Thanks for that Adrian. I too read the articles, and meant to go back to them for a proper read before posting.
The article on the Spitfire production was indeed interesting. Complexity of production seems to have been a feature of many early aircraft but I'm not surprised. The Air Ministry was very dependent upon small independent engineering firms putting forward designs from the vague specifications put to them, in the 1930s. One would expect these firms to want to produce the best aircraft, not the easiest to build.
I also don't think that either the AM or the designers factored in the atrition rate, nor, as you state, the sheer isolation of Britain against the enemy.
It is often stated that Britain was a manufacturing nation but that's not strictly true. The nation was industrial in raw material production, and small specialist production, but not mass production like the US.
But maybe that was one of it's saviours during the Blitz? The fact that production could be dispursed around the country to small ptr-war workshops meant that there were a lot more targets for the Germans to hit. Bombers returning to their bases reporting that they had destroyed Supermarine, for example, was seen as by their high command as a signal that the RAF would not get replacements. This obviously wasn't the case.
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Originally Posted by Adrian Roberts  Perhaps a balanced view is that the Royal Navy was the major barrier to the Germans, but that it could not be dealt until fighter command was eliminated. What do you think? |
It is indeed complicated. Part of this is in fact because the Sealion plans, their rationale, and Hitler's thinking, are also so vague. They too cannot be taken out of the equation. Whilst the BoB was going on, they were still arguing about how the actual invasion should take place.
I do think the RN was a major consideration for the Germans. Unlike the Allied assaults later in the war, the Germans didnot have specialised invasion equipment, boats or even the logistical know how. Even a small RN force would have caused a major disruption, especially to the river barges that were to be used.
The one way that the Germans could have tried to protect themselves was with a massive aerial screen to be used against any approaching RN units. However, this would have been of limited use if they still had to contend with RAF fighters and bombers over the invasion fleet.
So, in the actual BoB, Fighter Command did the fighting and won. But looking from the German point of view, the RN was enough of a threat to have played a significant part. And don't forget that Bomber Command was still pretty effective against the invasion barges in the French ports