I watched an interesting programme on ITV (Independant television UK) last night about how close Britain came to being Invaded in 1940. Less than 7 days was the FACT not the estimate. All that I can say is thank God for the RAF.

S-day (The German invasion plan was called Operation Sealion.) as it was called by the Germans was the 15th Sept 1940 but because of the efforts of the RAF keeping the Luftwaffe under control over the skys of Southern England, this date was posponed by a week. As we all know now the RAF kept the Germans under control and maintained Air Superiority.
Hitler posponed the Invasion indefinately and only abandoned the plans completely a few weeks before D-Day. 

I've just tried, without success, any links to this programme on the ITV website 

cheers
eno

I watched this myself last night and I have to say I'm not too sure what to make of it. It was entertaining but I'm not sure just how accurate it was. One of the eye whitness accounts came from a novel written by the lady in question. Lots of scenes from the BoB movie including a shot of a MkXIV in 1940 colours that I can't remember seeing in the film, must have been an out take. I bet Fighter Command wished they had all those MkIXs ans XIVs in July 1940
Interesting, yes and I'm sure based on some truth, but I agree with Hagar's thoughts on the German invasion plans.

Didn't Hitler say Britain and France were not Germany's true enemies, that it was the Soviets that truly threatened Germany?

Interesting read Hagar, thanks for the links. Didn't know that bit about Churchill's near unemployment.

Would it be safe to say then, that had the Luftwaffe continued it's assault on the RAF, Germany might've very well never had to have dealt with a Western front?  In the forseeable future, at least.

Without one of the most important navigation error in history it would have turned out your way,Doug.
Stupid bomber pilots...

I think there is a fair bit on truth in that story. I recall reading somewhere that the crew of the Bomber were court marshalled as a result of their blunder.

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It is fascinating but can only ever be speculation. Most people seem to forget that nothing is as clearcut as it looks & the upredictable often spoils the best laid plans.

Theorists seem to make the mistake of looking at things from a modern day viewpoint. It might be difficult for the younger generations to imagine but almost anything you can think of was different 60 years ago. This includes morals, loyalty, beliefs & the way people thought & lived their lives. Ordinary people generally accepted what they were told without question if they thought it helped the war effort. Many who were there at the time still believe what they were told which is the reason these myths survive. This, & fading memories, is what makes unearthing the truth much more difficult.

In 1940s Britain it was believed by even the most senior politicians that invasion was imminent. All the road signs & nameboards on railway stations had been removed by government order. It was impossible to obtain a road map & illegal to own one. Strangers were treated with suspicion which made things very difficult for genuine travellers, even servicemen & women posted to a new unit. Spies, or fifth columnists as they were then called, were hiding behind every tree so you would be careful what you discussed even with close friends & family. Many people working on top secret projects took those secrets to the grave when they died many decades later. Everyone was on the lookout for German parachutists. Propaganda, combined with government censorship, was an even more powerful tool than it is today. It was effective as there were no TV reporters behind enemy lines reporting their every move round the clock as there are now. Propaganda was used by both sides on their own people as well as the enemy but Goebbels had made it into an art form & was in a class of his own.

I'm now used to everything I once believed in being disproved when new facts come to light. This no longer upsets me but I take it all with a pinch of salt these days. Maybe this is what made me the old cynic I am.

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Very true.  I know I can't possibly imagine what it was like to live back then, and I make no claim to have an authoritave opinion any any such matters, but usually when I diverge from "agreed" history, I do so mainly for my own amusement.  Contrary to my commonly bemused expression, I do actually find just sitting back and letting the mind imagine quite entertaining.  And with my limited knowledge of German, and can produce some fairly convincing "movies" in my mind.  If my imagination produces something remotely possible, I'm quite satisfied with it, since as you stated, reality rarely goes to plan.

And although it's impossible to understand, that's what keeps me coming back to World War II: It's one thing to know, it's another to understand.

Don't get me wrong Hagar, I'm not trying to insinuate anything, I'm just trying to say I don't claim to understand war, or for that matter, understand what went through the minds of the air and ground warriors on either side, although that's what I always strive to do.

You needn't tell me about bias, I take my federally funded school education with a grain of salt.  I saw the flaws in it's World War II curriculum, and corrected my teacher numerous times.  The success of Kamikazes for example. I can only imagine what these privately funded (as I imagine they are) "documentaries" tell people.

I'm not bound to get the book as my acute interest in the Pacific air war and cash won't permit, but now I have grown more interested in daily life during the Blitz on Britania, so I shall do some light research... Convesely, it seems all I've researched lately is the Luftwaffe, specifically the Ju 87, rather than the IJN or the USAAF.  Go figure.

The common belief that i have heard is that there was no real serious threat to England.. If u look at its geographical position it would just be murder to send ships across the channel with the RAF still around..But this makes me ask. Why did Germany decide to call a halt to stop the bombing of England.. I can safely say in heinsite that the Brits were running terribly low on aircraft. But surely the pilots should have noticed a lack of fighters up there? So why was the bombing stopped?

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As I mentioned earlier, with the benefit of hindsight I have come to believe that Hitler expected Britain to sue for peace. A non-aggression pact with Britain would effectively remove opposition from the whole British Empire & leave him free to attack Soviet Russia which had always been his main objective. I could be wrong but it's quite possible that Operation Seelowe was an elaborate bluff to convince the doubters. The German generals had no previous experience of waterborne invasion & didn't fully appreciate the difficulties involved. Admiral Raeder had insisted on aerial superiority before he would commit the Navy & Goering had promised the Luftwaffe could take care of it. This explains the significance of the Battle of Britain. Although the Royal Navy was the most powerful in the world the British Army was in tatters with most of its equipment left behind on the beaches of Dunkirk. Once RAF Fighter Command was taken out of the picture Britain would be virtually defenceless. Whether Operation Seelowe was practical or not, there is no doubt that everyone in Britain at the time, including the government, believed that invasion was imminent. It was generally believed that this invasion would come from the air, not by sea.

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By coincidence the RAF "Big Wing" tactics were first tried on September 7th 1940, the same day as the first daylight raid on London. This brought the fighters of 12 Group based north of the River Thames into the picture. The Luftwaffe pilots were shocked to find more fighters than ever & suffered severe losses. The bombing did not stop but tactics were changed from daylight raids on airfields & RADAR stations to night bombing of cities - the start of the "London Blitz". Legend has it that this was in retaliation for a token raid on Berlin. It's a nice story but I suspect it was for the same reasons that RAF Bomber Command went over to night bombing. The losses suffered by the Luftwaffe in daylight operations being unsustainable.
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/MOLsite/exhibits/blitz/bigstory.html
It's often been suggested that if the Luftwaffe had continued attacking airfields instead of directing its attention to London & other cities the story might well have been different.
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Definately not. Even after Britain resisted America didn't get involved because they were so sure that gallant England was doomed to losing. It took Pearl Harbour and a declaration of war by Hitler to get the US involved.