How did the RAF win the Battle of Britain?

Following the dramatic evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk on the beaches of northern France in June 1940, Britain was the only country still fighting against Hitler.

It had only taken the German army ten months to control most of Western Europe.

On the 16th of June 1940, Hitler issued the Führer Directive No. 16, which outlined his plans for the invasion of Britain, codenamed Operation Sealion.

To support this initiative, Hitler began assembling his air forces, the Luftwaffe, on the airfields in Belgium and France.

These aircraft were tasked with preparing the way for a future landing of German troops by trying to nullify British air defences.

Rough estimates indicate that the Luftwaffe had around 2,500 aircraft, while the British had 1,200.

In addition, German pilots were much more experienced, as they had been fighting in Europe for more than six months already.

In the months prior to the Battle of Britain, the British had been rapidly developing a new radar system.

It was hoped that this system was able to detect incoming enemy aircraft and help direct British fighter planes to intercept them.

By Spring of 1940, there were over 50 radar bases built around Britain.

As a result, the Luftwaffe soon realised that they would need to destroy these radar stations if they were to stand any chance of success in Operation Sealion.

In addition, a new, sophisticated system of defence was built around these new radar sites, known as the Dowding System.

Named after the British Chief Air Marshall Hugh Dowding, this was a network of radar stations, anti-aircraft guns, and fighter aircraft controlled by the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Before the Germans could attack British soil, they knew that they had to defeat the Royal Navy, or at least minimize their control over the English Channel.

So, the official date often cited for the beginning of the Battle of Britain is 10 July 1940, when the Luftwaffe escalated their operations to target coastal shipping. 

These attacks were known as the ‘Channel Battles', which were small-scale raids on British shipping convoys.

These saw limited success and Hitler ordered a more concentrated effort be launched.

So, between 16th August and 23rd September 1940, the Luftwaffe undertook a series of larger-scale attacks on British shipping convoys in the English Channel.

However, despite suffering heavy losses, the Royal Navy remained in place and prevented any German troops from crossing.

As a result, the Luftwaffe then turned their attention to trying to destroy the Royal Air Force and their airfields.

The RAF defensive system was based on a network of airfields around Britain. On 13th August 1940, the Luftwaffe launched its first major raid against British airfields.

This raid targeted RAF Tangmere in Sussex. The following day, another raid targeted RAF Manston in Kent.

These raids continued throughout August and September. By early October, most of the RAF's front-line fighter squadrons had been severely damaged. 

However, the British Spitfire fighter plane became a reliable and effective combat aircraft during this time.

It was able to consistently out-manoeuvre the Luftwaffe's Messerschmidt fighters and get to the larger bombers.

In comparison, the German air forces were limited by the number of aircraft they could bring to bear and the amount of fuel they needed to use to simply reach their targets and begin their attacks.

This meant that they had to carefully select their targets. As a consequence, the Luftwaffe focused their attacks on British airfields and radar stations in the south of England.

From 13th August to the 6th of September, the Luftwaffe launched a major offensive against British airfields.

This offensive was known as 'Adlerangriff' (Eagle Attack). The aim of this offensive was to destroy the RAF's ability to defend Britain.

During the Adlerangriff, the Luftwaffe targeted a number of key RAF airfields in southern England.

These attacks continued for several days. However, they failed to achieve their objectives and the RAF was able to continue fighting.

However, the Luftwaffe consistently lost huge numbers of expensive planes, which their factories had to replace.

Throughout the Battle of Britain, it is estimated that the RAF lost approximately 1,023 aircraft while the Luftwaffe lost about 1,887.

Frustrated by the continued failure of his air force to decisively defeat the RAF, Hitler ordered a change of strategy.

Instead of solely striking military targets, he ordered direct attacks on the major cities and the civilians of Britain themselves.

So, from the 7th of September to the 31st of October 1940, the Luftwaffe began a campaign of night-time bombing raids against British towns and cities.

This would be known as the 'Blitz'. On its first, on the 7th of September, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, and other cities were hit by German bombers.

These raids then continued for 57 consecutive nights. Over the course of the Blitz, more than 43,000 British civilians were killed and millions more were left homeless.

However, the RAF continued to send their planes up to try and defend Britian. Sadly, over these three months, the RAF lost 792 planes and over 500 pilots in dogfights with the Luftwaffe.

In particular, the Luftwaffe targeted London in a series of attacks that came to be known as the ‘Greatest Raids’.

More than 400 bombers took part in these raids, and they caused widespread damage to London: over one million homes were destroyed or damaged.

The Luftwaffe also targeted other cities during the Blitz; Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Liverpool, and Bristol were all heavily bombed.

However, London remained the main target of German attacks.

Nevertheless, the resilience of British civilians during the Luftwaffe's bombing campaigns helped bolster public support for the war effort and contributed to the enduring symbol of the so-called 'Blitz spirit'.

The Battle of Britain ended on 31st October 1940, but the Blitz would be gradually scaled back by Hitler, though bombing of British targets would continue until May 1941.

Ultimately, the Luftwaffe failed to achieve its objectives. As a result, in November 1940, Hitler postponed Operation Sealion indefinitely.

Blame for the Nazi failure rested on the shoulders of Field Marshal Hermann Göring, who was the commander of the Luftwaffe.

He had severely overestimated the capabilities of his forces while also underestimating the capabilities of the RAF defences.

However, the Battle of Britain was a significant victory for the Allies and would be a major turning point in World War II.