Types of Aeroplane in the Battle of Britain

Marshal Goering (the Germans' supreme commander in the air) employed five types of bombers, and two types of fighters, which were used as defensive escort.

One of the bombers was the Junkers 87 - known to many as the " Stuka " and was a single-engine dive-bomber. It was true to say that it was comparatively slow, but it was very well armed, and capable of attacking its target in an almost vertical dive.

Another Junkers used was the 88, and it also was a dive-bomber, had twin engines, and could fly at around 317 m.p.h.

The other 3 bombers used by the Nazis were the Heinkel 111, the Dornier 17 (nicknamed the "Flying Pencil") and the Dornier 215. These were twin-engine bombers and capable of speeds in the region of 300 m.p.h.

Bomber formations were protected by fighters, mainly Messerschmitt 109s and Messerschmitt 110s - the former single-engine aircraft with a maximum speed of about 350 m.p.h., the latter twin-engine, more powerfully armed and capable of speeds up to 365 m.p.h.

Against these the R.A.F. threw up many types of aircraft, but the two main types were the Hurricane, able to fly at 305 m.p.h., and the Spitfire, with a maximum speed of 365 m.p.h. Both were single-engine fighters armed with eight machine-guns and had front and back armour for the pilot. The Hurricane could actually turn better than the Spitfire and did more work, but the Spitfire seemed to capture the imagination and indeed looked sleek and like one would expect of a fighter.