The Battle of Britain was (officially) over. Two days later it was learned that "Operation Seelowe" had been postponed indefinately, and thankfully as it turned out, for good.

The RAF lost 544 airmen and somewhere around 1000 aircraft to all causes.

Luftwaffe losses totalled between 1300 and 1700 aircraft (hard to quantify as you can't exactly tell if an aircraft was lost on its return home or lived to fight another day), of which well over half were bombers. Sadly, it appears very hard to put a number on the casualties suffered by the Luftwaffe airmen.

They were all very brave men, regardless of nationality, and on this 65th anniversary, we salute you all.

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This surprises me. I would think the Luftwaffe data would be extremely accurate. The Germans have a reputation for being thorough.

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The most accurate figures I can come up with...

1719 Killed

1914 Missing (presumably this would include those fortunate enough to become PoWs)

530 Wounded

Agreed Charlie, well marked as a significant date.

We all look to these machines, Spits, Hurricanes, 109's, FW190's etc., with admiration and desire.

What's difficult to remember is that they were born of terrible times when many similar young men were forced to kill or be killed.

I've read 3 diary accounts recently.

Fighter Pilot by Paul Richey talks of the pre WWII RAF and the BEF in France during the Phoney War right up to Dunkirk.

First Light by Geoffrey Wellum covers the BoB days up to the first attacks on occupied France and D-Day.

The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann goes right up to Victory in Europe and covers the dark days and attrition of ground attacks supporting the allied troops.

All of them however demonstrate feelings of empathy and respect for their opponents in the skies, fellow fliers from the wrong side of arbitrary lines on a map.

Rest easy lads.

If anyone can suggest other good accounts I'd appreciate it, particularly ones from German pilots.

Cheers

Steve

There are a few good books out there, try this website for some info on the German aces http://www.acepilots.com/german/ger_aces.html

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Somewhere around that. I suspect the RAF figure was somewhere around 850-900. With bomber losses of around 1000, the Luftwaffe fighter loss figure sounds reasonable too.

Mhmm,

And im on a Battle of Britain parade with cadets on Sunday..  

During this time, the English public became involved in a way never before seen in warfare: live radio reports form the front.  BBC broadcasters would broadcast live or recorded blow-by-blow reports of the fighting in the Channel, and the public was fascinated by the progress.  This helped to unite the populace in a way the Nazis never imagined.

The main phase of the Battle of Britain began on August 13.  Adlertag (Eagle’s Day) marked a move from the Channel attacks to the RAF network of airfields and radar stations.  The Battle of Britain marked the first use of radar on a widespread scale in warfare.  It allowed RAF fighter Command’s three main southern air groups to wait on the ground for incoming attacks, and then leap into the fray when the bombers were sighted on radar.

The Germans, who had not developed radar to the same level as the British, could not understand why their losses were mounting over the Channel until their intelligence identified the radar network installations.

But the Germans were checked by confusion over their primary targets.  After Adlertag, which caused the Germans 46 aircraft but cost the RAF 14 fighters in the air and on the ground, the Germans thought the radar stations were not worth the effort.  Perhaps because the technology was new, the dangerously exposed stations were thought to be indestructible.  The Germans abandoned the attack on the radar stations after only three days, allowing the stations to contribute valuable information throughout the battle.  The attacks on the airfields continued through August 24, and the RAF was in danger of losing the battle.  Almost 25% of their pilots were lost in those two weeks; if the Germans continued, Fighter Command would lose the battle.

Using tactical aircraft used in a strategic role was causing major losses in the Luftwaffe. While the bombers had the range to fight and return, the Bf-109’s short range was causing wrecks to wash up on the coast of England instead of German invasion barges.  Also, facing a trained, experienced fighter force highly motivated to defend their home territory, the Germans’ vaunted Blitzkrieg weapons were coming up short.  On August 17, more than 30% of the Ju-87 Stukas sent against England did not return.  The Bf-110 Zerörsters not only could not defend the bombers, they needed fighter escorts themselves.  

Nevertheless, the RAF could not sustain the loss of a quarter of their pilots every two weeks.  Goering suddenly switched the attack to the sector control centers on August 24, staffed by women’s auxiliaries that directed the fighter squadrons.  These centers sustained major damage and the future looked very bleak.  Fighter Command was flying 1,000 sorties a day.  Pilots fell asleep as soon as their planes stopped taxing off the runway.

The Germans were running out of time.  The losses were running five to seven in favor of the British, but their small force could not sustain that kind of punishment.  Good weather for the invasion would not last past September.  While the RAF suffered grievous losses, supplies from the United States and the Dominions were coming in through the Atlantic convoys and the Home Army was being strengthened every day by Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders, Indians, and Canadians.

Then, the unthinkable happened.  An errant German bomber, thinking they were over open fields in a London fog, dropped its payload on the city on August 24.  Britain responded by mounting a major raid on Berlin on the night of August 25-26.  Causing only minor damage, the RAF Bomber Command raid embarrassed Goering, who said Germany would never be bombed.  Hitler, enraged, ordered Goering to switch to London in retaliation. Hitler wanted to see RAF planes going down over their own capital.

On September 7, after an uncharacteristic lull, German bombers appeared in force over London.  The Blitz had begun.  For the next fifty-seven nights, nighttime raids would pound her cities in attempt to break the will of the British to fight.  

The pressure on Fighter Command was released.  While the public was just beginning their ordeal, it marked the end of the Battle of Britain and the end of the threat of invasion.  Hitler ordered the indefinite postponement of Seelöwe on September 15.

The Battle of Britain affirmed that the war would continue as long as the British had the means to resist.  Churchill’s remarks to the House of Commons on August 20 echoes the romanticism of what the English saw as an Epic stand against tyranny: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”




For those who do not know..............