HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2026-01-16T14:53:55.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: "England is invincible": How the Luftwaffe lost the Battle of Britain
items: Winston Churchill: is he still the greatest Briton in history?
items: Overwhelming odds and inevitable invasions: 3 myths surrounding the Battle of Britain
items: 6 Battle of Britain myths
items: The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain
items: Days of destiny: 5 key dates in the Battle of Britain
items: Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe
items: 8 reasons why the Luftwaffe didn’t stand a chance of beating the RAF in the Battle of Britain
items: The Few: who exactly were the heroes of the Battle of Britain?
items: 9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one)

"England is invincible": How the Luftwaffe lost the Battle of Britain
type: item
date: 2025-07-02T08:00:31.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
description: When the Battle of Britain erupted, many Luftwaffe pilots anticipated a swift victory. Yet soon that confidence had been replaced by chronic fatigue and a crippling fear of drowning in “dirty water”. Victoria Taylor charts the mental disintegration of Hitler’s flyers
encoded: On a muggy night in late August 1940, Hinnerk Waller’s fraying tether had finally snapped. Relentlessly deployed in the Battle of Britain as part of the Luftwaffe fighter wing JG 52, Waller was paying for every nerve-wracking sortie with his sanity. Snatching hold of his Walther pistol, he sprinted into some nearby woods with the grim intention of killing himself. A few concerned airmen rose up to stop him, but their Staffelkapitän, Helmut Kühle, bade them to resume their seats. “He was a shrewd judge of character,” as Waller’s friend Ulrich Steinhilper later recalled, “and as we all sat waiting for what we thought was the inevitable shot, nothing happened.” Steinhilper added that this “was our first case of Kanalkrankheit [‘Channel Sickness’] – a combination of chronic stress and acute fatigue” that was brought on by constantly flying in the Battle of Britain. That this dramatic episode came only two months into the Luftschlacht um England (‘Air Battle for England’) – the German name for the Battle of Britain and the Blitz – highlights just how frenetic this aerial campaign had become for the Luftwaffe. Just four days after his suicidal crisis, Waller was unceremoniously flung back onto the frontline. What is most important to observe about his breakdown, however, is that it happened when the Luftwaffe was actually in its most successful phase of the aerial campaign against the RAF. Waller’s mental anguish, then, starkly demonstrates that military success and heightened morale do not necessarily go hand in hand. It also demonstrates that we should be wary about imposing British perspectives on the Luftwaffe’s mentality during the Battle of Britain. The enemy’s flaws Pointing out that the German air force was not as indefatigable as it is often presented is certainly not to downplay the monumental achievement of the RAF’s ‘Few’ in denying the necessary air supremacy and build-up of invasion barges for the Wehrmacht to invade Britain in Operation Sealion. On the cont…

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Winston Churchill: is he still the greatest Briton in history?
type: item
date: 2025-03-14T09:17:44.000Z
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: British prime ministers
description: Over two decades ago, a BBC poll named the wartime British prime minister as the Greatest Briton. Now, on the 150th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s birth, David Reynolds ponders whether he deserves to remain as top dog in the pantheon of British history
encoded: In a much-publicised poll in 2002, the BBC asked viewers to rank figures from British history, as part of the television series 100 Greatest Britons. The poll was in no way scientific, but simply reflected votes – more than 1.6 million of them – from people who chose to contact the BBC, following presentations championing famous individuals ranging back in time from the 20th century to William Shakespeare and Elizabeth I. As is well known, Winston Churchill came out a clear first, garnering close to 457,000 votes. Two decades later, as we mark 150 years since he was born, it’s interesting to revisit that moment, and to reflect on how perceptions of Churchill have changed over time – and also on what is meant by historical ‘greatness’. Because Churchill’s craving to make himself ‘great’ lies at the heart of his extraordinary story. In the run-up to the BBC poll, politician Mo Mowlam – Churchill’s advocate – insisted that “he was the greatest Briton because he showed the determination and courage to protect Britain from invasion, and without his inspiring leadership the outcome of World War II may have been very different”. Let’s unpack that claim a bit. Did Churchill really make such a difference in 1940 – and, if so, how? The answer to the first part is surely: yes – most of all through his energy and drive. Although the tempo in Whitehall would have intensified anyway with the end of the ‘Phoney War’ and the German invasion of France, Churchill’s appointment as prime minister had a galvanising effect, dramatically symbolised by his famous red labels stuck on urgent documents: ACTION THIS DAY. Equally important, Churchill took a firm grip on military strategy. Mindful of the confusion and infighting of 1914–18, he appointed himself minister of defence. There was no ministry – that did not come until the 1960s. Churchill simply wanted the authority to deal with the chiefs of staff directly rather than via their politician ministers. He yearned to be a war leader, unl…

