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After the fall of France in June 1940, Germany turned its attention to Britain, however, before an invasion could be launched, the Luftwaffe needed air superiority over Southern England. Beginning in July 1940, the next three months saw the Luftwaffe target the Royal Air Force. It was a pivotal moment in the Second World War, as with the failure by the Luftwaffe to achieve its aims, the Germans suffered their first major defeat and were unable to launch an invasion. On the 10th May 1940, just after 4:30am, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg were invaded by Germany, with Luxembourg occupied the same day and German forces made significant gains during the first four days. This was the first phase of the invasion plan devised by Germany for Western Europe, known as Case Yellow. Just sixteen days after the Battle of France began, on the 26th May 1940, Operation Dynamo began. This saw the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and then mainly French soldiers from Dunkirk, France. When the operation ended on the 4th June 1940, 338,226 soldiers had been rescued.
The 5th June 1940 saw Germany begin Case Red, which saw them attack across the Aisne and Somme rivers for the second part of their invasion of France. As the Battle of France continued, the 10th June 1940 saw Italy declare war on Britain and France, invading France the same day. That same day Operation Cycle (10th June 1940 - 13th June 1940) began, this was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Le Havre, France. Two days later on the 15th June 1940 the evacuation of civilians and Allied forces from ports in Western France, Operation Aerial, began, and when it ended on the 25th June 1940, the same day the armistice between France and Germany/Italy came into force at 12:35am, combined with Operation Dynamo and Operation Cycle, a total of 558,032 people had been evacuated to safety from France, by the time the Battle of France was over. While the Channel Island were fully occupied by early July 1940. On the 18th June 1940, in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who had replaced Neville Chamberlain on the 10th May 1940, had warned of the upcoming Battle of Britain:
The Battle of Britain Begins - Phase One – Channel Battle 10th July 1940 - 11th August 1940
10th July 1940
The Battle of Britain begins as coastal targets and shipping come under attack from the Luftwaffe, which they call Channel Battle.
11th July 1940
In the morning, Ju 87s of IV/LG 1, with an escort of Bf 109s from III./JG 27, attack a convoy at Lympne Bay. They are intercepted by three Hurricanes from No. 501 Squadron, operating from RAF Warmwell, and five Spitfires,
from No. 609 Squadron, also operating from RAF Warmwell. During the ensuing combat, two Ju 87s were claimed, but two Spitfires were shot down, with Pilot Officer Gordon Mitchell, 24, killed in Spitfire Mk IA (L1093) and Flight
Lieutenant Philip Barron, 31, in Spitfire Mk IA (L1069) who died as a result of his injuries. With one of the Hurricanes of
No. 501 Squadron also shot down, this was Hurricane Mk I (N2485) flown by Sergeant Frederick Dixon, 21, who bailed out over the sea but could not be found.
12th July 1940
Convoy 'Booty' is targeted by He 111s from III./KG 53 and Do 17s from II./KG 2 while off the coast of East Anglia. They are intercepted by Hurricanes from Nos. 17, 85 and 151 Squadron. During the battle, Flying Officer
James Allen, 25, in Hurricane Mk I (P3275), from No. 151 Squadron, based at RAF North Weald, is hit by return fire from the Do 17s and goes down in the North Sea with a dead engine. Despite a search by another pilot,
Flying Officer Allen and his aircraft could not be found. He was the first New Zealander to die in the battle.
13th July 1940
Minelaying operations are started by the Luftwaffe.
14th July 1940
In response to Luftwaffe Red Cross aircraft shadowing British convoys, the RAF issue a communique stating that Luftwaffe Red Cross aircraft engaged in operations other than search and rescue were doing so at their own risk.
15th July 1940 The Westland Aircraft factory in Yeovil is bombed.
16th July 1940
Directive No. 16 is issued by Adolf Hitler which calls for Operation Sealion, the invasion of Britain, preparations to begin. One of the conditions for invasion stipulates that:
17th July 1940 The Luftwaffe attack British shipping convoys off Aberdeen and the Isle of Wight.
19th July 1940
Defiants of No. 141 Squadron enter the battle, after taking-off from RAF Hawkinge at around 12:30pm, the nine aircraft were sent on convoy patrol near Folkstone. They are attacked by Bf 109s of III./JG 51, less than two minutes
later, five of the Defiants had been shot down, and of the ten airmen, only one survived. Hurricanes of No. 111 Squadron enter the fray and four Defiants are able to escape. Although one crash lands trying to return to
RAF Hawkinge, both aircrew survived. This was No. 141 Squadrons only daylight fighter operation during the battle.
