battle of britain
...sh life and long continuity of our institution and our Empire.” (Winston Churchill, June 18 1940 ) In order to invade Britain, the Germans had to have control in the air over the English Channel, other wise the Royal Air force and Royal Navy would of been able to destroy the German invasion force before it reached the shore. The Luffwaffe had to secure command of the air which meant neutralizing the RAF Fighter Command particularly the 11 group that protected airspace over southern England. This was vital to any plan for an invasion fleet to successfully cross the channel, to prevent British sea or air forces from interfering with the operation. Starting on July 10 1940, the Luffwaffe attacked shipping convoys in the Channel and Channel ports along with radar masts and stations damaging some very badly. This was know as the first stage of the battle where the Luffwaffe was probing the British defence to find weaknesses before the major assault. During the second phase attacks on the shipping continued but Germany now started to bomb and destroy RAF airfields in southern and southern- east England ion”, the invasion of Britain into operation. During this phase the Fighter Command was stretched to the limit. The first bombing attacks on the City of London started the third phase of the battle. Attacks by massed formations of bombers never seen before in the skies brought the war closer than ever to the residents of the capital. The Luftwaffe theory was that with mass bombing raids, they could inflict sever damage to the ci...