The Battle of Britain
The pilots who saved Britain in 1940 included Poles, Czechs, New Zealanders and Canadians, and the Polish 303 Squadron became the top-scoring unit in the fight.
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Quick Facts
- What it was
- The German air campaign to destroy the RAF and clear the way for a possible invasion of Britain
- Dates
- Usually dated 10 July to 31 October 1940
- Sides
- RAF Fighter Command against the Luftwaffe
- Churchill's tribute
- "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few", 20 August 1940
- Key fighters
- Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire
- Key system
- Chain Home radar and the Dowding system of fighter control
- Turning point
- 15 September 1940, now marked as Battle of Britain Day
- Airmen from abroad
- Pilots from Poland, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Belgium, France and more
The air fight that decided whether Britain could be invaded
In the summer and autumn of 1940, the Luftwaffe tried to knock out the Royal Air Force over southern England. If Germany could control the skies, an invasion across the Channel, code-named Operation Sea Lion, became possible. If it could not, the plan was close to hopeless. The RAF did not win by shooting down everything in sight. It won by surviving. As long as Fighter Command kept flying, Germany could not claim the air above the Channel, and without that the Royal Navy could not be kept at bay. Hitler eventually postponed Sea Lion indefinitely, and the Luftwaffe's first great defeat set the course for the rest of the war.
The system behind the Spitfire
The Spitfire gets the glory, but the real secret weapon was a web of wires. Chain Home radar stations along the coast spotted raiders as they formed up over France. Observer Corps volunteers tracked them once they crossed the coast. Reports flowed to Fighter Command at Bentley Priory, then to group and sector operations rooms, where plots were moved across huge tables and squadrons were sent up to meet the threat. This integrated system was largely the creation of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, the head of Fighter Command. He husbanded his squadrons carefully, refusing to throw everything into the fight at once and resisting pressure to send more fighters to France in May 1940. He was supported by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, a New Zealander whose 11 Group defended London and the south-east and bore the brunt of the fighting. Hurricanes, which outnumbered Spitfires, shot down more enemy aircraft overall, mostly bombers, while Spitfires tended to take on the escorting fighters.
The few were not all British
Over 2,900 aircrew are recognised as having flown in the battle, and they came from across Britain, the Commonwealth and occupied Europe. Poles, Czechs, Belgians, French, Canadians, New Zealanders, Australians, South Africans, Irish and Americans all took part. The Poles were experienced airmen who had already fought in 1939. No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, based at Northolt, joined the fight in late August and, flying Hurricanes, scored more kills than any other squadron during the battle. Czechoslovak pilots were also prominent, including Josef František, who flew with 303 and became one of the most successful fighter pilots of the campaign. Behind the pilots stood armourers, radar operators, plotters in the WAAF, ground crews working through the night and Observer Corps volunteers on rooftops and in fields. The "few" depended on thousands of others.
Why Hitler turned on London
In August, the Luftwaffe was hammering airfields and radar stations, and Fighter Command was in real trouble, short of pilots and with sector stations damaged. Then a few German bombers wandered off course and bombed London on the night of 24 August. Britain retaliated by bombing Berlin. Hitler, furious, switched the main effort from the airfields to the cities. The Blitz began on 7 September. It was terrible for Londoners, but it gave the exhausted RAF a vital breathing space to repair and recover. On 15 September, large German formations were met by waves of fighters over London and southern England, and the Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses for little gain. That day is still remembered as Battle of Britain Day.
Myths and reality
The popular picture is of a tiny RAF against overwhelming odds. The reality is subtler. Fighter Command was outnumbered in the sense that Germany could mass many aircraft, but British fighter production in 1940 was actually outpacing Germany's, and Britain had radar, short supply lines and the advantage of fighting over home ground. Pilots who bailed out could fight again, while German crews who came down were captured. It is also not true that victory was inevitable. Pilot shortages in late August were serious, and the decisions made by Dowding and Park were critical. Another myth is that the battle was won in a single day. It was a long grind of over three months, with heavy losses on both sides. And Churchill's famous line, delivered to the House of Commons on 20 August, was a tribute to the airmen while the outcome was still uncertain.
What you can still see today
The Battle of Britain Bunker at Uxbridge preserves the underground operations room from which 11 Group directed the fighting, and Churchill visited it on 15 September 1940. At Biggin Hill, a memorial chapel commemorates airmen from the station, and the airfield's story is a central part of the legend. The RAF Museum in Hendon holds aircraft from the period, and the Imperial War Museum at Duxford shows Spitfires and Hurricanes in impressive settings. At Capel-le-Ferne near Dover, the Battle of Britain Memorial on the clifftop includes a wall bearing the names of the airmen who took part, looking out across the Channel they defended. In Westminster Abbey, a stained-glass window in the Royal Air Force Chapel commemorates the battle, and the day is still marked every September.
Notable people
- Hugh Dowding
- Keith Park
- Winston Churchill
- Trafford Leigh-Mallory
- Hermann Göring
- Adolf Hitler
- Josef František
- Douglas Bader
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