The Battle of Britain
July 1940, Germany Attacks Britain on their own soil!!
Operation Sealion
On July 10, the German air force, or Luftwaffe, made their first attack on British ships in the English Channel. However, Britain had new radar equipment and could see the German planes coming. Britain sent 4 squadrons of fighter planes to drive them off!
The battle had begun...
German Plan
Dog Fighting over the Channel
VVVRRRROOOOOOMMMMMM
A Long Hot Summer
German air bombers were escorted through the sky by very fast German fighters called Masserschmitt 109s. British fighters were called the Hurricanes and Spitfires! Dangerous names eh?
The British planes weren't as fast as the Luftwaffe, but they could turn faster and therefore get out of the way of fire faster!
British Advantage!! Cheerio Mate!
Biggest Attack Yet!
On September 7th, the Germans switched their bombing to London. Dun Dun DAAAAA!
Ernie Pyle quote.
"They came just after dark, and somehow you could sense from the quick, bitter firing of the guns that there was to be no monkey business this night.
Shortly after the sirens wailed you could hear the Germans grinding overhead. In my room, with its black curtains drawn across the windows, you could feel the shake from the guns. You could hear the boom, crump, crump, crump, of heavy bombs at their work of tearing buildings apart. They were not too far away."
The Final Battle
The Battle of Britain marked the limits of German expansion in the West and showed the world that they could be beaten and stopped!