The Battle of Britain was caused by the German's wishing to take control of the sky's above the south west coast of Britain so that Germany could then launch a full out invasion of Britain with the army, navy and air force. However, each section of the army had their own idea of how to co-ordinate the attack so the German's didn't have a properly planned attack of Britain which could have lead to their overall defeat.
In the first stage of the Battle the Luftwaffe (the German air force) targeted aircraft factories, airbases and radar sites along the south coast. They wished to limit the amount of resources that Britain had before they launched a full out attack of the skies. This worked quite well, especially with the radar stations as some of them were damaged severely which lead to the first wave of German fighters and bombers not being spotted as early as possible.
Stuka dive-bombers (Ju87's) were a particular favourite for the Luftwaffe so many attacks at the beginning of the Battle used these planes as their main bombers. These planes were successful previously in the war but after the Spitfires and Hurricanes were introduced they were made an easy target by the British fighters.
On 13th August 1940 (sometimes known as adlertag) massive attacks were launched by the Luftwaffe on mainly British airfields in an attempt to destroy the RAF before they were even in the sky.
Unlike the rest of the German invasion, these attacks were coordinated carefully. Groups of German bombers (especially Dornier's) flew in like a normal attack, drawing the fire of the AA guns and forcing the fighters to take to the skys. Midway through the fight a large of group of Dornier's (protected by few fighters) would fly low across the channel and therefore would not be spotted by radar. These planes targeted the airfield's and took out the bombers that were stationed there but were not currently being used. They also bombed the runways which made it difficult for fighters currently in the sky to land safely again. The group would head back to the north coast of France with little or no losses.
The Luftwaffe at this point were feeling confident and continued daily raids and also introduced night time raids. There aim was to stop damage being repaired overnight. Some planes accidentally dropped bombs of central London which Hitler personally had banned as he wanted to negotiate a surrender by the British. Bombs being dropped on major cities only infuriated the British and therefore themselves began raids on major German cities such as Berlin. This lead to nightly raids on major cities in both countries so children were evacuated to the countryside. This was the beginning of the Blitz.
Hitler ordered a change of targets from airfields and factories to major cities such as London, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and Southhampton. This was a mistake because this gave time for the British to produce for aircraft and fix airfields so that during the Blitz there was always a constant supply of both fighters and bombers ready to be scrambled.
The Luftwaffe wished for there attacks to come from a higher altitude but this was difficult because they were taking off so close to their targets they could ascend quick enough. As the German planes were flying steeply upwards they became slower which made them easier targets for British fighters.
As the German's losses were too great during daytime attacks, the attacks now only occurred at night. The old radar stations couldn't spot enemy aircraft as easily at night but the technology was developing and a new radar system was fitted to the planes themselves. This meant that there were often British planes flying around with their radar on to spot incoming attacks.
Germany overall were suffering higher losses than Britain and as the prospect of invading Russia became a reality what remained of the Luftwaffe was needed else where. Operation Sealion was cancelled and the Battle of Britain was over.
In the first stage of the Battle the Luftwaffe (the German air force) targeted aircraft factories, airbases and radar sites along the south coast. They wished to limit the amount of resources that Britain had before they launched a full out attack of the skies. This worked quite well, especially with the radar stations as some of them were damaged severely which lead to the first wave of German fighters and bombers not being spotted as early as possible.
Stuka dive-bombers (Ju87's) were a particular favourite for the Luftwaffe so many attacks at the beginning of the Battle used these planes as their main bombers. These planes were successful previously in the war but after the Spitfires and Hurricanes were introduced they were made an easy target by the British fighters.
On 13th August 1940 (sometimes known as adlertag) massive attacks were launched by the Luftwaffe on mainly British airfields in an attempt to destroy the RAF before they were even in the sky.
Unlike the rest of the German invasion, these attacks were coordinated carefully. Groups of German bombers (especially Dornier's) flew in like a normal attack, drawing the fire of the AA guns and forcing the fighters to take to the skys. Midway through the fight a large of group of Dornier's (protected by few fighters) would fly low across the channel and therefore would not be spotted by radar. These planes targeted the airfield's and took out the bombers that were stationed there but were not currently being used. They also bombed the runways which made it difficult for fighters currently in the sky to land safely again. The group would head back to the north coast of France with little or no losses.
The Luftwaffe at this point were feeling confident and continued daily raids and also introduced night time raids. There aim was to stop damage being repaired overnight. Some planes accidentally dropped bombs of central London which Hitler personally had banned as he wanted to negotiate a surrender by the British. Bombs being dropped on major cities only infuriated the British and therefore themselves began raids on major German cities such as Berlin. This lead to nightly raids on major cities in both countries so children were evacuated to the countryside. This was the beginning of the Blitz.
Hitler ordered a change of targets from airfields and factories to major cities such as London, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and Southhampton. This was a mistake because this gave time for the British to produce for aircraft and fix airfields so that during the Blitz there was always a constant supply of both fighters and bombers ready to be scrambled.
The Luftwaffe wished for there attacks to come from a higher altitude but this was difficult because they were taking off so close to their targets they could ascend quick enough. As the German planes were flying steeply upwards they became slower which made them easier targets for British fighters.
As the German's losses were too great during daytime attacks, the attacks now only occurred at night. The old radar stations couldn't spot enemy aircraft as easily at night but the technology was developing and a new radar system was fitted to the planes themselves. This meant that there were often British planes flying around with their radar on to spot incoming attacks.
Germany overall were suffering higher losses than Britain and as the prospect of invading Russia became a reality what remained of the Luftwaffe was needed else where. Operation Sealion was cancelled and the Battle of Britain was over.