The Battle of Britain

spider web Children's Web Magazine

Home

The Battle of Britain

It is 70 years ago this year since the Battle of Britain. The battle took place solely in the air; it is the only one ever to have been fought in this way. In order for the Germans to have a chance of winning the war they had to wipe out the Royal Air Force (RAF) and with it the aircraft industry. The Prime Minister of the
time Winston Churchill said "The Battle of France is over, I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."
One of the greatest assets Britain had apart from the spitfire was radar. There were around 50 radar bases along the coast of Britain, giving a warning before the German planes came to attack. The German Luftwaffe planes were at a disadvantage because
if they were too far from their base they couldn't refuel and rearm. Britain however
could rearm and refuel quickly and easily. What the Luftwaffe did do though was
target Britain's airfields, destroying planes on the ground. Perhaps if they had continued to do this they may have won the war. They turned their attention instead to bombing the cites. The worst of those hit were London, Coventry and Plymouth. The raids on the cites were known as the blitz and this was the Germans biggest mistake as
it gave the RAF time to recover.
Due to the Battle of France the RAF were short of trained pilots. In the end they had
to recruit Polish, Czechoslovakian and Belgian pilots. There were also a small number of pilots who came from other countriesaround the world. One of the most famous pilots who took part in the battle was Douglas Bader. Who had to have both his legs amputated after doing a dare devil stunt low in the air. This was several years before
the Second World War. His determination was such that incredibly he managed to fly with the help of artificial legs. Many pilots were very young and barely out of school, some were left badly burnt and a lot never made it back.
The Battle of Britain lasted for 4 months and took place during the summer and early autumn. Hitler had planned an invasion of Britain in the middle of August he had to then make it a month later and finally he had to face the fact that an invasion wasn't possible.
Afterwards Winston Churchill said "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." There after those who fought in the Battle of Britain became known as "The Few." To Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding who commanded RAF Flight command and is responsible for the victory they were what he called "My dear fighter boys." To the rest of us they were the ones who gave their lives for their country so we could have peace, freedom and democracy.

© Children's Web Magazine 2010