"The Battle of Britain was virtually unwinable for the Luftwaffe."
Recently is has become fashionable for revisionist historians to say that the RAF couldn't have lost the Battle of Britain, or that the Luftwaffe had almost no chance of winning.
They argue that, overall, the Luftwaffe had fewer fighters than the RAF in the Battle, and therefore the RAF wasn't really outnumbered. Since Operation 'Sealion' (the German invasion of Britain) depended on the defeat of the RAF to succeed, they argue that the invasion threat was never serious. In fact, as RAF pilots were only too aware, the Luftwaffe could easily achieve local air superiority over their targets in southern England, and the RAF shortage was in pilots not aircraft. Had the Luftwaffe used better offensive tactics - as demanded by the aircrews themselves - such as allowing the escort fighters to roam more freely from the bombers, then German losses could have been lower and attacks more effective. Knocking out British RDF (radar) stations and systematically destroying RAF fighter bases would have severely limited RAF Fighter Command's ability to effectively defend Southern and Eastern England. If the sudden change in Luftwaffe tactics to area bombing of cities hadn't been made, (in reprisal for small scale RAF raids on Berlin), the RAF would have been forced to progressively retreat north and west, with an increasingly serious pilot shortage.
John
I've not seen too many revisionists at work here John, so I'm not sure I go along with this.
Wiki mentions the historian James Corum and he does make a very fair point about the 'weather window'.
The Stephen Bungay book (The Most Dangerous Enemy.........I'd recommend as an excellent read if you've not had the pleasure) does argue that alternate Luftwaffe tactics might have won the BoB for them, he especially mentions using the Me110 as a fast fighter-bomber intruder to make pin-point attacks on various high value targets (and as you mention radar especially).
He also talks about whether a more limited and local air superiority around the SE coastal area was possible and if that would have been sufficient to enable invasion (although that also brings in the variable not seen at that time, the Royal Navy and the Luftwaffe having to take that on).
But Bungay does show with each sides production and training schedules that the RAF did not come close to defeat - even during the airfield attack phase of the battle, and that with their loss rates they were on a hiding to nothing
doing what they were doing.
German production at this stage is surprisingly low.
It's worth mentioning that it was largely only 11 group suffering the majority of losses, even with rotation this was far from the bulk of the RAF.
It also has to be remembered that German intelligence during the battle was utterly hopeless (perhaps surprisingly so given that at that stage they had been doing so well) and the British intelligence services were starting to make serious inroads with Ultra.
I would agree that to say there is no way the Luftwaffe could ever have won the BoB is a silly claim to make........but given how things were on each side (and standing head and shoulders above everything about the BoB - besides the RAF having adequte numbers of trained fighter pilots and machines largely the equal or, arguably, at that stage a little better than anything the Luftwaffe had - was the worlds first modern radar equipped fully integrated air defense system
and above all it was properly understood operated as such) I think it is fairly difficult to see how the Luftwaffe could have truly won without one 'projecting' modern radically different tactics to it.
I say this not meaning to minimise or down-play the damage and danger or the terrible mauling Britain took during those dark days. ....or do similar to the young men on the German side and their courage and skills.
In fact I'd say that this (in reverse) is a well known myth (
the RAF came within a hair's breadth/a few days/week or couple of weeks of losing the BoB)
One of my favourites....no tigers were knocked by the Allied AT fire in the whole of Normandy. They all ran out of petrol or were otherwise just abandoned.
This reminded me of something I'd read.
I've mentioned the book before but in 'The Final Hours: The Luftwaffe Plot Against Goring' by Johannes Steinhoff, in the preface he makes an interesting and rather scathing remark concerning one of his fellow inpatients inthe hopspital he was at, a member of a Tiger crew who had also had his face largely burned off.
"Not all Tigers destroyed thousands of Russian tanks".
So many myths.....