The Battle of Britain | 10 Question History Multiple Choice Quiz

Answer: Winston Churchill

It was British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill who gave the Battle of Britain his name. On 18th June, 1940, after Britain was run-out of France by the Germans, Churchill gave an inspiring speech in the House of Commons. Towards the end he said "What General Weygand called 'The Battle of France' is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin ..." And so the name stuck.

Answer: The Hawker Hurricane

Despite the hype about the Spitfire, it was the Hurricane that scored the most kills in the Battle of Britain. (One reason was that there were more Hurricanes than Spitfires).
Because the German Bf 109 was faster than the Hurricane but equal to the Spitfires, the Spitfires tended to attack the 109s if possible. The Hurricanes, not equal to 109s, were encouraged to attack the bombers and as a result they scored more kills as the bombers were an easier target.
Although the Spitfire did well, it was in short supply. The Avro Lancaster was an RAF bomber and as stated above, the Bf 109 was a German fighter.
Source:
* Battles of WWII, pp. 28-31.

Answer: 754 single-seat fighters and 149 two-seat fighters

At 0900 on 1st July 1940, an RAF census count confirmed a total of 1,963 planes at their disposal. The German air force, the Luftwaffe, had a total 4,074 planes, of which 2,242 could be used in an aggressive role (fighters and bombers).
The Luftwaffe had more planes, more pilots (and more experienced pilots), greater industrial potential and had momentum from the Battle of France. However, they could not break the British spirit despite their continuously heavy raids. Source:
* Stephen Bungay, "The Most Dangerous Enemy", Aurum Press, 2000, p. 107.
* Battles of WWII, pp. 27-28.

Answer: The Luftwaffe targeted airfields, radar stations and industrial factories

From July 10 to August 11, the Battle of Britain took place over the English Channel. From August 12 to August 23, the Luftwaffe started an all-out assault on the coastal RAF airfields and radar stations (Eagle Attack). Despite the Luftwaffe's strength, the RAF shot down an enormous number of German bombers and fighters. From August 24 to September 6, the Luftwaffe targeted nearly all the RAF fighter airfields in Southern England, ports and the industrial areas of London, Birmingham, Coventry and other industrial cities. Despite the fact that the RAF was winning the Battle of Britain and inflicting terrible losses on their German counterpart, the RAF lost 200+ veteran pilots and 40% of their planes in that two-week period. The RAF were near total collapse with all available reserve pilots and fighter planes in the air. It was a critical time in the air war. Britain was alive by a thread. German historians state the Battle of Britain stretched from August, 1940 to May, 1941. Most British historians place the Battle from July 10, 1940 to October 31, 1940. There is no fully agreed date for the start and finish of the campaign.

Source:
* "World War II", by Ronald Heiferman, pp. 50-61.

Answer: Ordered continuous attacks on the civilian population and air defences of major British cities, by day and night

From the 7th of September, 1940 to May, 1941 Hitler's war on the cities became known as 'The Blitz'. Instead of RAF bases and radar stations, the Luftwaffe bombed Britain's major cities. This saved RAF Fighter Command. For nine months the Germans wasted their efforts trying to bomb English cities while the RAF rebuilt itself.

They wasted pilots, planes, fuel, and time. Hitler's attempt to bomb the British into submission so they would plead for peace failed. It was a costly decision. The RAF began to fight back and the Germans were losing more and more pilots and planes.

The blitz on the cities ended when Hitler transferred bomber and fighter units to Poland for the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union.

Answer: Messerschmitt Bf 109

The workhorse of the Luftwaffe fighters was the Bf 109, designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the 1930s. In mid 1941, the Bf 109 was joined by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
The Bf 110 was a twin-engined fighter-bomber that was equipped to repel enemy fighters as well as drop bombs. It wasn't as effective as the Bf 109.
The Me 262 was the world's first jet fighter. It could fly faster than the other fighters but was not introduced till 1944, and so did not take part in the Battle of Britain.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 187 was a twin-engined fighter which was rejected for production by the Luftwaffe.

Answer: Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka"

The Stuka dive-bomber was very effective in the Polish and French campaigns. However, the reason for this was that the Luftwaffe had aerial supremacy. At the start of the Battle of Britain, the Stuka was still effective. But when the tables began to turn and the RAF had scraped air supremacy away from them, the Stuka was becoming more of a liability than an asset. It was incredibly vulnerable to RAF Spitfire and Hurricane fighters.
The Stuka contained two crew member - a pilot/bomb aimer and a tail gunner. Often it had a siren attached to the nose which created a shrill whistle when it dived. This noise caused much panic and chaos to the soldiers and civilians on the ground.
Source:
* Battles of WWII, p. 31.

Answer: Douglas Bader

In 1930, two years after joining the RAF, Douglas Bader lost both of his legs while attempting a dangerous and illegal "tarmac" landing. In 1940, Bader started flying again. He performed well in the Battle of Britain, continuously inspiring his squadron with his bravery and skill.

In 1941, he was forced to bail out of his aircraft over Occupied France. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Bader was a very aggressive P.O.W. and often voiced his hatred of his German captors publicly.

Answer: The Seenotdienst

The Seenotdienst was a squadron of German air ambulances who would brave the waters of the North Sea and the English Channel to rescue German air crews shot down over the sea. The plane they used was built to land on the sea. Churchill resented the fact that the planes were rescuing air crew "to bomb another day..."

Answer: V1 Flying Bomb "Doodlebug" and the V2 Rocket

The V-Weapons offensive was started by the Germans on the 12th of June, 1944. On that day, the Germans fired the first of 9,251 V-1 Flying bombs (the most fired at London). Only 2,515 V-1's actually reached London, though. The V-1 was nicknamed the Doodlebug due to its shape and the noise of its jet engine. The V-1 Flying Bomb was fired via vulnerable launching sites along the French coast. When the Allies captured the launch sites during the invasion of France, the V-1 attacks stopped.
The V-2 wasn't a flying bomb, but a rocket. It was the world's first ballistic missile (battlefield missiles excepted). The V-2 was first fired on 8th September, 1944. In total, 1,115 were fired at London. The V-2 had a much larger success rate than the V-1 and the launcher was portable. In other words, it could be transported on the back of a truck to a its firing place. The V-2 attacks ceased when the Allies captured the supply depots and over-ran supply lines.
11,855 civilians and servicemen were killed and 24,504 were wounded in the V-Weapons Offensive.