After the fall of France in June 1940, Britain faced Nazi Germany almost alone. Hitler hoped Britain would make peace; when it refused, he prepared Operation Sea Lion, a plan to invade across the Channel. An invasion by sea was only possible if Germany controlled the air, so the Luftwaffe set out to destroy the RAF.

The Battle in the Air

From July to October, German bombers and fighters attacked shipping, then airfields and aircraft factories in southern England. The RAF defended with the manoeuvrable Spitfire and the rugged Hurricane. Crucially, Britain had the Dowding System: a network of radar stations and observers feeding information to control rooms, allowing scarce fighters to be sent only where they were needed rather than wasting fuel on patrols.

The Turning Point

By early September the RAF was close to breaking point, with pilots exhausted and airfields badly damaged. Then, partly in response to RAF raids on Berlin, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to switch from airfields to bombing London and other cities — the Blitz. This proved a costly mistake: it relieved the pressure on the airfields just as they were failing.

Significance

Unable to gain air superiority, Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion indefinitely. The Battle of Britain was the first major defeat for Hitler, it kept Britain in the war, and it preserved the island as a future base for the liberation of Europe.

Year 9 Democracy and Dictatorship

The Battle of Britain