The Battle Of Britain

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The Battle Of Britain

• Michelle H, Natasya, Jessica O, Davin

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The Battle Of Britain

• 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

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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 RAFs
  1,660, but in the end Germany lost the battle

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The Battle Of Britain

• The Battle of Britain was a war fought between
  Britains RAF and Germanys 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

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The Battle Of Britain
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Why Germany LostNew Developments
Michelle.H

• 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

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Why Germany LostNew Developments
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

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Why Germany LostLocation Disadvantages
Jessica

• 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

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Why Germany LostLocation Disadvantages
Jessica
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Why Germany LostPoor 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

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Why Germany LostPoor Strategic Decisions

• 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

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Why Germany LostOther Important Facts
Davin

• 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

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Why Germany LostOther Important Facts
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

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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
• Britains success ensured freedom for them and
  allowed them to continue involvement in World War
  II

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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
• Britains 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

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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.