How the RAF heroically defended the British Isles against overwhelming odds in WWII
In the summer of 1940, as Nazi forces swept across Western Europe, Britain formed the final barrier to Hitler’s control, which had spread across the region.
With France fallen and the United States still on the sidelines, the fate of the British Isles largely depended on the aircraft of the British Royal Air Force (RAF).
British pilots, who were outnumbered and tired, often flew into combat day after day and held the line against a constant Luftwaffe campaign designed to break the nation from the sky, or at least force it to negotiate.
Britain 'stands alone' against Hitler
After the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk on the beaches of northern France, the British people were feeling very vulnerable.
The fall of France to the Nazis in June 1940 left Britain as the only major country still fighting against Hitler in Western Europe.
It had only taken the German army about ten months to control most of Western Europe.
By May 1940, Hitler had planned to assemble a large invasion force on the coast of France, ready to invade Britain.
On the 16th of July 1940, Hitler issued the Führer Directive No. 16, which outlined his plans for the invasion of Britain, codenamed Operation Sealion.
Hitler had begun assembling his air forces, the Luftwaffe, on the airfields in Belgium and France.
Hermann Göring commanded the Luftwaffe, and he gave it the job of preparing the way for a future landing of German troops, so that it could disable British air defences through continuous air raids.
Before the war, the Luftwaffe had around 2,500 aircraft, while the British had about 1,200.
Thanks to their experience from the campaigns in Poland and France, the German pilots were generally better prepared.
British radar defences
In the months prior to the Battle of Britain, the British had developed their radar system.
This system was able to detect incoming enemy aircraft and direct British fighter planes to intercept them in many cases.
By Spring of 1940, the British had built over 50 radar bases around Britain, which gave early warning of raids.
The Luftwaffe soon realised that they would likely need to destroy these radar stations if they were to have any chance of success in Operation Sealion.
A new, advanced system of defence was built around these new radar sites, known as the Dowding System.
The Dowding System was the name given to the British air defence system, named after the British Chief Air Marshal Hugh Dowding.
It was a network of radar stations backed by anti-aircraft guns, with RAF fighter aircraft directed through the same control system.
British success against the German attacks relied mainly on the effective coordination of the air force with this new technology, plus steady supplies of pilots and aircraft.
Stage 1: The Channel Battles
However, in order to defeat the Royal Navy and gain control of the air, the Germans needed to control the English Channel.
The Luftwaffe began a campaign of attacks on British ships and shipping convoys in the Channel.
The first German raids took place on 10 July 1940 and had continued for roughly a month.
These were small-scale raids which initially targeted British shipping convoys. The purpose of these raids was to test British defences and gather information about Britain's air defence ability.
This period of fighting became known as the 'channel battles'. However, after suffering heavy losses, the Royal Navy remained in place and prevented any German troops from crossing.
The Luftwaffe then turned their attention to trying to destroy the Royal Air Force and their airfields.
Stage 2: The attack on the Royal Air Force airfields
From 13th August to the 6th of September, the Luftwaffe had launched a major series of attacks against British airfields.
This offensive was known as Adlerangriff (Eagle Attack). The aim of this offensive was to damage the RAF's ability to defend Britain.
During the Adlerangriff, the Luftwaffe targeted a number of key RAF airfields and radar stations in southern England.
RAF Tangmere in Sussex was targeted. The following day, another raid targeted RAF Manston in Kent.
These raids continued into September, and many of the RAF's main fighter squadrons had been destroyed or badly damaged.
At the time the RAF relied heavily on two types of fighter aircraft: the Submarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane.
The Hurricane was the most common, as they were easier to produce, and formed the backbone of the RAF's forces.
They also accounted for the majority, at nearly 60%, of all enemy aircraft shot down.
Meanwhile, the Spitfire was celebrated for its speed and agility, mainly when it fought against German fighters like the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
As a result, it often achieved a higher victory-to-loss ratio.
German air forces faced limits on aircraft numbers. They also faced fuel limits, which often reduced time over the target area once attacks began.
Stage 3: The need to maintain morale
By late August, the RAF had endured a hard month of air battles. Fighter Command had been stretched to its limits as the German bombers continually targeted vital airfields and radar installations.
On August 20, 1940, as the Battle of Britain reached a critical point, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Commons.
The British people needed hope, and Churchill delivered it through his famous words: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
During the heaviest phase of the battle, between August 24 and September 6, the RAF faced rising losses.
Each combat mission brought new risks, and British aircraft were sometimes quickly repaired and sent back into action.
This allowed Fighter Command to maintain its defence. The exhausted pilots and overworked machinery increased the number of mistakes.
More than 300 British pilots had already been killed, and many aircraft had been destroyed or damaged.
Regardless, many of the pilots were fresh recruits, and they continued to take to the skies.
Eventually, they began to hurt the attackers. By late August, the Luftwaffe had lost more than 600 aircraft.
Each plane was expensive to build and repair, and losses added up quickly. German factories needed significant time to replace them.
Just as serious was the rising loss of experienced pilots.
Britain's 'Chain Home' radar system proved to be a major factor in this success, in combination with ground control and fighter tactics, as it provided early warnings of incoming Luftwaffe attacks and allowed RAF fighters to intercept enemy bombers before they could reach their targets.
Ultimately, the attacks failed to achieve their main goal of stopping the RAF from protecting Britain for long.
Why the Battle of Britain came to an end
After suffering heavy losses and failing to gain control of the air, Hitler had pushed back the date of Operation Sealion several times.
However, he officially postponed it without setting a new date on September 17, 1940.
Instead of a plan for a land invasion, the Luftwaffe began to target British cities in night-time raids, which came to be called the 'Blitz'.
This change in tactics showed that the Battle of Britain had started to end, and it finished on October 31, 1940.
By this point, the Luftwaffe had lost approximately 1,733 planes and suffered 2,662 casualties.
Since the Luftwaffe failed to achieve its goals and suffered heavy losses, it was treated as a major victory for the Allies.
However, even after the victory, between July and October, the RAF had lost 792 planes and over 500 pilots.
But there was much more destruction to come.
The Blitz and the change in the Luftwaffe's approach
From the 7th of September, the Luftwaffe began a new offensive against Britain.
This offensive was known as the 'Blitz', which was a campaign of night-time bombing raids against British towns and cities.
Manchester, Birmingham, Coventry, Liverpool, and Bristol were all bombed heavily at different points.
However, London was the main target of German attacks and was bombed for 57 consecutive nights without a break.
There were often more than 400 bombers in each raid, and they caused widespread damage.
The Blitz continued across Britain until May 1941. Over the course of the Blitz, more than 43,000 British civilians were killed, according to most estimates, and millions more were left homeless.
Even so, the British people remained determined to defeat Hitler.