20th July 1940
Kent, Suffolk, Bristol and the Isle of Wight come under attack from the Luftwaffe as do convoys off Dover and Swanage.
21st July 1940 Six Fairey Battles, three from No. 103 Squadron and three from No. 150 Squadron, attack oil storage tanks in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Adolf Hitler declares that the 15th September 1940 is the latest date for Operation Sealion to take place.
22nd July 1940
Foreign Secretary Viscount Halifax dismisses Hitler's peace offer.
23rd July 1940
Blenheim Mk IF (L6836), piloted by Flying Officer Glyn Ashfield with Sergeant Reginald Leyland
(radar operator) and Pilot Officer Geoffrey Morris (observer), of the Fighter Interception Unit based at RAF Tangmere, equipped with Airborne Interception radar, becomes the first RAF
aircraft to shoot down another using this system when a Do 17 of II./KG 3 is attacked.
24th July 1940 During a radio broadcast, Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, thanks the public for their role in fighter aircraft production.
25th July 1940 Portland is attacked as is Convoy CW8 near Dover, five ships are sunk.
26th July 1940 Due to heavy losses all daylight movements of merchant ships through the Strait of Dover are stopped by the Admiralty.
27th July 1940
During an attack on shipping by He 111s off the coast of Aldeburgh, HMS Wren (D88) is sunk and HMS Montrose (D01)
damaged and HMS Codrington (D65) is sunk during a raid on Dover Harbour.
29th July 1940 Royal Navy ships are to stop daylight movements in the Strait of Dover under new Admiralty orders.
30th July 1940 Shipping is attacked off Ordforness, Clacton and Harwich.
1st August 1940
Norwich station and the nearby Boulton Paul Aircraft Works came under attack.
2nd August 1940
Hermann Goring, Reichsminister of Aviation, issues the Eagle Day directive. This would see plans devised with the intention of destroying the RAF and
allow the invasion of the UK to occur, Operation Sealion.
3rd August 1940 The Firth of Forth comes under attack from the Luftwaffe.
7th August 1940 The Luftwaffe raid a number of areas across the UK, including Aberdeen, Poole and Liverpool.
8th August 1940 The Luftwaffe starts to target British ports and harbours.
9th August 1940
During the day, Sunderland, its shipyard and the surrounding area come under attack, killing five people. Birmingham is bombed by the Luftwaffe for the first time.
10th August 1940 The Boulton Paul Aircraft Works in Norwich is attacked.
11th August 1940 Channel Battle ends.
Phase Two – Operation Eagle Attack, the RAF are Targeted 12th August 1940 - 6th September 1940 12th August 1940
In an effort to entice Royal Air Force fighters into combat, airfields mainly in No. 11 Group, Fighter Command, headed by Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park,
come under attack from the Luftwaffe. Radar stations also come under heightened attack.
13th August 1940
Around 1,500 German aircraft take part in Eagle Day as the Luftwaffe attack radar stations and airfields. This would be the first of a number of large
raids with the intention of stopping the RAF being an effective fighting force. Night time raids see the Luftwaffe target a number of locations, including the Castle Bromwich Spitfire factory and the Dunlop factory.
14th August 1940 RAF Middle Wallop and RAF Warmwell are bombed.
15th August 1940
Prime Minister Winston Churchill is at Bentley Priory, Fighter Command's headquarters, alongside Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, as large scale raids are undertaken by the
Luftwaffe. With seventy five aircraft lost this was the most costly day for the Luftwaffe during the battle and they would later refer to the day as 'Black Thursday'.
16th August 1940
RAF Tangmere comes under attack from Junkers Ju 87s, No. 601 Squadron's Hawker Hurricanes, based at the airfield, engage the enemy aircraft, some manage to get through and drop their bombs on the airfield. Thirteen people are
killed, twenty injured and a number of aircraft are damaged or destroyed, along with two hangars destroyed.
RAF Brize Norton, home to No. 2 Service Flying Training School, comes under attack from two aircraft during the evening. Forty four aircraft, mainly Airspeed Oxfords are destroyed.
17th August 1940
Liverpool suffers its first bombing raid.
18th August 1940
Large scale attacks take place by the Luftwaffe as RAF airfields come under attack in the South and South East, these include RAF Kenley, RAF Biggin Hill and RAF West Malling,
leading to loss of aircraft on the ground. These attacks were designed to immobilise Fighter Command once and for all. The Luftwaffe also attack Sheffield for the first time.
