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The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England) was an effort by the German Air Force during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom in preparation for the planned amphibious and airborne forces invasion of Britain by Operation Sea Lion.
The Kanalkampf (Channel Battle) was the German term for air operations by the Luftwaffe against the Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940, beginning the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia.
The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England, lit. 'air battle for England') was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe.
German aircrews had been told the RAF was a defeated force and the German bomber units that had seen the Big Wing form up were quite shocked, and those crews in the badly hit units, including KG 2 and KG 3, that had witnessed head-on collisions with German aircraft were badly shaken. [117] A German victory on the Battle of Britain Day was unlikely.
German propaganda image: A Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire trails smoke after attacking a German Heinkel He 111 bomber during the Battle of Britain. This is a list of the officially accredited Battle of Britain units with their aircraft types, code letters, call signs and casualties.
The losses of the spring campaign had weakened the Luftwaffe before the Battle of Britain. Over 1400 aircraft had been lost in the Battle of France on top of about 500 lost in conquering Poland and Norway in 1939. [20] The service was forced to wait until it had reached acceptable levels before a main assault against the RAF could be made. [21]
The following is a list of pilots and other aircrew who flew during the Battle of Britain, and were awarded the Battle of Britain Clasp [1] to the 1939–45 Star by flying at least one authorised operational sortie with an eligible unit of the Royal Air Force or Fleet Air Arm during the period from 0001 hours on 10 July to 2359 hours 31 October 1940.
Propeller blade from Wappler's Heinkel He 111, the first enemy bomber to be brought down by a barrage balloon during the Second World War. Newport Museum.. Oberleutnant Harry Wappler was the pilot of a four-man Heinkel He 111 P-2 bomber of Kampfgeschwader 27 (8 Staffel (squadron)) which had left an airfield in northern France on the evening of 12 September 1940 on a bombing sortie to Ellesmere ...