On July 10, 1940, the Germans begin the against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins.
After the occupation of France by Germany, Britain knew it was only a matter of time before the Axis power turned its sights across the Channel. And on July 10, 120 German bombers and fighters struck a British shipping convoy in that very Channel, while 70 more bombers attacked dockyard installations in South Wales.
Although Britain had far fewer fighters than the Germans鈥600 to 1,300鈥攊t had a few advantages, such as an effective radar system, which made the prospects of a German sneak attack unlikely. Britain also produced superior quality aircraft. Its Spitfires could turn tighter than Germany鈥檚 ME109s, enabling it to better elude pursuers. The German single-engine fighters had a limited flight radius, and its bombers lacked the bomb-load capacity necessary to unleash permanent devastation on their targets. Britain also had the advantage of unified focus, while German infighting caused missteps in timing; they also suffered from poor intelligence.
But in the opening days of battle, Britain was in immediate need of two things: a collective stiff upper lip鈥攁nd aluminum. A plea was made by the government to turn in all available aluminum to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. 鈥淲e will turn your pots and pans into Spitfires and Hurricanes,鈥 the ministry declared. And they did.
