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Sunday, September 16, 2018

So Easy to Forget

Today, all good Englishmen and women and not a few good folk elsewhere remember the Battle of Britain. Many not so good and even more of the young do not remember it at all. But we do here in the Tavern. 

In the Summer of 1940, following resounding military victories which captured pretty well every country in Europe, apart from a few spots left neutral as a spy watering holes, Nazi Germany set its sights on Britain.

Hitler's early-war momentum was driven by the power of his airforce, the Luftwaffe. And so he would deploy them again in an attempt to intimidate Britain into peace negotiations.

But up against the RAF's industrious Hawker Hurricane and adaptable Supermarine Spitfire, the Nazi fighters and bombers failed. 

Towards the end of the air battle, Germany began its eight-month blitz bombing campaign to cripple Britain's war economy — which also did not have the desired effect.

The Battle of Britain - named by Winston Churchill before it even began - was the first major defeat for Germany in World War II, and although the war continued for five more years, it is widely seen as one of a just a handful of 'turning points' for the allied forces.

Here are the key stats from great battle.

It lasted 112 days.

From July 10th till October 31st, there were regular clashes in the skies between Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Luftwaffe.

It began with a series of Luftwaffe raids on shipping convoys in the Channel. The RAF shot down 14 German aircrafts and severely damaged a further 23.

More than 3,000 aircraft were downed from both sides

That was 1,023 from the British side and 1,887 of the Luftwaffe, according to RAF statistics.

544 RAF Fighter Command pilots died

From an estimated crew of 3,000, only around half survived the four-month battle. 544 Fighter Command pilots and crew were among the dead, as were more than 700 from Bomber Command and nearly 300 from Coastal Command.

There are less than two dozen left alive today.

Of the more than 2,900 RAF pilots who served in the Battle of Britain, only around 2,350 were British. 

The rest were natives of Commonwealth territories such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as well as expatriates from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and other countries under Nazi occupation. 

There were even a handful of American pilots, most notably Billy Fiske, a 29-year-old sportsman who had previously won a gold medal for bobsledding at the Winter Olympics. 

The international contingent proved especially deadly in the cockpit. 

The Polish No. 303 fighter squadron downed 126 German planes during the battle—more than any Allied unit—and the RAF’s top scoring ace was Josef Frantisek, a Czech aviator who singlehandedly claimed 17 aerial victories.

2,500 Luftwaffe aircrew were killed

With more lives lost and aircraft destroyed than the German High Command had ever anticipated, this devastating defeat forced the German forces to rethink their strategy for attacking Britain: 

The commenced The Blitz.

The Blitz that followed killed more than 40,000 British civilians

On September 7, as it became clear that Germany was failing to win the air fight, Hitler gave the greenlight for relentless bombing of British cities in an attempt to crush its war economy. 

Though the eight-month campaign failed to significantly damage Britain's military operations, more than 40,000 civilians were killed and and places such as the city centre of Coventry were levelled.

Only four out of 10 young people know about the Battle of Britain


According to a RAF Benevolent Fund study, a large proportion of 18 to 24-year olds do not even know what or when the historic World War II clash was.

But we will not forget.

Raise your glasses, horns, tankards and tea cups to

 The Few.

Pax





2 comments:

  1. Tavern keeper

    "Of the more than 2,900 RAF pilots who served in the Battle of Britain, only around 2,350 were British."

    Since when is 80% "only"!

    Add to that the fact that nearly every pilot from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US would have been British by blood if not by birth.

    I am in no way disrespecting the Europeans, in a fight all help is appreciated. But "only" was a poor choice of words.

    However it is always good to remember our heroes, good job.

    Mark Moncrieff
    Upon Hope Blog - A Traditional Conservative Future

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. British understatement, Sir. To honour those who chose to have skin in the game rather than a duty of immediate birthright. But you acknowledge the connection of some by likely blood. All had a moral connection. A pint on the table for you.

      Delete

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