​​During 1940, the airspace around Devon was engulfed in a series of dogfights, and on 15 July, Destroyer HMS Scimitar played a small role in one. Scimitar was based in Dartmouth to partake in a raid on the German occupied Channel Island of Guernsey, yet after its failure it was ordered to Portsmouth to escort convoys across the Atlantic.

Whilst leaving Dartmouth Harbour, a Dornier 17 aircraft burst through the clouds under hot pursuit by a Hawker Hurricane aircraft from No.213 Squadron based in Exeter, England, and flown by Henry Kenelm Bramah. This was Bramah’s third mission and was nearly his last. The crew of Scimitar cheered as the Hurricane remained in close pursuit, but the cheering subsided as the gunner of the Dornier managed to land a hit on Bramah’s plane, injuring him in the process and forcing him to bail. Scimitar and its crew rallied into action, moving to full speed after spotting Bramah floating in the ice-cold water, to the distress of a boom defence vessel. Bramah was picked up by the Destroyer who landed him on the quay.

Bramah was transferred to Dartmouth Hospital, and then to Plymouth Naval Hospital where he resisted doctors who wanted his arm amputated. Bramah did not return to No.213 Squadron, instead becoming a commander and in 1945 was the Flight Direction Officer on HMS Glasgow. He retired from the Navy in 1955 and passed away on 31 March 1972 in Penistone Yorkshire.

HMS Scimitar went on to escort convoys throughout 1940 to 1944, before supporting D-Day's (6 June 1944) naval operations. Scimitar was broken up on 30 June 1947. Despite being a First World War era destroyer, it had given valiant service in the Atlantic in the Second World War.​

In 1979, Fishermen reported their lines were being ruined along the ocean floor, and in 1984 the engine of the Hurricane aircraft which Bramah had evacuated was taken ashore and showcased in the Dartmouth Museum. When the Tourist centre and Newcomen Engine House were merged, it was felt that the Engine did not suit the new building, and it was removed to another Museum which specialised in such artifacts.