1 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,000 [narrator] The fate of Western Europe hangs in the balance. 2 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,840 Wave after wave of Nazi bombers head for London. 3 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:16,760 [rapid gunfire] 4 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,280 [narrator] Hitler believes Britain is on its knees. 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,840 [Bungay] Intelligence reports were coming through 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,000 that the British must be down to their last 200 fighters. 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,600 [narrator] The RAF scramble every available fighter 8 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:34,520 to defend the capital city. 9 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:39,920 It will be a battle to the death. 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:43,160 You had to be a killer. 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,600 You had to have that killer instinct. 12 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,000 [Wellum] You open fire at 200 yards, 13 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,920 by the time you've finished, you were breaking away at 50 feet. 14 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,120 [narrator] If the Nazis defeat the RAF... 15 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:01,040 a seaborne invasion of the British Isles can begin. 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,720 The Battle of Britain is one of the most heroic clashes 17 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:06,160 of World War II. 18 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:13,880 Now, rare footage from around the world, expertly restored in full color, 19 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,480 tells the story as you've never seen it before. 20 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,520 [narrator] 10th May 1940. 21 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,880 Hitler shocks the world by launching blitzkrieg attacks 22 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,880 against the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. 23 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:39,040 [explosions] 24 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:46,840 [narrator] Mobile panzer divisions sweep all before them... 25 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,560 with close aerial support from the German Air Force, 26 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:53,120 the Luftwaffe. 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,680 The Luftwaffe is seen very much as the kind of spearhead of blitzkrieg. 28 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:01,800 [engines droning] 29 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,280 Psychologically, it seems all powerful. 30 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,960 There are Stukas that dive down with banshee wailing sirens, 31 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:12,640 bringing terror and mayhem. 32 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,600 [narrator] As the crisis unfolds, 33 00:02:23,920 --> 00:02:27,240 Winston Churchill is appointed British Prime Minister. 34 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,440 British troops sent to France to protect their last remaining ally in Europe 35 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,560 are forced into a humiliating retreat. 36 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,400 The shock of the defeat is absolutely enormous, 37 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,440 and the British Expeditionary Force finds itself cornered 38 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,760 against the one surviving channel port, which is Dunkirk. 39 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,080 [narrator] Despite a miraculous evacuation... 40 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,800 the German war machine appears unstoppable. 41 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:06,840 Britain and her empire stand alone against Hitler's armies. 42 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:17,720 But Hitler, long an admirer of Britain, is unsure about a potential invasion. 43 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:21,120 [Levine] The Nazis, I think, were astonished 44 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,400 to have taken France as quickly as they did. 45 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:29,040 It kind of left Hitler with a problem: what to do next. 46 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,640 Hitler's long-term plan was always to go after the Soviet Union. 47 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,400 He was quite happy to make peace with Britain. 48 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,640 Effectively, he would be offering the British immunity from invasion. 49 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:47,360 [narrator] Some members of Churchill's war cabinet 50 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:50,240 continued to push for a deal with Hitler. 51 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,760 But the Prime Minister stands firm. 52 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:57,960 Churchill refused to negotiate. 53 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,160 He refused to parley. "I will not talk to that man," he said. 54 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,200 Churchill's attitude to Hitler is that once you open the door, 55 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:08,680 even just a crack, it then blows wide open. 56 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,760 Let's just step back, 57 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,720 get over the shock of this terrible defeat that's happened. 58 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:18,520 [Churchill] The battle of France is over. 59 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,680 I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. 60 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,000 Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island 61 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:28,440 or lose the war. 62 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,240 One thing Churchill understood about the British people 63 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,240 is that they were quite sleepy by disposition. 64 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,720 And not only did Churchill galvanize everybody, 65 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:43,240 he kept alive the threat of invasion. 66 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,440 [Churchill] We shall fight on the beaches. 67 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:48,960 We shall fight on the landing grounds. 68 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:51,200 We shall fight in the fields... 69 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,280 and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. 70 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:57,600 We shall never surrender. 71 00:04:58,600 --> 00:05:02,240 Churchill's genius in 1940 was that he first persuaded 72 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,600 the British people that they could do something amazing, 73 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,080 and then persuaded them afterwards that they had done something amazing. 74 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,720 [narrator] Churchill's priority is to stop an invasion. 75 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,160 With France now under German control, 76 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,920 his immediate concern is that the German Navy 77 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,360 will soon have the large French fleet at their disposal. 78 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:33,440 So he reluctantly instructs the Royal Navy to sink the main French fleet, 79 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,200 anchored on the coast of Algeria. 80 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,400 One thousand three hundred French servicemen are killed. 81 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,560 Churchill calls the attack on a former ally 82 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,920 his most hateful decision. 83 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:56,720 But the French fleet can play no part in a German invasion. 84 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,440 Hitler is undeterred. 85 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,760 For Hitler, the army is absolutely everything. 86 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,880 He completely fails to realize that the senior service in Great Britain 87 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,320 is not the air force or the army, it's the Royal Navy. 88 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,240 He doesn't understand his enemy. 89 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,400 [narrator] But the attack sends a clear message. 90 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:19,640 Britain is prepared to fight. 91 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,000 Hitler's hopes for a deal now seem unlikely. 92 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,040 He knows that Churchill won't negotiate, 93 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:31,880 unless he thinks a German invasion is a real possibility. 94 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,440 And while the Royal Navy controls the seas, 95 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,080 Hitler's air force controls the skies. 