1 / 12

The Battle of Britain

The Nazi War Machine is Stopped. The Battle of Britain. Germany’s Challenge. At the start of the war, the British Air Force and Navy controlled the English Channel between Great Britain and mainland Europe

lok
Download Presentation

The Battle of Britain

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Nazi War Machine is Stopped The Battle of Britain

  2. Germany’s Challenge • At the start of the war, the British Air Force and Navy controlled the English Channel between Great Britain and mainland Europe • Germany needed to control the skies over Great Britain before they could launch a ground attack

  3. The Luftwaffe Attacks • The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) set out to clear the British Air Force from the skies on July 10, 1940 • Wave after wave of German Messerschmitts and Heinkels flew across the Channel to Great Britain • They bombed radar stations, airfields, ports and factories

  4. The Royal Air Force is Crippled • Slowly the RAF planes were wiped out • At one point every fighter plane that Britain owned was in the air • If the German’s had launched another attack, there would have been no planes left to respond

  5. Great Britain Responds • In August, the RAF made a surprise bombing raid in Berlin • The Commander of the German Forces, Herman Goering was furious • He had promised the German people that no Allied plane would ever be able to bomb a German City

  6. Goering’s Revenge • Herman Goering decided to respond to the attack on Berlin by “blitzing” British cities relentlessly, dropping bombs on them night after night • He planned to terrorize the civilian population into surrender

  7. The Resilience of the British People • Instead of surrendering to the Germans, Londoners moved into air raid shelters and subway stations • Each day they repaired their homes, re-opened their stores and fixed other damaged infrastructure • British resistance grew stronger, not weaker throughout the blitz

  8. Unexpected Consequences • The relentless attacks on London and other British cities allowed the RAF to regroup their remaining Spitfire and Hurricane airplanes • New recruits joined those who had been flying non-stop since the blitz began • New planes came off the assembly line at the rate of 500 a month

  9. The Luftwaffe’s Last Stand • On September 15, 1940, German airplanes blackened the skies over the English Channel • The RAF was ready for them • By the end of the day the Luftwaffe was decidedly beaten

  10. German Defeat • Two days later, Adolf Hitler called off the attack on Great Britain • He could not destroy the British people • After this defeat, he was forced to turn his attention on the Soviet Union

  11. Consequences of the Battle of Britain • The battle was won by a few hundred pilots • The Allied force included pilots from Canada, Britain, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa • The Luftwaffe lost 1,722 planes • The RAF lost 915planes

  12. Canadian Accomplishments at the Battle of Britain • 80 Canadian pilots helped defend Great Britain from a Nazi invasion • They were responsible for 60 kills, and 50 probable kills http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0-fVLCnsBs

More Related