Figure 1.--

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Royal Air Force was its professional leadership and the willingness of Prime-minister Churchill to let the professionals run the campaign. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding's command of the RAF effort was one of the great sucesses of World War II. The British had a substantial fighter force -- about 600. For the first time, the Luftwaffe faced Spitfire squadrons which would hit the Me-109 fighter cover while the Huricanes pounced on the vulnerable bombers. And with the Home Chain Network, the RAF was the first airforce they faced that they could not catch on the ground. The British were rapidly running their new Spitfire fighter off the production lines and training new pilots. The question was whether the RAF could hold out long enough for new fighter squandrons to come on line and for the new pilots to develop the skills of the experienced Luftwaffe pilots. The planes were there, the critical British weakness was the nunber of trained pilots. British fighter pilots were discouraged from marriage. It was believed to take some of their dash away. The British also had some advantages. Fighting the battle over Britain put the British airfields under attack, but also meant that the British squadrons could engage two or even three times during the day--as long as the pilots could hold out. This was a significant force multiplier. In addition, the British planes were easier to maintain and they could be refurbished quickly and put back in servive in a short period, another force multiplier. Fighting over Britain also meant that if a pilot bailed out, he was not lost to the War, but could conceivably be up again in a day or so if not injured. (And conversely German pilots even if uninjured were lost to the War.) In several cases, shot down RAF pilots were back in the air the same day. This was particularly important because the major British weakness was a shortage of pilots. The major technical advantages the British held were unappreciated or unknown to the Luftwaffe. Even the highly competent Luftwaffe planners did not fully appreciated the importance of radar. And with the wreckage of German planes all over Britain, British aircraft engineers were able to study every aspect of the Germn planes and quickly adopt advances like fuel injection. Totally unknown to the Luftwaffe was the fact that the British were beginning to read some of their Enigma messages. [Davidion, p. 415.] The RAF also had some trained pilots from the occupied countries who with a fierce committment and who for the first time had modern fighter aircraft to fly. One of the most important groups was the Polish Kosciuszko Squadron. [Olson and Cloud]

Leadership

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Royal Air Force was its professional leadership and the willingness of Prime-minister Churchill to let the professionals run the campaign. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding's command of the RAF effort was one of the great sucesses of World War II.

RAF Fighter Command

The British had a substantial fighter force -- about 600. For the first time, the Luftwaffe faced Spitfire squadrons which would hit the Me-109 fighter cover while the Huricanes pounced on the vulnerable bombers.

First Round

The Battle of Britain was not the RAF's first round with the Luftwaffe. And the Luftwaffe played a key role in the German victory in France. The first round was the German Western offensive and the Battle of France. Fighter Command squadrons had been posted in France, mostly Hurricane squadrons. The results were not encouraging. The Luftwaffe achieved air superiority over the battlefield. At the time it was largely believed that this was because of superior German technology. The Me109 was a fine aircraft, the premier fighter at the time. But the margin of superority over British nd French aircraft was not that significant. What made the difference was that the Lufwaffe was on tghe ffensive. The British and Frnch did not concentrated their fighter strength. In addition without radar, they expended much of their strength flying inefectual patrols. With the Home Chain Network, the RAF was the first airforce they faced that they could not catch on the ground. This meant the RAF was the first World war II airfirce that ould have a second rojnd with the Luftwaffe.

Aircraft Production

The British were rapidly running their new Spitfire fighter off the production lines. By the time of the Battle of Britain the British were outproducing the Germans in fighters. The Battle as a result would not be decided by a any shortage of aircrft on the part of the RAF.

Training Pilots

The RAF expanded pilot training programs. But solving the pilot problem was not going to occur suring the time frame of the Battle of Britain. For the Battle Britain the RAF would have to fight it out with what they had. And many young, poorly trained pilots were thrown into battle and virtully certin death.

Central Question

The question was whether the RAF could hold out long enough for new fighter squandrons to come on line and for the new pilots to develop the skills of the experienced Luftwaffe pilots. The planes were there, the critical British weakness was the nunber of trained pilots. British fighter pilots were discouraged from marriage. It was believed to take some of their dash away.

Advantages

The British also had some advantages. Fighting the battle over Britain put the British airfields under attack, but also meant that the British squadrons could engage two or even three times during the day--as long as the pilots could hold out. This was a significant force multiplier. In addition, the British planes were easier to maintain and they could be refurbished quickly and put back in servive in a short period, another force multiplier. Fighting over Britain also meant that if a pilot bailed out, he was not lost to the War, but could conceivably be up again in a day or so if not injured. (And conversely German pilots even if uninjured were lost to the War.) In several cases, shot down RAF pilots were back in the air the same day. This was particularly important because the major British weakness was a shortage of pilots. The major technical advantages the British held were unappreciated or unknown to the Luftwaffe. Even the highly competent Luftwaffe planners did not fully appreciated the importance of radar. And with the wreckage of German planes all over Britain, British aircraft engineers were able to study every aspect of the Germn planes and quickly adopt advances like fuel injection. Totally unknown to the Luftwaffe was the fact that the British were beginning to read some of their Enigma messages. [Davidion, p. 415.] The RAF also had some trained pilots from the occupied countries who with a fierce committment and who for the first time had modern fighter aircraft to fly. One of the most important groups was the Polish Kosciuszko Squadron. [Olson and Cloud]

Social Class

A coomonly ignored issue is just who were the young RAF pilots. Wellington is famous for his statement that 'The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.' This was not the case of the Battle of Britain. Churchill actually looked into this. And he found that very few of the pilots were from the upper class and had attended the elite public schools like Eton and Churchill's school, Harrow. The pilots were actuakly from more modest middle-class origins, often the lower-middleclass. They mostly came from families with fathers who were government clerks or shopkeepers. [Ricks] This in fact eflected the fact that much pf the upper class were prepared to strike a deal with Hitler. Had it not been for Churchill there probbly would have been a British Vichy.

Sources

Ricks, Thomas. Churchill & Orwell: The Fight for Freedom (2017). Ricks discussed class issues in more detail in a C-Span interview. Book-TV C-Span 2 (June 11, 2017).

Created: 2:45 PM 6/12/2017
Last updated: 2:45 PM 6/12/2017