96 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,840 The all-conquering Luftwaffe can attack naval convoys in the channel... 97 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:51,680 crippling Britain's supply lines 98 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:56,360 and drawing out the enemy air force, the RAF. 99 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,520 The Luftwaffe was probably the most formidable air force 100 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:01,760 in the world at the time. 101 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:08,000 It outnumbered the RAF in terms of frontline strength by about two to one. 102 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,440 [narrator] Air fields are hastily constructed in France 103 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,280 to launch medium-range German bombers. 104 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,120 They will be protected by fighter planes... 105 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,200 including the formidable Messerschmitt 109. 106 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:27,520 [Holland] The Messerschmitt 109, 107 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:29,680 the single engine fighter plane is, without question, 108 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:31,560 the best in the world in the summer of 1940. 109 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,920 It can climb faster than any other plane. 110 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,480 When it gets into the battle area, it can pack a bigger punch. 111 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:39,680 It's got 55 seconds worth of machine gun fire, 112 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:41,760 and it's got cannons as well. 113 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,640 [narrator] Luftwaffe commander-in-chief, Hermann Göring, 114 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:49,600 orders his forces to close the channel to British shipping. 115 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,040 The flamboyant Göring is a former World War I fighter ace... 116 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,520 and arguably, the closest person to Hitler. 117 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,880 He also has notorious taste for the finer things in life. 118 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,400 [Holland] Göring is the one Nazi who really enjoys the trappings of power. 119 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,840 While he should have been really focusing on the job in hand, 120 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,920 he's wandering around art galleries buying up art. 121 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,240 [narrator] Göring promises Hitler that in just four days, 122 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,600 his air fleets will overcome British defenses in the South, 123 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,800 and destroy the entire RAF in four weeks. 124 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,480 The Germans were enormously arrogant. 125 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,480 They simply believed that if they threw an air force 126 00:08:35,560 --> 00:08:36,600 as strong as theirs, 127 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,120 Britain was going to be destroyed by a single knockout blow. 128 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,760 [narrator] 10th July 1940. 129 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,600 Fighting over the channel reaches a new intensity, 130 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,480 when 60 German bombers attack a large convoy in The Channel. 131 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,680 The Battle of Britain has begun. 132 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:04,640 But as the British ships come into view, 133 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,880 the pilots see something none of them were expecting. 134 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:16,000 Five squadrons of the RAF's Fighter Command 135 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,400 are already there to meet them. 136 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,600 It was as if the British had known they were coming. 137 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,000 Leading the head-on charge is the one plane 138 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,080 that the Luftwaffe pilots fear... 139 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,040 Supermarine Spitfire. 140 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,400 [Bronk] The Spitfire was something which the Germans had only experienced 141 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,200 as a combat adversary over Dunkirk, 142 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,280 where it came as a bit of a shock because for the first time, 143 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,680 this was a fighter capable of meeting the Messerschmitt 109E 144 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,600 on relatively equal terms. 145 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,800 The Spitfire was a glamorous aircraft. 146 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:01,360 It has a beauty and a charisma, and it caught everybody's imagination. 147 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,720 [narrator] The German bombers sink one solitary British ship... 148 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,120 but lose ten aircraft. 149 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:18,240 The Luftwaffe have learned an important lesson. 150 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:23,720 But Göring's intelligence services don't want to hear it. 151 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,520 [Bungay] The person running the Air Force Intelligence Agency 152 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:30,240 was a man called Beppo Schmid. 153 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,520 He ignored the defense system 154 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,640 which was crucial in enabling Britain to defend itself from the air. 155 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:43,560 He started to encourage the belief that the Luftwaffe could win. 156 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,280 [narrator] Schmid tells Göring that the Luftwaffe's fighters 157 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:51,000 are superior to Britain's and they can produce them quicker. 158 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,120 Schmid's biggest problem 159 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:58,960 was that he essentially was always telling Göring, 160 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:00,360 what Göring wanted to hear. 161 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,240 He wasn't really interested in finding out the truth. 162 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,120 [Holland] Basically, he just concocts a crock of lies. 163 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,240 It is all based on the flimsiest of intelligence. 164 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:15,280 And the picture that Beppo Schmid presents to Göring 165 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,280 is one that is entirely inaccurate. 166 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,200 [narrator] Göring's conviction that the Luftwaffe can defeat the RAF... 167 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:32,640 plays a key part in Hitler's decision to intensify the threat of occupation. 168 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:41,080 On 16th July, Hitler issued a directive to start Operation Sea Lion. 169 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,160 To begin preparations, and if necessary, to carry out 170 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,440 an invasion across the channel of the British Isles. 171 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,120 He said that he was preparing this 172 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:56,800 because the British were failing to come to terms. 173 00:11:57,600 --> 00:11:59,800 [narrator] Germany prepares for invasion. 174 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:02,920 River barges mass on the French coast. 175 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,320 They are converted into landing craft that will transport 176 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,160 nearly half a million men across The Channel. 177 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:15,440 Paratroopers start training for air drops on key targets. 178 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:23,960 But Hitler is still hoping that Churchill will come to his senses 179 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:25,640 and sue for peace. 180 00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:37,160 On 19th July, Hitler warns Britain to negotiate or meet the consequences. 181 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,760 Hitler said: "Make peace with me and everything will be fine between us. 182 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,800 You've been very foolish, Britain, to come up against me. 183 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,760 When I went after Poland, it was really nothing to do with you. 184 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,680 You didn't have to come after me." 185 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,320 [narrator] Within an hour of the end of the speech, 186 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,600 the offer is rejected by Britain. 