To what extent did the Supermarine Spitfire play a critical role in determining the outcome of the

Battle of Britain in 1940?

Elizabeth Aguilar Alvarez

003966-0001
Mr. Bornacelli
History HL Internal Assessment
Word Count: 1986

003966-0001 1
A: Plan of Investigation
This investigation will evaluate to what extent did the Supermarine Spitfire play a critical role in
determining the outcome of the Battle of Britain in 1940. The scopes will include the importance
of the Battle of Britain of 1940, the role of the Luftwaffe, assessment on the contribution of the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the campaign and the role of radar on the Battle of Britain. The methods
will include a speech by Winston Churchill on the importance of the Battle of Britain, memoirs
from German and British veterans with first-hand experience of the air campaign, histograms
analyzing the Luftwaffes role in the campaign, and statistics comparing the performance of the
German Bf 109 and the British Spitfire. The aims of this investigation are to understand the role
that the Supermarine Spitfire had on aiding Great Britain gain victory in the Battle of Britain.

003966-0001 1
B: Summary of Evidence
2.1 Importance of the Battle of Britain of 1940
The Battle of Britain was an air campaign launched by Germany on Great Britain during 1940
from July to October (Simpson 10). It was highly important in the scheme of World War II
because it determined the survival of the world (Churchill), and determined the outcome of
World War II ("The Battle of Britain." 1). Britain was willing to fight to retain their rights and
protect the freedom that Germany would undoubtedly take from them. In order to fight back
against Germanys superior air force, Great Britain established the Royal Air Force and trained it
to be up to par with Germanys ("British Aircraft Technology and The Battle of Britain." 1). The
RAFs contribution and victory at the Battle of Britain prevented an invasion by Germany
(Goulter, Gordon, and Sheffield 66), and swayed the chances of winning World War II towards
the Allied Powers.

2.2 The role of the Luftwaffe

The Luftwaffe was a branch of the German Wehrmacht, whose purpose was to create a strategic
air campaign against Great Britain. The Luftwaffe planned and executed aerial attacks to weaken
the fighting force of Britain and break down the British peoples will to fight by commanding
the war in the air (Barley 392). At the core of the Luftwaffes air defense doctrine remained the
offensive campaign to defeat the Royal Air Force by destroying the Britains resources on the
ground or in air-to-air combat (Barley 398). The Luftwaffes plans focused on the ports and
supply lines implying that a long drawn-out conflict with Britain was expected in which supplies
would affect the morale and war-fighting capability of Britain (Barley 401). Unfortunately,
their role was affected because as well as planning and executing attacks against the RAF, the

003966-0001 2
Luftwaffe had to deal with unclear strategy, poor leadership and changes in objectives (J. Quill
and S. Cox 130).

2.3 Contribution of the Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a high-performance single-seater fighter used by the Luftwaffe
in the Battle of Britain (C. Bekker and F. Ziegler 164). This German premier fighter could only
provide brief long-range cover for the bombers, since its flying range was limited. The Bf 109
assisted with the strategic attacks on Britains industrial and economic infrastructure by
bombing industries and transportation centres (Barley 393). It was also used in terror bombing
against civilians to weaken the morale of the enemy. Variations of the Messerschmitt Bf 109
were also used in the Blitz of London, which began on September 7th (Simpson 10). While
most engagements took place around 20,000 to 25,000 feet, where the spitfire had the
advantage (Williams, Mike, et al. 1), the Messerschmitt contributed to other operations such as
attacking radar stations that weakened part of Britains strategies.

2.4 The effect of radar on the Battle of Britain

Radar was vital to the British fending off the Germans. Radar allowed for an echo from a plan
over 200 miles to be detected (Trueman 1). The Germans lost the element of surprise
(Trueman 1) because the British could be on the defensive by the time the German offensive was
ready to attack. The use of radar also allowed weary air crews rest since there was no need for
continuous air patrols ("Radar - The Battle Winner?"). A drawback of radar, however, was that
signals could be misinterpreted resulting in inaccurate information on enemy aircraft height and

003966-0001 3
strength ("Radar - The Battle Winner?"). In addition, according to the Royal Air Force Museum
theBritish air defence enabled the RAF to retain the advantage in the air.

