On September 15, 1940, the Germans essentially lost the Battle of Britain when they tried to force the RAF into a one-day deathmatch. The Germans had switched from attacking RAF facilities and aircraft factories to daylight bombing of cities the week before. The Luftwaffe mounted it largest daylight attack on London. The RAF defeated it.
What the Germans didn't know was that they had the RAF on the ropes. The Luftwaffe was shooting down airplanes and killing pilots faster than the RAF could replace them. The Germans had their own issues with attrition and it's debatable whether or not they would have been able to outlast the RAF.
The shift of German strategy from attacking the RAF to trying to terrorize the British into submission meant that the RAF could rebuild its strength. Aircraft production began to exceed losses.
September 15th has been marked as Battle of Britain Day.
A huge-ass "flypast" was put on in England to mark the day.
(And, very soon after September 15th, The Blitz was on.)
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2 comments:
It looks like they had 2 working Hurricanes. That's good news, there used to be only 1 left.
The Battle of Britain Commemorative Flight has 2 Mk IIIc's I believe. There are also several others in the UK. Total in airworthy condition worldwide is 9 or 10, plus some Sea Hurricanes.
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