-
France signed an armistice
On the 17th of June, 1940, France signed an armistice and quit the Second World War leaving Britain to fight alone the German military forces. By this time, German had conquered most of Western Europe in less than two months. -
Speech by Winston Churchil on the war
The Battle of Britain recieved it's name from a speech Winston Churchil delivered to the British House of Commons. He stated "The Battle of France is over, the Battle of Britain is about to begin." In the same week, Winston Churchil recognized de Gaulle as the voice of France. On the 18th, de Gaulle brodcasted on BBC, talking about the French signing the armistice and listed it's conditions. -
Luftwaffe are ordered to draw the RAF into battle
The order is given by Reichsmarchall Hermann Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, to draw the RAF into battle. Attacks are to be focused on coastal convoys, radar stations along the south coast, aircraft factories and RAF airfields. The Germans also begin to occupy the Channel Island, the only British territory they will conquer. The 'conquering' of the Channel killed 44 citizens. -
The start of the Kanalkampf
The German airforce began running flights over convoys in the Channel, occasionaly dive bombing cargo ships.The aim was partly simply to be proactive, partly to give pilots training and partly for reconnaisance of British defences. Protecting the convoys took a huge toll on British ressources and on the pilots, and led to the convoys being re-routed to avoid the Channel. Attacks on convoys continued to August 12. -
Period: to
Phase One : Kanalkampf (The Channel Battles)
The Kanalkampf was the German name given to a series of air battles between the German Luftwaffe and British Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel which marked the beginning of the Battle of Britain in July 1940, during the early phases of the Second World War -
The Luftwaffe started laying mines around Britain
This would continue until early September and Goering's strategy of Kanalkampf continues. However, coastal fog prevents flying for most of the morning. -
Hitler decreed the Battle of Britain
Hitler decreed the Battle of Britain with the command "The German Air Force is to overcome the British Air Force with all means at it's disposal, and as soon as possible." On the same day, Goering called an urgent meeting with his commanders at the Hague to talk about how his Luftflotte failed to draw the British fighters into the air. -
RAF Forces prepare for battle
RAF Fighter Command knew that the Luftwaffe’s efforts were bound to intensify. Across the country aircraft production was being stepped up and every effort was made to keep as many fighter aircraft as possible fully operational. The RAF engineer ground crews worked around the clock to service aircraft engines and maintain them at peak performance. -
Adlerangriff - Eagle Attack
This was a systematic assult on radar stations and forward fighter airfields. Numerous coastal radar installations are bombed but most are repaired and operational by the end of the day. Luftwaffe mounts heavy raids on British airfields in Kent. Portsmouh is also bombed, leaving 100 civilians dead. Aldertag, ('Eagle Day') was delayed until the 13th by bad weather. -
Period: to
Phase Two: Adlerangriff ("Eagle Attack")
Unternehmen Adlerangriff ("Operation Eagle Attack"), was the codename of a German military operation by the Luftwaffe to destroy the British Royal Air Force. -
Adlertag - "Eagle Day"
On the 13th of August, 1940, the Luftwaffe launched it's offensive battle against Britain, with 1485 sorties. The Germans lost 45 planes and the RAF (Royal Air Force) lost 13. The German intention was to probe British defences to see if they could direct equal ressources against widely spread attacks. -
'The Greatest Day' also known as 'Black Thursday'
Fine weather yields the first day of really big raids on British airfields. The RAF meet the German bombers and fighters at noon. Simultaneously, a huge formation of 1100 Luftwaffe arcraft cross the Dover Straits, then splits up heading for various airfield. RAF squadrons scramble, giving rise to dogfights over Kent and the English Channel. Luftwaffe loses 161 aircrafts, while the RAF losses are 34 fighters and only 18 pilots killed. -
Rest Day
Despite perfect flying conditions, there are only a few German reconnaisance flights. The RAF takes the opportunity to rest pilots and make repairs to aircraft, aristrips and radar stations damaged in the recent bombings. The Gernans also established an "operational area" around Britain. In it, any ship was to be sunk without warning. -
'The Hardest Day'
Both sides saw their greatest loses of the Battle of Britain: for that, this day became known as 'The Hardest Day'. The losses of the Germans' Junkers 87 'Stuka' - the main Luftwaffe precision-bombing weapon - were so severe that Goering withdrew them from the battle. Airfields in the South and South-East were bombed, with Kenley particularly badly damaged.
