Air Battle of Britain

On August 2, 1940, the German Air Force Headquarters issued an order to launch the Battle of Britain, code-named "Eagle Day Plan". Air Force G?ring firmly believed that Britain could be defeated in just 4 days just like Poland, but he ignored Britain's huge war potential. On August 10, the Luftwaffe, which was ready to go, was unable to attack due to weather reasons, and the plan was postponed to August 13. On August 12, the Luftwaffe carried out violent bombings of radar stations along the British coast, causing serious damage to some British radars. Damaged, but the Germans did not understand the important role radar played in air combat. In this regard, they lagged far behind the British.

On August 13, the weather was gloomy, and the visibility over Britain was extremely poor. The dark clouds were often as low as 1,300 meters. However, Goering could not wait any longer. He ordered the German bombers to carry out the mission as planned, but the German escort However, the fighter jets did not take off at the same time as originally planned, and only a small number of fighter jets followed. The German bombers had to act rashly with almost no bomber escort. When British radar detected the German bomber, it immediately ordered fighter jets to take off to intercept it, and also sent two "Tornado" fighter squadrons from the 10th Fighter Group to patrol the skies over Dorset. When the German flight formation crossed the British coastline, the fighter jet at the end of the formation sounded an alarm: a "Spitfire" fighter jet was spotted behind them. When they heard the alarm, the German pilots became nervous as if they were electrocuted. They understood: their "Metro" The performance of the Seschmit fighter was not as good as that of the British Spitfire. The German planes formed a circular defensive formation, covering each other, and began to turn. Before one German plane had completely turned the corner, the British plane suddenly chased it from behind. Coming up, the German plane immediately turned to the right, and the bullet passed by the left side of the fuselage. Another German plane wanted to dive to avoid the British plane, but because the Messerschmitt itself was very clumsy, it did not increase its speed and was hit by the British plane. Another British plane rushed towards the German planes and fought with the German planes. After a while, two German planes were shot down. The situation of the German army in other places was not good either. The German planes that bombed the Port of Sheerness were bitten by the British "Tornado" fighter planes, and had to throw a few bombs indiscriminately before running away in despair. .

On August 15, the weather improved unexpectedly. Goering summoned the commanders of the air forces to hold a military meeting at the official residence of Karin Hall Manor. The highest-ranking officer of the Air Force Command, the 2nd Air Force, was left Colonel Paul Deichmann, the team's chief of staff, decisively ordered the attack. Germany dispatched more than 1,800 aircraft, including more than 600 fighter jets. The 2nd and 3rd Air Forces almost came out in full force, and the 5th Air Force also sent aircraft to participate in the battle for the first time. , so that the German army launched attacks from both north and south directions at the same time. The 5th Air Force in the north thought that the British defense in the northeastern region was relatively empty, and due to range restrictions, it only sent 34 Messerschmitt-110 fighters to cover 63 Heinkel-111s and 50 Junkers- 88, he was unexpectedly attacked by 84 fighter jets from seven squadrons of the 13th British Army. Captain Restman, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 76th Fighter Regiment, the German fighter air commander, was killed before he could adjust his flight status. Shot down, Germany was shot down 7 Messerschmitt-110, 16 Heinkel-111 and 6 Junkers-88. The 5th Air Force never participated in the Battle of Britain again. In the fierce fighting in southern England, the German army invested 975 fighter jets and 622 bombers, launched four waves of air strikes, and violently bombed five British airports and four aircraft manufacturing plants. The British army successively invested 22 Fighter squadron, fighting with all their strength. The fighting continued until dark. The Germans dispatched about 2,000 sorties throughout the day and were shot down 75. The British troops dispatched 974 sorties and lost 34 in air combat. 21 bombers were destroyed on the ground. Martelsham and Linney The airport suffered major damage. This day was the most intense day since the beginning of the Battle of Britain, and was known as "Black Thursday." Based on the proportion of losses on both sides, it was difficult for the German army to destroy the British Air Force with its existing numerical advantage. On August 16, 1940, the German army once again launched a large-scale campaign, but achieved almost no results. On August 17, 1940, only a sporadic small fleet of German aircraft carried out harassing air raids. On August 18, 1940, the German army launched a strong offensive and was resisted tenaciously by the British army. 71 aircraft were shot down, while the British army only lost 27 aircraft. On August 19, 1940, G?ring held a Chiefs of Staff meeting at his official residence at Karinhall Manor to summarize the previous stage of combat and decided to focus all his efforts on attacking the base of the main 11th Group of the British Air Force and stop dispatching any aircraft that had been lost in the battle. The tragic Junkers-87 dive bomber.

