What was the Battle of Britain?
The Battle of Britain was an air campaign fought over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940, when the Royal Air Force defended Britain against attacks by the German Luftwaffe. It was the first major battle fought entirely in the air.
After the fall of France in June 1940, Germany planned to invade Britain, an operation called Sea Lion. To succeed, it needed to control the skies.
The Luftwaffe attacked RAF airfields, radar stations and later cities. RAF pilots, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes, fought back.
The few
Radar, an early warning system, helped the RAF detect incoming aircraft. Pilots came from Britain and many other countries, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Winston Churchill praised the pilots, saying never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
By October 1940, Germany had failed to defeat the RAF, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely.
Battle of Britain Day is marked on 15 September, when the RAF won a decisive victory in 1940. The Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne in Kent honors the pilots.