Between August 8 and the 18 the RAF had lost 175 aircrafts and the Luftwaffe lost 332. -
Churchill's famous speech
Churchill made his famous speech to Parliament: "never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few." He also anounces leasing of bases in Newfoundland and the West Indies to USA. He does not mention that this is in exchange for old US navy destroyers to be loaned to Britain to defend agianst the anticipated German invasion. -
Period: to
Bombs were dropped over London
Bombs were dropped over residential areas of London - some maintain mistakenly. Heavy night-time bombing raids continued until 15 September and to a lesser extent for several years. -
Change of tactics
After a lull forced by bad weather, and left with limited numbers of bombers, German tactics changed. Attecks were concentrated on South-East, particularly airfields, and on knocking out Fighter Command. Fighting was now primarily between 11 Group and Luftflotte 2. -
Period: to
Phase Three: Attacks on 11 Group Sector Airfields
-
Fighter Command suffered its heaviest loses
Fighter Command suffered its heaviest losses to date: Debden airfield was hit by 100 bombs. Six out of the seven main bases in South-East England had been havily damaged, in some cases badly enough to severely restrict efficiency. The RAF lost 41 fighters & 9 pilots. The Germans lost 56 fighters and 29 bombers. Overnight, Liverpool is heavily bombed for the fourth night and other cities in the Midlands are also targeted. -
Mass attacks by Germany - The Blitz
The assault was switched to massed attacks on London, major cities, aircraft factories and other strategic targets. Nearly 400 bombers and more than 600 fighters targeted the docks in the East End of London, day and night. The Luftwaffe switched to night bombing to avoid the large numbers of fighters countering the day raids. This was the beginning of the London Blitz. The Luftwaffe lost 53 bombers and 21 Bf109s in all. RAF lost 27 fighters (15 pilots killed). The total citizens killed was 490 -
Period: to
Phase Four: The Assult on London
This was the beginning of the Blitz, which actually continued on after the Battle of Britain ended. -
Victory for RAF in Battle of Britain
A massive attack on London saw inaccurate bombing due to the determined defence put up by RAF fighters - every single aircraft of 11 Group was used. The Germans suffered their highest losses since 18 August, forcing a reconsideration of tactics; this day was subsequently chosen as the Battle of Britain Day. From this point, the Luftwaffe were forced to gradually scale down their attacks. The RAF lost 25 fighters (13 pilots killed) and Germany lost 56 aircrafts. Overnight, London was bombed. -
Hitler postponed Operation Sealion
With the enexpected results of his campaign against Britain, Hitler officially postpones Operation Sea Lion indefinitely. Operation Sealion was the name given by Hitler for the planned invasion of Great Britain in 1940. -
Last major daylight assult
The last great effort of the German bombers: five raids were planned. One heading for London was engaged at 11am; a second was intercepted and 12 fighter bombers shut doen. Three raids totalling 112 fighter-bombers attacked Portsmouth. The RAF lost 7 fighters including 2 destroyed by bombs when taking off from North Weald airfield (2 pilots killed). 15 Fiat BR20M bombers of the Corpo Aereo Itliano bomb Ramsgate in formation wing tip to wing tip, and 5 are hit by anti-aircraft fire. -
The Final Day of the Battle of Britain
Raids petered out as the weather worsened. Bombing of London had continued, and would continue as the Blitz, from September for several years. However, this day is generally regarded as the final day of the Battle of Britain, and October the month in which regular bombing of Britain ceased. The threat of German invasion of Britain is over. The RAF lost 915 fighters while 1733 German planes were shot down.
