All language subtitles for greatest.events.of.world.war.ii.in.hd.colour.s01e02.1080p.web.x264-stout.english

The fate of Western Europe hangs in the balance.

Waves of Nazi bombers
are heading for London.

Hitler believes
Britain is on its knees.

Information from the secret services

they mentioned that the British still had
200 fighter jets.

The RAF, the Royal Air Force,
raises them all in the air

to defend the capital.

It will be a fight to the death.

You had to be a killer.

You had to have a criminal instinct.

You open fire at 180 m,

And when you finished saving, you
were 15 meters from the enemy.

If the Nazis defeat the RAF,

may begin the invasion
of the British Isles by sea .

The Battle of Britain is one
of the most heroic clashes

of the Second World War.

Rare recordings from around the world,
professionally restored,

I'm telling the story like you've never heard it before.

May 10, 1940.

Hitler shocks the world by
launching lightning strikes

against the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Armored divisions are also sweeping
their way ...

with air support from the
German Air Force,

Luftwaffe.

The Luftwaffe is considered the
star of lightning war.

Psychologically, she seems omnipotent.

Stuka planes
plunge into dizzying sirens,

bringing terror and carnage.

As the crisis deepens,

Winston Churchill is named
British Prime Minister.

British troops sent to France
to help their last ally in Europe,

they are forced to retreat shamefully.

The shock of defeat is strong,

The British Expeditionary Forces
are cornered

in the only
remaining port on the English Channel , Dunkirk.

Despite a miraculous evacuation ...

the German war machine seems unstoppable.

GERMANY - NORTH SEA

Britain and its empire stand
alone in Hitler's armies.

But Hitler, a great admirer
of Britain, is not sure of the invasion.

I think the Nazis were amazed

how quickly they defeated France.

Hitler had a dilemma.
He didn't know what to do next.

Hitler's long-term plan
was to attack the Soviet Union.

He was content to make peace
with Britain.

He even promised Britain
that he would not attack her.

Some members
of Churchill's war cabinet

insists on a deal with Hitler.

But the prime minister is adamant.

Churchill refused to negotiate.

He refused to negotiate.
He said, "I will not talk to that individual."

Churchill thought Hitler was the kind of man

which takes your whole hand if you give it a finger.

We are calm

And we overcome the shock of terrible defeat.

The battle of France is over.

I expect the Battle of Britain to begin.

Hitler knows that if he doesn't defeat us
on the island,

lose the war.

Churchill knows the British

they urge harder.

Churchill didn't just push everyone,

but kept alive the threat of invasion.

We will fight on the beaches.

We will fight on landing grounds.

We will fight in the fields

And on the streets. We will fight on the hills.

We will never surrender.

In 1940, Churchill acted brilliantly by
first convincing them

that the British are capable
of something great

And then convincing them
that they had done something great.

Churchill's priority is to
stop the invasion.

France being under German occupation,

His main concern was that the German Navy

will have at its disposal the French fleet.

Reluctantly, he instructs the Royal Navy
to sink the French fleet

anchored on the coast of Algeria.

1,300 French soldiers were killed.

Churchill believes
that attacking a former ally

It was an odious decision.

But the French fleet can no longer
play any role in the German invasion.

Hitler is steadfast.

For Hitler, the army means everything.

He does not realize
that the British armed forces

it does not mean military or military aviation,
but the British Royal Navy.

He doesn't understand his enemy.

But the attack sends a clear message.

Britain is ready for battle.

Hitler's hope
for a deal crumbles.

He knows Churchill won't negotiate

unless he is convinced that the German invasion
is a real possibility.

While the British Royal Navy
controls the sea,

The almighty Luftwaffe can attack the
marine convoys of the English Channel

weakening British supply lines

And attracting enemy air forces,

Royal Air Force.

The Luftwaffe was probably the most powerful
air force

of the world at that time.

It was almost twice the RAF.

They were hastily building airfields in France

to launch medium
-range German bombers .

They were escorted
by fighter jets ...

formidabilele Messerschmitt 109.

