The Battle Of Britain By Tom Norton 9F

Battle Of Britain “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”, this was a quote from Winston Churchill after watching the head of fighter command scramble all of the available squadrons on the south coast.

Battle Of Britain The Battle of Britain was a massive air battle between Britain’s RAF and the Nazis’ Luftwaffe. It was fought from the 13 th August to the 12 th October, The RAF was outnumber by the Luftwaffe a staggering 5 to 1. It was a massive turning point in the war as it meant that Adolf Hitler decided to postpone the invasion of England and concentrated on the invasion of the Soviet Union.

What is in this PowerPoint? In this PowerPoint I will be comparing the air battles from the WW1, WW2 and the Falklands conflict. I will also be showing what fighters and fighter bombers are used for in modern day conflicts.

WW1 Air battles

Background There wasn’t many dogfights between aircraft during world war 1. Aircraft were many used for reconnaissance and controlling the troops on the ground. The only kind of fire the planes would get was from some of the enemy troops on the ground shooting up at them.

The Aircraft At the beginning of the war the planes didn’t have any guns on them, but towards the end of the war the planes became armed. They still weren’t very deadly until Dr. Focker invented a gun that could fire between the propellers. This turned the aircraft into a much more deadly machine.

The Aircraft: Allies The Allies had three main aircraft, the Avro 504, the Airco DH.2 (The Pusher) and the Sopwith Camel. Nearly 6,000 of the Sopwith Camel were made in just 2 years. These were the main aircraft that the Allies used throughout WW1. The first aircraft was a trainer aircraft, but the last two aircraft were made to try and put the Germans main fighter plane out of action, the Fokker DR.1.

The Aircraft: The Germans The Germans had the Friedrichshafen G.III ( a fighter bomber/ trainer), the Albatros D.V (an advanced fighter) and the Fokker D.R. 1 (one of the most advanced fighters in WW1). The Fokker D.R. 1 and the Albatros D.V were the two main aircraft that the Germans used throughout WW1. They both used a gun designed by Dr. Fokker.

Dr. Fokker Dr. Fokker was an engineer who was born in Holland (a neutral country) he joined the British before the war but didn’t invent anything useful for a few years and the British let him go. After that he went to the Germans and invented the in The Interrupter Gear. This allowed pilots to fire the machine guns through the propeller with out hitting the blades. This meant that the pilot could aim his plane at the enemy and then fire. This made it a lot easier for the Germans to shoot down the British planes.

Aircraft technology There was very little to no technology in the aircraft. The observer would look over the side of the plane and then draw what ever he saw onto some paper. He would then drop this out of the plane to the troops below. There was no radio in them or no GPS or other navigation system. Some pilots would take road maps to navigate with.

Summary of WW1 Air battles Up until around 1916 the only thing that Aircraft were used for was observation or showing the troops were to go. When the first air battle took place the gunners were given normal rifles to shoot at the other planes with. When the guns were fitted on the planes the British made a plane with a propeller at the back. This meant that the gunner could move full 360 degrees with out hitting anything. This still didn’t work. When the planes had the guns firing through the propellers this meant that a lot of more planes were shot down, this made the plane a much more deadly weapon. Dogfights were invented.

WW2 Air battles

Background Throughout all of WW2 fighters were used for many different reasons: Escorting bombers during raids, Some fighter bombers were used to bomb smaller targets, Used to help give forces on the ground some cover The reasons above are just a few of the reasons that fighters and fighter bombers were used for. On the next slides I will show 2 of the Allies and 2 of the Axis best and most famous fighter planes.

The Allies The British had 2 main fighter planes. The Hawker Hurricane (the workhouse of the RAF) and the Supermarine Spitfire (the RAF pride and joy, possibly the most famous plane ever). When the Americans joined the war they brought with them their own fighter plane, the P-51 Mustang.

Hawker Hurricane The Hurricane was not as famous as the Spitfire, nor did it get the credit it deserved. In total the Hurricane shot down more German planes than the Spitfire, but around 63% of squadrons were issued with Hurricanes. The design of the Hurricane was based on a single seat bi-plane, but with the top wing removed to create a mono-plane.

