On July 10, 1940, the Germans began the first of a long series of bombings against Britain, when the Battle of Britain began, which would last three and a half months.
After Germany’s occupation of France, Britain knew it was only a matter of time before the Axis’ power turned its eyes across the Channel. And on July 10, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British shipping convoy across the Channel, while another 70 bombers attacked shipyard facilities in South Wales.
Although Britain had far fewer fighters than the Germans – 600 to 1,300 – it had some advantages, such as an efficient radar system, which made the prospect of a devious German attack unlikely. Britain has also produced top quality aircraft. His Spitfires could become tighter than the German ME109, allowing him to better escape the pursuers. German single-engine fighters had a limited flight radius and its bombers lacked the bomb-load capacity necessary to trigger permanent devastation on their targets. Great Britain also had the advantage of a unified concentration, while the German internal struggles caused errors of timing; they also suffered from bad intelligence.
But in the early days of the battle, Britain immediately needed two things: a rigid, collective upper lip – and aluminum. The government has argued for the return of all available aluminum to the Department of Aeronautical Production. “We will transform your pots and pans into Spitfire and Hurricane,” said the ministry. And they did.
