operational Training Unit. In December 1942 he was given the command of No. 167 Squadron RAF but was killed four days after his arrival during combat over the Dutch coast with Focke Wulf Fw 190s of 6/JG1