Hawker Hurricane The Hurricane also had some very good figures: Powerplant – 1,030 bhp Merlin engine. It had a top sped of 318 mph and could climb to 36,000 feet. It had a maximum range of 460 miles. It weighed just 4,670 lb The hurricane packed a punch as well, it carried 8 7.7mm Browning machine and 2,260 rounds per gun. This was enough ammo for 12 seconds of constant firing

Supermarine Spitfire The Spitfire is possibly the most famous Aircraft ever made. During the Battle of Britain a lot less of the Spitfire were used but had a higher ratio of numbers shot down to number it shot down. Unlike the Hurricane which was based on a old plane the Spitfire was a completely new design. Unlike planes before it had a fully metal body. This made it more rigid and a lot stronger. The Spitfire was such a good fighter that it was used by air forces up to the Koran War. The Spitfire also made one of the most famous noises ever, click the speaker below to hear it.

Supermarine Spitfire There were over 26 different Spitfires made between 1936 and 1951, 7 of these were special models used to take of from a Aircraft carrier. It was such an advanced design that the body of it could reach mach 0.9 or 716 mph. Lots of different engines were slotted into the Spitfire but only 2 were successful, the 1,478 bhp Merlin engine and the 1,735 bhp Griffin Mk XII engine. The Griffin engine had a 2 stage supercharger and was a lot faster up to 15,000 feet but anything higher and the power would drop a lot, this is why the Merlin was used as it was more consistent at any height.

Supermarine Spitfire The Spitfire had some of the best stats of any plane in the war: It had a 1,478 bhp Merlin engine in most versions. Weighted just 4,998 lb Could fly at 369 mph and at a height of 36,500 feet. It could fly 1,135 miles without stopping, if the plane was a maximum speed for this flight it would take just over 3 hours. It carried mm Browing machine guns with only 1,000 rounds per gun, this was nearly 1,000 rounds less than the Hurricane. But this made it a lot lighter.

The Axis The Axis had two main fighter planes, the Focke-Wulf 190 and the Messerschmitt BF Both of these were very capable aircraft and were built in much bigger numbers than any of the RAF’s planes. But none of them were based new planes, this mean that there bodies weren’t as aerodynamic.

Messerschmitt BF-109 The Messerschmitt BF-109 was a very powerful and deadly fighter plane. It carried 5 guns but only 4 in the wings and 1 firing from inside the hub. It was made of a mixture between metal sheeting and wooden poles covered in canvas. The first BF-109 joined the Battle Of Britain mid way through. If it had joined early it could have won the war from them but Dr. W. Messerchmitt (the planes designer) spent a lot of time perfecting his design and ultimately took to long over it.

Messerschmitt BF-109 The BF-109 had some very good stats aswell: It had a 1,200 bhp Daimler direct injection engine (this meant that it could fly upside down). It could fly at 359 mph up a maximum of 36,500 feet. It carried 5 guns, one firing from the propeller hub, and 4 firing from in the wings. It carried 1,500 rounds per gun.

Focke-Wulf 190 The Focke-Wulf was a single seat fighter put into service mid The aircraft was originally devolved as a brand new single seat fighter and the first prototype was flown in the summer of It was a very good aircraft and was one of the most common aircraft used by the German Luftwaffe. The aircraft had only one problem, it weighed over twice as much as a Spitfire or Hurricane. This meant that it wasn’t as manoeuvrable, but it had a very powerful engine to keep it a fast fighter. The powerful engine was also useful in its role as a fighter bomber, it allowed the aircraft to carry a lot more bombs than other fighter bombers but still allow it to be quick.

Focke-Wulf 190 The Focke-Wulf also came with some very good figures: A top speed of 408 mph at a maximum of 37,400 feet. It had a 2,100 bhp B.M.W engine, but it weighed 7,000 lb (a Spitfire weighed just 4,998 lb) The Focke-Wulf came equipped with two 7.9 mm machine guns, four 20 mm machine guns, one 1,100 lb bomb and two 550 lb bombs. The Focke- Wulf could carry in total an extra 3,800 lb.

