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N0KFQ > TODAY 15.09.11 19:11l 101 Lines 5205 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Sep 15
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Sent: 110915/1648Z 11901@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Sep 15, 1940:
Tide turns in the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain reaches its climax when the Royal Air Force
(RAF) downs 56 invading German aircraft in two dogfights lasting
less than an hour. The costly raid convinced the German high
command that the Luftwaffe could not achieve air supremacy over
Britain, and the next day daylight attacks were replaced with
nighttime sorties as a concession of defeat. On September 19,
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler postponed indefinitely "Operation Sea
Lion"--the amphibious invasion of Britain. Although heavy German
aid raids on London and other British cities would continue
through spring 1941, the Battle of Britain was effectively won.
In May and June 1940, Holland, Belgium, Norway, and France fell
one by one to the German Wehrmacht, leaving Great Britain alone
in its resistance against Hitler's plans for Nazi world
domination. The British Expeditionary Force escaped the continent
with an impromptu evacuation from Dunkirk, but they left behind
the tanks and artillery needed to defend their homeland against
invasion. With British air and land forces outnumbered by their
German counterparts, and U.S. aid not yet begun, it seemed
certain that Britain would soon follow the fate of France.
However, Winston Churchill, the new British prime minister,
promised his nation and the world that Britain would "never
surrender," and the British people mobilized behind their defiant
leader.
On June 5, the Luftwaffe began attacks on English Channel ports
and convoys, and on June 30 Germany seized control of the
undefended Channel Islands. On July 10--the first day of the
Battle of Britain according to the RAF--the Luftwaffe intensified
its bombing of British ports. Six days later, Hitler ordered the
German army and navy to prepare for Operation Sea Lion. On July
19, the German leader made a speech in Berlin in which he offered
a conditional peace to the British government: Britain would keep
its empire and be spared from invasion if its leaders accepted
the German domination of the European continent. A simple radio
message from Lord Halifax swept the proposal away.
Germany needed to master the skies over Britain if it was to
safely transport its superior land forces across the 21-mile
English Channel. On August 8, the Luftwaffe intensified its raids
against the ports in an attempt to draw the British air fleet out
into the open. Simultaneously, the Germans began bombing
Britain's sophisticated radar defense system and RAF fighter
airfields. During August, as many as 1,500 German aircraft
crossed the Channel daily, often blotting out the sun as they
flew against their British targets. Despite the odds against
them, the outnumbered RAF flyers successfully resisted the
massive German air invasion, relying on radar technology, more
maneuverable aircraft, and exceptional bravery. For every British
plane shot down, two Luftwaffe warplanes were destroyed.
At the end of August, the RAF launched a retaliatory air raid
against Berlin. Hitler was enraged and ordered the Luftwaffe to
shift its attacks from RAF installations to London and other
British cities. On September 7, the Blitz against London began,
and after a week of almost ceaseless attacks several areas of
London were in flames and the royal palace, churches, and
hospitals had all been hit. However, the concentration on London
allowed the RAF to recuperate elsewhere, and on September 15 the
RAF launched a vigorous counterattack.
Prime Minister Churchill was at the underground headquarters of
the RAF at Uxbridge that day and watched as the English radar
picked up swarms of German aircraft crossing over British soil.
The British Spitfires and Hurricanes were sent up to intercept
the German warplanes and met them in a crescendo of daring and
death. When it appeared that the RAF's resources were exhausted,
Churchill turned to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park and asked, "What
other reserves have we?" Park replied, "There are none," but
then, fortunately, the German planes turned and went home.
Fifty-six German planes were shot down that day, though the
number was inflated to 185 in British newspapers. Britain had
lost 40 planes but denied the Luftwaffe air supremacy. There
would be no German invasion of Britain. The Battle of Britain,
however, continued. In October, Hitler ordered a massive bombing
campaign against London and other cities to crush British morale
and force an armistice. Despite significant loss of life and
tremendous material damage to Britain's cities, the country's
resolve remained unbroken. In May 1941, the air raids essentially
ceased as German forces massed near the border of the USSR.
By denying the Germans a quick victory, depriving them of forces
to be used in their invasion of the USSR, and proving to America
that increased arms support for Britain was not in vain, the
outcome of the Battle of Britain greatly changed the course of
World War II. As Churchill said of the RAF fliers during the
Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so
much owed by so many to so few."
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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