Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was the first major military campaign in history fought entirely in the air. Conventionally dated from 10 July to 31 October 1940, it pitted Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command, led by Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding, against the German Luftwaffe under Hermann Göring. Germany's strategic objective was to achieve air superiority over the English Channel and southern England as a precondition for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of the United Kingdom.

Following the fall of France in June 1940, Britain stood without a major continental ally. Prime Minister Winston Churchill framed the stakes in his 18 June 1940 speech to the House of Commons, declaring that "the Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin." The Luftwaffe initially targeted Channel convoys and coastal airfields, then shifted to RAF sector stations in August, and from 7 September 1940 redirected much of its effort against London and other cities — the opening of what became known as the Blitz.

Several factors favoured the defenders:

• The Dowding System, an integrated network of Chain Home radar stations, Observer Corps posts, and centralised fighter control.
• Superior single-engine fighters in the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane, operating over home territory.
• Luftwaffe limitations, including the short combat range of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the absence of a true strategic bomber.
• Contributions from Polish, Czechoslovak, Canadian, and other Allied aircrew flying with the RAF; No. 303 (Polish) Squadron was among the highest-scoring units.

By late October, Hitler had postponed Sea Lion indefinitely. The battle is widely regarded as a strategic turning point of the Second World War, preserving Britain as a base from which Allied operations against occupied Europe would later be launched. Churchill's tribute — "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" — was delivered to the Commons on 20 August 1940.