Messerschmitt 109,

The
single-engine fighter jet is

the best in the world
in the summer of 1940.

It gains altitude faster
than any other aircraft.

He has the most powerful weapons.

His machine guns had ammunition
for 55 seconds of continuous fire

It is also equipped with cannons.

Hermann Göring, comandantul Luftwaffe,

orders his forces
to block commercial traffic in the Canal.

Göring was a former pilot
in World War I ...

And probably the closest
person to Hitler.

He was very passionate about luxury.

Göring was the Nazi
who really enjoyed power.

Instead of focusing on his mission,

He wastes time buying
works of art.

Göring promised Hitler
that in just four days,

His air fleet will destroy the
British defense in the south

And the entire RAF in four weeks.

The Germans were incredibly arrogant.

They believed that if they sent
an air force into battle

strong as theirs,

England will be destroyed in one fell swoop.

It's July 10, 1940.

The fighting over the English Channel is
becoming more intense

When 60 German bombers
attack a large naval convoy.

The Battle of Britain had begun.

But when approaching British ships,

the pilots see something unexpected.

Five squadrons of
the RAF Fighter Command

He greets them there.

It's as if the British knew
about their arrival.

At the forefront of defense is a plane

dreaded by Luftwaffe pilots ...

Supermarine Spitfire.

The Germans had not faced Spitfire

than in the battles of Dunkirk,

where he surprised them,
because, for the first time,

they had encountered a plane capable of
facing the Messerschmitt 109E

from equal to equal.

Spitfire was a sensational plane.

He was handsome, had charisma,
and ignited everyone's imagination.

German bombers sank
a single British ship ...

but they lost ten planes.

The Luftwaffe has learned a hard lesson.

But Göring's intelligence services
did not want to hear that.

Head
of Aviation Intelligence Services

era Beppo Schmid.

He ignored the defensive system,

essential for the
air defense capability of the British.

He fueled the illusion
that the Luftwaffe could win.

Schmid tells Göring
that the Luftwaffe pilots

are superior to the British
and that they can be recruited faster.

Schmid's biggest problem

It's that he always told Göring

what he wanted to hear.

He was not at all interested in finding out the truth.

In principle, he invented phantasmagorias.

It was based
on the least credible information.

What Beppo Schmid presented to Göring

it was completely untrue.

Göring's confidence
that the Luftwaffe can defeat RAF ...

plays an important role
in Hitler's decision

to intensify the
threats of invasion.

On July 16, Hitler decided

the beginning of Operation Sea Lion,

start of preparations, and, if necessary,

the invasion of Great Britain
over the English Channel.

He said he was preparing for this invasion

because he could not reach an agreement
with the British.

Germany is preparing for the invasion.

River barges are brought
to the coast of France.

They are transformed
into landing craft to transport

almost 500,000 people
across the English Channel.

Paratroopers train
to attack key targets.

But Hitler still hopes
Churchill will change his mind

He will make an offer of peace.

On July 19,

Hitler threatens Britain
to negotiate, otherwise he suffers the consequences.

Hitler said, "Make peace with us
and everything will be fine."

You have been foolish, the British,
to oppose.

Attacking Poland
has nothing to do with you.

You shouldn't have attacked me.

Half an hour after the speech,

the offer is rejected by the United Kingdom.

Hitler now knows he has
to show Churchill

how real the threat to Germany is.

Immediately afterwards,
Hitler gives a directive

asking the Luftwaffe to intensify its
airstrikes on Britain

to get air superiority
over the beaches

And increase the credibility of the
threat of Operation Sea Lion.

Hitler said: "
Britain has no escape.

The war is already won. By U.S.??

August 1940.

Hitler asks Göring to lay the groundwork

total destruction
of British fighter jets ...

through Operation Eagle Day.

The Luftwaffe was to bomb
aerodromes in south London.

More than half
of the RAF fighter jets are there.

Operation Eagle Day begins
on August 13th.

Certainly in a few hours, the
RAF Fighter Command

it will no longer be possible to oppose the Luftwaffe.

Eagle Day marked a series
of attacks on key airfields

of Group 11, in the south of England.

