What was the significance of the Battle of Britain in 1940

On 1 September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, marking the official start to World War II. After the defeat of Poland, Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding argued that Fighter Command’s involvement in defending France against Nazi Germany risked the future defence of Britain:

“If the Home Defence Force is drained away in desperate attempts to remedy the situation in France, defeat in France will involve the final, complete and irredeemable defeat of this country.”

After France fell in June 1940, Germany’s attention turned to Britain.

”What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over, the Battle of Britain is about to begin.” British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill

On 30 June 1940, Hermann Goering – Head of the German Luftwaffe, gave the order to draw the RAF into battle.

The Battle of Britain, 10 July – 31 October 1940

The Battle of Britain was fought above the skies of Britain, between the RAF and the German Luftwaffe. Had British and Allied aircrew not defeated the Luftwaffe, it is likely that Germany would have invaded Britain.

The Battle of Britain is often described as having 4 phases:

Phase 1: 10 July – 12 August 1940  Attacks on Channel Shipping

The Luftwaffe attacked shipping conveys in the English Channel and Channel ports and coastal radar stations on the South coast. There were widespread night-time raids all along the coast.

16 July: Adolf Hitler issued Directive No. 16, calling for preparations to be made for Operation Sealion – the invasion of Britain. Hitler demanded that ”the British Air Force must be eliminated to such an extent that it will  be incapable of putting up any sustained opposition to the invading troops.”

Phase 2: 13 – 18 August 1940 Attacks on Airfields and Radar Stations

The Luftwaffe planned to destroy the aircraft of Fighter Command, either on the ground or in the air. Airfields and radar stations became the focus of German bombing. The raids destroyed valuable aircraft and damaged airfields, making it difficult for aircraft to operate. The airfields of No.11 Group in the south east of England suffered the heaviest attacks. Small civilian airfields were used in emergency.

13 August: ‘Eagle Day’ (Adlertag): The Luftwaffe launched intense raids on RAF airfields, focusing their attacks in the south east of England.

18 August: The Hardest Day: Fierce air battles between the Luftwaffe and the RAF, with severe loss of RAF aircraft on the ground.

Phase 3: 19 August – 6 September 1940

The Luftwaffe continued to bomb towns, cities and airfields across the south coast of England, the Midlands and the north east.

20 August: British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, acknowledged the enormous gratitude to British & Allied aircrew: ”Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”

24 August: During night bombing of Britain, a lost German bomber formation dropped bombs on London by mistake.

25 August: In retaliation of the bombing of London, the RAF launched their first bombing raid on Berlin.

31 August: Fighter Command suffered its heaviest losses to date. 303 Squadron (Polish Squadron) – based at RAF Northolt – became operational.

Phase 4: 7 September 1940 – 31 October 1940

Mass bombing raids were launched against London, and continued against other major British cities.

15 September: Battle of Britain day. The Luftwaffe launched its heaviest bombing raids on London. Fighter Command successfully fought the attacking aircraft, resulting in heavy Luftwaffe losses.

17 September: Hitler postponed the invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion)

26 September: The Spitfire factory at Southampton was attacked and destroyed.

October: The German Luftwaffe focused their bombing raids on British cities at night, to reduce Luftwaffe casualties. Coastal towns, airfields and other military targets were attacked during the day.

31 October: The German Luftwaffe were denied air superiority by the RAF. The Battle of Britain ended.

The Battle of Britain was an important battle in World War II. After Germany and Hitler had conquered most of Europe, including France, the only major country left to fight them was Great Britain. Germany wanted to invade Great Britain, but first they needed to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force. The Battle of Britain was when Germany bombed Great Britain in order to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion.

When was it?

The Battle of Britain started on July 10th, 1940. It lasted many months as the Germans continued to bomb Britain.

How did it get its name?

The name comes from a speech by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill. After Germany had overrun France, he said that "the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin."

The Battle

Germany needed to prepare for the invasion of Britain, so they first attacked towns and army defenses on the southern coast. However, they soon found that Britain's Royal Air Force was a formidable opponent. The Germans decided to focus their efforts on defeating the Royal Air Force. This meant they bombed airport runways and British radar.

Although the German bombings continued, the British did not stop fighting back. Hitler began to get frustrated at how long it was taking to defeat Great Britain. He soon switched tactics and started bombing large cities including London.

Battle of Britain Day

On September 15, 1940 Germany launched a large bombing attack on the city of London. They felt that they were closing in on victory. The British Royal Air force took to the sky and scattered the German bombers. They shot down a number of German planes. It was clear from this battle that Britain was not defeated and that Germany was not being successful. Although Germany would continue bombing London and other targets in Great Britain for a long time, the raids began to slow as they realized they could not defeat the Royal Air Force.

Who won the Battle of Britain?

Although the Germans had more planes and pilots, the British were able to fight them off and win the battle. This was because they had the advantage of fighting over their own territory, they were defending their homeland, and they had radar. Radar allowed the British to know when and where German planes were coming to attack. This gave them time to get their own planes in the air to help defend.

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