• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Battle of Britain Bodyline Catherine Cranston Edward VII of the United Ki.. Edward VIII of the United K Elizabeth II of the United Francis Crick George V of the United Kingdom George VI of the United Kin Henry Joseph Wood J. J Khudai Khidmatgar Supermarine Spitfire The Blitz Treaty of Versailles Western Front (World War I) histukmodm_lp_1 of 696 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html Battle of Britain 2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History Post 1900; World War II "Battle for Britain" redirects here. There is also a David Bowie song of that title. For the Private Eye comic strip, see Battle for Britain (Private Eye). Battle of Britain Battle of Britain is Part of Second World War the name given to the strategic effort by the Luftwaffe histukmodm_lp_2 of 696 1 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html during the Second World War to gain air superiority over Fighter Command. The name derives from an 18 June 1940 speech in the House of Commons by Prime Minister An aerial observer scans the skies of London. Winston Churchill, "The Battle of Date 10 July 1940 – 31 October 1940 France is over. I Location United Kingdom airspace expect the Battle of Result Decisive British victory Britain is about to Belligerents begin..." histukmodm_lp_3 of 696 2 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html Had it been successful, the United Kingdom Germany planned Italy amphibious and Commanders airborne landings in Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Britain of Keith Park Albert Kesselring Operation Sealion would have Trafford Leigh- Hugo Sperrle Mallory followed. The Hans-Jürgen Stumpff Battle of Britain C. J. Quintin Brand Rino Corso Fougier was the first major Richard Saul campaign to be Strength fought entirely by 754 single-seat fighters 1,107 single-seat fighters air forces. It was 149 two-seat fighters 357 two-seat fighters the largest and histukmodm_lp_4 of 696 3 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html most sustained bombing campaign attempted560 bombers up until that date. 1,380The failure bombers of Nazi Germany to destroy Britain's500 coastal air defence or to break428 dive-bombersBritish morale is considered their first major1,963 defeat. total 569 reconnaissance 233 coastal Neither Hitler nor the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht4,074 total (OKW) believed it possible to carry out a successful amphibiousCasualties assaultand losses on the British Isles until the RAF had beenFighter neutralized. Command: 1,023Secondary873 fightersobjectives were to destroy aircraft productionfighters and ground infrastructure, to attack areas of 1,014 bombers political significance, andBomber to terrorize Command: the British376 1,887 people total into. seeking an armistice or surrender. Somebombers historians have argued no invasion could have succeeded, assertingCoastal the massive Command: superiority 148 of the Royal Navy over the Kriegsmarine wouldaircraft have 1,547 made total .Sealion a disaster. They argue the Luftwaffe would have27,450 been civilians unable dead,to prevent decisive intervention by British cruisers and destroyers,32,138 wounded even with air superiority. histukmodm_lp_5 of 696 4 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html British historians date the battle from 10 July to 31 October 1940 , which represented the most intense period of daylight bombing. German historians usually place the beginning of the battle in mid-August 1940 and end it in May 1941, on the withdrawal of the bomber units in preparation for the attack on the USSR. Background Luftwaffe attacks on Britain began with raids on naval targets, with bombers being shot down over the Firth of Forth on 16 October 1939 and over Scapa Flow on the following day, but there were no major attacks during the Phoney War period, a lull in fighting that Hitler ended on 10 May 1940 with his invasion of the Low Countries. Following the evacuation of the British from Dunkirk (Operation histukmodm_lp_6 of 696 5 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html DYNAMO ), and the French surrender on 22 June 1940, Hitler believed the war was practically over and the British, defeated on the continent and without European allies, would quickly come to terms with Germany. Although there was an element of British public and political sentiment favouring negotiated peace with a clearly ascendant Germany, among them the Foreign Secretary, Lord Halifax, the recently-installed Churchill nonetheless refused to consider an armistice with Hitler's Germany. Churchill's skillful use of rhetoric hardened public opinion against a peaceful resolution and prepared the British for a long war. On 16 July, in an effort to finish the war