Kanalkampf

Kanalkampf
Part of the Battle of Britain
A British convoy under air attack, 14 July 1940
Date 4 July – 11 August 1940 Location Southern England and the English Channel 50°N 02°W / 50°N 2°W / 50; -2Coordinates: 50°N 02°W / 50°N 2°W / 50; -2 Result German victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Foreign volunteers Naval support:  Netherlands  Norway  Canada Poland  Belgium	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Hugh Dowding Keith Park T. Leigh-Mallory	Hermann Göring Albert Kesselring Hugo Sperrle W. von Richthofen Alfred Saalwachter
Units involved
11 Group	Luftflotten 2 and 3
Casualties and losses
RAF: 115 fighters destroyed 42 fighters damaged 71 pilots killed in action 19 pilots wounded in action 4 pilots missing in action Royal Navy: 35 merchant ships sunk (including neutral ships) 7 fishing vessels several naval vessels 4 destroyers at least 176 sailors killed ~300 casualties	Luftwaffe: 80 fighters destroyed 36 fighter aircraft damaged 22 Dive bombers destroyed 22 dive bombers damaged 100 medium bombers destroyed 33 medium bombers damaged 13 naval aircraft destroyed 1 naval aircraft damaged 201 airmen killed 75 airmen wounded 277 missing 16 airmen captured Kriegsmarine: ~4

 United Kingdom

The Kanalkampf (Channel Battle) was the German name for air operations by the German Luftwaffe against the British Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel, which marked the beginning of the Battle of Britain in July 1940, during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Britain rejected peace overtures and on 16 July, Adolf Hitler issued Directive 16 to the Wehrmacht (German armed forces), ordering preparations for the invasion of Britain, under the codename Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion).

The Germans needed air superiority over southern England before the invasion and the Luftwaffe was to destroy the RAF, assume command of the skies and protect the cross-channel invasion from the Royal Navy. To engage RAF Fighter Command, the Luftwaffe attacked convoys in the English Channel, which began the Battle of Britain. There is some dispute among historians about the dates for the beginning and end of the battle and British histories usually treat 10 July as the beginning. British and German writers and historians acknowledge that air battles were fought over the Channel between the Battle of France and Britain; deliberate German attacks against British coastal targets and convoys began on 4 July. During the Kanalkampf, the Luftwaffe received modest support from the E-Boats of the Kriegsmarine (German navy).

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