The summer months of 1940 saw World War II reach the skies of England as the RAF fearlessly stand up to the onslaught of Hitler's Luftwaffe. Immediately following a period identified as the 'Phoney War', Hitler had directed his forces to invade several other European countries and they met limited opposition in Belgium, Netherlands or France.
Operation Dynamo had seen around 300,000 men of the BEF brought to safety by a flotilla of ships making the journey over from England to Dunkirk over a period of days. Soon Hitler had his sights on England. The white cliffs of Dover were clearly in view as the German High Command gazed past the English Channel from Calais.
Nonetheless, unless the skies of England were under German command, Hitler couldn't authorise Operation Sealion - the invasion of United Kingdom. With America being reluctant to participate in the war at this stage and her Allies overcome, Britain would need to face the Germans all alone.
Could Britain hold out until the summer was over when the weather would thwart the Germans from crossing the Channel? British hopes was in the hands of the brave pilots of the Royal Air Force, "The Few" as Churchill later referred to them. It wasn't merely British airmen in the RAF, the Commonwealth was represented with pilots from an array of colonial outposts like as South Africa and Rhodesia as well as Poles and even a couple of Americans.
Hitler despatched his bombers over to pound United Kingdom into submission but yet crucially, their fighter escorts at best had the fuel for only a few minutes battle before they would have to go back home leaving the bombers unprotected. For the first time, the Luftwaffe were up against solid resistance and there was to be no repeat of their swift victories on the Continent. Britain's airfields in the south east were suffering a beating until a particular night in August 1940, a German bomber got lost and dropped its bombs over London before returning home. In retaliation, the RAF launched an air raid on Berlin.
Hitler was furious and instructed the Luftwaffe to bomb London in place of the RAF airfields. This was a key turning point as it offered the Royal Air Force some much called for relief. The Luftwaffe was unable to gain the initiative at any point and in mid September, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sealion. The risk of invasion was over and Churchill spoke of the contribution of Fighter Command in a widely recognized speech "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".
The number one fighter ace was Sgt Frantisek from the Czech Republic with a score of 17 kills. He flew in a Hawker Hurricane which was the true workhorse of Fighter Command but everybody remembers the iconic Spitfire. Sgt Frantisek was killed in October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was the first time the Germans had suffered a military defeat during World War II.
Operation Dynamo had seen around 300,000 men of the BEF brought to safety by a flotilla of ships making the journey over from England to Dunkirk over a period of days. Soon Hitler had his sights on England. The white cliffs of Dover were clearly in view as the German High Command gazed past the English Channel from Calais.
Nonetheless, unless the skies of England were under German command, Hitler couldn't authorise Operation Sealion - the invasion of United Kingdom. With America being reluctant to participate in the war at this stage and her Allies overcome, Britain would need to face the Germans all alone.
Could Britain hold out until the summer was over when the weather would thwart the Germans from crossing the Channel? British hopes was in the hands of the brave pilots of the Royal Air Force, "The Few" as Churchill later referred to them. It wasn't merely British airmen in the RAF, the Commonwealth was represented with pilots from an array of colonial outposts like as South Africa and Rhodesia as well as Poles and even a couple of Americans.
Hitler despatched his bombers over to pound United Kingdom into submission but yet crucially, their fighter escorts at best had the fuel for only a few minutes battle before they would have to go back home leaving the bombers unprotected. For the first time, the Luftwaffe were up against solid resistance and there was to be no repeat of their swift victories on the Continent. Britain's airfields in the south east were suffering a beating until a particular night in August 1940, a German bomber got lost and dropped its bombs over London before returning home. In retaliation, the RAF launched an air raid on Berlin.
Hitler was furious and instructed the Luftwaffe to bomb London in place of the RAF airfields. This was a key turning point as it offered the Royal Air Force some much called for relief. The Luftwaffe was unable to gain the initiative at any point and in mid September, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sealion. The risk of invasion was over and Churchill spoke of the contribution of Fighter Command in a widely recognized speech "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".
The number one fighter ace was Sgt Frantisek from the Czech Republic with a score of 17 kills. He flew in a Hawker Hurricane which was the true workhorse of Fighter Command but everybody remembers the iconic Spitfire. Sgt Frantisek was killed in October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was the first time the Germans had suffered a military defeat during World War II.
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Victory in the Battle of Britain meant that Britain and her Allies could continue with World War II with Nazi Germany.. This article, The Battle of Britain - The Royal Air Forces Finest Hour is released under a creative commons attribution license.
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