187 00:12:57,800 --> 00:12:59,120 [speaking in German] 188 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,680 [narrator] It's clear to Hitler that Churchill has to learn 189 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,400 just how real the German threat is. 190 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,560 [crowds singing] 191 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:10,840 Shortly afterwards, Hitler issued another directive 192 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,640 asking the Luftwaffe to intensify the air war against Britain 193 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:20,000 in order to gain air superiority over the landing beaches 194 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,200 and to make the threat of Sea Lion that much more credible. 195 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,400 [narrator] Hitler says Britain's position is hopeless. 196 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,000 The war is won. By us. 197 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:37,720 August 1940. 198 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,800 Hitler tells Göring to lay the groundwork 199 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,280 for the total destruction of Britain's fighter defenses. 200 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,080 An operation they codename, Eagle Day. 201 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,040 The Luftwaffe is to bomb RAF airfields southeast of London. 202 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,440 Over half of all RAF Fighter Command's planes are based there. 203 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,800 On August 13th, Eagle Day dawns. 204 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,080 Within hours surely, the RAF Fighter Command's ability 205 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:20,200 to resist the Luftwaffe will be destroyed. 206 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:25,120 [Bronk] Eagle Day is a series of massed attacks on key airfields 207 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:26,960 in 11 Group in the South of England. 208 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:31,480 Multiple waves of bombers, designed to knock out 209 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,560 Fighter Command's ability to continue to generate sorties 210 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:38,120 in the Far Southeast, to then slowly roll the RAF 211 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:39,720 further and further inland, 212 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,600 so that the Luftwaffe could establish their superiority over the channel. 213 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,160 [narrator] But reports come through of bad weather ahead. 214 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,080 Göring decides to postpone the attack. 215 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:02,640 On Eagle Day, some people got the order to cancel and turn back. 216 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,400 Some people got the order to cancel too late 217 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:07,080 and some people never got it at all. 218 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,320 The final order to launch it in earnest only went out 219 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:13,520 at about two o'clock in the afternoon. 220 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:18,800 [narrator] As the German bombers arrive at the British coast, 221 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:24,760 the response from the RAF fighters is swift, deadly 222 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,360 and a total shock to the incoming Luftwaffe. 223 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,760 [engines droning] 224 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,480 [narrator] This wasn't the easy victory Hitler had been promised. 225 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,640 Forty-seven German planes are shot down 226 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,920 and 86 pilots killed, missing or captured. 227 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:54,480 [Bungay] The losses on Eagle Day 228 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,280 amounted to something that was rather chastening for the Luftwaffe. 229 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,440 The dive bombers, which had appeared to be invincible in France, 230 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,440 were in fact, extremely vulnerable 231 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:09,400 when subjected to the attentions of coherent fighter defense. 232 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:11,920 [interviewer] Are you all right? Did you get any of the blighters? 233 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,480 Yes, I got a Messerschmitt 109 and a Dornier. 234 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,760 [narrator] The Germans had been dangerously over confident. 235 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:28,560 Each of the armed services had been told to prepare for the occupation, separately. 236 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:31,760 [Holland] What's the Luftwaffe's plans? 237 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:33,960 "Well, Luft plans are, we're just gonna destroy the RAF." 238 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:36,520 You know, there's no sense of co-ordination whatsoever. 239 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,840 Hitler is in the Alps. I mean, that's sort of-- that's like Churchill 240 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,240 going to a sort of mountain retreat in Scotland 241 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:45,880 while all this is going on. It's spectacularly unhelpful. 242 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:47,600 It's just arrogant. 243 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,760 And it completely reveals his total inability 244 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:53,400 to understand his enemy. 245 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:01,680 [narrator] The Germans are also unaware 246 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,640 that the British have developed sophisticated advanced warnings, 247 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,280 known as the Dowding system. 248 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,160 [Holland] Stuffy Dowding is the Commander in Chief of Fighter Command. 249 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,520 It is he who has overseen the development of this 250 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:18,960 fully coordinated air defense system. 251 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:22,480 The world has just not seen anything like this before. 252 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,120 [narrator] At the heart of the defenses is Chain Home, 253 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:33,600 twenty-one 360-foot radar masts on the southern and eastern coasts, 254 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,240 that can detect aircraft up to 120 miles away. 255 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,400 If German planes fly below their sights, 256 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:48,160 thirty smaller masts known as Chain Home Low will spot them. 257 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:51,640 [Bungay] Principles of radar were well understood 258 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:53,720 by the Germans who had radar of their own. 259 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,120 What they did not understand 260 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,080 was the way in which radar had been embodied 261 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:00,960 in an air defense system. 262 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:09,760 [narrator] Once German planes are within sight of Britain, 263 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:15,840 thirty thousand volunteers man observation posts day and night... 264 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,600 Sighting enemy aircraft over the channel, flying due west. 265 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,200 [narrator] ...tracking and reporting enemy raids. 266 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:28,520 Radar can give you warning of a formation, but it can't give you any sense 267 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,080 of height or size, so then that's supplemented 268 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,080 by the observer corps who have interlocking posts 269 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:36,480 all around the coast of Britain and inland. 270 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,360 They had a pair of binoculars 271 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:41,560 and this piece of equipment called a pantograph 272 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,400 which looks a bit like a giant sextant. 273 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,560 And that would give them rough bearing, distance and height 274 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:48,600 for the formations they were looking at. 275 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:53,560 [narrator] In fact, reports of enemy raids arrive at Fighter Command headquarters 276 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,400 in under 40 seconds. 277 00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:00,160 The heart of this is the filter room and the control room at Bentley Priory. 278 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,320 Bentley Priory is the headquarters of RAF Fighter Command. 