The Battle of Britain

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The popular interpretation was established quickly during the early part of the war as a ploy by the British government to maintain morale through propaganda. However the popular myth was very famous among the public during the Battle of Britain. Interpretation 1 explains what the popular myth of the Battle of Britain was itself. The popular myth is about how the invasion was thwarted by Britain in its “finest hour.” The battle therefore ensured that the “right side” was victorious. The victory can be however contributed to the “few” the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain. From my knowledge I know that there were 1500 pilots on the British side who came from all around the British Empire and from defeated countries. Their morale was pretty high as they realized what depended on them. They weren’t very well trained as the training period was reduced to two weeks rather than the year-long training scheme that was essential to produce an effective pilot according to Sir Hugh Dowding the then Commander in Chief of Fighter command. It is true that these pilots did inflict more damage on the Germans than the Germans did to British planes, especially before the attack on airfields from 24th August to 6th September.

The first 6 interpretations all originated during the wartime period itself and are similar in the fact they all use the popular myth to explain Britain’s victory in the Battle of Britain.

Interpretation 2 contains extracts from two famous Churchill speeches made in 1940 during the Second World War. Anything that mentions “their finest hour” or “the few” can be seen as the popular myth. At this stage (June 1940) Churchill would not have known the outcome of the Battle of Britain. He stresses that the Battle was very important for the survival of British culture, Christian civilization, British institutions and the Empire. He remarks that if Hitler fails to break through Britain Germany would lose the war. He also says the freedom of Europe and America would be lost if Nazi Tyranny was allowed to succeed and if Britain succeeds in survives it would be Britain’s “finest hour”.

The second speech made in August 1940 to the House of Commons mentions “the few” the pilots and bombers and the debt owed to them. He emphasizes the importance of American help and how the British and Americans needed to cooperate fully. He may have said this because he is appealing to America for help on the allied side. The speech targets the British public and the Americans in order to raise morale in preparation for hard times and win support of Americans.

These speeches are primary first hand evidence from the Prime Minister. Its highly effective in reaching its wartime audience because it was what people wanted to hear and he captures and sets the mood. However its weaknesses do balance the strengths as well. This was a piece of propaganda designed to raise morale. Churchill could not give the overview that comes with hindsight. The speeches were written in June and August 1940 during which Operation Sea Lion as named by Hitler was still in progress. The Germans had probably launched Eagle attack in which the whole of the Luftwaffe attacked several targets in Britain such as radar stations and naval bases and were in the process of attacking airfields. As a piece of evidence it is very biased. Churchill would have been aware of the need to present the situation in an optimistic light in order to boost morale and maintain leadership. He also perhaps attached more importance to the Battle of Britain than was needed. Indeed the Battle of Britain did force the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion but the bombing on London did continue and the real blow came on 4th June 1944 during the D-Day invasions.

Interpretation number 3 is an autobiography by an RAF pilot written when he was recovering from a terrible injury called the Last Enemy written during the War.  He narrates his experiences as a pilot from his first kill to his near death experience to saving a woman bombed by the Luftwaffe. The popular myth of the Battle of Britain is mentioned again by explaining the significance of the pilots “the few” and he talks of the triumph of right over wrong. When talking of “the few” he describes their role in a very cool precise and impersonal manner. Its strengths are that it is primary first hand account of one of the pilots, very much a personalized view. It was a best seller and was regarded as one of the best autobiographies of the war. He captures the mood of the time; writing very effectively about the reasons for fighting and it is a truthful, emotive account. Its weaknesses are ironically is that it is an autobiography giving a personal account. He only concentrates on the role of the pilots so it is a very narrow view. It is biased as he is patriotic and is trying to promote the one side that of the popular myth and doesn’t mention other factors, which played a part in the Battle of Britain. It was written during the Battle of Britain and he seems to describe the Bombings on London, which was the last stage of the battle in which the Germans committed a tactical mistake by stopping the bombing of airfields. The RAF therefore managed to stay intact when bad weather and the destroying of invading ships of the coast of France forced Hitler to quit Operation Sea Lion.

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Interpretation 4 contains newsreels produced in 1940 by Movietone and others and were shown at every cinema performance. They were a very popular means of keeping up with the news and were made in close cooperation with the Ministry of Information in charge of Government propaganda. They were very good at setting the mood and responding to what people wanted in wartime. They helped raise morale and were popular and highly effective being very nationalistic in imagery and commentary. It however is very biased as they were propaganda. The filmmakers worked very closely with the ministry of information, which ...

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