The Hardest Day, Battle of Britain - Animated

On the 18th August 1940, the Luftwaffe would launch an all out attack to destroy the RAF's Fighter Command. The day would yield the largest combined losses of any day during the Battle of Britain. It would become known as The Hardest Day.

Note - yes the music is a little loud, this was my first ever video and i was still learning the ropes!

All images are public domain.

Flight paths, scramble and intercept times, and aircraft crashes/losses are as accurate as recorded history can reasonably allow. The melee east of the Isle of Wight was confused and chaotic, so squadron positions are a best guess here. Individual aircraft may have strayed away from their squadrons during the chaos, which may not be shown here.

[TheOperationsRoom]

Hello Ladies and Gents. Your positive comments really are appreciated. I create these videos in my spare time around a full time day job. Each one takes around 60-70 man hours of effort to produce, even longer on complex videos like Schweinfurt-Regensburg and the Battle of Midway.

My goal is to reach 100k subscribers by the end of 2020. If you enjoy The Operations Room, it would be awesome if you could please subscribe!

[larrydrozd]

As a person who has studied WW2 for over 50 years, since my grand father fought in Anzio and the Battle of the Bulge, all the information that is given in these videos is spot on perfect! This person has CLEARLY done his homework! Excellent work!

[jonathanallard]

I love how the silhouettes match the aircraft types. Lots of detail, good stuff.

[biker]

When my old headmaster died I read his obit and discovered that he had been Hurricane pilot during the the Battle of Britain. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. He was a pretty good teacher actually and he loved the poet Robert Browning.
RIP 'Cheeks', from an old Rastrickian.

[brianwilke]

Churchill was right about the pilots, but a lot of the credit, until recently, skirted the efforts of the aircraft control bunkers, and the super organized system they used to get that 80 percent interception rate you talked about. All the people involved in that system, to include the radar operators, the coastal watch people, the communications people, the women moving all the pieces on the maps, and of course all the flight officers making all those tough decisions was also very heroic.

[jlpeyret]

One thing that should be noted is that pilot losses were worse for Germans than RAF than plane losses make you think. Many RAF pilots bailing out over Britain could fight again if not killed or too badly wounded. German pilots ended as POWs or dead. Excellent video and extremely informative format. YouTube animations are really pushing the boundaries for military history documentaries and really show time and location info in an entirely new manner.

[jim]

"Oh no we lost 5 Fairey Albacores! How will we ever recover?"
~ no-one ever

[anthonyhayes]

My grandmother was a child during the blitz. I'm conceivably alive because of the dedication of these pilots, radar operators, and AAA gunners.

[richardb]

"The Dowding System" .... it took so long for Sir Hugh Dowding to be acknowledged as the actual saviour of this scenario! Without his foresight, who knows!

[funkydozer]

Nothing to it, old boy. A spot of lunch and cricket before hopping in our kites to give Jerry a lesson in manners, then back home for a cup of tea, before Jerry comes back for a second thrashing. We give him what for, and then it's home in time for afternoon tea and a jolly large slice of cake from Mrs. Rumbelow's bakery in the village. Blow me down if Jerry doesn't come back for more, but at least he does the courteous thing and waits until after tea. Before you know it, he is turning tail and running back to Hitler with a bloody nose, leaving us to get home just in time for supper and tea and a good old sing-song in the mess. Shame Nobby didn't make it back... he was a wiz on that old piano.

[captjamus]

Others in the comments section will have their say, but I have only one word: Subscribed.

[tomarnott]

This is really amazing, well done! Hope to see more quality content like this in the future

[lukasvillar]

Imagine the pressure on pilots, crews and ground crews on both sides knowing that the whole future of the world is focused on them.

[TheOperationsRoom]

Please like and subscribe for more history time-lapse videos

[craigedwards]

I live in Hawkinge, everyday a spitfire flies over down to dover and then back. The sound is marvellous.

[Sophocles]

Imagine being in your early 20's flying up from your OWN fields to defend your mates and citizens from an unjust attacker?? Looking down and seeing their own towns and villages below them must've lit a furious fire in those boys chests that made them fight harder than 10 men.

[FlyinBrian]

I've studied the Battle of Britain my whole life, the precise details in this presentation brought my knowledge to a new level. Thank you.

[ENGBriseB]

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few,

[danapussyone]

Love this. Our Battle of Britain pilots in my heart forever!! God bless the Royal Air Force.

[teto]

My wife's grandad was one of the "Few". Thanks for saving the world Archie. R.I.P.