Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
The Battle of Britian was a major setback for Germany and the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe was doing a good job of rolling up the RAF in the south of England, prepatory to a channel crossing. Hitler was outraged by a few pinprick raids by the RAF against German cities and demanded that the Luftwaffe switch targets to British cities. This was the decision that cost the battle. An ME-109 operating out of France only had enough fuel to fly to London and operate for five minutes. Many Luftwaffe fighter pilots were lost because they ditched in the channel on the way home. The Luftwaffe never recovered. Towards the end of the war, many German fighter pilots were flying into combat with too few hours to be allowed to solo in the U.S. Army Air Force.
BTW, German radar was (far) technically superior to the Chain Home system, contrary to popular belief. Where the British had an advantage was in better incorporating radar data into an overall real time picture of the battle, giving their commanders better situational awareness.
Thanks, nice addition!
The Battle of Britian was a major setback for Germany and the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe was doing a good job of rolling up the RAF in the south of England, prepatory to a channel crossing. Hitler was outraged by a few pinprick raids by the RAF against German cities and demanded that the Luftwaffe switch targets to British cities. This was the decision that cost the battle. An ME-109 operating out of France only had enough fuel to fly to London and operate for five minutes. Many Luftwaffe fighter pilots were lost because they ditched in the channel on the way home. The Luftwaffe never recovered. Towards the end of the war, many German fighter pilots were flying into combat with too few hours to be allowed to solo in the U.S. Army Air Force.Thanks, Lonesome. Your excellent little summary goes great with these amazing photos.BTW, German radar was (far) technically superior to the Chain Home system, contrary to popular belief. Where the British had an advantage was in better incorporating radar data into an overall real time picture of the battle, giving their commanders better situational awareness.
Green Beach is a book about Brits going to France and trying to learn about German radar. The British radar technician had a soldier with him that had one job...to kill the technician before he was captured by the Germans.