Operation Sea Lion
- Was the German codename for the Invasion of Britain
- To consist of a channel crossing by small boats guarded by Luftwaffe (airforce)
- In reality this was not feasible as there were not enough craft (boats)
- Reliant on the Luftwaffe to smash Britain’s air force
- Due to the failure of the Germans to completely destroy the British at Dunkirk
The Luftwaffe
- A highly advanced air force with combat experience in the Spanish Civil War (1936-9)
- Excellent modern fighter air craft like the Me 109
- Large number of aircraft in its inventory but many were slow bombers without radar
The RAF
- Benefited from their development of the radar network
- Modern fighters like the Spitfire and the more numerous Hurricane
- Well organised defensive plan for air attack
- Reliance on other nationalities for pilot recruitment and training
- Not enough fighters and pilots
The RAF Commanders
- Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding
- Air Vice Marshall Keith Park
- Air Vice Marshall Leigh Mallory
The Luftwaffe Commanders
- Reichsmarshcall Herman Goering
- Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring
- Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperll
RAF Fighter Control System
- For the time this was a very sophisticated integrated air defense system
- Utilising mordern technology in the form of radar
- Defensive sections with their own HQ and one central HQ co-ordinating the overall defense
Why the Germans Lost the Battle of Britain
- The Germans fought too far away from their bases so that refuelling and rearming were impossible. The German fighters had a very limited time they could spend over Britain
- British fighters could land, refuel and rearm quickly
- The change of targets was crucial; it is now believed that Fighter Command was only 24 hours away from defeat when the targets were changed from the airfields to London and Coventry
- The Hurricane and the Spitfire were exceptional planes – capable of taking on the Luftwaffe
Statistics
- 2 353 British pilots served
- 574 overseas pilots served for Britain
- 544 British pilots were killed
- 27 450 Civilians were killed
- 3 000 Luftwaffe personnel were killed
- 1 547 RAF planes were lost (1 023 fighters, 524 bombers)
- 1 887 Luftwaffe planes were lost (873 fighters, 1 014 bombers)
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