F e a t u r e s
about one in six of those who fought. Bomber and Coastal Commands had also taken heavy losses. Their attacks on German airfields, invasion barges, supply dumps and, later, cities had severely hampered preparations for Operation Sealion.
By 21 September some 214 barges had been sunk or damaged amounting to nearly 10% of the total number gathered for the invasion, although at a punishing cost. On several occasions attacking formations suffered 100% casualties, and between them, Bomber and Coastal Commands would lose nearly 1,000 aircrew.
Luftwaffe. Their intelligence was reporting that Fighter Command had only 150-300 aircraft left, and they were hoping that an attack on the capital would draw out the last few fighters to be destroyed. This was just one of many intelligence blunders that the Luftwaffe would make during the Battle. In fact, although 11 Group was on the edge of exhaustion, the RAF as a whole had more than a thousand fighters available across the country.
On 7 September, 1940, the third phase of the Battle opened as the Luftwaffe began what would become a nine-month long campaign against London. The mass daylight raids that afternoon caused widespread damage, and continued through the night. On the other hand, they also took the pressure off Fighter Command, and allowed them vital time to rebuild their strength.
By 15 September, Hitler’s deadline for the invasion preparations to be finished, Fighter Command had been able to rotate many of the units in the South-East, and had recovered its balance and nerve. In fact, they were now stronger than ever before. 15 September would see a series of heavy Luftwaffe raids across southern England and London throughout the day, and each was met with renewed ferocity by Fighter Command.
The experience of such a response from defence forces which, they had been told, had been almost completely destroyed, shattered German morale and the 15 September became a turning point. The Luftwaffe now realised that it had miscalculated, and it became increasingly clear that they could not win the air superiority that they needed. Two days later, Hitler suspended Operation Sealion indefinitely.
www.raf-ff.org.uk Autumn 2010 11
The Battle still continued. British towns and cities were attacked day and night, and increasingly German fighter-bombers were sent on hit and run raids across the Channel. On 30 September, the Luftwaffe launched their last major daylight raid, and from 1 October the fourth phase of the Battle began: the Germans resorted to fighter bomber attacks by day and a ferocious Blitz on British cities by its bomber forces at night. The night area bombing of London and other towns and cities by the Luftwaffe would continue until May 1941.
Both sides took heavy casualties during the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe lost nearly 1,900 aircraft and more than 2,500 aircrew killed. Fighter Command had lost 544 pilots,
By 31 October the British were confident that there would be no invasion in 1940. The Blitz, however, continued unabated and would eventually result in nearly 40,000 civilian deaths. Nevertheless the battle for control of the air over Britain had been decisively won by the RAF.
Victory in the Battle of Britain not only saved the United Kingdom from invasion, but also in the long-term saved Europe too. For the first time, Nazi Germany had been unable to impose its will on the rest of Europe through threat or military might, and its vaunted Luftwaffe had tasted defeat in battle. Britain would remain as a bastion of freedom and hope off the coast of occupied Europe.
When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Britain was able to send the armaments and supplies that would prove vital as Russia teetered on the edge of defeat for the
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