Battle of Britain Day

Battle of Britain Day marks a big air battle that happened on Sunday, 15 September 1940, during the Battle of Britain. On that day, the German air force, called the Luftwaffe, tried to attack London with a huge number of planes. They wanted to fight the British Air Force, known as the RAF, in a big battle.

About 1,500 planes took part in the fighting, which went on until it got dark. The British pilots, led by RAF Fighter Command, were able to stop the German attacks. The German planes were scattered by thick clouds and couldn’t damage London very much.

After this battle, the German leader Hitler decided to delay his plan called Operation Sea Lion. Because they lost the daytime battles, the Germans started attacking at night instead. This night bombing, called the Blitz, continued until May 1941.

Background

In June 1940, Germany had taken control of most of Western Europe and Scandinavia. The only big country still standing against them was the British Empire and the Commonwealth. After Germany’s peace offers were turned down, Adolf Hitler ordered the German air force, the Luftwaffe, to defeat the British Royal Air Force (RAF). The goal was to gain control of the skies before trying to invade Britain by sea, a plan called Operation Sea Lion.

The Battle of Britain started on July 10, 1940, when German bombers first attacked ships and navy forces in British ports. Later, the Germans began targeting RAF airfields and related buildings. One big attack on August 13, called “Eagle Day,” did not go as planned. Frustrated by the slow progress, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to focus on attacking London. The idea was to draw the RAF into a big battle. The first major daylight attack on London happened on September 7 and caused a lot of damage. After a few days of bad weather, the British used their intelligence to get ready for the next big attack.

German strategy

On September 14, 1940, Hitler and his team met in Berlin to talk about the war's next steps. They knew they hadn't fully won yet, and invasion plans were put on hold. Hitler decided to keep attacking military targets in London to show they could still invade anytime.

The German air force, called the Luftwaffe, planned a big attack for September 15. They chose two main targets: the Battersea railway station, which helped connect London to important industrial areas, and the dock areas along the Thames River. They thought these attacks would weaken London's defenses and supplies. However, British intelligence and radar systems were ready, giving the British pilots plenty of warning and time to rest after earlier battles. This made the German plan riskier than they expected.

Intelligence

German leaders believed the British air force was almost defeated, but this was wrong. The British had rested and were well-prepared. Their radar could track the German planes from far away, giving British pilots enough time to respond. Attacking London also made the German planes fly longer distances, putting them at greater risk. On September 15, all German bomber groups were met by British fighters, which scattered them as they tried to leave.

British strategy

Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Squadron Leader Douglas Bader played important roles in the fighting in September. Bader led 242 Squadron with Hurricanes to protect industrial areas in the West Midlands. He felt frustrated that his group was not used more actively during attacks on south-east England. Bader believed his group should act quickly to meet German planes as they formed up, using many fighters at once. He thought this could weaken the enemy before they reached their targets.

However, the main commander, Dowding, saw the role of this group as protecting the Midlands and serving as backup. There was disagreement about the best way to defend against the attacks. Some believed it was better to stop the enemy before they reached their targets, while others thought it was more important to protect their own forces and keep fighting each day. The strategy chosen focused on keeping the RAF strong enough to continue opposing the enemy, even if it meant not causing as many losses to the attackers.

Forces involved

Luftwaffe forces

The Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force, had lost many airplanes by the time of the Battle of Britain. On August 17, they had 2,226 airplanes ready to fly, but by September 7, this number had dropped to 1,895—a loss of 15 percent. Even so, they were still making new airplanes to replace the ones they lost.

During the battle, the Luftwaffe changed how they organized their airplanes. One group from Norway sent many of its airplanes to other groups based in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

On September 7, the Luftwaffe had 1,895 airplanes ready for battle. One big group, Luftflotte 2, had 1,311 airplanes, including many types such as Bf 109s, Bf 110s, and bombers. Another 120 special dive bombers were ready but not used in this battle.

Many Luftwaffe pilots had been lost in earlier fights. In August alone, 211 pilots were killed, and many others were missing or wounded. Because of these losses, some airplane groups did not have as many pilots as they needed. For example, some groups had only about half of the pilots they should have.

RAF forces

The Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom did very well in keeping its airplanes and pilots ready, even though they were fighting hard. On the evening of September 14, they had 269 Spitfires and 533 Hurricanes ready to fly. Together, two important groups could send more than 500 fighters into battle.

However, the RAF had lost many experienced pilots during the fighting. By mid-September, they had 1,492 pilots ready to fly, which was 10 percent fewer than they needed. Many of these pilots needed experienced leaders to guide them in battle.

To keep their forces strong, RAF leaders moved fresh squadrons from quieter areas to replace tired ones. They also created three types of units: A units, which fought in the front lines; B units, which were ready to help if needed; and C units, which were mostly for training new pilots but could still fight in quieter areas. By September 15, even the C units were able to perform well in battle.

Preliminary engagements

On September 15, the German air force, called the Luftwaffe, started their eighth night in a row of bombing London. Just after midnight, 13 small bombers called Dornier Do 17s attacked the city. More bombers followed, including Junkers Ju 88s and Heinkel He 111s. Most of the damage was to homes in areas like Fulham, Chelsea, and Westminster. Bombs also hit places such as Cardiff, Bootle, Leicester, and Ipswich.

During the night, German planes also attacked ships at sea. Some planes dropped special mines in waterways to damage more ships. The British night fighters were still new and not very advanced at this time, and they had trouble finding the German planes.

In the daytime, British planes took off to attack German invasion points in places like Boulogne, Calais, and Ostend. One British plane did not come back after being hit by ground fire over the Netherlands.