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Overwhelming odds and inevitable invasions: 3 myths surrounding the Battle of Britain
type: item
date: 2023-08-15T15:01:56.000Z
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Video shorts
description: The Battle of Britain has a resounding legacy in Britain – an unlikely victory against overwhelming odds that could have seen the country stand or fall. However, as Victoria Taylor explains, the conflict is shrouded in myth that has somewhat shifted our understanding of its nature…
encoded: Please note: this is a transcript of an extract from an upcoming episode of the HistoryExtra podcast that has been lightly edited for clarity. The full episode will be released in September 2023 here. There are three major myths surrounding the Battle of Britain that tend to be perpetuated within British wartime mythology. The Luftwaffe vastly outnumbered the RAF The first for me is this idea that the Luftwaffe vastly outnumbered the RAF. It's true, to some degree, that the RAF initially lacked in fighter pilots compared to the Germans – at the start of the conflict, the RAF numbered around 1,113 operational fighter pilots, with the Luftwaffe being closer to 1,450. There's also differences in the operational aircraft – the RAF is looking at around 650 operational fighter aircraft, whereas the Luftwaffe is a little bit closer to 1,000. Read more | 8 reasons why the Luftwaffe didn't stand a chance against the RAF in the Battle of Britain But that really discounts from the fact that British aircraft production ramped up in this period. Both sides are pretty much at about 1,000 operational fighters apiece as we get into August 1940 and the real action of the Battle of Britain. So, that's the first myth for me. Operation Sealion was Germany’s ultimate goal The second myth is that Operation Sealion was Germany’s ultimate goal. It's common for us in Britain to think of this moment as Britain's finest hour because it saw our defence of the realm against the entirety of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany. It wasn’t just defeating the Luftwaffe, but it stopped the Kriegsmarine, which was the German navy, as well as the German army from attacking Britain. Read more | What was Operation Sealion? But, at the same time, this wasn't the German’s goal. They were hoping to try and get Britain to sue for peace. They were trying to go for the easy option because they've already had losses in the Battle of France, and they're hoping they're not going to have to rep…

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6 Battle of Britain myths
type: item
date: 2021-09-15T05:05:00.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
description: The Battle of Britain, which took place between July and October 1940, was a major air campaign in which Britain’s Royal Air Force defended the British Isles against Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe
encoded: Swedish historian Christer Bergström dispels six myths that still surround the epic Battle of Britain – from the role of Bomber Command and the competence of the Luftwaffe’s commander Hermann Göring, to the flying skills of the German and British fighter pilots who fought the battle for the skies. Writing for HistoryExtra, the author of The Battle of Britain – an Epic Conflict Revisited separates facts from fiction… Myth: The Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring was incompetent According to popular perception, the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring (aka Goering), was a totally incompetent commander, whose unfortunate decisions placed the Luftwaffe in an unnecessarily difficult position. Certainly, he was a ruthless Nazi who eventually amassed a huge list of crimes against humanity. However, the widespread image of him as a thoroughly incompetent air force commander needs to be corrected. At the beginning of WW2, the Luftwaffe, the most effective air force in the world, was, after all, Göring’s very personal creation. Admittedly, not everything about the Luftwaffe was a result to Göring’s accomplishments, but he had the ability to put the right man in the right place, and he was more open to new, revolutionary ideas than many of his younger subordinates. Watch: 3 biggest myths about the Battle of Britain View Green Video on the source website Göring realised early the benefits of new types of combat aviation, such as dive-bombers and long-range fighter escort. As one of the first air force commanders in the world he also took the initiative to create a specialised night-fighter force: early in the war, he ordered a couple of fighter units to begin night-fighter experiments. The twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110 proved to be the aircraft best suited for this task, and in June 1940 Göring decided to redesign the fighter wing I./ZG 1 under Hauptmann Wolfgang Falck to become the first regular night-fighter unit, NJG 1. Hermann Göring also had an inspiring effect on…

