BATTLE FOR BRITAIN Mallory and Caroline

GERMAN DOMINATION  “ The whole fury and might of the enemy may very soon be turned on us now” –Winston Churchhill 1940  By 1939, the Nazis had occupied most of Europe, including France… Britain was next

Britain now stood alone, but was prepared to fight and save the world from a new dark age

Germany Attacks Britain  July 10 th 1940  Hitler wants to control all of Europe  Germany was fresh from victory in France  Battle by air  Luftwaffe vs. Royal Air Force  Germans had 2,000 planes  England had only 675 planes

Operation Sea Lion  After Germany’s Luftwaffe quickly overcame the Royal Air Force they would then move their military to Britain to defeat them by land.  If Luftwaffe did not defeat RAF Sealion would be postponed

Germany Attacks Britain  Germany moves their air force to Britain  5 stages of operation –Channel Battle –Operation Eagle –Airfield Bombing –Battle of London –Night Bombing

Fighting Continues  A stray German fighter plane accidentally hit London  Britain retaliated and attacked Berlin  Hitler, with his ego bruised ordered the London blitz –Continued attacks on British cities –September 7,1940 Messerschmitt 109 Hurricane Mk 1 Luftwaffe Planes

Retreat!  September 15, 1940  2 waves of German attacks were overcome  Fighting continues through October  Hitler orders postponement of the invasion of Britain –Volume of Germanys losses –Britain managed their campaign better

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” –Winston Churchill

Britain’s Advantages  Superior planes and factories for planes  Underestimated –Thought it would be over by Sept.  Easy victory because of size –Peace treaty  More Allies –Support of Polish Air Force  Preparation  Over Britain –No POW –Best radar system RAF Spitfire I

German Advantages  Confidence –Momentum –Morale  Bigger Air Force  More skilled pilots

Britain’s Disadvantages  Smaller Air Force  Less experienced, less equipped  If Germans made it to Britain by land, they were doomed  Civilians in their country were most affected

Germany’s Disadvantages  Couldn’t replace downed airplanes  Luftwaffe was meant as a support system, not an attack system  No ground radar  No knowledge of RAF defenses  Britain had better production of aircraft –Messerschmitt lacked fuel endurance

RADAR…the weapon that won the war

RADAR  Chain Home  Airborne radar –Detected enemy planes  Ground Radar detected –Ballistic missiles –Mortar bombs –Planes  Detect enemy war craft –Any weather conditions

Code Breaking  Betchley Park  Cryptology  Polish knowledge  Enigma – German encoding system  Mathematicians at Betchley Park crack the Enigma code  Leads to British knowing of German raids, and that Operation Sea Lion was cancelled

German Tactics  Raids  Sent small fleets in as bait, followed by large bomber planes  Strategic bombing  Operation Sea lion –5 stages

RAF Tactics  Send out individual squadrons to pick apart Luftwaffe formations  “V” formation –Front plane watches for enemies –Side planes watch for each other –2 Planes above and below

Effects of War  Nazis are stopped for the first time  Morale boost for Allies  Showed that both air warfare and strategic bombing were important  RAF maintained strength  Luftwaffe declined

Effects of War  Britains losses: 23,002 dead  Germany’s losses: 2,698 aircrafts lost

Bibliography       ain.html ain.html ain.html  flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/WW2/radar%20in%2 0world%20war%20two.htm flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/WW2/radar%20in%2 0world%20war%20two.htm flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/WW2/radar%20in%2 0world%20war%20two.htm  f_Britain/AP22.htm f_Britain/AP22.htm f_Britain/AP22.htm