New Jordans Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary: The Build-Up

But as the RAF website recalled, Dowding also noted that, as far as he was concerned, the Battle of Britain actually began in September 1939 with the outbreak of war between Britain and Germany. World War Two - The Battle of Britain. Read on: Battle Of Britain To Afghanistan - Warplanes at Cosford Air Show.

Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary: Combat

R.J. Mitchell, Designer of the Spitfire. The Battle of Britain, in the words of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the House of Commons on 18 June 1940: "The battle of France is over. I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin." Within a few weeks, Germany had assembled a large armada of vessels, including 2,000 barges in German, Belgian, and French harbors. That was the date on which the first large-scale Luftwaffe formation flew over England. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who had been head of the RAF Fighter Command since 1937, wrote in a despatch that the Battle of Britain lasted from 10 July to 31 October 1940.

SOURCES: German attacks on Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, and France in May 1940 were followed only weeks afterwards by the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. By 18 June 1940, all British forces had withdrawn from France. 10 July 1940 marks the generally accepted date, 70 years ago, of the start of the Battle of Britain - the air war fought between Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) and its German counterpart, the Luftwaffe. Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary: Combat. Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary: Conclusions. In the weeks that followed, the Luftwaffe replaced their lost aircraft and took over airfields in the countries Germany had captured. Britain, meanwhile, put as many new fighters and trained pilots into service as possible, in preparation for the attack everyone regarded as inevitable.

However, the German top brass were concerned about the damage that the RAF could inflict on the German army during the invasion. They wanted the assault on southern England postponed until British air power had been destroyed, and persuaded Hitler to agree to this request. By the start of July 1940, the RAF had built up its strength to 640 fighter aircraft. But the Luftwaffe had around 2,600 bombers and fighters. "The Second World War: The Blitz" - introductory essay by Richard Overy - The Guardian/The Observer supplements, 2009.

Hitler Orders Invasion Plan. During the retreat from France, the RAF succeeded in keeping the majority of German bombers and fighters away, and shot down 150 aircraft. "However, they lost 100 precious fighters and 80 irreplaceable pilots," the RAF website noted. After the defeat of France, Adolf Hitler ordered his generals to plan for the invasion of Britain. The operation, codenamed Sealion, envisaged 160,000 German soldiers landing along a 40-mile stretch of the coast of south-east England.

Retreat from Dunkirk SEE ALSO: From that moment on, Dowding felt that Britain was in extreme peril and that the RAF Fighter Command faced a race against time to be ready to face a future Luftwaffe onslaught.