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The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain
type: item
date: 2021-02-24T07:03:06.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
description: Adored by its pilots and feared by the Germans, the Spitfire is rightly seen as the greatest British fighter ever built. However, as Leo McKinstry reveals, bureaucratic bungling meant that this iconic aircraft nearly remained on the ground
encoded: At the height of the battle of Dunkirk in May 1940, the brilliant New Zealander Al Deere was on patrol in his RAF Spitfire over the French coast. Suddenly, through the haze of smoke drifting upwards from the raging combat on the ground, he spotted a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter below him. He instantly gave chase. Soon, both planes were descending earthwards at high speed. “Down we went, throttles fully open, engines roaring and each determined to get the last ounce out of his straining aircraft. From 17,000 feet down to ground level I hung to his tail,” recalled Deere. Desperate to shake off the Spitfire, the Bf 109 dramatically changed course, levelling out from his dive and then going into a steep climb. But Deere could not be beaten. “I continued to close range until at about 15,000 feet I judged that I was near enough to open fire. A long burst produced immediate results. Bits flew off his aircraft.” Moments later, Deere watched the Bf 109 plunge into a field near Saint Omer and “explode with a blinding flash”. Engagements like this were typical of the Spitfire’s formidable combat performance during the retreat from Dunkirk. The battle was the first time during the war that the plane had engaged the Luftwaffe in significant numbers, and the results shook the Germans, undermining their belief in their own invincibility. The effectiveness of the Spitfire was demonstrated even more graphically in the months that followed, as the aircraft played a central, heroic role in the defeat of the Luftwaffe during the battle of Britain. Adored by its pilots and feared by the Germans, it grew into an enduring symbol of British determination in the struggle against Nazi tyranny. The Vickers Supermarine Spitfire is rightly seen as the greatest British fighter ever built, an inspiring blend of elegance, power and speed. So successful was the plane that over 22,000 were manufactured in 19 different marks and 52 variants, with production lasting right up to 1948. Supermarin…

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Days of destiny: 5 key dates in the Battle of Britain
type: item
date: 2020-09-15T10:45:24.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
description: What are the key dates in the Battle of Britain? Kate Moore picks out five moments from that fateful summer, when a group of Allied pilots were engaged in desperate battles with their German foes, hoping to secure control of the skies and prevent a Nazi invasion of Britain
encoded: Following the collapse of France, the Luftwaffe had spent most of the latter half of June and early July 1940 preparing for the coming battle with the British. As Winston Churchill electrified the nation with his soaring oratory, strengthened the resolve of the embattled British people and gave them hope, a small band of fighter pilots – just over 700 in total – would indeed act as that thin blue line of defence. Tentative plans had been made for an invasion of England, codenamed Operation Seelöwe (Sea Lion), but Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe, believed that his air force alone could bring Britain to her knees. Göring, however, failed to recognise that the campaigns in the Low Countries and France had taken their brutal toll, and the Luftwaffe could now only muster 1,380 bombers and 428 dive-bombers, nowhere near the 5,000 he liked to boast of in his propaganda. Supplemented by 1,100 fighters, the Luftwaffe still enjoyed a numerical superiority of almost five to one over the British defenders. But Göring’s bomber pilots should have taken little comfort in this. They were simply ‘potential kills’ for Spitfires and Hurricanes, incapable of attacking the British fighters effectively themselves. If the British pilots were deployed correctly, then the dice would not be as heavily stacked against Fighter Command as is commonly believed. It all came down to how the imminent battle would be fought. What might have happened if Germany had invaded Britain? Watch: 3 myths surrounding the Battle of Britain View Green Video on the source website 10 July 1940: the official start of the Battle of Britain The battle began with the Kanalkampf, or Channel Battles phase, when the Germans launched sustained attacks against British shipping to prevent much-needed supplies from reaching the beleaguered British Isles. Such attacks had been taking place since late June, but early July saw a marked increase in the frequency and ferocity. The tenth of the month wa…

