In 1940, British planes beat back a German bombing campaign over Great Britain, ending German hopes of invading the island.
Planes in the Battle of Britain
Model Type of plane abilities RAF Planes ________________________Hurricane- Fighter Easy to fly; durable Spitfire-Fighter-All metal;easy to maneuver
Luftwaffe Planes
________________________Dornier- bomber- heavily armed, fairly fast. Junker 88-bomber-heavily armed Messerschmitt 109-fighter - fast, excellent at climbing Messerschmitt 110 two-seat fighter - long-range, fairly slow
The Danger to Great Britain
In the summer of 1940, Great Britain's outlook was bleak. German armies occupied most of Europe. They held Austria and Czechoslovakia. They had conquered Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Spain and Portugal were neutral but sympathetic to Germany. Italy was Germany's ally. The Soviet Union had agreed not to fight Germany. The United States, through it supplied the British with equipment, had not yet entered the war. Britain stood alone against Germany. Germany's Adolf Hitler hoped that Britain would simply give up. Then he could focus on his secret aim:to invade the Soviet Union, supposedly an ally. In case Britain didn't surrender, his generals planned an invasion of the island nation. To weaken Britain's defenses, they decided to use the Luftwaffe,or airforce,in an intense bombing campaign. The British knew an attack was coming. They just didn't know when it would come.
Luftwaffe Versus RAF
Facing the Luftwaffe was the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Germans had twice as many planes as the RAF, but their bombers were vulnerable to attack from British fighters. Sir Hugh Dowding,head of the RAF Fighter command, had a simple plan. He would ignore the German fighters that helped protect the bombers and focus on destroying the bombers. The British also had a newly installed radar system. Recently invented, radar allowed them to spot oncoming German planes far from their shores. RAF fighters could then meet the attack as early as possible.
Operation Eagle The Luftwaffe began bombing Britain in July 1940. The main attack called Operation Eagle, was meant to destroy RAF defenses in four days. It began August 13. The RAF fought brilliantly in those first days. It shot down 256 German planes and damaged many more. The RAF lost 103 planes.
The Second Phase Frustrated by their heavy losses, the Germans decided to bomb the RAF airfields around the clock. The RAF was hard pressed by these attacks. As the days wore on, pilots became exhausted. It became harder to replace those who were shot down. But British held on Dowding chose not to commit reserve fighters who were hidden in the north. The Luftwaffe suffered as well. Losses of more than 800 planes and crews in less than two months weakened the German air force and hurt its confidence. By chance, the battle changed. One night a German bomber stayed over London. Although not ordered to do so, the crew dropped their bombs on the city. Enraged by the attack on civilians,. Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the RAF to bomb Berlin. This infuriated Hitler,who commanded the Luftwaffe to strike new targets.
The Third Phase On September 7, the planned bombing of British cities began. The Blitz, as it was called, caused fearsome destruction. The first attack on London started huge fires. Civilians huddled in subway stations or basements for safety. The British feared that the invasion would come any day. On September 15, the Luftwaffe put forth its last great effort. Dowding then decided to use his reserves. He changed tactics,too. His 300 fighters faced 100 bombers and 400 fighters. At the end of the day of fierce combat, the spirit of the Luftwaffe was broken. The Germans realized that their estimates of RAF losses had been too high. The British still had an effective air force. Bombing continued for months, but there were no more major assaults. With the air war lost, Hitler called off the invasion. The Battle of Britain cost the Germans over 1,700 planes and 6,000 airmen. The RAF lost 915 planes and 414 pilots. Churchill eloquently stated the debt that the British people owed the RAF pilots. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,"he said.
