Battle of Britain

All my life I’ve been fascinated by the Battle of Britain. I can attribute this to a very particular childhood episode. By my bed on a chair was a government  Ministry of Information booklet published after the battle as a PR exercise. This was widely distributed and my parents must have received one. After I had started school and was learning to read I was enthralled by the booklet even though reading it was still a puzzle.

The booklet had simple diagrams, photo’s of downed German planes, and a fairly simple text. It had to be simple so as a small child I could make it out. The diagrams were almost cartoon like. I remember one sequence where a lone RAF plane meets a German squadron head on , downs one , dives under and then climbs up behind. This plucky pilot then dives down picking off another couple. I’m pretty sure this never happened certainly not as shown

I also recall there was a certain “we are the best” ethos throughout. The premier German fighter the Me 109 is quoted as having a top speed of 365mph. The Spitfire is given 366mph; a distinction without a difference, but asserting we are the best.

As a boy I was immensely proud of wartime exploits.and my early ambition was to become a pilot in the RAF. I recall even now feeling sad when my poor vision ruled this out. Even so I wanted to work in the aircraft industry  going as far as seeking an apprenticeship with Armstrong-Whitworth at Coventry. I’ve no regrets now that I didn’t take it up but I agonised at the time.

I now consider that after a lifetime of study of the battle I have some expertise. The head of Fighter Command, Hugh Dowding had set up the structure of air defence before the war. Fighters were very much the poor relation in the RAF with its between wars belief that bombing was overwhelmingly important and that “the bomber would always get through”. The No 11 group commander in the south east was Keith Park, a New Zealander who directed a clever battle. It was distressing that he got little support from some fellow commanders one of whom not only didn’t give the support owed but actively tried to influence politicians against him.

Dowding was an austere, non clubbable man who was treated in a shabby fashion as was Park when the battle was over. Incidentally the major 1960’s film Battle of Britain distorts history by taking one of the anti Park faction as adviser.

The course of the battle can be divided into 3 main phases. Firstly the Germans sought to attack shipping in the Channel. They were successful in denying this to commercial traffic although not to the Royal Navy. During this stage they discovered the vulnerability of the Ju 87 Stuka. This slow dive bomber had been used very successfully during the land battle with its screaming sirens striking fear.

The second phase was an attack on the RAF stations. This was partially successful denying some completely to the RAF and damaging others. However poor intelligence caused the Germans to attack some aerodromes which were not part of Fighter Command while ignoring the vulnerable radar stations.

The third phase was in a sense an accident. It happened that RAF bombers seeking another target dropped bombs on Berlin. Hitler, who had promised this would never happen, immediately ordered a switch to attacking London. Although this was difficult for Londoners it relieved the pressure on RAF bases. The Germans figured that the RAF would be bound to defend London which they did so well that the Germans had to switch from day to night bombing. .London is so large that it could absorb the bombing even though damaged.

So how did the victory come. German fighters could only spend 10-15 mins over south east England and German pilots hated returning over the Channel. The RAF had radar direction so that attacks could always be met without standing patrols. The RAF was fighting on home ground. Shot down pilots landed in friendly areas while Germans crews would be imprisoned. Although the Germans had overall numerical superiority; in terms of fighters alone the two forces were rather similar. Damaged British aircraft were repaired in a slick organisation. Importantly the RAF had an edge in quality; the Spitfire was much better than all the German aircraft excepting the Me 109.

In total fewer than 3000 RAF fighter pilots took part in the battle. There is no better summing up than Churchill’s famous phrase “ never before in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.

Britain wasn’t invaded at a time of great vulnerability. The dictatorships suffered a reverse which changed the course of the war. Although many trials remained ultimately democracy was victorious