The Battle of Britain - The Royal Air Forces Finest Hour
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 approximately 300,000 men of the BEF brought to safety by a flotilla of ships making the journey between England to Dunkirk over a number of days. So now Hitler had his sights on England. The white cliffs of Dover were clearly visible as the German High Command peered past the English Channel from Calais.
Having said that, until the skies over England were under German control, Hitler couldn't authorise Operation Sealion - the invasion of UK. With America being reluctant to participate in the war at this stage and her Allies vanquished, Britain would need to face the Germans on their own.
Would Britain hold out until the autumn when the weather would hinder the Germans from crossing the Channel? Britain's destiny lay in the hands of the courageous airmen of the Royal Air Force, "The Few" as Churchill later referred to them. It had not been merely British airmen in the Royal Air Force, the Commonwealth was represented with airmen from several colonial outposts including 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 livid and instructed his bombers to bomb London in place of the Royal Air Force airfields. This was a pivotal turning point as it brought the RAF some much called for respite. The German Air Force was unable to achieve the initiative at any point and in mid September, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sealion. The threat of attack was gone and Churchill spoke of the contribution of Fighter Command in a famous speech "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".
The foremost fighter ace was Sgt Frantisek from the Czech Republic with a total of 17 kills. He piloted a Hawker Hurricane which was the true workhorse of Fighter Command even if almost everyone remembers the iconic Spitfire. Sgt Frantisek died in October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was the first time the Germans had experienced a military defeat in World War II.
Operation Dynamo had seen approximately 300,000 men of the BEF brought to safety by a flotilla of ships making the journey between England to Dunkirk over a number of days. So now Hitler had his sights on England. The white cliffs of Dover were clearly visible as the German High Command peered past the English Channel from Calais.
Having said that, until the skies over England were under German control, Hitler couldn't authorise Operation Sealion - the invasion of UK. With America being reluctant to participate in the war at this stage and her Allies vanquished, Britain would need to face the Germans on their own.
Would Britain hold out until the autumn when the weather would hinder the Germans from crossing the Channel? Britain's destiny lay in the hands of the courageous airmen of the Royal Air Force, "The Few" as Churchill later referred to them. It had not been merely British airmen in the Royal Air Force, the Commonwealth was represented with airmen from several colonial outposts including 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 livid and instructed his bombers to bomb London in place of the Royal Air Force airfields. This was a pivotal turning point as it brought the RAF some much called for respite. The German Air Force was unable to achieve the initiative at any point and in mid September, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sealion. The threat of attack was gone and Churchill spoke of the contribution of Fighter Command in a famous speech "Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few".
The foremost fighter ace was Sgt Frantisek from the Czech Republic with a total of 17 kills. He piloted a Hawker Hurricane which was the true workhorse of Fighter Command even if almost everyone remembers the iconic Spitfire. Sgt Frantisek died in October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was the first time the Germans had experienced a military defeat in World War II.
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Defeating Germany in the Battle of Britain allowed Britain and her Allies would carry on with World War II with Germany.. Unique version for reprint here: The Battle of Britain - The Royal Air Forces Finest Hour.
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