The Battle of Britain: Canadas Contribution

The Battle of Britain took place from June 1940 to October 1940. The Germans needed to take control of the English Channel to launch their invasion on Britain. To control the channel, the Germans needed to control the air. They fought against the Royal Air Force (here by RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (here by RCAF), which was made up of over one hundred Canadian fighters (The Battle of Britain). Canadians played a major role in the Battle of Britain. The Canadian contribution went by ignored when in fact Canadian bravery was a contribution on its own; they also helped on the grounds, and fought in the air which ultimately helped win the Battle of Britain. Firstly, Canadians were known to be stubborn by many because of their willingness to push forward. In the war they showed their effort and bravery by always taking on tasks and never backing down. “The 303 Squadron and 1 Squadron RCAF attacked the first wave of enemy bombers head on” (Canada and the Second World War 1939-1945). If Canadians had not gone and attacked the first wave of bombers, the Germans could have had a great advantage in the fight and would have taken over a lot more territory. Our bravery proved to be beneficial to the fight. If we hadn’t fought then the outcome could have been a lot more tragic. Secondly, Canadian bravery was shown through the Canadian ground crews. “Ground crews who serviced No. 1 (Canadian) Squadron’s Hurricanes, [were] sometimes under fire and routinely under pressure” (The Battle of Britain – Canadian Contribution). Without the ground crews and their courage none of the planes would have been able to go in the air. Canadians would not have been able to help fight this battle. Finally, Canadians were in the battle from beginning to end. “Canadians also shared in repulsing the Luftwaffe’s last major daylight attack. On September 27, 303 Squadron RAF and 1 Squadron RCAF attacked the first wave of enemy bombers.” (Battle of Britain - Bulletin Insert). If they had not