The bombers had to attack
in waves, destroying

Command's ability
to generate surprise attacks

in the extreme south

And then push the RAF inland

for the Luftwaffe to cement its
superiority over the Canal.

But
bad weather reports are being received .

Göring decides to postpone the attack.

On Eagle Day, some pilots
are ordered to return to base.

Some receive the order too late,

and some do not receive it at all.

The order to start the operation

was given at about 14:00.

As German bombers
approach the British coast,

RAF response is fast and deadly,

a real shock to the Luftwaffe.

Not to
mention the easy victory promised by Hitler.

47 German planes are shot down,

and 86 pilots are killed,
missing or captured.

Eagle Day losses

they are quite humiliating
for the Luftwaffe.

The dive bombers,
who seemed invincible in France,

they were extremely vulnerable

a concerted attack
by fighter jets.

Are you safe? Did you hit a bastard?

Then, at knife point, 109 ºi to Dornier.

The Germans were dangerously confident.

Each branch of the army had been told
to prepare separately for the invasion.

What does the Luftwaffe want?

Their plan was: "We will destroy the RAF."

They had no coordination.

Hitler going to the Alps then
was like ...

Churchill allegedly went
to a cottage in Scotland

at that time.

It was completely inappropriate.

He showed arrogance.

He showed her his inability

to understand his enemy.

The Germans didn't know

that the British had developed
an advanced warning system,

called the "Dowding System".

Stuffy ?? ?? Dowding was the commander
of the Combat Aircraft Command.

He had overseen the development

a coordinated
air defense system .

There is no such thing in the world.

At the base of the defensive system is
the "Radar Chain",

twenty-one 110 m high radar antennas
on the south and east coast,

which could detect planes
193 km away.

If German planes flew
under the detection ceiling,

were detected by 30 smaller radars,
the Low Radar Chain.

The principles of radar detection were known

by the Germans, who also had
their own system.

What they didn't understand

it's the way the radar was integrated

in an air defense system.

Once German planes
were in sight,

over 30,000 volunteers on
duty day and night ...

Thirty enemy planes across the Channel are
flying west.

They followed them and reported their position.

Radar notifies you of the approach of
a band, but does not tell you

size or altitude,
this being done

by observers in interspersed positions

located on the coast and inland of England.

They were equipped with binoculars

And with a tool called a pantograph,

a kind of giant sextant.

The instrument gave them the compass head, the
distance and the altitude

the squadron they were pursuing.

Reports reached the
Fighter Command

in less than 40 seconds.

At the Bentley Priory were the control
room and the filter room.

Bentley Priory is the headquarters of the
Aircraft Command .

The filter chamber analyzes the information

come only from radar stations.

The control room coordinates

information from
the filter chamber

And the information coming
from the body of observers.

The Luftwaffe has no idea that the RAF knows
that German planes are approaching

since they are above the north of France.

Enemies, two, four, south.

The positions of their aircraft are reported
directly to Command.

Reacþie din south-east forþele

I'm under the command of a man ...

Vice President Keith Park.

While the German squadrons
had several commanders,

Park alone coordinated more than 30 squadrons
in the south-west of England.

During Eagle Day,

some German bombers
inevitably pass the defensive shield.

Some RAF aerodromes of Group 11
coordinated by Park are hit.

But the decisive blow
that had to be given to RAF on Eagle Day

it turns
into a squabble taken by the Luftwaffe.

47 German planes are shot down,

and the RAF loses only 13 aircraft.

But Beppo Schmid tells
Göring much more RAF losses,

claiming that the Luftwaffe shot down
70 British planes.

Part of the problem was information

which reached Göring.

Our friend Beppo Schmid was sending
inaccurate reports.

Göring doesn't know exactly what's going on.

Schmid underestimates speed

with which the RAF repairs planes and runways.

Engineers were quickly rebuilding the planes.

The craters left by the bombs were
quickly filled .

Most RAF bases were operational
again within 24 hours.

British fighter jets were
built faster than ever.

The aviation industry had been restructured

And now he was producing non-stop.
Everything had been optimized.

