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June
1940 - May 1941
The Battle of Britain - The
Battle of the Atlantic
During the summer of 1940, Britain faced extreme danger as German forces converged on the French coast in preparation for invasion. As RAF Fighter Command fought off the Luftwaffe’s bombing raids, RAF Bomber Command repeatedly attacked the German troops’ advance and German shipping. The combination of the RAF’s fighter and bomber efforts forced Hitler to postpone his invasion plans indefinitely.
In September, the Germans began a series of heavy ‘Blitz’ raids on British cities. By the end of May 1941, 43,000 British civilians had been killed.
By March, German U-boats were sinking so many cargo ships they were threatening to cut Britain’s supply of food, fuel and armaments from across the Atlantic. Bomber Command was ordered to prioritise bombing raids on German shipping, ports, U-boat bases and shipyards.
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1940
June |
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Invasion:
Bomber
Command operates alongside the fighters in the Battle of
Britain - and like ‘The Few’ pays a heavy
price in airmen’s lives
(July - September 1940) |
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First attack (by Whitleys) on Italian targets. |
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After the
German invasion and defeat of their army, the French were
forced to allow Germany to take control of Northern France - now
the Luftwaffe could use French aerodromes just across the
Channel to launch raids on Britain.
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The RAF sends 138 bombers to attack oil refineries and railway yards in Germany
In response to RAF raids, Herman Goering orders the Luftwaffe to form a specialised night-fighter unit. |
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1940
July |
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RAF heavy bombers target German shipping to hinder the anticipated invasion of Britain: First 2000-lb bomb is dropped by a Hampden of Bomber Command - against the German warship Scharnhorst at Kiel (the pilot of the Hampden was Guy Gibson, later of Dambusters fame) |
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RAF photo-reconnaissance aircraft spot German barges being moved up the Rhine to occupied French and Dutch ports in readiness for invasion across the English Channel - RAF Blenheims begin attacking barges on the Rhine near Rotterdam
Bomber Command’s raids on the barges, ports and airfields, plus mine-laying operations all intensified through July, August and September as the threat of invasion loomed. |
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An RAF bomber attempts to bomb the German liners Europa and Bremen, being prepared in the port of Hamburg to carry troops for the invasion of Britain |
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12 Blenheims set out to bomb a concentration of German aircraft at Stravanger, Norway. Only 4 Blenheims, all badly damaged, survive. |
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The Battle of Britain begins:
The start of intensive air-fighting over the English Channel |
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1940
August |
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Heavy German air attacks on Britain begin
The first stage of the German’s invasion plans was the defeat of RAF Fighter Command. Air-fighting over the English Channel intensified and RAF Bomber Command targeted airfields in Holland and Northern France being used by Luftwaffe bombers and fighters.
Hampden bombers breach the Dortmund-Ems aqueduct, delaying the movement of invasion barges to the Channel coast - Flt Lt Roderick ‘Babe’ Learoyd wins VC for attacking the aqueduct despite ‘the most intense point-blank fire’ |
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82 Sqn (which lost 11 out of 12 aircraft on one operation on 17th May) sends 12 Blenheims to bomb Hemsteds airfield in Holland. For the second time, only one of 82 Sqn’s aircraft returns. The other 11 are shot down by Me 109 fighters |
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The Luftwaffe attacks Bomber Command base at Driffield in Yorkshire |
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First German bombs fall on central London - probably unintentionally |
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Churchill orders a swift reply: The first RAF mission to bomb Berlin.
