BATTLEOFBRITAIN Summer 1940 Year 9 Assessment

Why did the R.A.F. win ‘The Battle of Britain? Paragraph 1 - Introduction: After the defeat of France, Western Europe was under Nazi control, except for Britain who stood alone. Hitler offered Churchill peace terms. Despite some members of his own Cabinet e.g. Lord Halifax, being in favour of this, Churchill refused. Hitler ordered the invasion of Britain, code named ‘Operation Sealion’ for the 6th August. The air war that took place in the summer of 1940 became known as ‘The Battle of Britain’. The German airforce (the Luftwaffe) needed to overcome the R.A.F. and take control of the skies in order to protect its Navy crossing the English Channel. German bombers protected by German fighter aircraft would attack British airfields, radar stations, factories, towns and ports all over Britain. Many observers felt Britain would be defeated in the space of two weeks and even Lord Dowding (Head of Fighter Command) said Britain needed a ‘miracle’. Paragraph 2 - Problems: WRITE ABOUT THE PROBLEMS THE R.A.F. FACED IN THE SUMMER OF Paragraph 3 - Technology: Paragraph 3 - Technology: WRITE ABOUT THE INDUSTRIAL CAUSES OF VICTORY. Paragraph 4 - Industry: WRITE ABOUT THE TACTICAL CAUSES OF VICTORY. Paragraph 5 - Tactics: WRITE ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGICAL CAUSES OF VICTORY. Paragraph 6 - Pilots: WRITE ABOUT THE PILOTS CONTRIBUTIONS TO VICTORY. Paragraph 7 - Links: MAKE LINKS BETWEEN DIFFERENT CAUSES. Paragraph 8 - Hierarchy: PUT CAUSES INTO AN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. EXPLAIN YOUR CHOICES. Paragraph 9 - Conclusion: On the 17th September 1940, Hitler called off his invasion plans because the German airforce were unable to defeat the British. The R.A.F. had won ‘The Battle of Britain’. In a speech to Parliament Churchill praised the R.A.F. He said ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’

Source A Fighters Bombers Luftwaffe Luftwaffe R.A.F. R.A.F. 591 NA Colin Shephard : Peace and War PROBLEMS PROBLEMS PROBLEMS Source B It took just five minutes for German aircraft to cross the Channel, but it took 15 minutes for British planes to take off and reach the height necessary to intercept them. Colin Shephard : Peace and War Source C The R.A.F. was at crisis point. There was a shortage of pilots. They were being killed faster than new ones were being trained. Many pilots were also part-timers or reservists with little training in fighter aircraft ( often only 10 hours in a Spitfire or Hurricane ). Colin Shephard : Peace and War Source D The R.A.F. lost large numbers of planes, their airfields were damaged and their pilots exhausted after making sorties ( flying missions ) day after day and often several times a day. Brooman : World War Two

Source E Fighters lost Fighters built Germany Germany Britain Britain ( Fighter losses and production August - September 1940 ) INDUSTRY INDUSTRY INDUSTRY

TACTICS TACTICS TACTICS Source F Lord Dowding ( Head of Fighter Command ) resisted the “Big Wing” theory of sending all squadrons into battle at one time. As long as Fighter Command still existed Britain could defend itself from invasion. Battle of Britain documentary video Source G The Luftwaffe did not bomb the Radar stations consistently. After Britain bombed Berlin on 7 th September Germany changed its bombing targets of radar and airfields to London in revenge. This gave the R.A.F. time to rebuild its airfields. Battle of Britain video Source H The R.A.F. kept squadrons back from the air battle in order to protect the airfields so they could be kept operational. Battle of Britain documentary video Source I German fighters were ordered by Goering ( Head of the Luftwaffe ) to fly close to their bombers in order to protect them. This lost them the element of surprise. German fighters had to protect their bombers and try to stay alive. Battle of Britain video Lord Dowding Lord Dowding Reichsmarshall Goering Reichsmarshall Goering

TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY Source J – The German Messerschmitt ME109 PerformanceEngine:Speed:Climb:Range:Weapons:P.S. Daimler Benz 354 mph 7 minutes 45 seconds to 20,000 feet 410 miles ( only 20 minutes in the combat zone ) 3 machine guns, 2 canons The ME109 had a fuel injection engine which meant it could go straight into a dive.

TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY Source K – The British Supermarine Spitfire PerformanceEngine:Speed:Climb:Range:Weapons:P.S. Rolls Royce Merlin 361 mph 9 minutes 24 seconds to 20,000 feet 575 miles ( only 20 minutes in the combat zone ) 8 machine guns The Spits engine could cut out in a dive, but it was very agile and could turn sharply.

Source L Britain’s new invention, RADAR ( radio detection and ranging ) gave the R.A.F. warning of German attacks. They could detect the Luftwaffe suadrons massing over France. This gave British pilots time to get into the air to intercept them. Hindsight Journal (1990) TECHNOLOGY

PILOTS PILOTS PILOTS Source M Source M ( Hinsight History Journal 1990 ) British aircraft German aircraft destroyed destroyed July July August August 360 1, September September 361 1, Claimed by RAF Claimed by Luftwaffe Source N When German pilots were shot down and parachuted over Britain they became prisoners of war. British pilots could fight another day. Chris Culpin : Era of Second World War Source O Douglas Bader – a famous British pilot of the Battle of Britain. Bader actually flew despite having artificial legs.

Source P Source P Britain drafted in pilots from other countries in the Empire and from its allies: no. of pilots no. killed UK US 9 2 Australians Belgians 27 6 Canadians Czechs 87 7 Free French 13 0 Irish 10 0 Jamaicans 1 0 Israelis 1 0 Poles New Zealanders South Africans 25 9 TOTALS TOTALS ( From final credits ‘Battle of Britain’ 1969 ) PILOTS PILOTS PILOTS

How do I show Independent Research? To reach Level 7 you must show evidence of Independent Research. This means you need to find extra information on whether the Civil Rights Movement was a success for yourself i.e. from books in libraries or from websites on the internet. You must prove that you have used this research in your assessment by adding FOOTNOTES and a BIBLIOGRAPHY at the end of your assessment. What are Footnotes? If you are going to copy a sentence from a book or from a website you must set it out as a quotation as follows: When asked about the success of the Dunkirk evacuation Capt. Haywood said: ‘It was absolute chaos on the beaches; dead bodies everywhere and men fighting to get on the boats. I never thought I would see the banks of the Mersey again ’ (1) This quote tells us that Dunkirk was a… N.B. notice how this sentence is set out: You miss a line before and after the quotation The quotation is indented both sides from the margin A number is written after the quotation. Your first quotation is numbered (1), your next quotation is (2) and so on. Then at the end of the assessment you have a page titled footnotes where you list the books/websites from which your quotations come from in order, e.g. (1)K. Daley, ‘The Myth of Dunkirk’ (2) A. Haywood, ‘How I survived Dunkirk’. (1)What is a Bibliography? After the page of footnotes you should include a bibliography. This is a list of all the books and internet sites you have used in your research in alphabetical order of authors names e.g. Books Daley, K., ‘The Myth of Dunkirk’ Haywood, A. ‘How I survived Dunkirk’ Websites Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk

Markscheme – Attainment Levels Level 4 – Has shown how Dunkirk was interpreted in different ways but no explanation why. Level 5 – Level 4 plus begins to explain reasons for the different interpretations of Dunkirk. Level 6 – Clearly explains reasons for the different interpretations of Dunkirk. Level 7 – Level 6 plus evidence of independent research using footnotes and bibliography.