Military history

AIRCRAFT STRENGTH DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAN, 19401

1. AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION IN 1940

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2 OPERATIONAL STRENGTHS DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

SUMMARISED ORDER OF BATTLE (BOMBER COMMAND) AND BOMBER AIRCRAFT IN AIRCRAFT STORAGE UNITS

BOMBER COMMAND

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AIR SUPPLY UNITS

NUMBER OF AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED TO CURRENT OPERATIONAL STANDARDS, READY FOR DISPATCH

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3. OPERATIONAL STRENGTHS OF FIGHTER COMMAND

WEEK BY WEEK

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4. COMPARISON OF BRITISH AND GERMAN FIGHTER STRENGTH

DURING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

The preceding table gives the overall strength of Fighter Command, including Blenheims and Defiants. But these cannot be reckoned, for the purposes of comparisons, as part of the day fighting force which consisted of Hurricanes and Spitfires.

After taking representative dates in the period July 10–October 31, the approximate daily average of Squadrons available for operations, of these two latter types combined, is:

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On the German side figures of serviceability are not at present available; comparison can therefore be made only in terms of Initial Equipment. The German IE was:

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The comparable Initial Equipment figures for British Hurricanes and Spitfires averaged over the 12 weeks, was 827.

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