279 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,880 The filter room is what filters the information 280 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,520 coming from the radar stations only. 281 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,800 The control room is the co-ordination of that information 282 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:14,320 from the filter room, from the radar station 283 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,960 and what is coming in from the observer corp. 284 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,000 [narrator] The Luftwaffe have no idea that the RAF know they are coming, 285 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,880 from the moment they're airborne above Northern France. 286 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:29,360 Hostile two, four, sugar. 287 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:31,600 [narrator] And their up-to-the-minute positions 288 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,280 are being fed directly to Fighter Command. 289 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,120 [indistinct chatter] 290 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:38,520 [aircraft engine revving] 291 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,520 [indistinct chatter] 292 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:45,600 [narrator] The British response in the Southeast 293 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:48,040 is under the command of one man... 294 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:51,880 Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park. 295 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,160 While the early German attacks had multiple leaders, 296 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:02,080 Park alone commands the 30 squadrons scattered across the Southeast. 297 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:08,440 As Eagle Day progresses, 298 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,680 some German bombers inevitably get through this defensive shield. 299 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,640 And several RAF airfields in Park's 11 Group are hit. 300 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:23,720 [shells whistling] 301 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:26,920 [telephones ringing] 302 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,440 [narrator] But the planned knockout of the RAF on Eagle Day... 303 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,640 turns into a drubbing for the Luftwaffe. 304 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,680 [engines droning] 305 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,720 [narrator] Compared to the 47 German losses, 306 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,760 the RAF lose just 13 fighters in aerial combat. 307 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,840 But Beppo Schmid gives Göring vastly inflated RAF losses, 308 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,200 claiming the Luftwaffe have downed 70 British planes. 309 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,400 Part of the problem clearly was the intelligence 310 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:04,880 that was going back to Göring. 311 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:11,120 Our old friend, Beppo Schmid, again, he was giving wildly inaccurate reports. 312 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:14,680 Göring wasn't getting a real picture of what was going on. 313 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,680 [narrator] Schmid also underestimates the speed 314 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:24,600 with which the RAF can repair planes and runways. 315 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,880 Engineers rush to get damaged aircraft back in the air. 316 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,920 Bomb craters in runways are quickly filled in. 317 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,080 Most RAF bases are fully operational again within 24 hours. 318 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,880 And British fighter planes are being built faster than ever. 319 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,040 [Holland] Aircraft production has been revamped, 320 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:52,400 and it's now working round the clock, uh, it has been streamlined. 321 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:55,160 In July 1940, Ministry of Aircraft Production 322 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,480 produces 496 brand new Spitfires and Hurricanes, 323 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:03,000 whereas the Luftwaffe only produce 240 brand new Messerschmitt 109's. 324 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,640 [narrator] Lord Beaverbrook, British minister of aircraft production, 325 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,280 introduces the Spitfire fund... 326 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,080 to raise money to build a plane the nation could rally behind. 327 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:20,760 [Levine] The public wanted to give money, 328 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,600 and not just in Britain, in-- all around the Commonwealth, 329 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,400 all around the world even, people wanted to donate 330 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,440 to create more of these beautiful objects. 331 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,360 [narrator] And because the aerial battles are now over British soil, 332 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,240 the RAF had another distinct advantage over the Luftwaffe. 333 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,000 [Bronk] Whilst Eagle Day does significant damage, 334 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:47,520 the numbers of aircraft lost on the ground doesn't translate into losses of pilots. 335 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,200 Those pilots, bit shaken but unless they are badly wounded 336 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:52,040 they'll just go straight back to the squadron 337 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,800 and be flying again even the next day, with a new aircraft. 338 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,240 [reporter] Valuable trained men were saved and ready to fight again, 339 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,120 but the crews of Göring's planes were lost to him forever. 340 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:08,200 [Bronk] For every aircraft lost for the Luftwaffe, 341 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:11,400 they tend to be a total loss of both crew and aircraft. 342 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,120 Those pilots were often quite a valuable source of intelligence. 343 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,080 [narrator] Air crew are interrogated, 344 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,520 and downed German planes comprehensively investigated. 345 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,360 On one Heinkel bomber, they find the code word "Knickebein" 346 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,680 written on a note. 347 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:36,120 Secretly recorded conversations reveal captured airmen 348 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:38,200 using the same phrase. 349 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:44,360 They learn that Knickebein, or "crooked leg" in English, 350 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:46,960 is a radio communications system 351 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,440 that allows bomber pilots to navigate in the dark. 352 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:53,560 It's an ominous development. 353 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:58,120 The Germans are planning to bomb Britain at night. 354 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:03,000 The Knickebein system transmitted a series of dots and dashes. 355 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:08,400 The pilots flew a center path between the two beams of dots and dashes. 356 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:13,360 So he knew that was the course to follow without having to recourse to maps. 357 00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,680 No one ever thought the Germans would be developing a system 358 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,200 where you could actually navigate at night. 359 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,400 [Holland] There is a whole battle, a technological, scientific battle, 360 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,840 that is running concurrently with the main battle of Britain. 361 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:31,120 This is about night bombing rather than daylight bombing. 362 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,080 [narrator] Fighter Command's entire defense strategy 363 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,840 relies on spotters and pilots having clear sight of the enemy. 364 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,840 If the Germans start bombing at night, 365 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:48,280 British cities and industry will be practically defenseless. 366 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,800 Meanwhile, Göring has finally awoken to the reality 367 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,200 that the southeast of England is extremely well protected. 368 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:03,880 So, he changes strategy. 