Operation Sea Lion German Invasion of England & The Battle of Britain The Luftwaffe s Attempt to Gain Air Superiority & Beyond! 1
Led by Herman Goering WWI fighter ace / Hitler s deputy Condor Legion Experiences in Spain (Note: Germany failed to develop a long range four-engine bomber in the pre-war days) Superior in numbers / quantity to the RAF 2
Twin Engine Bomber / He-111 Germany Failed to Develop a Four Engine Bomber!! Herr Weber; Sudetenland - 1938 3
Single Engine Bomber Ju-87 ( Stuka ) Dive Bomber Fighter Me-109 On par with RAF Lack of sufficient fuel capacity to remain over England longer than 30 minutes Poor escort aircraft for the bombers 4
Led by Air Marshall Hugh Dowding Fewer in number than Luftwaffe Defensive role Supported by Anti-Aircraft batteries Frequent use of Barrage Balloons Airfields located throughout the country Southern coast of the England the most active & Dangerous Outnumbered 4 to 1 in the skies by the Luftwaffe Fighter aircraft Hawker Hurricane (inferior to the Me-109) Supermarine Spitfire (equal to the Me-109) 5
(Radio Detection and Ranging) Advance warning and detection of German aircraft Coastal stations report plots of incoming aircraft Height / Direction Multiple coastal stations feeding information to central control stations dispatch RAF fighters to intercept incoming bombers reduce time in air / more efficient use of limited resources. Series of towers placed along the coast in the 1930 s 6
1940 Germans in pre-war deliberately flew near towers in order to determine their purpose used electronic equipment to determine the effect of towers did not completely understand the operation of the towers and significance (major mistake!) 2012 German will later attempt to destroy Radar towers, but ultimately fail! 7
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The Daily Sequence 9
The Fighter Response Group Captain Douglas Bader 10
Preliminary: Three Phases of the Battle of Britain 10 July 6 August 1940 Channel raids on British shipping Testing British responses Phase One: (August September 1940) 8 August 23 August 1940 Attacks on RAF airfields Attacks on Radar stations (Minimal damage failed to follow-up attacks) Phase Two: 24 August 6 September 1940 Increased attacks on RAF bases RAF losses outstrip production capabilities German losses in both bombers and fighters begin to concern Hitler and Goering 11
Phase Three: 7 September 17 September 1940 Luftwaffe switches priority targets for attacks Focus now on major cities, not airfields Retaliation for earlier RAF raids on Berlin Goal to weaken British civilian morale Allows the RAF fighter airfields to be repaired, new aircraft brought in from factories and other sectors (Major mistake as it allowed the RAF to recover!) 12
15 September 1940 ( Battle of Britain Day ) Largest German air attacks of the campaign Luftwaffe sustains significant losses 1500 aircraft involved on both sides 17 September Hitler calls off Operation Sea Lion, shifts focus away from England and begins to plan for the invasion of Russia 13
The Results of the Battle of Britain Luftwaffe lost 1,882 aircraft Combat over England and the channel air crew either killed or captured some managed to land in the channel and faced a 50 / 50 chance of rescue RAF lost 1265 aircraft Combat over England and the channel RAF pilots had a better chance of surviving, parachuting from planes over England (flying again), damaged aircraft being recovered (repaired), longer time over the sky (quick refueling and rearmament) 14
Lessons Learned from Battle of Britain Sir Douglas Bader ( Reach for the Sky ) Well trained pilots are critical to the fight Demonstrated that a cross-channel invasion involved great detailed planning with logistics support (US / D-Day 1944) Demonstrated that strategic bombing will have limitations that both the British and US will discover as the war goes on 15
Churchill s Speech in the House of Commons 20 August 1940 The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day, but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate, careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. 16
Look at the next series of 1940 photographs and see if you can determine something that is very unusual about them! 17
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German Occupation of the Channel Islands 30 June 1940 9 May 1945 Only part of England actually occupied by German forces in WWII Used by the German military as a place for R & R for battle weary troops Good relationships between the Germans and the British No military or strategic value for the Germans Propaganda victory for Hitler 19
Isle of Jersey 1940-1945 20
Jersey Today July 2005 21
The Blitz on England September 1940 May 1941 Heavy German bombing on London and Industrial Centers in England Danger UXB (unexploded bomb!) 22
The Blitz on England September 1940 May 1941 (not every day) Heavy German bombing on London and Industrial Centers in England Danger UXB (unexploded bomb!) German goal to break the morale of the British people (the opposite occurred!!) From September 1940 came on 57 Consecutive Nights! Heavy focus on London 23
1939 1945 3.5 million evacuated* Overseas Canada/US Planning began in June 1938 Completed by summer 1939 Operation Pied Piper 24
The Blitz on England Children were evacuated from major cities like London to the countryside* at start of war (1939). Children were again evacuated (1940-41) from the major cities like London to the countryside* because of the German Blitz. Many children had never been away from their parents. This was a new experience and many children worked on the farms to help the local family. Some children had never been on a farm before. Overall experiences of the children was mixed some treated well others not. 25
The Blitz on England Heaviest in December 40 / January 41 Londoner s live in the subway 40,000 civilians killed / one million homes damaged or destroyed throughout England Ends on 10 May 1941 Germany s focus directed to invasion of Russia. 26
Imperial War Museum in London The Blitz Experience Newly Renovated (2014) 27
Bombing Continues but is Sporadic 1941-1944 Will only pick-up in June 1944 with the V (Vengeance) Weapons (V-1/V-2/V-3) Interesting Exception! Watch Next Video!! 28
April June 1942 Baedeker Raids (German Tourist Guidebook) Germans target English cities of historic interest (not military) in retaliation of RAF bombing of Lubek & Cologne Luftwaffe hit York, Norwich, Bath, Exeter & Canterbury (no real military significance) 29