in the west, Hitler ordered the rapid preparation of a plan to invade Britain. Hitler hoped to frighten Britain into peace and saw the preparations as a means to apply pressure. The plan was prepared by OKW. The operation, code-named histukmodm_lp_7 of 696 6 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html Seelöwe ("Sealion"), was scheduled for mid-September 1940 and called for landings on the south coast of Great Britain, backed by an airborne assault. All preparations were to be made by mid-August. The Kriegsmarine was reluctant to launch an invasion, and on 11 July, Admiral Raeder told Hitler invasion could only be contemplated as a last resort, and only then with full air superiority. The Kriegsmarine had a limited number of ships, while the Royal Navy had over 50 destroyers and dozens of cruisers and battleships in home waters. In the event of a seaborne invasion, the British Home Fleet would sortie from their nearby bases and attack the invasion force, something the Kriegsmarine could do little to counter. The only way Germany would be able to prevent Royal Navy interference would be with the Luftwaffe , primarily using dive bombers, which would require complete air superiority, because the bombers were so vulnerable to attack. Nevertheless, Hitler histukmodm_lp_8 of 696 7 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html was determined the invasion go ahead and ordered all services to make preparations for an amphibious assault once air superiority had been achieved. Opposing forces The Luftwaffe was facing a more capable opponent than it had met before: a sizable, highly-coordinated, well-supplied air force, fielding aircraft able to match the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E and Bf 110C. The majority of the RAF's fighting would rest upon the workhorse Hurricane Mk I. More shocking to the German pilots was the newer Spitfire Mk I, which was quickly recognised as a world-class fighter. Most of the fighters they had encountered thus far in the war had not, despite mainly strong showings by opposing pilots, reached this standard. histukmodm_lp_9 of 696 8 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html Aircraft The Bf 109E was marginally superior to the Hurricane. The Bf 109E and the Spitfire, in certain key areas, had the advantage over each other. The 109 could outclimb both. The Spitfire was slightly faster at medium heights, was more manoeuvrable, and possessed a stronger airframe as well as heavier armour than the Bf 109E-1. However, because of their carburetted engines, neither it nor the Hurricane could simply dive away from an opponent, as the 109 could. The Spitfire, initially, had a better protected cockpit with bulletproof windscreen and an armoured plate behind the pilot's seat. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 received extra armour behind the pilots head, and seat armour. The canopy was also modified for better visibility. The Bf 109 was also equipped with Self-sealing fuel tanks, although this could not prevent destruction from tracer rounds. histukmodm_lp_10 of 696 9 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html The Bf 109 had a slightly higher speed at high altitude, better dive speed, and a fuel injected engine (the Daimler-Benz DB 601), giving Germans the ability to perform negative-gee manoeuvres without the engine cutting out, and thus the option to disengage at will. This advantage could prove moot when pursuing a Spitfire. The superioriy of the Spitfires rate of roll would ensure the Messerschmitt overshot, should the Spitfire pilot perform a half-roll, then dive. The German fighter would gain too much speed, lessening the response of its control surfaces due to the pressure, and then would be unable to correct and counter the Spitfires defensive manoeuvre. The German fighter had a heavier armament, with its two 20 mm MG FF cannon. This gave it a greater punch than the eight .303 (7.7 mm) machineguns of the British fighters, but the low muzzle velocity of the cannon, where the shells dropped quite quickly after firing, meant the Messerschmitt pilots had to open fire from close range. histukmodm_lp_11 of 696 10 of 71 11/10/2011 09:08 Battle of Britain zim:///A/Battle_of_Britain.html On 22 November 1939 a Bf 109E-3 (Wk-Nr 1304 of JG 76 ) landed intact in France. Evaluated at RAF Farnborough, the Bf 109 was used in mock combats with Spitfire Mk Is. The RAF test pilots found the Bf 109 "superior in all aspects bar monoeuvrability and turning circle". Level speed was reported to be even, however when the Bf 109 pulled out of a dive at speed and then proceeded to climb steeply at slow speed, the Spitfire had difficult in keeping up. The margins were apparently reduced when the Spitfire was fitted with a constant speed airscrew.

Load more

  696

Copy Link