Battle of Britain
From Conservapedia
The Battle of Britain was a battle in World War Two fought between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force (RAF), after France and the Low Countries had fallen to the armies of Nazi Germany. The battle was fought between 10th July and 31 October 1940, and is regarded as the Nazis' first major defeat.
The Battle of Britain was essentially a contest for air superiority. German air superiority was considered a necessary prelude for the planned land invasion (Operation Sea Lion). The Germans initially attempted to destroy British airfields. They did not succeed in this: RAF 'Hurricane' and 'Spitfire' aircraft piloted by 'The Few' (Winston Churchill's name for RAF fighter pilots) caused them to have heavy casualties, in spite of the Luftwaffe's superior numbers. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter that the Luftwaffe had as its main escort for the twin-engined Heinkel, Dornier and Junkers bombers was at the limit of its range. In addition, the German fighters were restricted by the need to stick close to their bombers, while the British pilots had more tactical flexibility.
In September, the Luftwaffe switched to targeting British cities. London and many other cities suffered air raids in The Blitz and Coventry, an historic city in the English Midlands, was almost destroyed by a firestorm. This strategy caused heavy civilian casualties, but took the pressure off the RAF air bases, giving Fighter Command vital breathing space.
By the end of May 1941, the RAF had lost 788 aircraft, while the Luftwaffe's losses were 1294 aircraft, mostly bombers.[1]
Factors in the British Victory
Radar - unlike the Germans, the British had not dismissed radar as useless and used it to it's full effect. Through radar they knew exactly where the German formations were, and could manage their defenses accordingly, rather than wasting precious minutes looking for the German aircraft.
The Distance to Britain - the German fighter plans had much smaller fuel capacities than the German bombers, and it was estimated that they could only spend five minutes in a dogfight with the British before they had to turn around for home. Often the German bombers were left unescorted for the last stretch to the target, leaving them vulnerable to attack from British planes.
Poor German Leadership - Goering was in charge of the Luftwaffe. Not interested in tactics or strategy, he was surrounded by visions of a glorious great battle in which the RAF was completely destroyed by the Luftwaffes superior numbers. He did not realise the significance of radar. He finally got his wish - a great battle above the skies of Britain - and it did not go as he expected. In order to create a massive formation of aircraft, the German fighters were left circling in the air above their airfields waiting for the bombers to arrive - wasting more precious fuel, which Goering failed to realize. In the battle which was to follow, not only was the RAF not destroyed, but the bombers failed to hit their targets. After their fighter escort was either destroyed or forced to turn back early, many of the bombers were either shot down or jettisoned their bombs and joined their escorts in flight back to the coast of France.
References
- ↑ The Seventy Great Battles in History, by Jeremy Black, 2005