19th August 1940
In the afternoon, Llanreath Oil Tank Depot at Pembroke Dock comes under attack from three Junkers Ju 88s with an escort of two Bf 109s. Eighteen tanks are at the facility, eleven are destroyed. The fires from this attack will take
eighteen days to put out and five firefighters die as a result.
20th August 1940
In a speech to the House of Commons, Winston Churchill praises the pilots of the RAF, not just Fighter Command, but also Bomber Command:
21st August 1940 Abbeville airfield in France is attacked by Blenheims of No. 53 Squadron.
23rd August 1940 South Wales comes under attack.
24th August 1940
The Luftwaffe increase the pressure on the RAF as over 500 aircraft take part in a number of raids, including on Portsmouth, Ramsgate, which killed twenty nine people, and a devastating raid on RAF Manston
kills a number of personnel. During the raid,
No. 264 Squadron's Boulton Paul Defiants were in action. They claimed three Ju 88s and a Bf 109, for the loss of three aircraft. This included the Defiant Mk I (N1535) of Squadron Leader Philip Hunter, 27,
and his gunner Pilot Officer Frederick King, 24.
25th August 1940
Bomber Command dispatches around 100 aircraft, comprising Vickers Wellingtons, Hampdens and Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, to attack various targets. After the bombing of London the previous day this includes
Berlin, Germany for the first time.
26th August 1940
Campile in County Wexford, Ireland is bombed by the Luftwaffe killing three people. A protest to Germany is made by Ireland.
28th August 1940
In the morning, twelve Defiants from No. 264 Squadron, based at RAF Hornchurch, engage Heinkel He 111s and their Bf 109 escort. In the ensuing combat four Defiants are lost, with five of the eight aircrew killed. This day would
be the Defiant's last as a day fighter.
29th August 1940
The Midlands is attacked during the day and Liverpool comes under attack at night.
30th August 1940
In the morning the Luftwaffe sends over 120 aircraft in three waves, with the South Coast coming under attack. In the afternoon another three waves of German aircraft cross the English Channel and the Vauxhall car factory in
Luton is bombed, thirty nine people are killed.
31st August 1940
As the air battle intensifies, Fighter Command losses forty one aircraft, this will be the highest daily loss for it during the battle. RAF airfields in the South and South East Coast come under attack. During the night
Liverpool suffers its fourth consecutive day of bombing, when over 100 aircraft attack the City.
1st September 1940 The airfields of Fighter Command come under heavy attack with RAF Biggin Hill being damaged so much it would be classed as non-operational for a short period. During the night Liverpool was targeted.
2nd September 1940 The Luftwaffe targets RAF airfields in the South East, including RAF North Weald, RAF Gravesend and RAF Biggin Hill. During the night Liverpool comes under attack.
3rd September 1940
Airfields across Britain are attacked, with night time bringing the Luftwaffe to Liverpool for the sixth night in a row. No. 19 Squadron, which had been using cannon armed Spitfire Mk IBs, will convert back to machine-gun equipped Spitfire Mk IAs after continuing problems with the cannons.
4th September 1940
During the afternoon the Vickers factory at Brooklands suffers a heavy
attack which destroys a number of buildings and kills eighty eight people and injures over 400.
5th September 1940
No. 312 (Czechoslovak) Squadron is made operational operating Hurricanes from RAF Duxford.
6th September 1940
As a result of intelligence obtained by the RAF, showing preparations for invasion were continuing, an alert to prepare for invasion is issued.
Phase Three – The Blitz Begins 7th September 1940 - 30th September 1940 7th September 1940 The morning passes with little incident, however, that all changes in the afternoon as the Luftwaffe makes its first co-ordinated raid on Central London when 348 bombers, escorted by 617 fighters make their way to the capital, attacking areas including the Docklands, Woolwich Arsenal, Beckton and West Ham just after 5:00pm. No. 249 Squadron, based at RAF North Weald and No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, based at RAF Northolt, Hawker Hurricanes are one of the first squadrons to intercept the raid. In their combat with the Messerschmitt Bf 109s, No. 249 Squadron lose six aircraft and one pilot, with no aircraft claimed. During the engagement against Dornier Do 17s, No. 303 (Polish) Squadron lose two aircraft while claiming ten Do 17s. Describing the battle in his combat report, Pilot Officer Jan Zumbach:
This raid also sees the first use of the Big Wing tactic championed by Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Commander of No. 12 Group, Fighter Command
and Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader. This was the Duxford Wing, which consists of Nos. 242, 310 (Czechoslovak)
and 19 Squadron.