In July 1940, the Minister of Aviation

manufactured 496
Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft ,

while the Luftwaffe had manufactured
only 240 Messerschmitt 109.

Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aviation,

establishes the Spitfire Fund,

to raise money
for the production of aircraft.

LOCAL AIRCRAFT FUND

The public wanted to contribute,

And not just in the UK
or the Commonwealth,

but all over the world,

people wanted to donate

for the manufacture of
these wonderful objects.

Due to the fact that the battles
were over England,

The RAF still had an advantage
over the Luftwaffe.

Although Eagle Day caused
significant damage,

This is not reflected
in the number of pilots.

The pilots are shaken,
but if they are not seriously injured,

they return immediately to the squadron

He gets on a new plane the next day.

Well-trained people are saved
and go back into battle,

while Göring loses his
crews forever.

Every Luftwaffe plane shot down

it means the loss of a plane
and its crew.

Those pilots become
a valuable source of information.

Crews are interrogated,

and German aircraft
are analyzed in the smallest detail.

The
word "Knickebein" is found in a Heinkel bomber.

written on a note.

using the same word.

It is known that ?? Knickebein ??,
?? lame foot ?? in Romanian,

It's a radio communications system

which allows pilots
to navigate at night.

It's a threatening discovery.

The Germans plan
to bomb England at night.

The Knickebein system transmits
a sequence of dots and lines.

The pilots flew between two beams
to their intersection.

Thus they knew how to follow the course
without resorting to maps.

No one thought
that the Germans would develop a system

sailing at night.

Parallel to the Battle of Britain is taking place

another technological and scientific battle,

whose purpose is the bombing
by night, not by day.

Defensive Strategy
of the Combat Aircraft Command

it is based on the fact that observers
and pilots see the enemy.

If the Germans start
bombing at night,

British cities and industry
remain defenseless.

Meanwhile, Göring realized that

that the south of England is very well defended.

So change strategy.

Maybe the rest of Britain is
more vulnerable.

On August 15, they launched
an extensive offensive.

It is clear that the south of England is well defended,

but it was not clear that the north was the same.

The main raid took place
over Yorkshire.

There were Heinkel 111 planes

escorted by twin-engine aircraft,
Messerschmitt BF 110.

More than 2,000 Luftwaffe planes
are launched across the UK.

But Göring receives
another painful lesson.

This time, 75 German planes
are shot down.

The Luftwaffe called that day "
Black Thursday".

Churchill called it "one of the
greatest days in history."

The Dowding system is just as vigilant
in the north as it is in the south.

The Germans then realized
that radar systems

they surrounded the coast

And that they were not only facing Group 10 and 11,

but also Group 12 in the Midlands,
and Group 13 in the north and Scotland.

suffered the greatest losses.

So he changed tactics again.

Stuka were annihilated
because they work best

if they have full control
of the airspace.

Göring begins to adjust his tactics
and tells the fighter jets:

You should escort the
bombers closely.

You need to provide escort.

It means they
have more to do

And they lose their advantages.

They are deprived of their main advantage,

speed and surprise element.

Instead of flying at over 480 km / h

And have an inherent advantage

on RAF aircraft at the beginning of the battle,

109E planes now fly
at 320, 400 km / h,

near bombers at low altitude.

That was
a huge mistake by Göring.

RAF loses 32 fighter jets
on 15 August.

Airplanes and airfields
are repaired quickly.

But mental stress affects
pilots on both sides.

In August, the
life of a regular RAF pilot

It was like a schizophrenic experience.

When they were on duty, they
flew five, six missions a day.

The situation was very intense.

The fighting was very intense.

Then, after half an hour, I
return to the ground

I'm sitting next to the hangar,

completely exhausted.

The youngest Spitfire pilot
in the Battle of Britain,

Geoffrey Wellum, I reduce my
instruction time

to get directly into the fight.

At ten and a half months

since leaving Serbian life
at the boarding school,

I found myself in the middle of the action,
in a squadron of Spitfire.

I stayed longer, moaning and waiting.

