The Battle of Britain Adrian Stewart Copyrighted Presentation Mike Lavelle The 75 th Anniversary Remembrance David Lednicer - 8 April 2015 Events that Influenced the Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain Copyrighted Presentation Mike Lavelle The Real Story: British Fighters vs. German Fighters

The Battle of Britain British fighters: –Hawker Hurricane I –Supermarine Spitfire I & II –Boulton Paul Defiant I German: –Messerschmitt Bf 109E –Messerschmitt BF 110C The Opponents

The Battle of Britain Hawker –Sidney Camm –Roy Chaplin Vickers Supermarine –R.J. Mitchell –Joseph Smith (after 1937) –Beverly Shenstone Boulton Paul –John Dudley North Messerschmitt (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke until 1938) –Willy Messerschmitt –Robert Lusser Principal Designers

The Battle of Britain Designed to Specification F.5/34 –Interceptor monoplane with eight machine guns and speeds in excess of 300 mph –Specification F.36/34 written to match Hawker design submission Conservative design for 1935 –Space-frame, fabric covered fuselage and wings –Stressed-skin metal wing later introduced –Unsophisticated aerodynamics Hurricane Development Fuel tanks

The Battle of Britain Designed to Specification F.7/30 –Monoplane “zone” fighter with four machine guns and speeds in excess of 215 mph –Specification F.10/35 written to match Supermarine design submission Advanced design for 1935 –Stressed-skin metal fuselage and wing –Sophisticated aerodynamics Spitfire Development Fuel tanks

The Battle of Britain Designed to Specification F.9/35 –Two-seat four-gun turret fighter –“Bomber destroyer” concept –No forward-firing armament Advanced design for 1937 –Stressed-skin metal fuselage and wing –Modestly sophisticated aerodynamics Defiant Development Fuel tanks

The Battle of Britain Designed to specification L.A. 1432/33 –Short-range interceptor with top speed of 250 mph at 19,690 feet –Climb to 19,690 feet in 17 minutes and flight duration of 90 minutes Advanced design for 1934 –Power increased by 50% with installation of fuel-injected DB 601A in the Bf 109E –Stressed-skin metal fuselage and wing –Sophisticated aerodynamics Bf 109 Development Fuel tank

The Battle of Britain Designed against a RLM request –Long-range twin-engine, three-seat, all-metal monoplane –Armed with cannon Advanced design for 1935 –Stressed-skin metal fuselage and wing –Sophisticated aerodynamics Bf 110 Development Fuel tanks

The Battle of Britain Hurricane fuel header tank was not isolated from the cockpit Spitfire fuel tank was ahead of the fireproof bulkhead Self-sealing capability and armor added to Hurricane and Spitfire fuel tanks during the Battle of Britain Bf 109E did not have a self- sealing fuel tank Bf 110C did have a self-sealing fuel tanks Fire Danger Flt Lt James Nicolson, only member of the Fighter Command to be awarded a Victoria Cross during the Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain Cockpits were not pressurized –Pilots breathing 100% oxygen above 15,000 feet Cockpits reported to be well-heated G-suits not invented yet Flight suits were not fire-resistant –Nomex fabric not invented yet Over-water survival suits not invented yet Crash helmets not invented yet Rescue radios and beacons not invented yet Flying Kit

The Battle of Britain Aerodynamics – Pressure Distributions NACA 22XX airfoils NACA 2R1 XX airfoils Note forward loading on airfoils Hurricane design used older Clark YH airfoil

The Battle of Britain Later Designs, for Comparison Airfoil loaded further aft

The Battle of Britain Spitfire I & II –Radiator on right, oil cooler on left Hurricane I & Defiant I –Radiator on centerline Bf 109E & Bf 110C –Radiators on both sides Cooling System Ducts

The Battle of Britain Rolls Royce Merlin II –27 litre V-12 –1,030 hp at sea level –Single stage, single speed direct-drive supercharger –100 octane fuel Daimler Benz DB 601A –34 litre inverted V-12 –1,085 hp at sea level –Single stage, single speed hydraulic-drive supercharger –87 octane fuel Engines

The Battle of Britain Engines Supercharging maintains power to higher altitude 1.3 atm = 4.41 psi boost 1.4 atm = 5.88 psi boost Merlins could run at higher boost, partly due to higher octane fuel

The Battle of Britain Hurricane –600 miles Spitfire –395 miles Defiant –465 miles Bf 109E –410 miles Bf 110C –900 miles Radius of Action 200 mile radius 100 mile radius

The Battle of Britain Bf 110C –2 x 20 mm MG-FFM cannon in nose –4 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns in nose –1 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun aft-facing Hurricane and Spitfire –8 x caliber machine guns Defiant –4 x caliber machine guns in turret Bf 109E –2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns in cowling –2 x 20 mm MG-FF or FFM wing cannon Armament Cannon shells contain explosive, bullets don’t

The Battle of Britain Visibility Hurricane I –Framing obscures view –Little rearward visibility –Rear-view mirror –Bullet resistant glass windshield Spitfire I & II –Good visibility in all directions –Rear-view mirror –Bullet resistant glass windshield Bf 109E –Framing obscures view –Very tight –No rear-view mirror –Some had bullet resistant glass windshields

The Battle of Britain Early warning –British had long-range aerial coverage with centralized command and control –Germans only used radar to monitor shipping Combat formations –Germans used “fluid four” –British quickly adopted this Sun position –Mornings favored Germans –Afternoons favored British Tactical Considerations

The Battle of Britain Level speed Rate of climb Turning radius Roll rate Diving Ceiling Maneuvering Factors

The Battle of Britain Combat Pattern Luftwaffe bombers at 16-20,000 feet Luftwaffe escort fighters Goal of RAF fighters Altitude

The Battle of Britain Climb Performance

The Battle of Britain Level Speed

The Battle of Britain Turn Radius 14 second turn

The Battle of Britain Roll Rate Fabric covered ailerons Metal covered ailerons

The Battle of Britain Diving Control problems made this speed hazardous

The Battle of Britain Dive Initiation Issue RR Merlin had a SU carburetor –If a dive was started with a push-over, the fuel flow would be disrupted by the negative gs –Engine would cut out –Dives had to be initiated with a half-roll, then a pull –Problem fixed (in 1941) with a restrictor diaphragm, developed by Beatrice 'Tilly' Shilling of the RAE DB 601A was fuel injected –Bosch had precision machining necessary to build metering pumps –Dives could be started with a push-over

The Battle of Britain Altitude Performance

The Battle of Britain Conclusion Defiant I –Ill-conceived concept –Poor performance –Withdrawn from day combat in late August 1940 Bf 110C –Good firepower and range –Lacked maneuverability Spitfire I and Bf 109E –Closely matched –Bf 109E had insufficient fuel Hurricane I –Outclassed, but still useful

The Battle of Britain The Outcome RAF lost: –1,547 aircraft –544 aircrew Luftwaffe lost: –1,887 aircraft –2,698 aircrew Defenders decisively defeated potential invaders

The Battle of Britain Copyrighted Presentation Mike Lavelle Why All This is Important to Me My Family’s Escape: May 10 to June 1940 Departed Lisbon for Brazil November 19, 1940

The Battle of Britain Where to See the Aircraft Spitfire –Historic Flight Foundation (LF Mk.Ixe) –Flying Heritage Collection (LF Mk.Vc) Hurricane –Flying Heritage Collection (Sea Hurricane Mk XII) Defiant I –RAF Museum in Hendon UK Bf 109E –Flying Heritage Collection Bf 110C –Several survivors in Europe