Battle of Britain

July 10 – October 31, 1940 · Western Europe Theater

Phases

1. 1Jul–Aug 12 — KanalkampfJuly 10 – August 12, 1940
2. 2Aug 13–Sep 6 — The AirfieldsAugust 13 – September 6, 1940
3. 3Sep 7–Oct 31 — London & the TurnSeptember 7 – October 31, 1940

July 10 – August 12, 1940

With France fallen, only the RAF stands between the Luftwaffe and an invasion. The battle opens over the Channel: attacks on coastal convoys and ports designed to bleed Fighter Command out over water. Britain’s real weapon is invisible — the Dowding System, the world’s first integrated air defense, fusing the Chain Home radar towers, the Observer Corps, and sector control rooms into a machine that puts squadrons exactly where they are needed.

• ➤Luftflotte 2 (Kesselring) — From the Pas-de-Calais against the convoys
• ➤Luftflotte 3 (Sperrle) — From Normandy against the southern ports
• ●Chain Home — the radar wall the Luftwaffe never understood
• ●Bentley Priory — Fighter Command HQ and the Dowding System