Battle of Britain 1940
1. Hitler initially wanted a peace settlement with Britain, which he offered on June 2 and July 19, but were rejected both times by Churchill.
2. Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain, was a last resort.
a. After the losses during the Norwegian campaign, the German Navy was in no position to protect an invasion force.
b. Hitler wanted to break the morale of Britain so that he could be free to invade the USSR.
3. The Luftwaffe had 2500 planes and the RAF had 1000.
a. Whether or not an invasion would occur depended on if the Luftwaffe could exhaust the RAF to the point that it could not protect Britain from German vessels crossing the channel.
4. Half the German planes were vulnerable bombers with limited range and limited bomb load.
5. The Messerschmidt Bf-109 and the Luftwaffe were excellent fighters; however they had limited range—only about 30 minutes over England.
a. It was unsuitable for escort work.
6. The Luftwaffe had to move to new airfields in France and Belgium.
a. They did not possess the maintenance infrastructure to keep the planes airworthy.
b. If German pilots bailed, they became prisoners.
7. The RAF had the airfields of Britain and did posses sufficient maintenance structure.
a. Its pilots could spend much longer in the air.
b. If British pilots bailed, they could fly again.
8. The Hurricane and Spitfire were excellent British fighters.
a. They were used to oppose the German Bf-109.
9. Britain was producing over 400 planes per month, exceeding production in Germany.
a. Pilots could not be trained as quickly however.
10. RADAR was a British invention that could pick up on enemy aircraft within a 75 mile radius.
a. It gave readings of the numbers and altitude so that sufficient fighters could be prepared for defence.
11. There were over 50 strategically placed RADAR stations around the island.
a. This enabled the RAF to concentrate its forces on the enemy rather than wasting time patrolling.
12. The German ‘Chanel Battle’ between July and early August say attacks towards shipping in the channels and ports. This was not very effective and saw the withdrawal of the slow JU 87 Stuka.
13. Operation Eagle was more effective because of the policy of attacking air bases.
a. By the end of August the RAF was losing more planes than it could replace.
b. Twice as many pilots were coming out of training.
c. Six of the seven air fields in the south-east were out of action.
14. On September 7 Goering ordered the bombing of London rather than the airfields.
a. The Germans wanted to break British morale and force the government to peace.
b. It was a major tactical error and allowed the RAF to recover.
c. Since peace did not occur, Hitler postponed the invasion from September 11 to October until he postponed it indefinitely.
i. This was Hitler’s first setback.
d. The RAF lost just fewer than 800 planes while the Luftwaffe lost over of 1300.
e. Enemy losses boosted British morale.
15. The Battle of Britain was won by 2945 RAF pilots. 507 were killed and 500 were wounded.
a. Churchill said “never in the field of human conflict has so much been owned by so many to so few”.
16. Quotes from Chamberlain
a. To Parliament and the British people he promised nothing but “blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”
b. Churchill pledged implacable war against “a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.”
c. To the US he appealed “Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.”
d. For the efforts of the RAF he said "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
e. “…if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
Keely Rogers, “Causes, Practices and Effects of War” 2010
“Germany was unable to break the RAF or British morale”
Graham Darby “Europe at War 1939-45”
“RADAR enabled the RAF to concentrate its forces on the enemy rather than spread them out or waste time patrolling.”
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