Battle of Britain 85

In response to Britain's refusal to make peace, Hitler ordered the German High Command to prepare Operation Sea Lion, an amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain.  Most German commanders did not think this could work, for the Royal Navy vastly outnumbered the German Kreigsmarine navy, and would devastate any attempted invasion fleet.  However, it was believed that if the German Luftwaffe air force could destroy the Royal Air Force then Britain would be forced to surrender - or be bombed into a bloody submission.

The Germans entered the battle with some confidence: the Luftwaffe was well equipped with well-designed and battle-tested planes, its pilots were skilled veterans, and morale was high.  Comparatively the RAF seemed weak, having sustained severe losses in the Battle for France, and was massively outnumbered.

And so in the summer of 1940 the first German planes appeared in the skies over southern England, on the hunt for RAF bases and aircraft.  What followed is considered one of the pivotal chapters of the Second World War - the Battle of Britain.

The Battle of Britain was the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces.  The Luftwaffe began the fight with an advantage in men and material, though undermined by an undecisive and malcoordinated  strategy, that frequently changed. 

Against them, the outnumbered Royal Air Force did enter the fight with a secret weapon: the British radar and communication network - named the "Dowding System" after it's architect Air Marshall Sir Hugh "Stuffy" Dowding - that allowed the RAF to identify and intercept the vast majority of German sorties.

During the battle, RAF pilots took to the skies in the Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, aircraft which became iconic in British military folklore.  The men who flew them were often very young, and usually had very little training - particularly compared to their German opponents - but they became the heroes who defended Britain in its "darkest hour".

Pilots proved to be the RAF's scarcest resource.  Over 300 new fighters were produced by British factories every week, but only 200 new pilots could be trained.  Inexperienced pilots suffered high casualty rates, further compounding the problem.  Britain was, however, assisted by allies, and, in particular, pilots from the recently defeated Czech and Polish air forces.  Czech and Polish pilots proved exceptional in the fight, driven by a desire to take revenge on the Germans who had conquered their homelands, and more than half of the RAF's top Aces (pilots who had scored five or more aerial 'kills') came from these two countries.

It is estimated that over five hundred British and allied pilots lost their lives in the Battle of Britain, with a loss of a thousand aircraft.  However, thanks to their skill and resolve, the Dowding System and the fantastic support of the British ground crews, they brought down over 2,500 Luftwaffe bombers and fighters. 

By the end of October 1940, the German High Command was forced to acknowledge that their plan to defeat the RAF had failed.  The Luftwaffe could not replace its pilots or planes fast enough for continued sustained operations. The RAF emerged stronger, with improved tactics and a battle-hardened Fighter Command - whilst Britain's Bomber Command had begun launching more frequent and larger attacks on German industry throughout the summer and autumn.  

The Battle of Britain had been won - and so the Luftwaffe began to redirect its resources solely into attacks on British industry - what became known as the Blitz.

The Battle of Britain could not have been won without the tireless efforts of the RAF ground crew and support personnel who kept the planes armed, fuelled and maintained.  Their contribution is often overlooked and unsung, yet it was their continued diligence and professional skill that ensured the Spitfires and Hurricanes lifted off every day to fight off the Luftwaffe attacks.  With the RAF bases under direct attack more than 300 ground personnel were killed during the battle.

In addition to the ground crew working on the air bases, there was the network of staff who ran the Dowding System - the radar crews, the communication teams, and the analysts who put the information together and ensured that the RAF's fighter planes could effectively intercept the enemy bombers. 

And then there was the contribution from beyond the RAF, such as the anti-aircraft gun crews, many of whom were from the Army, including the Auxiliary Territorial Service - the corps of women volunteers - and the Royal Observer Corps, a network of civilian volunteers who fed vital sight and sound observations into the defence network.

The Battle of Britain was not just a military engagement - it became a national experience.  Almost every day civilians in the south of England could look up in the skies and see the waves of invading Luftwaffe bombers, and the brave interceptions by Britain's outnumbered fighters. 

The battle was the first time since the 18th century that Britain itself had been attacked - that war had come to the British population.  Initially civilian casualties were very light as the Luftwaffe focused on RAF bases, but as the strategy shifted - and the Battle of Britain became the Blitz - more and more houses were destroyed, and family members killed.  By the war's end an estimated 40,000 British civilians had died from German bombing attacks.

But the Battle of Britain was also seen as a turning point.  It was the first time that Adolf Hitler's ambitions had been thwarted, the first time that the German military had failed to achieve its objectives.  After the humiliating defeats in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, the Battle of Britain gave the British a victory, and restored national pride and morale.  Britain had weathered the storm, and was now ready to fight back - in Africa and the Mediterranean, and, eventually, back into continental Europe.

85 years on we remember the hard work, the bravery, and the sacrifices made by the men and women who participated in the Battle of Britain. Their victory was the first great victory over the Nazi regime, and showed the world that Britain was willing to fight on, even as the rest of Europe had fallen.

In Parliament on August 20, 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke the iconic line that so perfectly described the contribution made by those who fought the Battle of Britain: 

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” 

- Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, 1940

At SSAFA we would also like to thank the dedicated service of those in uniform today - the men and women of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Army, Regular and Reserves - who, like those in 1940, stand ready to defend Britain, our democracy and our shared values.