From August 19 to 23, 1940, the air combat was suspended for five days due to weather conditions. This was the end of the first phase of the Battle of Britain. During this phase, the German army paid a huge price with 367 aircraft shot down. 12 British airports and 7 aircraft manufacturing plants were damaged to varying degrees. 6 radar stations were once lost. As a result, one command center was bombed, and one ammunition depot and 10 oil storage depots were destroyed. However, the German army did not choose targets in a concentrated manner, which dispersed its forces to a certain extent and reduced the effect of the assault. Coupled with the tenacious resistance of the British army, there was no can achieve the expected purpose. The British lost 183 aircraft during this period.

From August 24 to September 6, 1940, the Battle of Britain entered the critical second phase. In accordance with Goering's decision, the German army carried out a massive attack on the main base of the British 11th Group and the aircraft manufacturing plant in southern England. Large-scale air strikes, during these two weeks, the German army dispatched more than 1,000 aircraft sorties every day. On August 30 and August 31, 1940, the average daily number reached 1,600! One wave of bombings followed another, and air battles followed air battles. In this decisive stage, the British pilots were very tired because they had been in a state of high tension for more than a month and sometimes had to fly several times a day. Since the beginning of the air war, 103 British pilots have been killed and 128 seriously injured. The total number of casualties accounts for a quarter of all pilots! Britain began to lack pilots. The British could no longer support it. At this time, the British urgently needed international assistance, especially assistance from the United States. At this time, the opportunity came.

On August 24, 1940, the weather cleared up. That night, the German army sent planes to launch an air raid on Britain. However, due to heavy fog, a German plane accidentally bombed London, killing eight citizens. British Prime Minister Churchill keenly seized this opportunity and appealed to the international community for humanitarian assistance. During the war, bombing the other side's capital was an inhumane act. Churchill seized this opportunity and got the support of the President of the United States. Roosevelt's aid led to victory in the war.

At 9 a.m. on August 25, Germany dispatched more than 1,000 aircraft to carry out fierce bombings on major airports in the UK, including Manston, Hornchurch, North Weald and many other airports. The airport was severely damaged. On the 26th, Germany used our team to carry out harassing bombing. From the 25th to the 26th, the German *** lost 61 aircraft and the British lost 42 aircraft, which the Royal Air Force could not bear.

Three anti-aircraft guns flashed in the dark London night, December 1940 August 20th

On the night of August 26th, the Royal Air Force bombed Berlin and dropped leaflets in Berlin, which read: "We will fight as long as Hitler is willing." Although this air raid did not There were many battles, but it filled the hearts of the Germans with fear. This was the first time in the history of Berlin that Berlin was attacked by air, and the Luftwaffe did not shoot down a British plane. This was all caused by G?ring's pride. On August 27 and 28, Britain launched two more air raids on Berlin, killing seven citizens. At this time, Goering also began his revenge.

On August 29, the German 2nd Air Force dispatched a large number of aircraft to London for bombing, hoping to lure the Royal Air Force into dispatching. On August 30, the British Air Force and the German Air Force encountered each other at the mouth of the Thames River, and the two sides launched a fierce battle in the air. On August 31, the German Air Force blew up the warehouses, command buildings and wires of the British airport. The aircraft was blown up and people on the ground were killed. In the afternoon, the German 2nd Bomber Aviation Regiment made a sneak attack on Hornchurch Airport. The British Army The losses were very heavy.

