Andrzej Dabrowa, Ph.D.
9. Battle of Britain
Germany did not start bombing targets in Britain until July 1940, which gave
Britain sufficient time to build up their defence systems. These were the Early
Warning Radar, a network of aircraft spotters, a large telephone network,
dispersed airfields, fuel and ammunition delivery and storage dumps, and (of
course) the Fighter Command Centre where all the information was delivered and
all decisions were made.
From the very beginning of the war the Royal Air Force accepted foreign pilots
to supplement the dwindling pool of British pilots. On the 11th of June 1940
the Polish Government in Exile signed an agreement with the British Government
to form a Polish Army in Britain and, specifically, a Polish Air Force. The
first two (of ten) Polish fighter squadrons went into action in August 1940. A
total of 89 Polish pilots defended the British sky. A squadron, named after the
Polish-American hero General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, achieved the highest number of
kills (273) of all the fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain.
July 10th is considered to have been the official start of the Battle of
Britain when the Germans started massive bombing of British cities. This all
out attack was in preparation for "Operation Sea Lion", the invasion
of Britain, by gaining absolute air superiority. Reichsmarschall Hermann
Goering pitted 1700 bombers and 1100 fighters against 600 British fighters in
the hope of achieving that goal. This imbalance of forces was compensated by
the Enigma intercepted German orders provided daily by Bletchley Park. By this
time there was a secure teleprinter line from Bletchley Park to Air Marshal H.
Dowding's Fighter Command Centre at Stanmore. A steady daily traffic of more
than 200 messages gave Dowding hour by hour detailed knowledge of German
advance plans as well as last moment changes. This gave him a more than even
chance to make the most efficient use of his very limited resources and to
avoid over commitment and risk of defeat by the overwhelming German Air Force.
The actual order to start massive bombing given by Reichsmarschall Goering was
intercepted, decrypted and immediately passed to Dowding and Churchill. It
read: " Within a short period of time you will wipe the British Air Force
from the sky. Heil Hitler" but bad weather delayed the German attack for
several days. In the first wave the Germans made 1,786 sorties against
airfields and defence positions, losing 75 aircraft. As the intensity of
bombing was continuously increasing, Fighter Command was able to engage the
enemy in the most effective way. Dowding's methods were highly criticised by
his subordinates, who did not have access to Ultra information. This eventually
resulted in him being sacked at the end of 1940 and in retirement by 1942. What
irony! He was sacked, because he knew much more than his critics.
In the ensuing Battle of Britain the German Air Force dropped more than 40,000
tons of bombs on towns such as London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Coventry.
British bombing losses were 20,325 wounded and 14,280 killed. The German
aircraft losses were staggering, 2,700 aircraft destroyed and 600 damaged.
British losses were about 900 pilots. The critical day came on the 15th of
September 1940 when Goering ordered a massive attack of 328 bombers and 769
fighters to deliver the final blow. Forewarned by Bletchley Park Dowding, with
a force of 300 fighters, was able to destroy 187 German planes and to break the
offensive. Two days later, on the 17th of September 1940, Bletchley Park
decrypted Hitler's order to abandon operation "Sea Lion" and to end
the Battle of Britain. Throughout the whole period of the Battle of Britain
both Churchill and Dowding had detailed advance knowledge of German battle
orders.
(c) 2003 A R Dabrowa