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The Battle of Britain (July-September 1940) - Coggle Diagram
The Battle of Britain (July-September 1940)
The phases of the battle
September, 7, 1940 : Germany targets London and no longer RAF basis or defences system.
Septembre, 15th, 1940 : RAF repelled another massive Luftwaffe assault. It caused severe losses to Germany. "Operation Sealion" was postponed from this date.
At the beginning, Germany attacked coastal targets and British shipping operating in the English Channel.
August, 13, 1940 : Main offensive launched by Germany. Attacks moved from the English Channel to the inlands, concentrating on airfields and communications centres.
Last week of August - First week of September : Critical phase of the battle. Germany intensified their efforts to destroy Fighter Command. August, 31 was the worst day for Fighter Command.
The role played by the RAF
Men came from all over the Commonwealth and occupied Europe. It was not only British fighters.
Pilots were erected as heroes by propaganda.
3,000 men of the RAF took part in the Battle of Britain. They were called "The Few" by Churchill. It means that GB owed a lot to these men. Remember this sentence : " Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few " said Churchill in the House of Commons, August, 20, 1940.
The reasons of Nazi Germany defeat
Germany's airplanes were not suitable for such a battle. Junker 88 airplane was not secure, it was slow and had a very poor defensive system. It was not suitable for bombing.
Another plane, the Messerschmidt Bf 109, was also obsolete and not competitive at all. It had been hopelessly outclassed by the fighters of the RAF.
Göring plans were unrealistic because the means available in the Luftwaffe were unsufficient. It was too ambitious.
Luftwaffe was lacking of heavy bombers and failed to hit the most important targets. It means that Germany failed in inflicted significant damages to Great Britain.
The reasons of Britain's victory
RAF airplanes were more efficient than German's airplanes. Spitfire outclassed German planes.
The British developed a very efficient air defense network built up with radars, ground defences and fighter aircrafts. There were also anti-aircraft guns, searchlights and barrage balloons.
Britain organized its defense system around four geographical areas which allowed the RAF pilots to have quick information while in the air. It means that the direction of German raid was quickly known and that RAF could act quickly and with success.
The British outproduced the Germans and maintained a level of aircraft production that helped them withstand their losses.