Aircraft Technology The still wasn’t much change in technology from the WW1 fighter planes. The only main difference was that all of the planes had radios. The bombers used a navigator, this was somebody how sat just behind the cockpit and told the pilot when to turn, by how much and where they were in the world. The only technology that they had was a map and a compass.

Summary Throughout WW2 fighters planes were used a lot to a lot of effect. Their uses ranging from defending bombers from other fighters to bombing target themselves as fighter-bombers. Some of the aircraft were such good fighters that they were used for up to 20 years after the war ended. Not many of these planes are still flying, there are a few Spitfires and Hurricanes (one of them is based at Humberside Airport), but there is only 1 Lancaster bomber still flying and that is flown by the Battle of Britain Memorial Society.

Modern Day fighter planes and their roles in conflicts

Background In modern day conflicts there isn’t as many dogfights like there was in World War 2, this is mainly because the enemy doesn’t have fighter planes. For example the Taliban don’t have an Air Force which means that our fighter planes have moved to fighter bombers and are used now to support troops on the ground. The last real case of dogfights was in the Falklands island, this was between a British Harrier Jump Jet and an Argentinean FMA-IA 58 Pucara. In this case the Harrier shot down the Pucara using a heat-seeking missle.

Main Aircraft There wasn’t a lot of different Aircraft used in the Falkland islands war. There only really was two main ones. The British had the Sea Harrier and the Argentineans had the FMA-IA 58 Pucara. The only other type of aircraft used were bombers and cargo planes such as the Vicker cargo plane and the Vulcan bomber.

Sea Harrier The Sea Harrier is a very unique aircraft. It is one of only two aircraft in the world can take of vertically without the need of a runway, the only other aircraft is a Russian Yak 38. It does this using 1 massive engine that runs the length of the plane. The exhaust gas is then put of out 4 nozzles that can be moved to make the thrust go into the ground or behind the plane. In the Falklands Islands we didn’t have many runways for aircraft to take off from so we had to use aircraft carriers. This meant that the Harrier could take off vertically from the boat then fly off.

Sea Harrier The Harrier has a very good specification: Weighs just 14,052 lb, but can carry a further 12,000 lb. It has a maximum speed of 735 mph, mach It’s single engine produces 21,800 pounds of thrust, this is just a bit less than an engine from Concorde. The Harrier packed a real punch, it could carry 4 heat- seeking sidewinder missiles and 2 mini-guns with 2,500 rounds per gun. Some later Harriers were also fitted to carry 2 nuclear missiles. This idea was later scrapped as there was no threat big enough to use nuclear weapons.

FMA-IA 58 Pucara The Pucara wasn’t a very advanced or quick aircraft, but it was designed to carry a lot of weapons. It carry more weapons than the Harrier and was built in much higher numbers aswell. The Pucaras main problem was that it still used propellers and not jets, this made it slow.

FMA-IA 58 Pucara The Pucara doesn’t have a very good specification as it only uses propellers. With a top speed of only 310 mph, this is 50 mph slower than a Spitfire. It could only fly at 31,800 feet, again about the same as a Spitfire. It’s engine produced only 978 bhp each but were very good at carrying a lot of weight. The Pucara’s main threat was it’s weapons, it could carry 2x20 mm auto cannons, this was backed up with 4 Browning Machine guns that the gunner aimed. It also could carry 2x rocket pods, each with 15 rockets in them. To deal with ships some were made to carry 2 torpedoes that were dropped when the plane was low over the sea. Some could also fly over and drops mines in front of enemy troops.

Aircraft technology There is to much technology to fit on this PowerPoint but I will name some of them. The planes were now equipped with radar that can see planes 100’s of miles away. They have rockets that when fired will fly them by themselves, this can follow the target set by the pilot or gunner. Bombs that are dropped by aircraft now can be made to hit a target with millimetre precession. This can reduce the number of civilian deaths.

Summary In the Falklands Islands War the was a lot of dogfights between aircraft. Unlike in the Battle of Britain fighters were also used a lot as fighter bombers. This meant that some of them will have had to fly out enemy boats destroy any planes that try to stop them and then destroy their target.

Comparison

Thanks For Watching By Tom Norton “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”