The tension of waiting in the hangar
is something I will never forget.

When the bell rang, you became ...

tense.

You were climbing Spitfire.

Once you were in the cockpit,

you could feel the vibrations of the engine in the seat
and you could understand

that then it's up to you.

Once again, British pilots have an advantage

on those in the Luftwaffe.

It was a special thing to be a
soldier in the Royal Air Force.

Even more interesting was being a pilot.

But be a fighter pilot

it was by far the coolest thing.

One in five fighter pilots
were foreigners.

They were French, Belgian

And many Poles.

I drank at night, came home,
slept for two hours

And then they flew on a mission.

British pilots went to the local bar

where they were received as heroes,

unlike the German pilots
who always had something to do.

In the evening they had to discuss tactics
and write reports.

If they had little free time,
they would go to a local bar,

but there they came
across a French bartender who looked at them suspiciously.

Nobody praised them.

Morally, it
was harder for the Luftwaffe.

On August 16, Lufwaffe reports

finally some victories
in the Battle of Britain.

Radars detect Luftwaffe formations
crossing the English Channel

And heading south.

Eighty-four Stuka bombers

apãrate de 214 Messerschmitt 109

And 43 Messerschmitt 110
is heading for Southampton.

Eight British squadrons intercept them
over Portsmouth and Lee-on-Solent.

Göring's new tactic pays off.

RAF aircraft are outnumbered
by escort aircraft

They allow bombers
to cause major damage.

She was hit by 22 bombs.

It will be taken out of use in a month.

A great success of the Luftwaffe.

The RAF base in Tangmere is severely damaged.

Ten soldiers are killed
and the hangars are destroyed.

American pilot Billy Fiske
fights Luftwaffe,

it is hit
and the fuel tank catches fire.

He initially survives,
but then dies from his injuries.

Fiske becomes the first North American victim
of World War II.

AN AMERICAN GIVES HIS LIFE
FOR SURVIVAL OF ENGLAND

There are signs that the Luftwaffe is learning

how to overcome the RAF defense.

The Luftwaffe has achieved some success by
avoiding detection,

not using heavy bombers.

Flight below the radar detection threshold

proved more effective
than heavy bombers

flying at medium altitude.

And losses continue to rise.

Sunday, August 18,

day that RAF considered a
worst case,

Winston Churchill înflãcãreazã naþiunea.

Never in the history
of human conflicts

So many people owed something to
so few.

The few were RAF pilots

desperately
resisting the German attacks.

More important were those
with more than five planes shot down ...

elite pilots.

Elite pilots were important

because they shot down
a disproportionate number of planes.

Exceptional shooters,

people willing to get
very close ,

mostly Poles and Czechs.

The novice pilots were a disappointment.

Most went through the war
without hitting anything.

You had to have fantastic reflexes,

Have the desire to get closer.

You had to be a killer.
Have a criminal instinct.

You had to be able
to stab in the back,

to Play a Dirty Game |

Many RAF pilots were shot down.

They didn't even see the plane
he was firing from.

They were shot down by 109 planes
that did nothing they could

in front of the bombers,
trying to shoot down the RAF pilots

approaching the bombers.

Over 80% of the pilots shot down

they did not see who shot at them.

The solution was to avoid it permanently,

shoot a short volley, then release.

The other was always killed, not you.

Despite the heroism of the RAF pilots,

Hitler's operation, the Great Lion,

It is scheduled
for mid-September.

Without real information,
Göring doesn't realize it

how successful his recent raids have been

And, unnecessarily, it changes tactics.

The only thing they didn't understand

It's that they did very well

with aerodrome bombing.

They were getting good results.

They came quite close to
RAF Group 11.

This is the group
defending the south-east of England

And who had to retire.

But they did not realize what they had done.

Göring tells his exhausted pilots

to make night raids
using the Knickebein navigation system,

when RAF pilots were not ready
to intercept them.

The plan is to attack Britain non-stop,

until Churchill surrenders.

Hitler had forbidden any direct attack
on London.

This was a political act

He wanted the decision to attack
London to be his own.