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Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe
type: item
date: 2020-09-15T08:20:01.000Z
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Family and parenting
subject: Second World War battles
description: By the end of June 1940, the forces of Nazi Germany and its allies dominated Western Europe. In July, Adolf Hitler turned his attention to Britain which, despite the seemingly hopeless military situation it was in, had refused to surrender. We bring you the everything you need to know about what followed – the Battle of Britain
encoded: Described by prime minister Winston Churchill as the RAF's finest hour, the Battle of Britain (10 July – 31 October 1940) was the first major military campaign in history to be fought entirely in the air. It was one of Britain's most important victories of the Second World War and is credited with preventing Germany from invading Britain. Historian Julian Humphrys takes us through some of the biggest questions and facts surrounding this pivotal aerial campaign... When and why was the Battle of Britain fought? Adolf Hitler aimed to force Britain to submit by bombing, naval blockade or, if necessary, invasion. But to achieve this, he needed air supremacy. So, in the summer and autumn of 1940, a few thousand airmen waged a dogged battle in the skies over Britain. Next to the later conflicts of World War II, it was a tiny affair. But the stakes were huge – resting on the result was the survival of Britain and the outcome of the entire war. What happened during the Battle of Britain? Here are 5 key dates... 10 July 1940: Official start of the battle of Britain The battle begins with the Kanalkampf, or Channel Battles phase, when the Germans launched sustained attacks against British shipping to prevent much-needed supplies from reaching the beleaguered British Isles. 13 August 1940: Eagle Day With the outcome of the Kanalkampf phase of the battle inconclusive, Luftwaffe commander-in-cheif Hermann Göring makes plans for an all-out assault against Fighter Command on the British mainland. 18 August 1940: The Hardest Day Both sides suffer their greatest number of losses so far: 69 German aircraft versus Fighter Command’s 29. 7 September 1940: The Blitz begins Dismayed by the failure to destroy Fighter Command and incensed by a British bombing raid on Berlin, Göring turns his attention to London. 15 September 1940: Battle of Britain Day Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park famously orders all his aircraft into the air to defend the capital, abandoning his own policy of deliberate, sma…

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8 reasons why the Luftwaffe didn’t stand a chance of beating the RAF in the Battle of Britain
type: item
date: 2020-07-10T08:56:12.000Z
creator: James Holland
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Second World War battles
description: The Battle of Britain, the aerial campaign fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe from 10 July to 31 October 1940, was one of Britain's most important victories in the Second World War. But did the German air force have any chance of succeeding? Not at all, writes historian James Holland...
encoded: Insufficient radio communciations The Germans had far more sophisticated radar than the British but failed to use it. Radio communications once in the air were non-existent between fighters and bombers, leading to repeated confusion. There were no ground controllers as such, so that once on their way to England, the Luftwaffe were left with the pre-flight orders and nothing more. Otherwise, they were on their own. Confusion frequently ensued. Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe The Battle of Britain (10 July – 31 October 1940) was the first major military campaign in history to be fought entirely in the air, described by Churchill as the RAF’s finest hour. What exactly happened, how was the battle won, and what did it mean for Hitler? Get the answers to these questions and more in our full guide to the Battle of Britain. Hitler had his own shortcomings Because of his background and lack of military command experience, Adolf Hitler’s geopolitical understanding was poor. He spent much of the summer of 1940 in a state of indecision, unsure what to do about Britain’s refusal to play ball. He mostly remained in his Bavarian retreat, and there was no joint-service planning or joined-up thinking in any way. The woman who gave birth for Hitler Intelligence was poor Luftwaffe intelligence was woeful and largely in the hands of Colonel ‘Beppo’ Schmid, who spoke no other languages, liked the bottle, and had barely been out of Germany. He was also a sycophant who told Göring what he wanted to hear rather than the reality. He massively underestimated British strength, and had no idea that the RAF was divided into three commands. Moustaches, Cossacks and an inland lighthouse: a brief history of the Royal Air Force There was an overdependence on dive-bombing The Luftwaffe high command were obsessed with dive-bombing and placed the future of bomber development with this in mind. Dive-bombing was fine when the Luftwaffe controlled air space and…