369 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,040 Perhaps, the rest of Britain will be more vulnerable. 370 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:13,000 [Bungay] On 15th August, they launched a maximum effort. 371 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:15,880 It was pretty obvious that the south of England was strongly defended 372 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,040 but it wasn't at all clear that the north would be. 373 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:22,720 The main raid went in over Yorkshire. 374 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,160 It was Heinkel 111s 375 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,560 escorted by the BF 110 twin-engine fighter. 376 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,840 [narrator] Over 2,000 Luftwaffe sorties are launched across Britain. 377 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,680 But Göring learns another painful lesson. 378 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:48,520 This time, 75 German planes are shot out of the sky. 379 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,400 The Luftwaffe call it "Black Thursday," 380 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,080 Churchill, one of the greatest days in history. 381 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:03,080 The Dowding System is just as strong in the North as it is in the South. 382 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,280 It is at that point that the Germans discovered that the radar system 383 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:09,600 went all the way around the coast 384 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,400 and that they weren't just facing 11 Group and 10 Group 385 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,920 but there was 12 Group in the Midlands, and 13 Group in the North and Scotland. 386 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,320 [narrator] Göring's feared Stuka dive bombers 387 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,080 suffered the biggest losses. 388 00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:24,120 So, he changed his plans once again. 389 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:31,280 The reason Stukas are getting decimated is because Stukas only work 390 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,160 when you have complete control of the airspace. 391 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,880 So, Göring started tinkering with tanks and saying to his fighter planes, 392 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:39,240 you know, "You need to close escort the bombers. 393 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:40,920 You need to do more escort work." 394 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:43,160 Which means there's more work for the fighters to do, 395 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,520 um, and also negates some of their strength. 396 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,760 [Bronk] This deprived them of their main advantage 397 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:50,480 which was speed and surprise. 398 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,560 Instead of cruising around at 300 miles an hour plus, 399 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,360 and therefore, almost by default having the advantage 400 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,240 over the RAF fighters at the start of any engagement, 401 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:03,800 the 109s were now tied down at about 200 and 250 miles an hour, 402 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,320 next to the bombers, at lower altitude. 403 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,280 This was a huge mistake on the part of Göring. 404 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:14,640 [narrator] The RAF losses 32 fighters on August 15th. 405 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,400 Planes and airfields can be easily repaired. 406 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:25,000 But the mental strain is mounting on pilots on both sides. 407 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:29,760 [Bronk] Life for the average RAF pilot during August, 408 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:32,520 is this sort of schizophrenic existence. 409 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:37,960 When they're on duty, they'll fly anywhere up to five or six trips a day. 410 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:41,640 They're incredibly intense. 411 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,360 This kind of intense combat. 412 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:51,680 And then, within half an hour, they're back down 413 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,120 sitting around dispersal, completely exhausted. 414 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,720 [narrator] The youngest Spitfire pilot to fight in the Battle of Britain, 415 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,600 Geoffrey Wellum, has his fighter training cut short, 416 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:08,760 so he can join the war effort. 417 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:15,600 [Wellum] Within ten-and-a-half months of leaving the cloistered existence 418 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:20,160 of a boarding school, I found myself in the frontline Spitfire Squadron. 419 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:26,480 There was a lot of just sitting around and dozing or waiting. 420 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,840 The tension of waiting in dispersal was something I shall never forget. 421 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,840 The moment the bell rang, you sort of... 422 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:37,040 tensed up. 423 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,480 You've clambered into your Spitfire. Once you're in the Spitfire, 424 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:47,040 and you could feel the engine vibrations beneath your seat, you know, 425 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:48,800 it was up to you, then. 426 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,160 [narrator] But once again, British airmen have the upper hand 427 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,600 over Luftwaffe pilots. 428 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,800 To be an airman in the Royal Air Force was a glamorous thing. 429 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,480 To be a pilot was still more glamorous. And to be a fighter pilot, 430 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,840 was absolutely at the top of the glamor tree. 431 00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:11,680 One in five fighter pilots actually came from overseas. 432 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:15,680 You had French, you had Belgians, and you had a lot of Poles. 433 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,440 They would go drinking at night, they would come home, two hours sleep, 434 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:20,920 and off they would go and fly. 435 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,560 [Holland] A British pilot would go down to the local pub, 436 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:26,680 and they'd be welcomed as heroes, 437 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:30,640 whereas the German pilots, they just have to keep at it all the time. 438 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,240 In the evening, they're expected to discuss tactics, write up reports. 439 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,120 If they do get a little bit time off to go to a local bar, 440 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,960 they got a French barman kind of, eyeing them up suspiciously. 441 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,560 There's no pat on the back. 442 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,680 So, from a morale point of view, it is much tougher for the Luftwaffe. 443 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,640 [narrator] On August 16th, the Battle of Britain 444 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,400 finally sees the Luftwaffe score some successes. 445 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,400 Radar picks up mass Luftwaffe formations crossing The Channel 446 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:01,160 heading for the South Coast. 447 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,280 Eighty-four Stuka dive bombers, 448 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:10,240 protected by a staggering 214 Messerschmitt 109s 449 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:15,160 and 43 Messerschmitt 110s are heading to Southampton. 450 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:20,880 Eight British squadrons intercept raids on Portsmouth and Lee-on-Solent. 451 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,120 But Göring's new tactics work. 452 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:29,360 The RAF are overwhelmed by the fighter escorts, 453 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,360 leaving the Stuka bombers to wreak havoc. 454 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:34,440 [engines droning] 455 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,120 [narrator] Chain Home radar mast at Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, 456 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:41,880 is hit by 22 bombs. 457 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,720 It will be out of action for over a month. 458 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,600 A major Luftwaffe success. 