10 Interesting Facts about the Battle of Britain

One of these following facts about the Battle of Britain should probably give you much information about the battle. The Battle of Britain is the name given to the Second World War air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. For further information, to get you to know more about this battle, here are some facts about the Battle of Britain you might like.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 1: World War II

The Battle of Britain was a series of conflicts between Germany and Britain in World War 2. Having defeated France, Germany wanted to invade Britain, but in order to do this, Germany had to destroy Britain’s RAF (Royal Air Force). They attempted to do this with bombing raids.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 2: Name

The name ‘Battle of Britain’ is taken from a Winston Churchill speech in which he said that “…the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin.”

Facts about the Battle of Britain 3: First Raid

The first German bombing raids took place on 10th July 1940. At first the Luftwaffe (the German Air Force) bombed ships in the English Channel and coastal defences. They then concentrated on destroying the RAF, before turning their attention to the destruction of London

Facts about the Battle of Britain 4: Key Event

A key event in the Battle of Britain (known as Battle of Britain Day) took place on 15th September 1940. On this day, Germany launched a massive assault on London and filled the skies with a large number of bombers and fighter planes. The RAF responded, and British planes successfully scattered the bombers and defended London. Germany continued to bomb Britian after 15th September, but the RAF had clearly demonstrated that it wasn’t close to being defeated.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 5: Fighter Planes

The main RAF fighter planes were the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. The German Luftwaffe fighters were the Messerschmitt Bf110 and Messerschmitt Bf109. The Luftwaffe had more planes than the RAF and their pilots were more experienced. The RAF planes were high performance and they had the advantage of radar, used to detect enemy raids.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 6: Lost

Although exact figures are hard to come by, it is thought that about 1000 RAF planes were shot down in the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe lost many more planes than this, perhaps as many as 1800. The casualties of the battle was as equal as in the previous battles, especially which was related to British. Check out for facts about the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 7: Intelligence

The Luftwaffe was ill-served by its lack of military intelligence about the British defences.The German intelligence services were fractured and plagued by rivalries; their performance was “amateurish”^. By 1940, there were few German agents operating in Great Britain and a handful of bungled attempts to insert spies into the country were foiled.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 8: Navigational Aids

While the British were using radar for air defence more effectively than the Germans realised, the Luftwaffe attempted to press its own offensive with advanced radio navigation systems of which the British were initially not aware. This system was used at night and for raids where precision was required. It was rarely used during the Battle of Britain.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 9: Aftermath

The Battle of Britain marked the first defeat of Hitler’s military forces, with air superiority seen as the key to victory.Pre-war theories led to exaggerated fears of strategic bombing, and British public opinion was invigorated by having come through the ordeal.

Facts about the Battle of Britain 10: Film

The story of the battle was documented in, amongst many others, the 1969 film Battle of Britain, which drew many respected British actors to act key figures of the battle, including Sir Laurence Olivier as Hugh Dowding and Trevor Howard as Keith Park.

Hope you would find those Battle of Britain facts really interesting, useful and helpful for your additional reading.