The events of the 24th / 25th August were the turning point of the Battle of Britain: The bombing of Berlin, though ineffective, so infuriated Hitler that he ordered a direct attack on London. This was a fateful decision: Over London the German fighters, with their limited endurance, could fly and fight for no more than ten minutes. Without proper protection, the German bombers became much easier to shoot down. Relieved from repeated attacks, Fighter Command’s air bases breathed again and regained their fighting strength |
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1940
September |
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The ‘Blitz’ on Britain’s cities had begun - London would endure 57 nights of bombing without respite. 43,000 civilians would be killed, half of them in London, and more than one million homes destroyed or damaged in London alone. Other cities that were to suffer included Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Coventry, Glasgow, Sheffield, Swansea, Liverpool Hull, Manchester, Portsmouth, Plymouth and Southampton. |
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First Invasion Alert - Bomber Command intensifies attacks on airfields and ports on the French coast |
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Photo-reconnaissance aircraft spot marked increase in numbers of invasion barges assembling in Channel ports. Bomber Command begins intensive raids - up to 170 bombers attacking each night |
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During attack on barges in Antwerp by Hampdens, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Sgt John Hannah wins VC for saving his aircraft when hit and ablaze |
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Hitler postpones invasion indefinitely, as a direct result of Bomber Command’s destruction of barges and shipping and Fighter Command’s victory over the Luftwaffe during daylight attacks on London.
In winning the Battle of Britain, Fighter Command lost 537 pilots killed. Bomber Command lost 718 aircrew killed in action. Coastal Command lost 230 airmen. |
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119 RAF bombers attack Berlin. |
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1940
October |
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After
the Battle of Britain:
A new Air Ministry
directive to Bomber Command makes German oil production
the highest priority target - on moonlit nights
On darker nights, when accurate bombing would be more difficult, attacks on industrial targets in towns and cities were ordered. The authorities were fully aware that bombs and incendiaries would inevitably spill onto surrounding industrial areas. This was the first step towards what would later be called ‘area-bombing’. |
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1940
November |
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Most concentrated Bomber Command raid to date: 131 aircraft against four specific military / industrial targets in Hamburg |
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1940
December |
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Following a series of heavy German bombing raids on English cities, particularly Southampton and Coventry, the War Cabinet orders a reprisal attack on a German city: 134 bombers are sent to Mannheim. |
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1941
January |
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Repeated attacks on Bremen over 4 consecutive nights |
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New Air Ministry bombing directive: Once again oil is made the primary target when the weather permits.
British planners believed the disruption of oil production could affect all of Germany’s war effort - but this new campaign lasted only a month until the crisis of shipping losses in the Atlantic diverted Bomber Command’s resources yet again. |
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1941
February |
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First operation by new Stirling heavy bombers - against oil tanks at Rotterdam.
Large force of 221 bombers sent against targets at Hanover. |
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First operation by new Manchester heavy bombers - against warships at Brest.
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1941
March |
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First operation by new Halifax heavy bombers - against targets at Le Havre. |
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Air Ministry issues ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ directive Bomber Command’s primary task now is to attack Germany’s ability to win the war at sea.
German battleships, submarines (U-boats) and long-range bombers (Focke-Wulf Kondors) were threatening to starve Britain of supplies from America and Canada. Since the fall of France, which had given the Germans access to Atlantic ports, German battleships had sunk 900 ships carrying cargo to Britain. The RAF increased mine-laying and bombed ports, shipyards, U-boat bases and shipping. Anti-shipping strikes were phenomenally dangerous - necessitating daylight attack at very low-level. Aircrew losses were so heavy these missions were almost suicidal - but the very survival of the nation was at stake. |
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Beginning of sustained attacks on Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in Brest.
These two massive battleships had recently sunk or captured 22 merchant ships before returning to their French base. |
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1941
April |
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First 4000 lb bomb dropped - by a Wellington at Emden |
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1941
May |
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Biggest
Bomber Command operation to date:
359 aircraft against north
German targets (Hamburg - Bremen)
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Minelaying by Hampdens outside Brest and St Nazaire.
This was an example of a small number of bombers being used to try to block ports vital to the Germans in the Battle of the Atlantic. The struggle against the U-boats would continue for another two years before the Allies gained the upper hand in decisive naval battles. RAF Coastal Command played an important role, sinking over 200 U-boats. Bomber Command devoted much of its strength to mine-laying and destroying U-boat facilities, shipyards and docks in Germany and Occupied Europe. |
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