Noon attack: 10:10 to 13:00

The big air battle began at 10:10 in the morning. Major Alois Lindmayr, an experienced leader, guided a large group of airplanes. The German planes took off from bases in places like Cormeilles-en-Vexin and Amiens. They met up and headed toward Cap Gris Nez to join their fighter planes for protection.

British defenses noticed the German planes when they were getting close. Radar stations spotted them, and British airplane groups were sent up to meet the threat. The British tried to balance their attacks so they could catch the German bombers while making sure they had enough fuel.

As the German bombers and their fighter planes flew closer to London, British planes attacked them. The British planes caught the German fighters by surprise and began fighting them. Some German planes were hit, and the bombers continued toward London. The German fighters had to fight off many British planes, which used up their fuel quickly.

When the German bombers reached London, they dropped their bombs. Some bombs hit railway tracks, causing damage but not stopping trains for long. Most of the German bombers were damaged or shot down, and the rest dropped their bombs and flew back to France. The battle showed that the British tactics were effective, even though many planes were lost on both sides.

Interlude: 13:00 to 13:45

At around 1:00 PM, the German planes were heading back to France. The pilots who fought in the battle were happy with how things went. They had to stay at their posts even though their shift was supposed to end. By 1:05 PM, the planes were on the ground again, getting ready for more action. The pilots wrote down what happened in the fight.

Some of the German bombers landed in the Pas de Calais area. Two of them were so damaged that they could not be used anymore. Almost all the planes showed signs of the tough battle they had been in. One plane had 70 marks from enemy fire, and another had 200.

Later that afternoon, the RAF stopped some attacks on places where invaders might land because the weather wasn’t good enough. Six Bristol Blenheims went on a mission over the North Sea. RAF Coastal Command sent out 95 planes for different jobs, like watching for invaders and laying mines. Spitfires flew to take pictures of ports from Antwerp to Cherbourg. They came back with signs that more invasion forces were arriving. All the planes made it back safely.

Mid-afternoon attack: 13:45 to 15:45

Before the German planes had even landed, the next wave was already taking off. Several groups of bombers from different German units left bases in France and Belgium to attack docks and warehouses in London. Fighter planes were sent to protect the bombers.

The German bombers flew toward Dungeness, with different types of planes in a line. The wind made flying difficult, and the German fighters stayed close to the bombers, which made it harder for British planes to attack.

At 13:45, British radar spotted the German planes. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) sent up many fighter planes to intercept them. Squadrons took off from various airfields to meet the incoming attack.

At 14:00, the RAF had 68 fighters in the air. More planes were sent up as the German formation split into groups heading for the coast. By 14:20, the first battles began. British fighters engaged the German bombers and their escorts. The fighting was intense, with both sides losing planes.

The main battle happened near Gravesend. British fighters attacked the German bombers from different directions. Some German bombers managed to escape, but many were shot down. The bombers reached London and dropped bombs on parts of the city, causing damage to buildings and infrastructure.

As the Germans began to retreat, more British fighters chased them. Many German planes were shot down during the retreat. The battle was one of the largest air battles of the time, with heavy losses on both sides.

Evening and night actions

Before ending their attacks for the day, the Germans had one more operation. At 5:40 PM, 20 planes from Erprobungsgruppe 210 took off and flew across the Channel toward the Isle of Wight. They reached St. Catherine's Point by 5:50 PM. British fighter squadrons were already in the area, ready to defend.

The Germans aimed for the Spitfire factory at Woolston. They arrived around 5:55 PM. British guns fired at them as they approached. Though the factory was missed, the attack damaged gas and water lines and some homes nearby. Only a few people were hurt.

Later that evening, more German planes tried to attack London but caused little harm. During the night, Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) bombed Liverpool, causing some damage but few injuries. Other cities like Eastbourne, Worthing, and Bournemouth also reported minor damage.

Aftermath

Overclaiming and propaganda

Main article: Confirmation and overclaiming of aerial victories

In wars between airplanes, pilots often claim to shoot down more planes than they really did. On September 15, officials said that German planes had shot down between 175 and 185 British planes. But the real number was much lower.

Churchill heard that the British had shot down 183 German planes while losing fewer than 40 of their own. A British plane arrived in New York City with news of shooting down 185 German planes. German leaders tried to correct this, but their story was not believed.

One British commander thought the claims were too high. He believed the British could have done more damage to the German planes that were coming to attack rather than chasing ones that were leaving.

Evaluation of the day's events

The fighting on this day was even in terms of planes lost, but the British did better against the German bombers in the afternoon. More German bombers were sent in the afternoon, giving the British more targets.

One British commander said his teams had destroyed many German planes, but these claims were much larger than the actual number. Even so, seeing large British formations surprised and shook some German pilots.

A German victory that day was very unlikely. The German leaders thought the British had almost no planes left and that a few more days would defeat them completely.

Hitler's reaction and strategic overview

Hitler was not too worried about the battle’s result. He had already decided that invading Britain would be too risky without full control of the skies. He planned to delay the invasion and focus on other goals. Later, Germany turned its attention to attacking the Soviet Union instead.

The German air force continued to bomb British cities by night, causing damage but with fewer losses than during the day. However, their strategy changed often, and they never focused long enough on any one target to make a big difference. In the end, Germany’s campaign against Britain failed, which allowed the Allies to prepare for later battles in Europe.

Commemoration

Battle of Britain Day is a special day each year to remember the big air battle that happened during the Battle of Britain. In the United Kingdom, this day is always on September 15. In Canada, people remember it on the third Sunday of September each year.