8th September 1940 During an air raid the shelter housing people and visitors from the Peabody Estate, Whitechapel suffers a direct hit, killing seventy eight people.
9th September 1940
Targets across London come under attack during the day and night.
10th September 1940 Italy's Regia Aeronautica will take part in the Battle of Britain. Operating from Belgium around 200 aircraft will become part of the Regia Aeronautica air expeditionary force which is formed for this purpose and called the Corpo Aereo Italiano.
11th September 1940
During the day, London, Portsmouth and Southampton are raided by the Luftwaffe, during the night London is attacked.
13th September 1940
No. 966 Balloon Squadron scores a balloon barrages first victory when a Heinkel He 111 crashes near Newport, Wales.
14th September 1940 For the second time Adolf Hitler delays the decision on invading Britain, this time until the 17th September.
15th September 1940
The Luftwaffe launch an attack in a bid to finally overcome the Royal Air Force and win the battle for air superiority. London would be attacked twice, first at 11:00am when two waves of aircraft totalling around 250 bombed the capital.
Then at 2:00pm two waves of aircraft, again around 250, attacked. Southampton and Portland were also targeted, during the night a raid on London occurred.
Both sides suffered heavy losses with the RAF losing thirty one aircraft and sixteen aircrew while the Luftwaffe lost sixty one aircraft and ninety three aircrew. After failing to inflict a decisive blow to the RAF the
Luftwaffe would start to reduce attacks.
16th September 1940
Air Vice-Marshal Wilfred McClaughry is appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 9 Group, Fighter Command.
17th September 1940
London is bombed again as over 250 German aircraft target the capital. Shops on Oxford Street, including John Lewis and Selfridges are hit.
18th September 1940 London comes under attack during the day and night.
19th September 1940
Raids take place across the UK as London is bombed as are targets along the Essex and Sussex coast. During the night, the South West, Midlands and London come under attack.
21st September 1940 421 Flight is formed, equipped with Spitfires and Hurricanes they will patrol at height to monitor incoming raids. They will pass on information about the raids to ground controllers.
24th September 1940
Tilbury and Southampton come under attack during the day, at night London is attacked.
25th September 1940 The Bristol Aircraft Company based at Filton is bombed, ninety two people are killed.
26th September 1940 Southampton comes under attack twice during the day, as a result, the Supermarine factory at Woolston is put out of action and over thirty people are killed. RAF Henlow is also attacked.
27th September 1940 The Tripartite Pact is signed by Germany, Italy and Japan. In Britain bombers on anti-invasion standby are freed up.
30th September 1940 London again comes under attack by the Luftwaffe during the night.
Phase Four – The Battle Reaches Its Conclusion 1st October 1940 - 31st October 1940 1st October 1940 The Luftwaffe start to change tactics with bombers attacking at night and fighter-bombers during the day.
3rd October 1940
The de Havilland Aircraft Company factory at Hatfield is attacked by a sole Junkers Ju 88, twenty one people are killed and seventy injured with some
materials for de Havilland's new Mosquito aircraft destroyed. The Ju 88 was later shot down by anti-aircraft fire with the crew ending
up as prisoners of war.
5th October 1940 Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse replaces Sir Charles Portal as Bomber Command's Air Officer Commander-in-Chief.
6th October 1940
Coastal towns and targets of interest come under attack during the day from Luftwaffe fighter-bombers. The Royal Air Force target barges at Dutch ports.
7th October 1940 No. 80 (Signals) Wing is formed at RAF Radlett and is the first electronic warfare unit of the RAF. They will be used to interrupt any aids used to help the Luftwaffe pinpoint their targets.
8th October 1940 Sergeant Josef Frantisek, 27, of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron who, with seventeen victories, was the highest scoring Allied Battle of Britain pilot dies in a flying accident when his Hawker Hurricane Mk I (R4175) crashes in Ewell.
10th October 1940 Weymouth, Kent and London come under attack during the day. At night airfields are targeted as well as Manchester and London.
12th October 1940
The National Gallery is hit by a bomb, destroying Room 10.
14th October 1940 During a raid on London a bomb explodes at Balham Tube Station where a number of people are sheltering. In total nearly seventy people die.
15th October 1940 104 people are killed when a trench shelter in Kennington Park, Lambeth suffers a direct hit. BBC Broadcasting House, in London, is bombed, killing seven people.
19th October 1940 Liverpool, The Midlands, London and Bristol are all attacked during the night.
