The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

BATTLE OF BRITAIN

The Battle of Britain was an air battle between German and British air forces over Britain from the 10th of July 1940 until October 1940 during the Second World War. At the outset the Germans had the advantage because they had seized airfields in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, which were basically safe from attack and from which south-east England was within easy range. On the 1st of August 1940 the Luftwaffe had about 4,500 aircraft of all kinds, compared to about 3,000 for the RAF. The Battle of Britain had been intended as a preliminary to the German invasion plan Operation Sea Lion, which Hitler indefinitely postponed on the 17th of September and abandoned on the 10th of October, choosing instead to invade the USSR, and the bombing raids were switched to civilian targets.
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