On the night of September 4, the Royal Air Force launched its fourth air raid on London. On September 15, another large-scale battle took place between the Luftwaffe and the British Air Force over the United Kingdom. In this battle, 56 German aircraft were shot down. On September 17, Air Marshals Kesselring and Speller asked G?ring in the strongest possible terms to abandon day operations and switch to night operations. From September 16 to September 19, 1940, due to poor weather, the German army only carried out small-scale air raids, with little results. In order to reduce aircraft losses, Goering ordered that the air raids on London be changed from daytime to nighttime from October 1, 1940. In view of the fact that British fighter jets focused on attacking bombers and ignored the characteristics of fighter jets, Bf.109s were equipped with bombs during the day. sneak attack. It worked as expected at first. The Messerschmitt-109, which was equipped with bombs, reached the target without any hindrance, and the bombings were successful one after another. The British army immediately learned their lesson and intercepted any German aircraft. Because the BF109 with bombs attached was very heavy, vulnerable and suffered great losses, the German army had to terminate this tactic. In October 1940, the German army continued to carry out terrorist air raids on London in an attempt to force Britain to surrender with huge material losses and deaths. However, despite the fierce air raids, London citizens continued to work, live and play as usual, and maintained the optimism and optimism of the British. humor.

St. Paul's Church erected in the smoke and flames of war

A row of German bombers are flying over the English Channel

German HE-111 bomber, on the way to Britain, November 1940

Plan 36 In the eleventh plan, Li Dai Tao Jiang said: "It is bound to be a loss, and the yin is lost to gain the yang.

"It means that in terms of military strategy, if the final victory can only be achieved at the cost of some loss or defeat, the commander should make a prompt decision and make some partial or temporary sacrifices to preserve or strive for the overall and overall victory. Victory. In the Battle of Britain, Marshal Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of the British Air Force, and British Prime Minister Churchill both used this strategy to give up partial interests and preserve all interests.

In the Battle of Britain, Britain Air Force Commander Marshal Dowding only sent a small number of aircraft each time to confront the overwhelmingly superior German aircraft. Dowding's approach was severely criticized by some people in the UK who were eager to win, but he still insisted on his combat plan. . On August 13, the German Air Force concentrated its superior forces and launched a key attack on the British Air Force. Faced with the large-scale attack by the German Air Force, Marshal Dowding still went his own way. On September 15, the German aircraft once again crossed the English Channel, but this time. One time, Dowding went against his normal behavior and sent all his fighter planes to attack the Germans. Seeing this, the German planes panicked and immediately returned. According to the German battle plan, there were only two days left to completely destroy the British air power. So Goering had no choice but to make a desperate move and ordered the Air Force to launch a second attack. But what he didn't expect was that almost all the British planes were waiting. As a result, a large number of German planes were shot down by the waiting British planes, and the British won. The final victory of this war

German BF-110 twin-helix bomber. , flying across the English Channel, August 1940

　

< p> Why did Dowding only send a small number of British planes at first, but on September 15th he sent out all the air power, and the planes were waiting for the German planes in the air? It turned out that he sent a small number of planes to fight at the beginning. Because he knew that Germany was trying to lure all British aircraft into the sky and then annihilate them. The reason why he committed all the strength of the Royal Air Force on September 15 was because he knew that this day was the last attack by German aircraft. As for The British planes were waiting in the air for the second attack by the German planes because Dowding obtained this information within minutes of Goering's order, and all of this was unknown to those who criticized Marshal Dowding. After this air battle, they seemed to have more reason to believe that if Dowding put all British aircraft into the battle, they would be able to win immediately. However, Dowding's previous command was obviously wrong. Under the pressure of strong public opinion, Dowding He was removed from his position as Air Force Commander and forced to retire a year later. Churchill and a few insiders never defended him, because the British intelligence service had a strict rule that within thirty years of the end of a classified mission. No one with knowledge of the matter was allowed to reveal the secret. So how did Marshal Dowding know the German battle plan? What secret made Churchill keep it secret despite violating moral principles?

