Dates: 10 July – 31 October 1940

Luftwaffe Total Strength: 4,074 available aircraft including 1,107 single-seat fighters, 357 two-seat fighters, 1,380 medium bombers, 428 dive-bombers, 569 reconnaissance and 233 coastal aircraft. The Luftwaffe air strength given is from the Quartermaster General 6th Battalion numbers for 29 June 1940.

Luftwaffe Total Losses: 1,918 aircraft | 2,662 airmen

RAF Total Strength: 1,963 available aircraft including 754 single-seat fighters, 149 two-seat fighters, 560 bombers and 500 coastal aircraft. The RAF fighter strength given is for 0900 1 July 1940, while bomber strength is for 11 July 1940.

RAF Total Losses: 1,012 aircraft | 537 airmen

Note: The aircrew and aircraft losses have come from the comprehensive account in After the Battle Then and Now. RAF numbers are for Fighter Command. Luftwaffe numbers cover both fighters, bombers and other aircraft.

Photo Description: A group of German officers, including Hermann Göring, look across the English Channel at the White Cliffs of Dover, in preparation for Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain in 1940. One of the officers is looking through binoculars at the English coastline.

“What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”
Winston Churchill, 18 June 1940

By the close of June in 1940, the dark specter of Nazi occupation loomed large over most of Western Europe. Within a mere six weeks, the relentless might of the German Wehrmacht had surged through the Low Countries and France, casting the British Expeditionary Force into a harrowing retreat from the shores of Dunkirk. Britain, standing alone, teetered on the precipice of invasion. Adolf Hitler, the German leader, harbored the belief that this isolated island nation would swiftly capitulate to his designs. However, a resolute figure emerged on the British political stage, the indomitable Winston Churchill, newly appointed as Prime Minister. He was unwavering in his resolve to continue the fight, and with his potent oratory, he ignited the spirit of defiance among the British populace.

In response to Churchill’s unyielding stance, Hitler issued Directive No. 16, setting in motion the ominous “Operation Sea Lion” (Unternehmen Seelöwe) – a grand scheme for the full-scale invasion of Britain. At the heart of this audacious plan lay a critical prerequisite: the obliteration of the Royal Air Force (RAF) to ensure absolute Luftwaffe air superiority over the English Channel and the southern coast of England. To orchestrate this audacious endeavor, Hitler turned to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. Buoyed by the earlier triumphs in Poland and France, Göring was convinced that Britain could be brought to her knees solely through the power of the air. He harbored unwavering confidence that British fighter defenses would crumble in a matter of days.

On the 1st of July, the stage was set for a climactic showdown in the skies. Three formidable Luftflotten, bristling with 2,186 operational aircraft – comprising 898 bombers, 708 single-engined fighters, and 202 twin-engined fighters – made their way from the Norwegian fjords to the northern shores of France, the Cherbourg peninsula, poised for battle.

The arduous task of defending Britain against this imminent air assault fell squarely upon the shoulders of the airmen of RAF Fighter Command, led by the stalwart Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. On the eve of this pivotal Battle, Fighter Command stood with a modest arsenal of 640 serviceable fighter aircraft, organized into four defensive groups: 11 Group, poised to bear the brunt of the German onslaught, safeguarding the southeast of England and London; 12 Group, vigilantly defending the Midlands and East Anglia; 13 Group, standing sentinel over northern England and Scotland; and 10 Group, resolute in its protection of the southwest of England and the valleys of Wales. Each group was further subdivided into sectors, each comprising a main fighter airfield equipped with an operations room, the nerve center controlling all the fighters within the sector. This intricate defense network, known as the Dowding System, was anchored by a chain of radar stations dotting the British coastline, bearing the codename “Chain Home.” These sentinel outposts provided vital early warnings of German incursions across the English Channel and the North Sea, affording the RAF precious moments to scramble and intercept incoming enemy aircraft.

As July unfolded, the Luftwaffe initiated a series of relentless assaults on British coastal convoys, maritime trade, and port installations. This initial phase, dubbed the “Channel Battles” or Kanalkampf, persisted for a month, serving a dual purpose – to sever British overseas supply lines and lure RAF fighters into combat, thus weakening the air defense before the main offensive. The proximity of German airfields to the coast often deprived Fighter Command of the crucial element of surprise. Consequently, the RAF found itself compelled to conduct standing patrols, exerting tremendous strain upon both pilots and aircraft. As the tally of sunken ships mounted, the British Admiralty was eventually forced to cancel all further convoys traversing the perilous Channel.