20th October 1940 138 aircraft from Bomber Command attack a range of targets in Germany and Italy.
21st October 1940 The West Country, Liverpool and London come under daytime attack.
22nd October 1940 During the night the Luftwaffe bombs London, Liverpool and Coventry.
23rd October 1940 In the day attacks are made by aircraft flying alone in the South East and Midlands, at night Glasgow is bombed as is London.
24th October 1940 The Corpo Aereo Italiano join the battle when eighteen Fiat BR 20s take-off from airfields in Belgium to raid Felixstowe and Harwich during the night.
25th October 1940
Aircraftman 1st Class Harry Clack, who was serving with No. 54 Maintenance Unit, dies while recovering a crashed Dornier Do 215 at Eaton Socon when he is
electrocuted by overhead power lines. He was just 16 and is the RAF's youngest casualty of the war.
26th October 1940 Fighter-bomber attacks are made on London and Kent.
28th October 1940 A Gloster Gladiator Mk II, flown by Pilot Officer Richard Winter, of No. 247 Squadron, based at RAF Roborough intercepts a Heinkel He 111 over Plymouth without result.
29th October 1940
The Corpo Aereo Italiano attacks Britain as during the day fifteen BR 20s, escorted by thirty nine Fiat CR.42 Falcos and thirty four Fiat G.50s, bomb Ramsgate.
30th October 1940 The crew of No. 23 Squadron Bristol Blenheim Mk IF (L6721) are the last official casualties of the battle. Taking-off from RAF Ford, for a night patrol, the combination of bad weather and radio failure led to the aircraft crashing in South Bersted, killing all three crew members. Pilot Flying Officer Herbert Woodward, 24, air gunner Pilot Officer Allan Atkinson, 32, and radar operator Sergeant Harry Perry, 23.
31st October 1940 After three months and three weeks the Battle of Britain ends. With the Luftwaffe's failure to gain air superiority over Southern Britain the invasion cannot take place during 1940. Although the Blitz will continue over the coming months as cities across the UK are bombed.
The Battle of Britain Ends, The Blitz Continues 1st November 1940 - 11th May 1941 With the Luftwaffe unable to overcome the Royal Air Force and daylight attacks proving costly, in both aircrew and aircraft, the Luftwaffe would turn to night operations targeting cities with the intention to weaken civilian morale as a continuation of the Blitz. This would also see the rise of a new tactic adopted by the Luftwaffe of attacking cities on consecutive nights. During the six months that followed the UK would suffer 135 major or heavy attacks with London being targeted the most then Liverpool and Birmingham. Wherever there were factories vital to Britain's war industry the Luftwaffe would attack those cities, including Manchester with its A V Roe factory, Sheffield with its armament factories, Cardiff and its docks were bombed as were Hull's, the industrial area of Clydebank and Glasgow and the docks and shipyard at Belfast also come under attack. One of the worst raids of the Blitz occurred on the 14th November 1940 when the Luftwaffe launched Operation Moonlight Sonata targeting Coventry. On that night 568 people were killed and the Cathedral destroyed when 437 aircraft bombed the city. The 23rd November 1940 saw Southampton attacked heavily for the first time as well. The 25th November 1940 would see Air Marshal Sir William Sholto Douglas replace Sir Hugh Dowding as Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command. Four days later, on the 29th November 1940, Liverpool was attacked again and 166 people died when the shelter at Edge Hill Training Centre received a direct hit from a parachute mine, while former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin had died at the age of 71 on the 9th November 1940. The 20th December 1940 would see No. 66 Squadron perform the first Rhubarb fighter sweep over Europe as Fighter Command started to go on the offensive. London suffered a particularly devastating attack on the 29th December 1940, which would be known as the Second Great Fire of London. This would lead to Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordering St Paul's Cathedral to be protected. As a result of the raid 160 people were killed and more than 250 people were injured. The 2nd January 1941 sees Cardiff attacked, damaging Llandaff Cathedral, and 153 people are killed. February 1941 saw Swansea targeted again for three nights from the 19th to the 21st, killing 230 people and injuring 397. The last major bombing raid of this period was on the 11th May 1941, when London was attacked, with over 1,400 people killed. When the Blitz officially ended the same day, it brought to an end eight months and ten days of attacks which saw around 43,000 people lose their lives. Although Adolf Hitler turned his attention to the invasion of the Soviet Union, this wasn't the end of attacks on the UK, as over the coming months and years the Luftwaffe would return. |
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