It turns out that as early as 1918, the Germans invented a cipher machine, which is the famous "Enigma cipher machine". In August 1939, British MI6 obtained an Enigma cipher machine in Poland, and based on the research results of the Poles, they developed a code-named "Super Secret" code-breaking machine and applied it to On every battlefield. It was not until 1975 that the "super secret" was revealed. At this time, people suddenly realized that Marshal Dowding's spirit of disregarding fame and fortune and taking the overall situation into consideration won him the admiration of future generations.

I just said that not only Marshal Dowding, but also British Prime Minister Churchill during the Battle of Britain also experienced a more severe test. This test was not a personal gain or loss of honor or disgrace, but a city. And living lives, what is going on? It turned out that after the German air attacks were repeatedly frustrated, German officers began to consider a question: Has their code been deciphered by the British? In order to test this conjecture, the Germans decided to conduct an air raid test. On November 12, the German Air Force Command issued an order: ordering the bomber formation to carry out violent bombing of central cities in the United Kingdom from the 14th to the 15th. The specific bombing target was Coventry, an important city in the United Kingdom, Germany. People named this project "Moonlight Sonata". How to deal with this bombing? The British faced a dilemma. After repeated weighings, Churchill believed that in future operations, super secrets would be a decisive and important weapon. Its security was far more important than the security of a city. In order to win the entire war, Coventry could only be preserved at the expense of Super secret. Coventry did not make any defenses and did not evacuate citizens in advance. After making the decision to abandon Coventry, Churchill once said to the British military and political leaders: "I know as well as you that the cost of sacrificing a city is a bit high, but compared with the entire British Empire, this is nothing."< /p>

Two days later, Coventry, which had no special defense, withstood ten hours of devastating bombing by German bomber planes. In the explosion caused by more than 500 heavy bombs, Coventry became devastated. It became a ruin.

Pay and reward are always directly proportional. Because the British kept super secrets, super secrets played a huge role in subsequent wars and made an indispensable contribution to the victory of the war for Britain and the Allies. obliterated contribution.

On October 12, 1940, Hitler decided to postpone the "Sea Lion Project" to the spring of 1941, actually giving up the plan to land in the UK. The so-called delay was just a cover to hide the fact that the German High Command It had long been decided to invade the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, so it was naturally impossible to attack Britain again. On October 25, 1940, the Italian Air Force also sent aircraft to join the air attack on Britain. However, the Italian pilots were frightened when they saw the fierce and accurate British anti-aircraft artillery fire. They dropped their bombs and turned around and fled. It was not until November 10, 1940, when the British army shot down an Italian aircraft for the first time that it was known that Italy had also participated in the air war. In the third phase from September 7 to October 1940, Germany's plan to force Britain to surrender through terrorist air raids on London was completely frustrated. During this period, the German army lost 433 aircraft and the British army lost 242 aircraft. In fact, this stage of the air battle has declared Germany's failure in this air campaign. The German army was not reconciled to such a defeat, and continued to carry out night air raids on London and expanded to Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Southampton and other cities. The Battle of Britain entered the fourth stage. In this stage, the purpose of the German air raids was It is no longer about destroying the British Air Force, but to carry out air strikes on British industrial cities to weaken the British military industry and create the illusion of attacking Britain. On the one hand, it can contain the large number of British navy, land and air forces on the mainland, and on the other hand, it can also provide cover for attacking the Soviet Union. and preparations.

In February 1941, the 3rd Luftwaffe of the Luftwaffe received a new mission: the "Plan Felix". The content of the plan was for the German Army and Air Force to pass through Spain and occupy Gibraltar. However, due to the Franco Brother refused to assume this obligation, and the plan came to nothing.