However, one August night,
some Luftwaffe bombers

trying to bomb
the Thames Haven oil refinery,

they missed the target
and the bombs fell on the East End.

Dwellings were destroyed

And nine civilians perished.

Accidental or intentional,

The raid gives Churchill a chance

to attack the enemy.

RETALIATION

For Churchill, this is an unexpected opportunity.

It's the perfect excuse
to do what he wanted to do long ago,

that is, to ask
the war cabinet for approval

to attack Berlin.

This was a problem,

because Berlin is on the edge
of its sphere of action

of RAF bombers at the time.

The first night raid of the British
on Berlin

it is doomed to failure.

But a few days later,
eight German civilians are killed.

Although the number is relatively small,

has a huge impact on Germany.

It's a huge shock to German psychology.

Suddenly,
war comes upon them in Berlin.

For Göring, it is a humiliation.
And Hitler is angry.

The Combat Aircraft Command
is presented as the key pawn of the battle,

but the Bombardier Command
also played an extremely important role.

Their target is the new German airfields
in northern France.

The Germans are bombed daily by the British

in Pas-de-Calais.

But what bothers
the Nazis the most is the bombing of Berlin.

At that time, Hitler was
in the mountains at the Eagle's Nest.

He was informed and said: ?? Okay,

attack Berlin.

Vom riposta. ??

Hitler's concept was: "
Instead of destroying the RAF,

We better destroy the British desire
to continue.

Therefore, we will bomb the cities.

If we change tactics
and attack at night,

using the Knickebein system
when RAF aircraft are powerless,

they will not be able to detect the
bombers at night. ??

Hitler believes that the disaster caused
by the bombing in London

He will turn the citizens
against Churchill.

On September 4, he
sends a frightening message

in Berlin, at Sportpalast.

"If the British attack our cities,
we will destroy theirs."

When Göring first reached
the coast of France,

conveys an
ominous tactic change .

On the morning of September 7, the
Luftwaffe gathered together

over 700
triangular planes .

September 7th was
an incredible day for Londoners.

Of course, creepy,

at the sight of the air fleet
flying over the Thames,

an operation different
from the ones they were used to.

The planes did not part,
going after different targets.

They were all heading for London.

Until 4:30 p.m.,

all 21
squadrons defending London took off .

They had never seen
such an attack before.

There
were aerial battles over the Thames estuary ...

involving
more than 1,000 aircraft.

The Luftwaffe bombers return at night,

as they will do for the next
57 nights, except for one.

Operation Blitz had begun.

London is on fire.

Londoners are witnessing these scenes

all night.

People felt the savagery of the Nazis.

London Docks is the most important
shopping center in the world.

There were huge stocks

with goods from all over the world.

Especially timber and molasses,
both highly flammable.

For example, the
Surrey lumber fire

It is one of the most powerful
ever.

He melted the paint
on the fire boats

And the asphalt.

On the morrow of,

Churchill goes to the East End
to see the disaster with his own eyes.

Churchill described London as memorable.

He was like a huge prehistoric monster
who had suffered a lot

but not nearly killed.

The poor in the East End have suffered greatly.

They were the hardest hit
by Operation Blitz.

At the sight of the bombs
falling on them,

Surprisingly, they did not revolt.

It was awful and those people,

especially the poorest, they suffered

enormous.

I'm not leaving my house so easily.

Go, you have to go to work.

TO THE EVACUATION TRAINS

The evacuation of children to
rural areas is intensified .

Britain is preparing
for the Nazi invasion.

The bombing of London was
a shocking event for the people.

But it
's a good thing for fighter jets ,

for they have a break, a rest.

After the bombing of London,
Group 11 has no problems.

Hitler had believed that the British
would turn against the leaders,

give and dezamãgit.

Citizens are with
their unwavering prime minister.

By mid-September, the
Luftwaffe had failed

to obtain the air superiority
necessary for an invasion.

If I don't get it soon,

the invasion will have to be postponed
until spring.

The bombing of
Britain is intensifying .

On September 12, Spitfire pilot
Geoffrey Wellum, 18,

enters the fight for the first time.

