Dan Snow

And so, radar allowed the Brits to see German raids gathering over France and North France, coming across the channel, so the Brits could send up individual interceptors, individual squadrons, to shoot down those raids and take a terrible toll. Before that, aerial warfare was just, you go up with your mates in the morning, you fly around a bit, you hope you bump into the enemy, and then you land.

And so, radar allowed the Brits to see German raids gathering over France and North France, coming across the channel, so the Brits could send up individual interceptors, individual squadrons, to shoot down those raids and take a terrible toll. Before that, aerial warfare was just, you go up with your mates in the morning, you fly around a bit, you hope you bump into the enemy, and then you land.

Instead, now, you stay on the ground until that bell rings, you climb up, you pounce on a German bomber force coming in, you land, you rearm, you get back up there. Incredible Incredibly efficient. So the Brits build the first ever 3D battle space for an aerial theater of combat. And that is the deal breaker.

Instead, now, you stay on the ground until that bell rings, you climb up, you pounce on a German bomber force coming in, you land, you rearm, you get back up there. Incredible Incredibly efficient. So the Brits build the first ever 3D battle space for an aerial theater of combat. And that is the deal breaker.

Instead, now, you stay on the ground until that bell rings, you climb up, you pounce on a German bomber force coming in, you land, you rearm, you get back up there. Incredible Incredibly efficient. So the Brits build the first ever 3D battle space for an aerial theater of combat. And that is the deal breaker.

Yeah, this is very like the Battle of Britain. There's a useful myth here for the Brits, is that we are people that could just carry on and take it no matter what was thrown at us. A story of social cohesion. So elements of that myth are correct. The German Luftwaffe had come across, they tried to destroy the RAF, they tried to wrest control of the air above southern England in particular.

Yeah, this is very like the Battle of Britain. There's a useful myth here for the Brits, is that we are people that could just carry on and take it no matter what was thrown at us. A story of social cohesion. So elements of that myth are correct. The German Luftwaffe had come across, they tried to destroy the RAF, they tried to wrest control of the air above southern England in particular.

Yeah, this is very like the Battle of Britain. There's a useful myth here for the Brits, is that we are people that could just carry on and take it no matter what was thrown at us. A story of social cohesion. So elements of that myth are correct. The German Luftwaffe had come across, they tried to destroy the RAF, they tried to wrest control of the air above southern England in particular.

That's failed. So they turned to terror tactics. They turned to just smashing British cities in the hope that whilst they might not be able to knock the RAF out of the war, they can erode civilian morale. They can force the British people to their knees. They thought they could force Churchill out of office because he'd be so unpopular.

That's failed. So they turned to terror tactics. They turned to just smashing British cities in the hope that whilst they might not be able to knock the RAF out of the war, they can erode civilian morale. They can force the British people to their knees. They thought they could force Churchill out of office because he'd be so unpopular.

That's failed. So they turned to terror tactics. They turned to just smashing British cities in the hope that whilst they might not be able to knock the RAF out of the war, they can erode civilian morale. They can force the British people to their knees. They thought they could force Churchill out of office because he'd be so unpopular.

and then they could deal with a more pliant British Prime Minister. And so London was attacked for months in a row. There were fires that were worse in terms of their scale than the legendary Great Fire of London in 1666. The British did tolerate unspeakable hardship. They had to go down to the subway stations every night. They had to take shelter in makeshift bomb shelters in the backyard.

and then they could deal with a more pliant British Prime Minister. And so London was attacked for months in a row. There were fires that were worse in terms of their scale than the legendary Great Fire of London in 1666. The British did tolerate unspeakable hardship. They had to go down to the subway stations every night. They had to take shelter in makeshift bomb shelters in the backyard.

and then they could deal with a more pliant British Prime Minister. And so London was attacked for months in a row. There were fires that were worse in terms of their scale than the legendary Great Fire of London in 1666. The British did tolerate unspeakable hardship. They had to go down to the subway stations every night. They had to take shelter in makeshift bomb shelters in the backyard.

They witnessed their streets, their cities destroyed, fires sweeping through, and they pulled together. They... volunteered to go and fight fires. They volunteered to patrol important buildings like hospitals. My great-grandpa was on the roof of a hospital all night.

They witnessed their streets, their cities destroyed, fires sweeping through, and they pulled together. They... volunteered to go and fight fires. They volunteered to patrol important buildings like hospitals. My great-grandpa was on the roof of a hospital all night.

They witnessed their streets, their cities destroyed, fires sweeping through, and they pulled together. They... volunteered to go and fight fires. They volunteered to patrol important buildings like hospitals. My great-grandpa was on the roof of a hospital all night.

He was one of the doctors in Hammersmith Hospital, and he'd be up there with buckets of water and sand, putting out injury bombs as they landed on the roof to protect his patients. But there's another story about the Blitz, and that is that things did get a bit loose. There was an uptick in violence and all the streetlights were put out. There was no light pollution, so the streets were very dark.

He was one of the doctors in Hammersmith Hospital, and he'd be up there with buckets of water and sand, putting out injury bombs as they landed on the roof to protect his patients. But there's another story about the Blitz, and that is that things did get a bit loose. There was an uptick in violence and all the streetlights were put out. There was no light pollution, so the streets were very dark.

He was one of the doctors in Hammersmith Hospital, and he'd be up there with buckets of water and sand, putting out injury bombs as they landed on the roof to protect his patients. But there's another story about the Blitz, and that is that things did get a bit loose. There was an uptick in violence and all the streetlights were put out. There was no light pollution, so the streets were very dark.