003966-0001 4
C: Evaluation of Sources
The origin of the first source is Jim Pinhorn, a pilot with 2013 Search and Rescue Squadron in
Gander, Newfoundland. The purpose Pinhorn wrote this histogram is to explain why the
Luftwaffes expectations and lack of strategy caused Germany to lose the Battle of Britain.
Values include the presentation of both German and British views on the events that took place,
which makes a comparison to verify this information possible. Another value is that this
histogram provides a perspective into the culture of the Luftwaffe and by extension, how that
could have led to their loss in the Battle of Britain. A value of this histogram includes the
information that is gained in hindsight as the histogram was written approximately 70 years after
the Battle of Britain. The limitations include the inability to identify any possible sentiment that
Pinhorn may harbor for or against Germany so information that highlights their shortcomings
could be unjustly portrayed. Another limitation is that the focus solely on the Luftwaffes
strategy could have led to the omission of information on extraneous factors that could have
affected the Luftwaffes shortcomings. Another limitation is that the role of the Luftwaffes
shortcomings is not assessed.

The origin of this second source is Jeffrey Quill, who is a part of the Fellowship of the Royal
Aeronautical Society, and Sebastian Cox who is on the staff of the Air Historical Branch,
Ministry of Defence, London and an aviation writer. They published this histogram in print for
the first time in 1986 in association with British Aerospace Plc. The purpose of this histogram is
to give a detailed background of the Supermarine Spitfire in order to provide a deeper
understanding of the aircraft that helped win the Battle of Britain in 1940.

003966-0001 5
The values include the statistics provided within the histogram comparing the Spitfire against the
Hurricane and Messerschmitt that provide factual evidence on the performance levels of the
aircrafts involved. Another value is that it presents multiple views on how the Spitfire aided in
the Battle of Britain that allows for different interpretations about the Spitfires role. Another
value is that the histogram also shows other factors that contributed to the British winning, so it
does not simply highlight the Spitfires role. The limitations include that the statistics could have
been manipulated so that the Spitfire appears more capable. Statistics in which the Messerschmitt
excelled could have also been omitted. Another limitation is that the histogram does not present
German perspectives on the confrontation between the Spitfire and the Messerschmitt which
makes it difficult to verify for validity.

003966-0001 6
D: Analysis
This investigation is important in its historical context because the Battle of Britain managed to
protect Great Britain, the last standing democracy in Europe, from falling under Nazi German
rule. The Supermarine Spitfire is seen as the key variable that lead to British victory at the Battle
of Britain. If not for the spitfire, Britain would have been invaded by Germany in 1940 (Craig 1).
This was due to the psychological advantage given to the Royal Air Force by the Spitfire: the
knowledge that their planes were superior, feared, and envied by the Luftwaffe (Craig 1). As
mentioned in one of the sources in C, The Spitfire outperformed the Bf 109, its main German
opponent, with maximum speeds above 15,000 and at ground level (J. Quill and S. Cox 140).
This proved to be critical as most engagements between the aircrafts took place around 20,000 to
25,000 feet, where the Spitfire had the advantage (Williams, Mike, et al. 1). The Bf 109 did not
stand much of a chance as its max speed was 343 mph, compared to the Spitfires max speed of
351 mph (J. Quill and S. Cox 140). In addition to its design and performance levels, the Spitfire
had an edge in its production. There were not enough new Bf 109s being created compared to the
Spitfire (C. Bekker and F. Ziegler 164). The Spitfires edge in performance was also vital,
suitable for tackling German fighters escorted by bombers (J. Quill and S. Cox 130). Together,
all the advantages the Spitfire provided to Great Britains strategy allowed it to defend her from
Germany and claim British victory.

On the other hand, the Battle of Britain would not have been won without the combined efforts
of the Hurricane and Spitfire (J. Quill and S. Cox 127). The Hurricane was built with easy
maintainability in mind, thus being available in greater numbers. During the Battle, the
production of Spitfires and Hurricanes was a total of 1,653; 1,025 of which were Hurricanes and

003966-0001 7
628 Spitfires (J. Quill and S. Cox 129). The war would not have been won with only one of these
aircrafts; mostly because there would not have been enough of them to do so (J. Quill and S.
Cox 130). Fighter Command employed squadrons of durable and heavily armed Hurricanes,
saving the more agile Spitfire for use against bombers fighter escorts (J. Quill and S. Cox 130).
It was through their united efforts, and complementation of each other, that the Hurricane and
Spitfire were able to defend Great Britain from the Luftwaffes attacks.

