1940: The Tactical Situation

The German occupation of Denmark and Norway in April caused the weakening of home fighter defences as squadrons had to be dispersed across northern Britain to counter any possible threat from Scandinavia. In May and June, the Battle of France, especially the intensive action during the evacuation of Allied armies at Dunkirk, had taken a heavy toll with 477 fighters lost and 284 pilots killed. All but three of Fighter Command's squadrons had been engaged, in rotation, in the battle area, sustaining wastage in aircraft and personnel far in excess of the rates anticipated.

Hurricane Mk 1 aircraft of No.85 Squadron RAF (CH1510)

On 3 June, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, AOC-in-C Fighter Command, told the War Cabinet that, if the expected German offensive came at this moment, he could not guarantee air superiority for more than 48 hours. Nevertheless, he was optimistic that a reasonable respite from intensive operations would help to restore his Command to full strength. On 18 June the last fighter squadrons still in France returned to this country. Measures were taken to extend the air defences to cover the west of England, west coast ports and western manufacturing districts.

After the Battle of France, in which it had suffered heavy losses, the Luftwaffe needed time to recover and re-equip and to consolidate its position on all the new airfields it had captured in France and the Low Countries. It suffered from supply problems as German fighter production was 40% below target by summer 1940.

The respite given to Fighter Command was well used. Sharply-rising production between June and early August more than made up for the heavy losses in France. On 19 June, 520 aircraft were ready for operations. By 9 August, shortly before the launch of the full-scale German offensive, the number was 715, with a further 424 in storage units, available for use the next day.