Following the fall of France on June 22nd 1940, Hitler hoped that the British would seek an armistice or agree to divide the world with Germany. On July 2nd, after diplomatic overtures had been rebuffed by Churchill, Hitler authorised “Operation Sea Lion”, the invasion of England across English Channel. As the invasion required air superiority, Göring ordered the Luftwaffe to destroy the Royal Air Force, promising Hitler this would take four days.

Germany had at its disposal more than 5,000 aircraft, of which 1,200 bombers and 1,000 fighters were deployed against the RAFs 1700 aircraft, of which 900 were Hurricanes or Spitfire interceptors. The latter were however superior to all the German fighters except the Messerschmitt 109 and the British had the advantage of effective radar

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Battle of Britain - the Blitz". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 February 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1397, accessed 23 November 2024.]