459 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:54,560 And the RAF airbase of Tangmere is badly hit. 460 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:58,400 Ten servicemen are killed and hangars wrecked. 461 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:04,040 US airman, Billy Fiske, engages with the Luftwaffe, 462 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,560 is hit and his fuel tank catches fire. 463 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,880 He survives but later succumbs to his injuries. 464 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:18,000 This becomes the first official American casualty of World War II. 465 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,560 There are signs that the Luftwaffe is learning 466 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:25,280 how to bypass the RAF defenses. 467 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,880 One of the successes that the Luftwaffe had 468 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:32,120 was not by weight of bombs but by stealth. 469 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,440 Flying underneath the radar screen 470 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:37,560 proves to be more destructive than some of these large ones 471 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:39,160 going in at medium altitude. 472 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:44,760 [narrator] Then losses continue to mount. 473 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,360 On Sunday 18th August, 474 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:51,480 the date the RAF would later dub their hardest day, 475 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,880 Winston Churchill rallies the nation. 476 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:00,240 [Churchill] Never in the field of human conflict 477 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,680 was so much owed by so many to so few. 478 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:09,480 [narrator] The few were the RAF pilots 479 00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:12,520 desperately fighting off the planned German invasion. 480 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:17,560 Most important were those with five or more kills to their name... 481 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:19,400 the Aces. 482 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,600 [Hastings] The Aces were very important men 483 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,960 because they shot down a wholly disproportionate number of aircraft. 484 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:29,080 People who were very good shots, 485 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,240 who are willing to get fantastically close, 486 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,480 many of them Poles and Czechs, did brilliantly. 487 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:37,920 What is striking is the novice pilots. 488 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,880 Many of them went through the battle without hitting anything. 489 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,160 You needed to have those fantastic reflexes, 490 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:46,560 you needed to be willing to get phenomenally close. 491 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:49,960 You had to be a killer. You had to have that killer instinct. 492 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,920 It was all about getting your man in the back. 493 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:54,720 Playing a very dirty game. 494 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:59,000 [Bronk] A lot of RAF fighters were shot down. 495 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:00,920 They never saw the aircraft shooting at them. 496 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,080 They were shut down by these 109s that were on free hunt 497 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:08,080 ahead of the bomber stream, trying to catch the RAF fighters 498 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,480 as they came up towards the incoming bombers. 499 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,320 Eighty percent plus of pilots who were shot down 500 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:16,040 never saw the enemy who were shooting at them. 501 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,640 [Wellum] The answer was never to stay still, 502 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,280 have a quick squirt, and then get out. 503 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,960 There was always the other bloke that was gonna get killed, not you. 504 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:35,640 [narrator] Despite the heroics of the RAF, 505 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,160 Hitler's Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain 506 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,680 is still planned for mid-September. 507 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,160 With no real intelligence, Göring doesn't realize 508 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,200 how successful his recent raids have been, 509 00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:52,480 and he unnecessarily changes tactics. 510 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,440 [Levine] The one thing they don't seem to be well aware of, 511 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,880 is that they were actually doing very well 512 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,880 when they were bombing the airfields. They were making real inroads. 513 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,720 They were coming quite close to 11 Group 514 00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:10,680 as the group defending southeast England, having to move out of southeast England. 515 00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:13,360 But they didn't realize they'd done that. 516 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:16,800 [narrator] Göring tells his exhausted pilots 517 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,120 to begin night bombing raids using the Knickebein system 518 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,520 when RAF fighter wouldn't be around to intercept them. 519 00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,200 The plan now is to bomb Britain round the clock 520 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,240 until Churchill submits. 521 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:37,560 [Bungay] Hitler had forbidden any direct attacks on London. 522 00:34:38,640 --> 00:34:40,320 This, he said, was a political act 523 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:43,880 and he wanted a decision to attack London to be his alone. 524 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,200 However, one night in August, some Luftwaffe bombers 525 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:53,000 who were trying to bomb the old refinery at Thames Haven, 526 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:57,400 missed the target and actually the bombs dropped on the East End. 527 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:03,360 [narrator] Homes are devastated and nine civilians die. 528 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,840 Whether accidental or intentional, 529 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,360 the raid gives Churchill the opportunity to take the battle to the enemy. 530 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:14,680 For Churchill, this is a fantastic opportunity. 531 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,440 This gives him the excuse to do what he's been wanting to do, 532 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,680 urging the war cabinet to approve for a long time, 533 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,160 which is to attack Berlin. 534 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:24,480 [Bungay] And that was a bit of a problem 535 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:28,080 because Berlin was at the very limit of the range 536 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,520 of any bomber that the RAF had at the time. 537 00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:39,200 [narrator] The first night raid by British bombers on Berlin 538 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:40,720 is unsuccessful. 539 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,040 But days later, eight German civilians are killed. 540 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:47,280 [shells whistling] 541 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:49,160 [narrator] Yet this relatively small number 542 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,120 has an enormous impact on Germany. 543 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,480 This is a great shock for German psychology. 544 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:01,040 Suddenly, the war is coming to them in Germany, even in Berlin. 545 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:05,720 And it's a humiliation for Göring. And Hitler, of course, is furious. 546 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:07,960 [Holland] The narrative of the Battle of Britain 547 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,120 is all about Fighter Command but actually, Bomber Command 548 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:12,840 is in operation pretty much every single day. 549 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:16,440 They're targeting the new German airfields in Northern France. 550 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:20,800 The Germans are being bombed by the British every day 551 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:21,960 up in the Pas-de-Calais. 