In message , Steven
P. McNicoll writes
Wouldn't the Luftwaffe be a way of stopping the RN from chopping their force
to bits?

The Luftwaffe was fully committed to destroying British coastal
defences, since the landing force would have almost no artillery or
armour, and its naval gunfire support was limited to a couple of dozen
barges carrying 37mm guns.

It was _also_ fully committed to sinking the Royal Navy when it came out
to attack the fleet of barges and flat-bottomed boats; the Luftwaffe had
36 destroyers to sink _immediately_ (the anti-invasion flotilla held
ready with no other mission) plus the rest of the Home Fleet within 24
hours, if those ships were to be kept away from the transports. (We'll
ignore all of Coastal Forces' lighter craft)

Finally, the Luftwaffe was also completely committed to destroying the
RAF on the ground and in the air during the invasion.


So, all the Germans had to do was triple the size of the Luftwaffe and
build themselves a decent Navy and be phenomenally lucky....


It just don't add up.

--
When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite.
W S Churchill

Paul J. Adam MainBoxatjrwlynch[dot]demon{dot}co(.)uk