Battle of Britain

Told through the eyes of RAF pilots, commanders, and civilians, the film recreates the summer and autumn of 1940 when Fighter Command battled the Luftwaffe for control of British airspace ahead of a planned German invasion. Its large-scale aerial sequences depict the strain on outnumbered squadrons and the shift of German bombing from airfields to cities.

The Battle of Britain was fought between July and October 1940 as the German Luftwaffe sought to destroy the RAF and gain air superiority in preparation for a cross-Channel invasion; the RAF's successful defense forced Hitler to postpone Operation Sea Lion indefinitely.

Renowned for using large numbers of genuine period aircraft and depicting the campaign's strategic phases with unusual accuracy for its era, though individual characters are largely composites.

The Luftwaffe attempted to win air superiority over southern England as a precondition for invasion. RAF Fighter Command, supported by the Dowding radar and control system, denied it.

Attacks moved from convoys and coastal radar to airfields, then in September switched to London — relieving pressure on Fighter Command at a critical moment. Invasion plans were postponed indefinitely in mid-September.

Directed by Guy Hamilton

Cast: Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw, Susannah York

Positioned at 10 July – 31 October 1940 within the Battle of Britain phase of the war, as part of the Battle of Britain. This is entry 32 of 150 in the chronological archive.

• Battle of Britain
• RAF Fighter Command
• Luftwaffe
• Spitfire
• the Blitz

• 

  Dunkirk

  26 May – 4 June 1940

• 

  Dunkirk

  26 May – 4 June 1940

• 

  Their Finest

  1940–1941

• 

  Weekend at Dunkirk

  26 May – 4 June 1940

• 

  Atonement

  1935–1940

• 

  Darkest Hour

  10 May – 4 June 1940