552 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:27,760 [narrator] But it's the bombing of Berlin that really unsettles the Nazis. 553 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,720 [Bungay] Hitler was at his Eagle's Nest in the mountains at the time. 554 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:37,120 He was informed and he said, "Right, they're hitting Berlin. 555 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:38,400 We will hit them back." 556 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,800 Hitler's concept was, rather than destroy the RAF, 557 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,760 we will destroy the British will to carry on. 558 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:49,840 Therefore, we'll start bombing their cities. 559 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:52,760 If we change our tactics to night operations 560 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:56,360 using Knickebein when the RAF are helpless, 561 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:58,400 they won't be able to find our bombers at night. 562 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:05,160 [narrator] Hitler believes the devastation his bombers can drop on London 563 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:09,320 will turn the population against the stubborn Churchill. 564 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:15,520 On September 4th, he delivers a terrifying message 565 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:17,720 at the Sportpalast in Berlin. 566 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:24,320 "If the British attack our cities, we will wipe out theirs." 567 00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:29,640 When Göring arrives on the French coast for the very first time, 568 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:32,760 it signals an ominous shift in tactics. 569 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:38,320 On the morning of September 7th, the Luftwaffe assembled 570 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,280 more than 700 aircraft and they set off in a great wedge. 571 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,600 September 7th was an incredible day for Londoners. 572 00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:48,800 Terrifying, of course but, you know, 573 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,320 the sight of this massive air fleet coming up the Thames, 574 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:54,080 unlike what they'd grown used to in the previous month. 575 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,760 This huge raid wasn't splitting up and going after the various airfields. 576 00:37:57,920 --> 00:37:59,520 It just kept going into London. 577 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,120 [bells ringing] 578 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:03,960 [narrator] By 4:30 p.m., 579 00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:08,560 all 21 squadrons protecting London, take to the skies. 580 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:14,360 They've never seen an attack on this scale before. 581 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,160 Dogfights ensure over the Thames Estuary... 582 00:38:24,080 --> 00:38:26,920 with over 1,000 aircraft involved. 583 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:31,560 [alarm ringing] 584 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:34,480 [narrator] Luftwaffe bombers then return at night, 585 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:39,880 just as they will do for all but one of the next 57 nights. 586 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,720 [explosions] 587 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:45,640 [narrator] The Blitz has begun. 588 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,320 London goes up in flames. 589 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:01,400 [reporter] Londoners everywhere witness scenes like these 590 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:02,360 throughout the night. 591 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,600 The people there bear the brunt of Nazi ferocity. 592 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:08,680 [Bronk] The London Docks is the most important 593 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:10,920 economic trading center in the world. 594 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,600 And there were enormous stockpiles 595 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,680 of all sorts of goods from around the world. 596 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:20,040 Things in particular like timber, molasses, all very flammable. 597 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:22,280 So, for example the timber fire at Surrey Docks 598 00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,440 is one of the most intense fires ever recorded. 599 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,560 Stripped the paint from fire fighting boats on the other side of the Thames, 600 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,160 melted paving stones. 601 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,360 [narrator] The following day, 602 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:42,480 Churchill visits the East End to see the damage for himself. 603 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,680 [Hastings] Churchill memorably observed London. 604 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:57,080 It was like some giant prehistoric beast that while it could take terrible pain, 605 00:39:57,600 --> 00:39:59,480 it would take an awful lot of killing. 606 00:40:00,480 --> 00:40:02,880 The poor in the East End of London suffered terribly. 607 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:05,200 They took the worse punishment in the Blitz. 608 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,120 When they found all these bombs raining around their area, 609 00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:14,400 what's remarkable is they didn't revolt. 610 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:19,480 It was a ghastly time, and what those people suffered, 611 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:22,400 especially those at the bottom end of the society... 612 00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:24,120 was terrible. 613 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,840 It takes more than this to get me out of my home. 614 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:31,920 Now go on, you got to get to work. 615 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,120 [narrator] Evacuations of children to the countryside increase. 616 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,920 Britain braces itself for a Nazi invasion. 617 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:48,520 [Levine] The bombing of London is very shocking for the people of London. 618 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:52,560 But it's really good news for Fighter Command 619 00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:55,040 because they're given a break, they're given respite. 620 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,040 And after a period of bombing London, 11 Group aren't in difficulty anymore. 621 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,760 [narrator] And if Hitler had hoped the British would turn on their leaders, 622 00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:05,680 he is disappointed. 623 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:10,520 Public opinion swings firmly behind their steadfast Prime Minister. 624 00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:18,560 By mid-September, the Luftwaffe is no closer 625 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:22,640 to gaining the aerial dominance they need for the successful invasion. 626 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:26,800 If it doesn't happen soon, 627 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,320 the occupation will have to be postponed until the spring. 628 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,960 The bombing campaign across Britain intensifies. 629 00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:48,240 On September 12th, 18-year-old Spitfire pilot, Geoffrey Wellum, 630 00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:50,520 is sent into combat for the first time. 631 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:56,320 [Wellum] I found myself with my leader, just the two of us, 632 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:59,760 faced with the prospect of 150 plus. 633 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:02,840 And it looked 150 plus, too. 634 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:07,760 And I thought to myself, you know, this is a serious war. 635 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:10,720 These chaps aren't doing all this for fun. 636 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:12,640 They mean business. 637 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:15,480 If you picked one out, 638 00:42:15,840 --> 00:42:18,760 particularly if he was a little bit wide in his formation, 639 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,920 just pick one out and have a quick go at him and then get out of it. 640 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:27,480 I found this Heinkel on its own streaking back to France 641 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:29,040 as hard as it could go, 642 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:31,640 and I managed to get a good... 643 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:33,800 shot at him. 644 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:35,680 [rapid gunfire] 645 00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:37,720 And he eventually crashed. 