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warspite1 -> RE: ot - Kenneth Macksey bok about nazi invazion to uk in 1940 (1/2/2015 12:40:03 AM)
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ORIGINAL: warspite1
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ORIGINAL: mind_messing
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ORIGINAL: warspite1
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...and the RAF was exhausted and running out of trailed pilots.
Hardly a done deal
By the end of October 1940 (so within the timeframe of the invasion) the Luftwaffe had lost 3,701 aircraft. It had begun the summer with 3,578. Losses of over 100%, but these had at least been made good in aircraft (if not trained pilots). But worse for the Germans was that production was by then no longer keeping up with losses.
The Luftwaffe's actual combat strength in October was only 75% of that at the start of the battle. Reductions in morale, combat fatigue and exhaustion were not the sole preserve of the RAF.
Furthermore, by now Britain was outstripping the Germans in aircraft production.
The RAF's problem wasn't airframes: it could keep ahead of losses (or at worst break even). It was pilots: in the 24 August to 6 September period it lost 103 pilots KIA/MIA and 128 wounded. Richards gives the losses of pilots from 8th-18th of August as 154, with only 63 replacement pilots put into the frontline.
When you're barely replacing 1/3 of your pilot losses, it's far from a done deal.
It's also worth noting that the production of British aircraft didn't really get ahead of losses till Sept 7th, which was when the Germans made the mistake of attacking urban areas instead.
Of course, the RAF could have went down the Japanese route and threw rookies into fighters, but I doubt that would have worked out well.
warspite1
Whereas the German problem was BOTH airframes AND pilots. British Pilots were likely to be recovered - not so for the Germans. Also the German process for repairing damaged aircraft was woeful. All German Gruppen were operating at depleted strength and this was getting worse each day. If the British had scraped the bottom of the barrel why were those losses not starting to come back for the Germans? Why were things getting worse not better?
The problems the Luftwaffe faced at the start of the BoB were about to get even worse.
With the launch of Sealion, the Luftwaffe are now artillery for the army, they need to pummel the airfields, they are defenders of the river barges and - if they want to throw away the remnants of the KM - their ships too. They are also ordered to attack RN shipping and of course - provide air superiority for the troops that did manage to land. Achieving air superiority was not achieved by the Luftwaffe up to the time of the planned invasion - there was even less chance of that being achieved once the invasion started and the sitting duck barges crept along the channel at 2-3 knots....
warspite1
Here is stat for the 6th September 1940 - shortly before the proposed invasion.
Fighter Command had over 750 serviceable fighters and 1,381 pilots - 950 of which flew the Spitfire or Hurricane.
This was 200 more pilots and 150 more aircraft than they had in July....
.....and here's another.
At the end of the battle Fighter Command had 40% more pilots than it began July with - 1,796 vs 1,259.
The Luftwaffe? I cannot see aircrew details but between July and December 1940 their fighter strength fell by 30% and bomber strength by 25%.
Ah, here we go.
Bf109 pilots - losses as a % of those operational for the three months:
July - 11%
August - 15%
September - 23%
as I say, things getting worse and worse for the Germans leading up to Hitler crying ENOUGH! After all he had Barbarossa to think about....
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