Battle of Britain (Essay Sample)

BATTLE OF BRITAIN
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DateBattle of Britain
The Second World War remains the most destructive conflict in modern history owing to the tens of millions of lives and thousands of structures that were destroyed during the military campaigns. Among the well known battles that were fought during the war is the Battle of Britain, which was basically the struggle for air supremacy over the skies of Britain between the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and its German rival, the Luftwaffe. The significance of the Battle of Britain may have been overemphasized to motivate the public to fight during the battle and give Britain a source of pride for decades following the war.
As earlier stated, the overall importance of the conflict remains a subject of debate. In this case, there are those who believe that the outcome of the conflict sealed the fate of the world. That is, by winning the air war, Britain ensured that democracy would prevail for years to come. For instance, at the outset of the battle, Churchill proclaimed that in light of the fact that the British army had been forced to retreat from Europe by the rapidly advancing German forces that subsequently conquered all of Western Europe, the only force left that could dissuade Hitler from invading the British Isles was the RAF.
However, that is not the case because Hitler and his military planners were more concerned about the British Royal Navy – which had the largest and most powerful fleet of battleships in the world – than the RAF. In this respect, the Germans engaged the British in an air war in hopes that by winning, they would be able to conduct aerial attacks upon the Royal Navy’s vessels that crippled their coastal defenses, which in turn would force the British government to agree to a truce. In other words, Germany could not win the war without forcing the Royal Navy to halt its offensive operations along the western coast of Europe. In this regard, it is the royal navy that secured freedom for the rest of the world. Thus, perhaps the historical significance of the battle to the British is that the victory enhanced the fighting spirit of the public.
The reasons for Britain’s victory are similarly contentious. For example, some analysts – including Churchill – suggest that despite being unprepared, the RAF still managed to defeat the Luftwaffe. In this case, they allege that it was the bravery of the British pilots that secured the triumph. Conversely, it is clear that both the Spitfire and Hurricane, which were the main fighter aircrafts used by the RAF pilots during the conflict, were vastly superior to the Messerschmitt BF109 – the Luftwaffe’s main fighter aircraft. For instance, with a top speed of 362 mph, the spitfire was significantly faster than the mentioned German rival. Additionally, by 1939, the RAF had considerably more fighter aircrafts than the Luftwaffe, which means it had the aerial advantage. Thus, the misconceptions that are held to date are that the RAF did not have capable fighters and it faced an opponent with more aircraft.
One must accept that the Battle of Britain has been given more significance than necessary. In this case, it was the R...