ect to the significance of the Battle to the eventual Allied victory in the Second World War.
The Battle of Britain: A Description
The 114-day Battle of Britain may be divided into four phases (Deighton, 1978). The time demarkations, and activity descriptions for these phases are as follows:
Phase 1--10 July 1940-11 August 1940. During this time period, the Luftwaffe attacked British coastal convoys, and air battles between the Luftwaffe and the RAF occurred over the English Channel (Deighton, 1978).
Phase 2--12 August 1940-23 August 1940. Major Luftwaffe air assaults were conducted against British coastal installations during this time period, as a part of a plan to facilitate a German landing in Britain (Deighton, 1978).
Phase 3--24 August 1940--6 September 1940. The priority Luftwaffe objectives during this time period were the RAF fighter airfields located in southeast England (Deighton, 1978).
Phase 4--7 September 1940-31 October 1940. It was during this time period that the Luftwaffe attacked English population centers--particularly London (Deighton, 1978).
The Luftwaffe objective during Phase 1 was to close the English Channel to British shipping (Deighton, 1978). With respect to the RAF, the Germans figured that they could not lose in this effort. If the RAF sent its fighters into the fray, they would suffer heavy losses, which would cripple the English airforce for the period when the Germans attacked the British mainland. If the RAF failed to respond to the Luftwaffe attacks, severe British shipping losses would be suffered.
There was significant disagreement among British war planners about how the RAF Fighter Command should be used. By far, most of the senior air staff favored providing cover for British shipping. Commander in Chief, Fighter Command, Sir Hugh Dowding fought hard to preserve the strength of Fighter Command for the protection of the British mainland, which he was sure...