646 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:45,880 [narrator] With the weather deteriorating, 647 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,120 Göring has one last chance to prove himself. 648 00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:52,400 Intelligence reports were coming through 649 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,520 that the British must be down to their last 200 fighters by now. 650 00:42:56,280 --> 00:42:58,560 Surely, one more push is going to do it. 651 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:02,280 [Bronk] The Luftwaffe knows that the weather will very, very soon 652 00:43:02,360 --> 00:43:04,760 be too unpredictable to launch a seaborne invasion 653 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,040 until the following year. 654 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:11,160 When September 15th dawned, and the weather was clear, 655 00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:13,640 the Luftwaffe went for it. 656 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,320 [indistinct chatter] 657 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:19,520 [narrator] September 15th is the Luftwaffe's last roll of the dice. 658 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:21,440 ...range of 4,000 miles... 659 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:24,840 [narrator] ...and becomes known as Battle of Britain Day. 660 00:43:25,120 --> 00:43:27,720 [indistinct chatter] 661 00:43:36,800 --> 00:43:41,160 [Bungay] The first plots started coming into Uxbridge in 11 Group, 662 00:43:41,720 --> 00:43:44,240 at about 11 o'clock in the morning. 663 00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:49,200 This first raid consisted of about 145 aircraft. 664 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,000 [alarm ringing] 665 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,280 [narrator] For the first time, Britain's fighters 666 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:02,280 outnumbered the Luftwaffe's, 667 00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:06,440 as 275 fighters scramble. 668 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:12,520 12 Group, north of London, launched their Big Wing, 669 00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:16,000 led by squadron leader, Douglas Bader. 670 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:22,960 Fifty-six aircraft in a mass sortie meet the incoming bombers head-on. 671 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:48,720 [narrator] By 12:00 p.m., six German bombers have been downed, 672 00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:53,440 including one memorably, over Victoria Station in London. 673 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,160 This was just the prelude and the main raid came 674 00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:03,080 just after lunch time in the afternoon. 675 00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:05,400 Two-six-zero, zero-nine-five... 676 00:45:07,120 --> 00:45:09,920 [Bungay] This time there were 475 aircraft. 677 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:13,600 [narrator] Three columns of Luftwaffe aircraft 678 00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:16,800 attack from the most southerly route bound for London. 679 00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:26,800 Big Wing is scrambled again. 680 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:33,640 As the Germans cross the coast, 681 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,360 wave upon wave of RAF squadrons are there to meet them. 682 00:45:49,680 --> 00:45:54,000 The more aircraft the Luftwaffe sent over, the more they lost. 683 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,360 [Wellum] We felt that we were on top of them. 684 00:45:57,440 --> 00:46:00,960 We knew we were hurting them by shooting down quite a lot. 685 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:05,160 The Germans lost an awful lot of airplanes. 686 00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:08,520 And in fact, the Luftwaffe... 687 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:12,560 never ever fully recovered 688 00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:14,960 from the mauling it had in the Battle of Britain Day. 689 00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:21,440 [narrator] In the final count, fifty-six German aircraft are downed, 690 00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,240 compared to 28 RAF losses. 691 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,600 A ratio of exactly two to one. 692 00:46:29,560 --> 00:46:32,240 They're intercepted by such a huge volume of aircraft. 693 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:34,760 And all of the RAF fighters piling in. 694 00:46:34,840 --> 00:46:38,360 It's just unavoidably clear to them, even to Göring, 695 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:39,400 that this has failed. 696 00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:42,000 It brought their delusions to an end. 697 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:46,280 They had realized that the opposition was not weakening at all. 698 00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:50,040 It was just as strong as it had ever been, if not stronger. 699 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:53,160 [Parker] It was the turning point for the Luftwaffe. 700 00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:56,440 The Luftwaffe believed that the British were defeated 701 00:46:56,600 --> 00:46:59,160 and then all of a sudden, it proved that they weren't. 702 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:04,240 [narrator] Hitler losses faith in Göring's Luftwaffe. 703 00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:10,440 The landing craft and troops amassed on the French coast are redeployed. 704 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,640 Operation Sea Lion is off. 705 00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:16,520 It's an overwhelming victory for the RAF. 706 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:19,520 It's a massive defeat, a catastrophic defeat for the Luftwaffe 707 00:47:19,600 --> 00:47:20,960 and for Nazi Germany. 708 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:24,520 The reason Britain wins is because Britain is fighting the battle 709 00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:27,640 for which it is prepared, and which it executes brilliantly, 710 00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:29,440 but actually, the component parts are much greater 711 00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:31,480 than the narrative would have us think. 712 00:47:31,600 --> 00:47:34,960 It's not just about the few, it is also about Bomber Command, 713 00:47:35,280 --> 00:47:39,560 Coastal Command... It's also about naval power as well. 714 00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:43,600 [Bungay] There are three names that you need to remember. 715 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:46,560 The first is Winston Churchill. 716 00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:50,600 He's the man who decided to fight the battle. 717 00:47:52,560 --> 00:47:54,600 The second is Hugh Dowding. 718 00:47:55,200 --> 00:48:00,040 He's the person who created the weapon that enabled the battle to be won. 719 00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:03,960 And the third is Keith Park, commander of 11 Group. 720 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:06,760 He's the man who wielded the weapon. 721 00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:13,480 [narrator] After the defeat of France and the evacuation of Dunkirk, 722 00:48:14,920 --> 00:48:17,960 the Nazi surge through Europe had been checked. 723 00:48:20,720 --> 00:48:24,360 Hitler turns his sights towards the Soviet Union. 724 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:31,120 Against all the odds, the RAF had been victorious. 725 00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:34,880 While Britain was perhaps in a much stronger position 726 00:48:34,960 --> 00:48:36,040 than we generally suppose, 727 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:40,440 the traditional narrative of the few, those few very young men 728 00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:43,000 fighting, dying, risking their lives 729 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:45,520 to defend their country is really at the heart of the battle, 730 00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:46,960 and we should never forget that. 731 00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:50,520 [Hastings] If it hadn't been for that glorious legend, 732 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:53,720 that they had seen off the Luftwaffe, then it's hard to see 733 00:48:53,840 --> 00:48:56,960 how Churchill could've sustained the will of the British people 734 00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:00,200 through the very tough years that followed. 735 00:49:02,440 --> 00:49:05,640 [Wellum] We realized in October that the Germans 736 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,680 had been denied their aim. 737 00:49:08,600 --> 00:49:10,280 I was shot at three times. 738 00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:12,480 And I got away with it. 739 00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:15,240 I feel thankful indeed that I survived. 740 00:49:17,040 --> 00:49:20,360 I feel very privileged to have been in a position 741 00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:24,240 to have defended this country in a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain. 742 00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:34,240 [theme music playing]