The squadron leader and
I woke up in front

an enemy force
of over 150 aircraft.

There really seemed to be over 150 planes.

I told myself
that the war had become serious.

These guys didn't come to play.

They were serious.

If you chose one,

especially if he was a
little out of the band,

you followed him, shot at him quickly,
and then walked away.

I saw a Heinkel
returning to France,

at maximum speed,

but I managed to shoot ...

pretty good at it.

Eventually it collapsed.

Because the weather is bad,

Göring had another chance
to prove his abilities.

Information received
from intelligence services

they said the British still had a
maximum of 200 fighter jets.

Another small effort and they won.

The Luftwaffe knew the
weather was soon to come

too unpredictable
for a naval invasion

that year.

On September 15,
when the weather calmed down,

Luftwaffe attacked.

The Luftwaffe had the
last chance on September 15 ...

distance, 6,400 kilometers ...

day that becomes known
as the "Day of the Battle of Britain".

ªi a plane the 4.800 ...

The first information reached
Group 11 in Uxbridge

about 11:00.

The first raid was carried out
by 145 planes.

It was the first time British planes

outnumbered Luftwaffe aircraft,

275 pilots in the air.

Group 12, from north London,
launched the Grand Squadron,

led by Douglas Bader.

56 planes took off
to directly intercept the bombers.

At 12:00,
six German bombers had been shot down ,

one just above
Victoria Station in London.

This was just the prelude, the main raid

starting shortly after noon.

Two-six-zero, zero-nine-five ...

They were now attacking 475 planes.

Three Luftwaffe squadrons

attack from the south, targeting London.

The Grand Squadron takes off again.

As the Germans cross the coast,

The RAF greets them with waves of squadrons.

As the Luftwaffe sends
more planes, the losses increase.

I felt we were stronger.

I knew we were causing them great losses.

The Germans lost a
lot of planes.

In fact, the Luftwaffe

he never recovered

after the humiliation of the Day of the Battle of Britain.

Finally,
56 German planes are shot down ,

compared to only 28 RAF aircraft.

Exactly twice as many.

They are intercepted
by a huge number of planes.

All RAF pilots take part in the action.

It's very clear, even to Göring,

that the operation failed.

Their deception is over.

They understood that the British defense
was not weakening at all.

It was just as strong,
if not stronger.

It was a turning point
for the Luftwaffe.

The Luftwaffe believed
that the British were defeated,

when, in fact, it turned out they weren't.

Hitler lost confidence
in Göring's air force.

Transport ships and troops stationed
on the coast of France are relocated.

Operation Sea Lion has been countermanded.

It's a crushing victory for the RAF.

This is a disastrous defeat
for the Luftwaffe

And for Nazi Germany.

The reason for the victory is that the British are fighting

exactly as they prepared,
and they do it with mastery.

But the elements involved
are much more,

contrary to what is presented.

Several divisions took part,
the Bombers Command,

Coast Command ...

The naval forces were also involved.

Three names must be remembered.

The first, Winston Churchill.

He is the one who decided
that the British will fight.

Al doilea, Hugh Dowding.

He is the one who created the weapon
that facilitated the victory.

Third, Keith Park,
commander of Group 11.

The man who wielded the gun.

After the defeat of France
and the evacuation of Dunkirk,

the Nazi
rise through Europe was halted.

Hitler turned
to the Soviet Union.

Contrary to forecasts,

RAF came out victorious.

Although Britain was
in a better position

than supposed,

the legend of the few brave young men

who fought, risked their lives
or perhaps died

defending his homeland
is the quintessence of this battle

And we should not forget.

If there were no glorious legend

to expel the Luftwaffe,

it would have been difficult for Churchill

to maintain the morale of the British

through the very difficult years that followed.

In October I understood that the Germans

they had not achieved their goal.

He shot me three times.

ªi am scãpat.

I'm grateful I survived.

I feel privileged that I could

defend this country from the hand of
a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain.

IN MEMORY OF GEOFFREY WELLUM
DECORATED WITH THE MILITARY CROSS, 1921 - 2018