Battle of Britain begins in 1940

IN the middle of June 1940, Churchill  told the British people the Battle of France was over but that the Battle of Britain was about to begin. Whereas the Battle of France was fought on the ground, the Battle of Britain was an out-and-out air war. After the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, Hitler turned his attention to England and ordered preparations for Operation Sealion – the invasion of England. This would be almost impossible while Britain had a superior navy and controlled the English Channel.
Initially, the German air force – the Luftwaffe – attacked convoys and shipping in the Channel. When Hitler ordered that the RAF must be defeated to such an extent that it would pose no challenge to an invasion, the attacks switched inland to RAF airfields. Early in September, there was another change of tactics and the bombing targets changed to the cities. This was another hindrance for the Luftwaffe – three times in as many months the higher command had ordered a change of focus for their raids.

At the start of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe had a significant numerical advantage. The British could muster 600 planes, whereas the Germans were estimated to have had 1,000 bombers and 750 fighter planes. As the battle continued, those numbers evened out. Britain was able to produce many more planes, while the Germans were losing bombers quicker than they could be replaced. The other major advantage that the British held was the invention of radar. With radar, they were able to give their fighter planes plenty of notice of coming German raids, with the result that their fighters were able to get into the air and engage the enemy before they came over land.

It is generally accepted that the Battle of Britain lasted from July until the end of October 1940 – less than four months. Both sides were also engaged in a propaganda war and, of course, exaggerated their successes and played down their losses. Because of this, accurate figures are difficult to find but estimates put British losses at just over 1,000 planes, with the Luftwaffe losing almost 1,900. More than 2,900 pilots flew with the RAF during the Battle. Not all were British. They included Polish, Czech, Irish, Belgian, French and American fliers, together with pilots from most of the Commonwealth countries. The list of the 1495 crewmen who died in the Battle of Britain also included men from most of those countries.

One of the great air battles took place on what came to be known as Battle of Britain Day – September 15. The RAF inflicted huge losses on the Luftwaffe in the skies over Southern England. This made the Germans realise they did not have air superiority and two days later, they postponed their invasion plans. Instead, they turned their attention to the invasion of Russia. Although bombing raids continued until the end of the war, it is accepted that the Battle of Britain itself was over by the end of October.

That battle for aerial supremacy over the English Channel and Southern England – The Battle of Britain – started with a series of attacks on shipping convoys in the English Channel on July 10, 1940 – 73 years ago this week.