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The Few: who exactly were the heroes of the Battle of Britain?
type: item
date: 2020-07-07T13:00:29.000Z
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Second World War
subject: Historical people
subject: Second World War battles
description: Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, military historian Patrick Bishop reflects on the experiences of the ‘fighter boys’ of the RAF, lionised by Winston Churchill as the Few, and how they succeeded in defeating the Luftwaffe
encoded: Eighty summers ago, the inhabitants of the Home Counties witnessed something the world had never seen before and never would again. Day after day, above their heads, air armies waged a gigantic battle – one that would have a decisive effect on the outcome of World War II. For the first time in British history, a life-or-death struggle was fought out in view of large numbers of the nation’s citizens. The combat took place over the stalwarts of everyday life – above houses, streets and fields. 10 key Second World War dates you need to know Those below had only to look up to see an amazing sight: huge flocks of German bombers and escorts crawling across the sky while the RAF’s fighters swirled around them, scribbling chalky condensation trails in the blue and stitching it with the gold and red of tracer ammunition and cannon. The British people watched with a mixture of fear and excitement and, above all, admiration for the pilots upon whose skill and bravery the fate of the nation so obviously depended. Your guide to the Battle of Britain: how the RAF turned back the Luftwaffe The Battle of Britain (10 July – 31 October 1940) was the first major military campaign in history to be fought entirely in the air, described by Churchill as the RAF's finest hour. What exactly happened, how was the battle won, and what did it mean for Hitler? Get the answers to these questions and more in our full guide to the Battle of Britain. The story so far In the summer of 1940, Britain seemed finished. France, with its huge armed forces and the seemingly impregnable defences of the Maginot Line along its German border, had been overwhelmed by Hitler’s forces in just a matter of weeks. The British army had only avoided complete destruction by what seemed like a miracle, when hundreds of thousands of men escaped from the beaches of Dunkirk. The Germans thought they were invincible. Hitler was convinced that, having seen what had happened to first Poland, then Belgium, Holland and France, …

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9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one)
type: item
date: 2019-07-11T09:57:20.000Z
creator: Dr Seán Lang
subject: 20th Century
subject: First World War
subject: Georgian
subject: Medieval
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Roman
subject: Second World War
subject: Tudor
subject: Victorian
subject: Medieval battles
subject: Naval battles
subject: Second World War battles
description: From Bosworth and Bannockburn to the Battle of Britain, historian Sean Lang examines nine British battles accorded a decisive importance that, he argues, does not necessarily stand up to close scrutiny…
encoded: To be overrated, a battle must be famous and have been generally regarded as decisive or of great historical significance. Of course, some battles, like those of the Crimean War, never had much reputation to start with; others, such as El Alamein, are genuinely debatable: a sideshow in the grand scheme of things, it helped turn the tide in the Second World War’s north African campaign and was of genuine value in stiffening British morale. Judging a battle to be overrated does not mean it was insignificant; still less does it deny the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought in it. It simply means that it has been accorded a decisive importance that does not necessarily stand up to close scrutiny. For reasons of space, I have restricted this exploration to battles from British history; other peoples can doubtless compile similar lists of their own. Julius Caesar’s invasions of Britain, 55 and 54 BC The cheeky satirical volume 1066 and All That gave 55 BC as one of the two memorable dates in English history (the other, of course, being 1066), but a memorable date does not prove a battle’s significance. What was Julius Caesar actually doing in Britain? What was his landing supposed to achieve? Caesar himself says it was to punish the Britons for the aid they sent the Gallic tribes during his conquest of Gaul in 58–50 BC, which would make it a sort of punitive expedition, like the ones the British would later launch in their own empire. Either way, it cannot be called a conquest, or even, properly speaking, an invasion. One of the problems with Caesar’s raid, as with so much ancient history, is that we are so heavily dependent on tainted written sources – in this case Caesar’s own written account. Corroborative archaeological evidence for the scale of Caesar’s expedition is relatively sparse. We do know that Caesar’s account was a propaganda exercise to promote his own bid for power, and that it would have suited his purposes to ‘big up’ what was either a large raid or…

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