The perspective of the Luftwaffes weaknesses playing to Great Britains advantage provided in
C proved the most valuable and made the greatest impact in this investigation, as they showed
that the Luftwaffes plan played a bigger role in claiming British victory than the performance of
the Spitfire. The Luftwaffe dealt with unclear strategy and poor leadership (J. Quill and S. Cox
130). Hermann Goering, the Luftwaffe Commander-in-chief, over confidently thought the
Luftwaffe alone could defeat the British without firm strategy (Barley 391). Weeks prior to the
start of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe was working out plans for an invasion they had
previous knowledge was a possibility (Pinhorn 41). Hitlers uncertainty towards Britain lead to
confusion over the tactical and technical approach the Luftwaffe should adopt (Barley 390).
Throughout the Battle, Goering continued to change the objective and targets from one to
another (C. Bekker and F. Ziegler 182). At first, most of the Luftwaffes air defense strategy
rested in being able to destroy the enemys air resources on the ground or in air-to-air combat
(Pinhorn 41). After the Luftwaffe failed to destroy the RAF on August 13th, also known as
Eagle Day, they switched to attacking fighter airfields, radar stations and aircraft production
factories (Simpson 10). This constant shift made it difficult to focus long enough on one
objective to accomplish much. While this does not downgrade the RAFs achievements, it does

003966-0001 8
emphasize that the Luftwaffes deficiencies contributed to German loss to Great Britain (Pinhorn
40).

To a lesser extent, radar also played a factor in aiding the Britishwhich is why the strategic
bombing of these areas was significant. It gave the British an acute advantage, since they could
detect their enemies without having to see them or to use espionage. This was a problem for the
Germans who did not have this technology, and who could not use any tricks without being
detected with enough time for the British to retaliate. Radar also gave the British a key advantage
in control the air. Air nullifies many land tactics, as well as supports any land tactics.

003966-0001 9
E: Conclusion
While the Supermarine Spitfire and radar played an important part for Great Britain in the Battle
of Britain, the shortcomings of the Luftwaffe played a more crucial role in British victory. The
performance levels of the Spitfire were superior to that of the Messerschmitt BF 109, which
allowed them to win most encounters. The second source in C was useful in highlighting the
different in performance levels and the Spitfires competence. This helped emphasize the
Spitfires role. However, the Spitfire was not invaluable; more Hurricanes were produced
anyhow. With the advantage of radar and the weakness of the Luftwaffe, Britain could still have
won. Radar was the technological advancement that allowed Great Britain to locate enemy
aircrafts near the coast. Thus, they could send fighters after the aircraft before it could do any
damage. However, the weakness of the Luftwaffe played a more crucial role in British victory.
The first source in C was useful in showing the Luftwaffes in the Battle of Britain. It was due to
the source that it became blatant that the Luftwaffes lack of strategy and organization and
effective leadership fractured the Germans efforts. As a result, Britain was able to step up and
claim the victory laurel for the Battle of Britain.

003966-0001 10
F: Works Cited
Barley, M. P. "Contributing to its Own Defeat: The Luftwaffe and the Battle of Britain." Defence
Studies 4.3 (2004): 387-411. Print.
Bekker, Cajus, and Frank Ziegler. "The Battle of Britain." The Luftwaffe War Diaries. New
York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1994. 40. Print.
"British Aircraft Technology and The Battle of Britain.." Stanford Computer Science. Standford
University, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
Churchill, Winston. Their Finest Hour. England. 18 June 1940. Speech.
Craig, Olga. "Battle of Britain: the spitfire, envy of the enemy." The Telegraph 28 June 2010: 1.
Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Correll, John T. "How the Luftwaffe Lost the Battle of Britain." Air Force Magazine
91.8 (2008): 62-66. Web. 26 May 2014.
Goulter, Christina, Andrew Gordon , and Gary Shefeld. "The Royal Navy did not win the
Battle of Britain: But we need a holistic view of Britains defences in
1940." RUSI151.5 (2006): 66-67. Web. 26 May 2014.
Pinhorn, Jim. "Unrealistic Expectations: The Luftwaffe's Doomed Mission During the Battle of
Britain." The Royal Canadian Air Force Journal 1.3 (2012): 38-50. Print.
Puri, Samir. "The role of intelligence in deciding the Battle of Britain." Intelligence and National
Security 21.3 (2006): 416-439. Print.
Quill, Jeffrey, and Sebastian Cox. Birth of a Legend: The Spitfire. Washington, D.C:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986. Print.
"Radar - The Battle Winner?" Royal Air Force Museum. Royal Air Force Museum, n.d. Web.
26 May 2014.

003966-0001 11
Simpson, Andrew. "Battle of Britain: Modern Memories of 1940." Warbirds 33.6 (2010): 8-14.
Print.
Trueman, Chris. "The Radar and the Battle of Britain." History Learning Site.
HistoryLearningSite, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.
Williams, Mike, et al. "Spitfire Mk I versus Me 109 E." WWII Aircraft Performance. WWII
Aircraft Performance, 8 Nov. 2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.