The Battle Of Britain

Michelle H, Natasya,

Jessica O, Davin

What: An aviation war fought

between Brtain and Germany

When: July 10 – September

15, 1940

Effects: The Battle of Britain

was an unnecessary war in

which the Luftwaffe attacked

Brtain for pointless reasons

The Battle Of Britain

The Battle Of Britain

Germans needed to control English Channel

in order to invade Britain

They had planned on sending in barges full

of soldiers through English Channel

To take over channel, had to dominate in air

So the Luftwaffe - German air force - was

sent to fight to Royal Air Force (RAF)

Germany had the advantage of numbers

Luftwaffe had 4,000 planes versus the

RAF’s 1,660, but in the end Germany lost

the battle

The Battle Of Britain

The Battle of Britain was a war fought between

Britain’s RAF and Germany’s Luftwaffe

First battle completely fought in the air

Began August 10, 1940, ended October 31, 1940

Germany came very close to defeating Britain, but in

the end the Luftwaffe lost the battle

The Battle Of Britain

Why Germany Lost

New Developments

RADAR

Device used by Britain to warn

them of approaching enemy

planes

Radar located Luftwaffe

planes so that RAF did not

have to search for them

Eliminated element of surprize

that Luflwaffe had conted on

Michelle.H

Hurricane Plane

Heavy duty plane, could

stay in air even when hit

several times

Effective guns, very versitile

Spitfire Plane

More quick and agile than

Hurricane

When hit, went down easily

Why Germany Lost

New Developments Michelle.

H

Why Germany Lost

Location Disadvantages

Luftwaffe traveled far to get to Britain, had to go back to rearm and refuel

Pilots did not get much air time over Britain before they had to head back to Germany

There were many RAF fighter bases spread around Britain, so RAF planes could quickly land, rearm, and refuel

German fighters could not fly as far as bombers

So bombers went unprotected and were very vulnerable to attack

Jessic

a

Why Germany Lost

Location Disadvantages Jessic

a

Why Germany Lost

Poor Strategic Decisions

used Planes at war

changed from airfield to cities

ignored the radar and defese of allies

Bomb Raids

Unexpected Attacks

Caused too many casualties

Caused too much destruction

Loss of planes

Hermann Goering – Leader of Luftwaffe

Corrupt

Stop doin g his job

Didn't listen to field commanders

Involve himself in long& pointless discussions

on minor matters

Why Germany Lost

Poor Strategic

Decisions

Why Germany Lost

Other Important Facts

The planned invasion of Britain was

codenamed “Operation Sealion” by Germany

For awhile the weather was bad

Once the skies cleared on August 15, most of

the German dive-bombers had been put out of

action

So it became much harder for Luftwaffe to

destroy British radars

Davin

Propaganda was used by both sides

Germany claimed to have shot down 3,058

RAF planes, when they really only destroyed

650

Britain claimed to have shot down 2,698

Luftwaffe planes, when they really only

destroyed 1,100

Why Germany Lost

Other Important Facts Davin

Conclusion

• The Battle of Britain was an war of aviation

between the British RAF Fighter Command

and the German Luftwaffe

• Although Britain came close to loosing, they

prevailed in the end

• Britain’s success ensured freedom for them

and allowed them to continue involvement in

World War II

Effects on War

– The Battle of Britain was the first predominately air-

based battle in WWII

– German plans to quickly and completely invade

Britain were foiled when they were defeated

– Britain’s victory ensured they would remain a free

nation and stay involved in the war

– Eventually Britain was able to play a major role in

the success of the Allied Powers

Discussion Question

– How could Herman Goering have planned attacks

better in order to ensure defeat over Britain?

– Had the weather been more clear, how might the

outcome of the battle have differed from the actual

results?

– Explain why Britain was actually very fortunate to

win triumph over Germany in the Battle of Britain.