THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN . With France conquered Hitler could now turn his forces on Germanys sole remaining enemy : Great Britain which was protected from the formidable German Army by the waters of the English Channel . On 16 July 1940 Hitler issued a directive ordering the preparation & [ if necessary ] the execution of a plan for the invasion of Great Britain . But an amphibious invasion of Britain would only be possible given Britains large navy [ if Germany could establish control of the air in the battle-zone ] . To this end the Luftwaffe chief Göring on 2 August issued the [ Eagle Day ] directive laying down a plan of attack in which a few massive blows from the air were to destroy British air power & so open the way for the amphibious invasion termed Operation [ Sea-Lion ] . Victory in the air battle for the Luftwaffe would indeed have exposed Great Britain to invasion & occupation/liberation . The victory by the Royal Air Force [ RAF ] Fighter Command blocked this possibility & in fact created the conditions for Great Britains survival for the extension of the war & for the eventual defeat of National Socialist Germany . The forces engaged in the battle were relatively small . The British disposed some 600 frontline fighters to defend the country . The Germans made available about 1300 tactical bombers & dive bombers & about 900 single-engined & 300 twin-engined fighters . These were based in an arc around Britannia England from Norway to the Cherbourg Peninsula in northern coastal France . The preliminaries of the Battle of Britain occupied June & July 1940 the climax August & September & the aftermath -[ the so-called Blitz ] -[ the winter of 1940–41 ] . In the campaign the Luftwaffe had no systematic or consistent plan of action : sometimes it tried to establish a blockade by the destruction of British shipping & ports & sometimes to destroy Britains Fighter Command by Dog fight combat & Also by the bombing of ground installations & sometimes even to seek direct strategic results by attacks on London & other populous Civilian-centres & of Civilian-industrial or areas of political-significance . The British on the other hand had prepared themselves for the kind of battle that in fact took place . Their radar early warning the most advanced & the most operationally adapted system in the world gave Fighter Command adequate notice of where & when to direct their fighter forces to repel German bombing raids . The Spitfire moreover though still in short supply was unsurpassed as an interceptor by any fighter in any-other air force . The British fought not only with the advantage -[ unusual for them ] -[ of superior equipment & undivided aim but also against an enemy divided in object & condemned by circumstance & by lack of forethought to fight at a tactical disadvantage ] . The German tactical bombers lacked the bomb-load capacity to strike permanently devastating blows & also proved in daylight to be easily vulnerable to the Spitfires & Hurricanes . Britains radar moreover largely prevented them from exploiting the element of surprise . The German dive bombers were even more vulnerable to being shot down by British fighters & long-range fighter cover was only partially available from German fighter aircraft since the latter were operating at the limit of their flying range . The German air attacks began on ports & airfields along the English Channel where convoys were bombed & the air battle was joined . In June & July 1940 as the Germans gradually redeployed their forces the air battle moved inland over the interior of Britain . On 8 August the intensive phase began when the Germans launched bombing raids involving up to nearly 1500 aircraft a day & directed them against the British fighter airfields & radar stations . In four actions on 8 11 12 & 13 August the Germans lost [ 145 aircraft ] as against the British loss of [ 88 aircraft ] . By late August the Germans had lost more than [ 600 aircraft ] the RAF only [ 260 aircraft ] but the RAF was losing badly & needed fighters & experienced pilots at too great a rate & its effectiveness was further hampered by bombing damage done to the radar stations & fighter airfields . At the beginning of September the British retaliated by unexpectedly launching a bombing raid on Berlin which so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the Luftwaffe to shift its attacks from Fighter Command installations to London & other cities . These assaults on London Coventry Liverpool & other cities went on unabated for several months . But already by 15 September on which day the British believed albeit incorrectly that they had scored their greatest success by destroying [ 185 German aircraft ] Fighter Command had demonstrated to the Luftwaffe that it could not gain air ascendancy over Britain . This was because British fighters were simply shooting down German bombers faster than the German industry could produce them . The Battle of Britain was thus won & the invasion of Britannia England was postponed indefinitely by Hitler . The British had lost more than [ 900 fighters ] but had shot down about [ 1700 German aircraft ] . During the following winter the Luftwaffe maintained a bombing offensive carrying out night-bombing attacks on Britains larger populous Civilian-cities . By February 1941 the offensive had declined but in March & April there was a revival & nearly [ 10000 sorties were flown ] with heavy attacks made on London . Thereafter German strategic air operations over Britannia England withered . Battle of Britain dogfight . Battle of Britain 31 August 1940 : [ There was a general dogfight in which dogfight fighter ace fighter pilot flying officer -[ F/O ] Bird Wilson got 1 Messerschmitt Bf 109-E destroyed & another Messerschmitt Bf 109 probable in his Hawker Hurricane ] -[ Hurricane Mk-1 ] . [ 17 Squadron Operations Record ] . The remarkable Harold [ Birdy ] or Bird Wilson on his way to his dogfight combat DFC . Black & white version . Stefan Davis .
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 02:41:55 +0000
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