Battle of Britain

He 111 bombers during the Battle of Britain]]
The **Battle of Britain** was a continued attack by the *Luftwaffe* on Great Britain during the summer and the autumn of 1940.

The Germans' first objective was to get control of the air space above Britain from the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially the Fighter Command.

The name comes from a famous speech, which was delivered by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons: "The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin...."

The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought only by air forces, and it was also the largest and longest aerial bombing campaign until then.

## Part I: Strategic targets 
In July 1940, coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth, began to be the main targets. A month later, the *Luftwaffe* shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure, which were other useful war targets. As the battle progressed, the *Luftwaffe* also targeted aircraft factories and ground infrastructure.

Coastal radar stations were bombed and so for a time, only one radar mast was standing. The British used a backup system of human observers to get information to the headquarters of Fighter Command. Most historians agree that Germany won that part of the campaign.

The *Luftwaffe* began to stop its morning raids, with attacks on London starting late in the afternoon for 57 nights of attacks in a row.

Fighter Command had been suffering low morale since it was short of men and machines, and the break from airfield attacks allowed it to recover and so week by week, the defenders were getting stronger, and the losses suffered by the *Luftwaffe* were growing.

On 15 September, two massive waves of German attacks were prevented by the RAF, with every aircraft of 11 Group being used that day. The total casualties on that important day were 60 German and 26 RAF aircraft shot down. The German defeat caused Hitler to order two days later a delay of the preparations for the invasion of Britain. In the face of increasing losses in men, aircraft and the lack of good replacements, the *Luftwaffe* later switched from daylight to night-time bombing.

On 27 September, a Junkers Ju 88 returning from a raid on London was shot down in Kent. The German airmen survived to fight a battle against British troops stationed locally. That was said to be the first time in nearly 300 years that armed invaders had fought with British soldiers on British soil. Its use, as was by information by the Royal Observer Corps, was crucial and allowed the RAF to intercept the incoming German aircraft.

Radar operators were linked via telephone, whose wires were laid deep underground with concrete anti-bomb protection, That version was capable of a maximum speed of 342&nbsp;mph, 25 to 30&nbsp;mph faster than the Mk I.

The performance of the Spitfire during the Dunkirk evacuation came as a surprise although the German pilots retained a strong belief that their 109 was the superior fighter. However, the Bf 109E had a much larger turning circle than either the Hurricane or the Spitfire.p388

If Germany had gained air superiority, Adolf Hitler might have launched Operation Sea Lion, his planned invasion of Britain.

## References