On the 1st of August, Hitler issued Directive No. 17, an ominous decree commanding the Luftwaffe to marshal its full might to annihilate the RAF with utmost haste. Thus, “Operation Eagle Attack” or Unternehmen Adlerangriff was born, slated to commence on “Eagle Day” or Adlertag, initially scheduled for the 10th of August but beset by adverse weather, leading to its postponement. On the 12th of August, the Luftwaffe launched preliminary raids targeting radar stations and coastal airfields utilized as forward landing points by RAF fighters. The outcomes were mixed, with only one radar station on the Isle of Wight briefly incapacitated. Portsmouth bore the brunt of heavy bombardment, with a grim toll of ninety-six lives lost. The pivotal order to unleash Adlertag finally came in the afternoon of the 13th of August. The Luftwaffe unleashed a fearsome barrage, deploying 1,485 sorties against RAF airfields, ports, and aircraft factories, sowing widespread destruction. However, many of the targets were misidentified by German intelligence, and British fighter defenses remained largely unscathed. In total, fifteen RAF fighters were lost, while the Luftwaffe counted a staggering thirty-nine aircraft casualties. The 15th of August witnessed the Luftwaffe’s audacious attempt to overwhelm Fighter Command, simultaneously targeting regions in the north and south of England, deploying all three Luftflotten for the first time. To the British, this day would become known as the “Greatest Day,” as RAF fighters valiantly downed seventy-six German aircraft, at the cost of thirty-five of their own. This heroic feat was followed by the “Hardest Day” on the 18th of August when both sides suffered combined losses greater than any other point in the Battle.

Between the 12th and 18th of August, the Luftwaffe persisted in targeting radar stations, but their success was limited. The towering radar towers proved remarkably resilient, constructed with open steel girders that defied destruction. Damaged stations were promptly restored, often within mere hours. Göring eventually ordered an end to the raids, granting Fighter Command a vital respite and maintaining a crucial British advantage.

The zenith of pressure upon Fighter Command came between the 24th of August and the 6th of September, as the Luftwaffe directed its ferocity toward the airfields and pivotal Sector Stations of 11 Group during this “critical phase.” In the face of mounting losses, Fighter Command grappled to keep airfields operational. Dowding, confronted with a shortage of trained pilots, resorted to a stabilization scheme, ensuring front-line squadrons remained at full strength. Despite the severe strain, RAF fighters continued to extract a heavy toll from the Luftwaffe, a relentless onslaught that had a profound impact on German morale.

Then, on the night of the 24th and 25th of August, the Battle took an unforeseen twist as German bombers, in a bizarre twist of fate, inadvertently unleashed their payloads upon central London. In response, Churchill issued a resolute order to RAF Bomber Command, summoning a retaliatory strike on Berlin the following night. While the damage inflicted on the German capital was relatively minor, the raid irked Hitler immensely and humiliated Göring, who had earlier boasted that Berlin was impervious to enemy bombs. On the 5th of September, Hitler issued a new command, directing the Luftwaffe to shift its focus towards London and other major British cities. German intelligence falsely believed that Fighter Command was teetering on the brink of exhaustion, anticipating that an attack on the capital would draw the last remnants of RAF fighters into a decisive, cataclysmic battle. Unbeknownst to the Germans, British fighter production, diligently overseen by Lord Beaverbrook, surged to match aircraft losses. The dearth of trained pilots was similarly alleviated through transfers from other service branches and the activation of squadrons from Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Canada. On the 7th of September, nearly four hundred German bombers descended upon the docks of London’s East End, inflicting a harrowing toll of 430 civilian lives lost and 1,600 injuries. This marked the onset of what would become known as the Blitz – a relentless bombardment endured over fifty-seven consecutive nights. While the initial attacks caught the British off-guard, this shift in strategy unexpectedly offered Fighter Command a much-needed respite, permitting swift repairs to battered airfields.

On the 15th of September, the Luftwaffe launched its most formidable and concentrated assault on London, aspiring to provoke the RAF into a final, climactic battle for supremacy. Yet, the German onslaught was relentlessly thwarted by the unwavering determination of RAF fighters. In the ensuing aerial melee, sixty-one German aircraft met their demise, at a cost of thirty-one British fighters. The indomitable spirit of Fighter Command was unmistakable, leaving German aviators disheartened and their air superiority aspirations in tatters. Two days later, Hitler reluctantly postponed invasion preparations indefinitely. Although daylight aerial skirmishes would persist into October, the Luftwaffe shifted its primary effort to nocturnal assaults, seeking to minimize further losses.

The failure of the Luftwaffe to annihilate the RAF stands as an enduring testament to the resilience of Britain and is widely regarded as Germany’s first significant setback in the Second World War. This defensive triumph allowed Britain to rebuild its military might, ultimately serving as the launching pad for the momentous Normandy landings in June of 1944 – a campaign that heralded the liberation of Western Europe. Winston Churchill, the indomitable voice of Britain, immortalized the heroic RAF airmen with his iconic words: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.“