There were many reasons for the RAF success over the Luftwaffe. The RAF had Radar which could give us the numbers, altitude, speed and course of German fighters. This meant fighter command could use planes efficiently and they could sleep between patrols. When a German attacked was detected RAF planes would be scrambled and vectored to the target. Radar meant that RAF pilots were much fresher and the whole of Britain could be covered with fewer planes than would be needed for constant patrols.
In June 1940 Hitler was not thinking about the invasion. The Navy and Army plans were different. Orders for Operation Sealion were not given till 6th July. These factors meant that Britain could get ready for attacks and build more aircraft. If the Germans had attacked quicker the RAF would probably had been too weak to hold them off.
At the beginning of the war there was only 1 Army division in Britain. They had no tanks or anti-tank guns. However, because there was no quick German attack production grew. In this period double the amount of planes were made. 16 divisions became active within a few months and 100 Spitfires were being made per week. This greater strength gave Britain a much better chance.
The Germans targets kept changing. At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on key targets such as airfields and this seemed to be crippling the RAF. However, on the 7th Sept 1940 the Germans launched a huge attack on London. This was intended to break morale. However, this meant that the RAF could recover and made sure that the RAF controlled daylight skies over Britain for the rest of the war. German planes continued to attack London at night for the rest of the War.
The main advantage for the RAF was the home soil. British fighters could refuel and return to battle within minutes. German fighter range was only 30 minutes. If a German pilot was shot down, he was either killed or captured. If a GB pilot was shot down they could fly again if not killed. This meant that the Germans would lose experienced pilots but Britain’s would just become more experienced.
The Spitfire was probably the best fighter of its time. It was faster than the ME 109 and had a more effective firepower. But the German fighter was faster and more manoeuvrable than the Hurricane which made up two-thirds of the RAF.
There were many reasons for Britain’s victory over Germany. The most important reason was radar, home soil and poor German tactics. The more minor reasons were the German’s strength, the spitfire’s superiority over German fighters and German delay.
By 15th September the Germans had given up destroying RAF airfields and concentrated attacks on London and other major cities in Britain. This signalled the end of the Battle of Britain. The RAF had shown that they were a superior air power and now controlled the day skies over Britain. SeaLion was postponed and was never put into action. Instead the Germans turned to a different tactic of destroying Britain’s supplies from the USA and other countries by sea. The Battle of the Atlantic was just beginning.
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign of the Second World War. In a hard-fought and intense struggle to cut off Britain's maritime supply lines, Germany mobilized submarines (or U-boats), battleships, battle cruisers, aircraft and mines against Allied merchant shipping. Substantial British, Canadian and American naval and air forces were deployed to defeat this challenge. By far the greatest threat came from the U-boat.
Success in this struggle swung to and fro. Escorted convoys, which the British used from the early days of the war, proved difficult targets for singles submarines. The Germans then developed attacks by groups of submarines, wolf packs. These packs were called together when a lone U-Boat sighted a convoy. The submarines then shadowed the convoy on the surface by day. At night the wolf pack would strike from all points of the compass with devastating effect.
Phases:
1st _ 2nd _ 3rd
Autumn 1940- May 41-Late 41/42 Early 42-
May 1941 May 43
1st “Happy Time” U boats on defensive 2nd “Happy
Time”
Wolfpacks German Enigma code
Introduced broken
GB in great danger
Germans changed code
Germans break
GB naval code
Sinking of
Unprotected ships in American waters
4th
May 43
Turning point
Britain is a small, densely populated and therefore depended on imports of food, oil, rubber etc. Convoys were introduced immediately but in 1940 the U-boats were better situated than WW1. The German aim was to starve Britain and therefore make Britain surrender to Germany. Hitler wanted to achieve this using U-boat in the Atlantic.
At first counter measures were ineffective, Sonar/Asdic was no good if sub was at surface. Radar was ineffective because of the Earth’s curvature and the sub gave a poor radar signature. There were very few long range planes.
In 1941 we mastered the U-boat threat due to different actions. Aircraft were used to fight the U-boats. The Canadian Navy became 50x bigger to protect merchant ships. The RAF and Navy worked closer together. The best U-boat captains were killed. America started to protect convoys. New convoy tactics were introduced.
This problem was compounded by the fact that although the USA had entered the war, it did not immediately put into place some protective measures - such as introducing convoys, and 'blacking out' coastal towns. A handful of U-boats operating on the North American and Caribbean seaboards area in the first half of 1942 accounted for nearly 500 Allied ships. The period of this campaign, called Operation Drumbeat, was the second 'happy time' for the German submariners
Intelligence was the other major factor in this second Battle of the Atlantic. Both sides at various times were able to read the signal traffic of the other. Britain's ability to break the Enigma codes, and the resulting 'Ultra' intelligence was a priceless advantage, particularly after the Royal Navy seized an Enigma machine from a captured U-boat in May 1941. Armed with information about where U-boats were patrolling, the British were able to move convoys in safe areas, away from the wolfpacks.
There were many advances in technology to fight the U-boats in 1942 and 1943. Short wave radar was brought in. It had a 4 mile range and could detect a periscope to within 1 mile by the end of the war. Day or night subs could be seen, which made wolfpacks less effective. This was a major factor.
Huff duff gave the position of U-boats using their radio messages.
This meant that U-boats could be detected long before they came near the convoy. This was a major factor.
Hedgehog was a new weapon against U-boats. 24 depth charges were sent out at once and once they hit a sub hull they exploded. This was a minor factor.
Long range aircraft were used to detect and destroy U-boats. The B24 Liberator, for example, could cover the whole of the Atlantic with a range of 3000 miles. It had 4 engines, mini radar and 6 depth charges. With this new weapon U-boats could be detected and destroyed much more easily. Also the whole of the Atlantic was protected. This was a major factor.
New ships were also developed to combat the U-boats. Frigates were quick to build and had the manoeuvrability of the corvette and the firepower of a destroyer. These ships were also fitted with new equipment which meant they were very effective anti-sub ships. This was a major factor.
The Allied captains came up with new tactics using the new equipment to protect convoys effectively and destroy enemy U-boats. This was a minor factor.
Convoy ships also became easier to build. Liberty ships were produced by the US using mass production. It used welding techniques instead of riveting. 3 of these ships were being produced by the end of the war and by June 1943 the US had replaced every merchant ship lost in WW2 up till then. Ships were being built faster than they were being destroyed. This was a major factor.
In spring 1943, Bletchley Park broke the Shark code.
These factors gave the Allies a great advantage over the U-boats and were a deciding factor of the battle.
By April the U-boats were clearly struggling to make an impact. Even worse, from Hitler's point of view, was the fact that Allied sinking of German submarines began to escalate, with 45 being destroyed in the months of April and May. Döntiz, recognising that the U-boat's moment had passed, called off the battle on 23 May 1943.
In May 43 2 turning point convoys travelled the Atlantic. SC-130 had 38 ships and reached Britain with none lost. 21 stalked the convoy and 3 subs were sunk. This was the first convoy were air cover was decisive.
ONS-5 was attacked by and beat off a 40 sub attack.
The Battle of the Atlantic was one of the longest campaigns of World War Two, and it was proportionally among the most costly. Between 75,000 and 85,000 Allied seamen were killed. About 28,000 - out of 41,000 - U-boat crew were killed during World War Two, and some two-thirds of these died in the course of the Battle of the Atlantic. The victory in the Atlantic was significant to the outcome of WW2. Britain could get supplies from America without threat and 1 yr later in May 43-June 44 2 million troops were involved in D Day landings launched from Britain. With the U-boat threat neutralised, troops from the US and Canada could be used in this attack.