What were Germany's failures at the Battle of Britain

Question

at least five answerswo

Answer 1

Germany's Air Force, the Luftwaffe, failed to achieve the goal of supremacy in the skies over Britain due to a combination of their own mistakes and disadvantages and, conversely, the correct choices made by and advantages of Great Britain's Royal Air Force (R.A.F.).

First, the Luftwaffe was not designed to accomplish the goal it set out to achieve. The aircraft and organization of the Luftwaffe was designed to support ground troops in their attacks on enemy forces. It was, in other words a 'Tactical Air Force'. The goal of destroying the R.A.F. by destroying its airfields was a 'Strategic' goal that required a 'Strategic Air Force' equipped with a large number of long range bombers, each of which would be capable of carrying a large bomb load. The largest bombers used by the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain were all medium bombers with inadequate bomb loads, so that they were unable to inflict significant enough destruction on R.A.F. airfields.

Second, one of the greatest advantages of the R.A.F. was their reliance on the new technology of radar. By being able to 'see' where the German bomber formations were and what direction they were headed BEFORE they arrived in the skies over Britain, the R.A.F. could concentrate their fighter aircraft exactly where the Luftwaffe bombers would arrive. The Germans understood this, yet, after some halfhearted attacks on British radar stations, they gave up trying to destroy them, focusing all their efforts on R.A.F. airfields (granted, radar stations were small targets that were difficult to knock out).

Third, fighting in the skies over Great Britain automatically gave the British a major advantage. When an R.A.F. pilot's plane was fatally damaged and he was forced to bail out, as long as he wasn't injured, he was available to climb into another aircraft and continue fighting in the Battle of Britain. By contrast, when a German pilot or bomber crewman bailed out of his damaged plane, he became a prisoner of war and could no longer contribute to the Luftwaffe's fight to win the Battle of Britain. In other words, every German who bailed out of his plane over Britain was a permanent loss to the German war effort.

Fourth, despite these disadvantages, the Luftwaffe was wearing down the R.A.F. when, at the beginning of September, Hitler directed the Luftwaffe to switch from bombing R.A.F. airfields to bombing the cities of Great Britain to avenge the British bombing of German cities (which was taking place throughout the time that the Battle of Britain was being fought). Despite the death and destruction suffered by British civilians, the relief from bombing experienced by R.A.F. airfields allowed the R.A.F. to recover and gain strength, enabling the R.A.F. to more successfully fight the Battle of Britain.

Lastly, Hitler believed that the 'Terror Bombing' of British civilians would break the will of the British people, leading them to force their political leaders to negotiate with Hitler for peace. Instead of simply winning control over the skies of Britain, Hitler now hoped that the bombing of British cities would, by itself, win victory for Germany (the point of winning control of the skies over Britain was to enable the German Army to cross the English Channel in an amphibious invasion and conquer Britain). Despite the terrible suffering inflicted on the British people, the bombing of British cities failed to break the will of the British people to continue fighting Hitler's Third Reich.