When the RAF pilot goes in the drink...

[Artist]

Found an informative article, whose provenience I have not checked, though the source seems kind of reliable:

Adolf Galland, one of Germany's top fighter aces, emphasized the importance of survival in the water following shootdown. According to Galland, since even single-engine German fighters carried inflatable rubber dinghies, it was preferable to ditch rather than bail out over the water. The Bf 109 and the Bf 110 usually floated for up to 60 seconds after first touching the water. A cool-headed pilot had plenty of time to unstrap, scramble out, inflate his collapsible dinghy, and clear the aircraft.(Footnote 41)

British fighter pilots were not so fortunate. Cockpit space in both the Spitfire and the Hurricane was not sufficient to accommodate an inflatable dinghy. British pilots preferred to bail out rather than ditch their mangled machines, and after hitting the water they could rely only on their Mae West life jackets.

**Edit: And a somewhat different point of view (rather more recently):

British pilots relied on German sea rescue service during Battle of Britain