Battle of Britain
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47 free Battle of Britain trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Sep 2026.
The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign fought entirely in the air, and the first major defeat Nazi Germany suffered in the Second World War. Between 10 July and 31 October 1940 the Luftwaffe tried to break RAF Fighter Command as the prelude to an invasion, and failed, partly because of radar, partly because of Hugh Dowding's control system, and partly because German intelligence kept announcing a victory that had not happened. These 47 questions cover the aircraft, the people and the turning points: the Spitfire and Hurricane against the Bf 109, the Stuka's withdrawal, Adlertag and the Hardest Day, the Polish pilots of 303 Squadron, the Big Wing row between Park and Leigh-Mallory, the accidental bombing of Croydon, the start of the Blitz and the 15 September climax now commemorated as Battle of Britain Day. Easy questions cover the commanders, dates and famous speeches; the expert tier asks about German fighter formations, the Italian raids, the chemical in aircrew survival sachets and the loss figures both sides exaggerated. Every answer is cited to a page we checked, with a short explanation that adds something. Play it solo or print it for a quiz night.
30 of 47 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Battle of Britain's official end, 31 October 1940, fell during which German night-bombing campaign against British cities?
The Blitz
The Blitz moved the Luftwaffe to night raids, where RAF fighters struggled to find its bombers, and it went on hitting British cities until May 1941.
Q 02On Battle of Britain Day, Ray Holmes rammed a Dornier bomber that crashed onto which London railway station?
Victoria
Victoria: out of ammunition, Holmes flew his fighter into the bomber's tail, and he is credited with stopping it bombing Buckingham Palace.
Q 03Billy Fiske, one of the first Americans killed flying for the RAF in 1940, had won Olympic gold in which sport?
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh: with the United States still neutral, Fiske got into the RAF by passing himself off as a Canadian.
Q 04What was the codename for the planned German invasion of Britain?
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion needed the RAF beaten first, so when that failed Hitler postponed it indefinitely on 17 September 1940, and it never went ahead.
Q 05Who commanded RAF Fighter Command throughout the battle?
Hugh Dowding
Hugh Dowding won the battle but lost his job: within weeks of its end he was forced out after rows over tactics, and Sholto Douglas replaced him.
Q 06Who commanded the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain?
Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring, a First World War fighter pilot, told his commanders in September that the RAF was almost finished, yet Fighter Command kept fighting.
Q 07Adlertag, the planned opening day of the Luftwaffe's main assault, translates as what?
Eagle Day
Eagle Day was meant to drive Fighter Command out of south-east England within four days, but poor intelligence and communication blunted the attack.
Q 08Which targets did the Luftwaffe first bomb to blind Fighter Command?
Radar stations
Radar stations: all but one of those hit were soon back on air, and with the sites proving hard to knock out, the Luftwaffe did not keep up the attacks.
Q 09On Battle of Britain Day, the Prime Minister watched the fighting from No. 11 Group's operations room at which RAF station?
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge: watching every squadron go up, the Prime Minister asked what other reserves there were, and was told there were none.
Q 10Which surgeon rebuilt badly burned RAF airmen at East Grinstead, whose patients formed the Guinea Pig Club?
Archibald McIndoe
Archibald McIndoe had locals welcome his scarred patients into their homes and shops, and East Grinstead became known as the town that didn't stare.
Q 11Which city did the RAF bomb in late August 1940, prompting Hitler to turn the Luftwaffe on London?
Berlin
Berlin: the switch to bombing London gave Fighter Command's battered airfields breathing space, a turning point in the battle.
Q 12Which RAF fighter outnumbered the Spitfire throughout the Battle of Britain?
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane was the RAF's workhorse, usually sent against the bombers while Spitfires took on the escorting fighters.
Q 13Which wounded RAF fighter pilot kept firing from his blazing cockpit and won the Victoria Cross in 1940?
James Nicolson
James Nicolson was hit near Southampton, and with his fuel tank on fire he climbed back into his seat to shoot down a Bf 110.
Q 21Though their country was neutral, 10 airmen from which country flew in the Battle of Britain?
Ireland
Ireland's neutrality didn't hold back its volunteers: some of its own soldiers even deserted the Irish Army to fight on the Allied side.
Q 22Which port did Fiat BR.20 bombers of the Italian Air Corps attack in their first raid?
Harwich
Harwich was the target, and the Italian press hailed a great victory, but the Italian Air Corps achieved little over Britain before it later went home.
Q 23Who commanded Luftflotte 2, responsible for bombing south-east England and London?
Albert Kesselring
Albert Kesselring's reputation was later stained by atrocities his troops committed in Italy, and after the war he was convicted of war crimes.
Q 14Why could the Bf 109 dive away under negative g when Merlin-powered fighters could not?
Its DB 601 used fuel injection
Its DB 601 used fuel injection, while the Merlin's carburettor starved under negative g until engineer Beatrice Shilling devised a restrictor that eased the cut-outs.
Q 15The twin-engined Bf 110 was designated Zerstörer, meaning what?
Destroyer
Destroyer: the Bf 110 was meant to escort bombers deep into Britain, but it lacked the agility to survive against single-engined RAF fighters.
Q 16Which turret-armed RAF fighter without forward guns was pulled from day fighting?
Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant lost six of nine aircraft to Bf 109s on 19 July, and by September it had been pulled out of daytime fighting.
Q 17The Luftwaffe's Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber is better known by what name?
Stuka
The Stuka was too slow and vulnerable to RAF fighters, so after prohibitive losses it was withdrawn from attacks on Britain in August 1940.
Q 18Which RAF squadron claimed the most victories in the Battle of Britain?
No. 303 (Polish)
No. 303 (Polish) was held back at first by commanders wary of its pilots' English, and it flew for only six weeks, yet it became the top-scoring RAF unit.
Q 19Which exiled pilot, allowed to fly alone as a squadron's roaming guest, was among the Battle of Britain's top scorers?
Josef František
Josef František kept breaking formation to hunt alone, so the squadron he joined let him fly as a kind of guest, and he claimed 17 victories in a month.
Q 20Which Luftwaffe ace, a Battle of Britain veteran, advised on the 1969 film Battle of Britain?
Adolf Galland
Adolf Galland advised alongside RAF ace Robert Stanford Tuck, a wartime enemy who had become his friend.
Q 24Luftflotte 5 attacked northern England and Scotland from headquarters in which country?
Norway
Its bombers flew without Bf 109 cover and were mauled on 15 August; it never appeared in strength again.
Q 25What did the Luftwaffe call its four-aircraft fighter formation made up of two pairs?
Schwarm
Schwarm: the Luftwaffe had honed this loose four in combat during the Spanish Civil War, and RAF squadrons later copied a version of it.
Q 26Idiotenreihen, the German nickname for the RAF's tight 'vic' formations, means what?
Rows of idiots
Only the leader could look for the enemy; the others were busy keeping station, so 'weavers' were added behind and above.
Q 27Which 74 Squadron leader devised the 'fours in line astern' formation?
'Sailor' Malan
'Sailor' Malan's looser formation was taken up across Fighter Command, part of the shift to open formations that denied the Luftwaffe its easy kills.
Q 28The 'Big Wing' tactic championed by Leigh-Mallory was pioneered by which pilot?
Douglas Bader
Douglas Bader's Big Wings could hit a raid in strength, but they took so long to form up that they often arrived after the bombers had struck.
Q 29Who commanded 11 Group, which bore the weight of the battle over south-east England?
Keith Park
Keith Park, a New Zealander, led the group that took the brunt of the fighting, yet after the battle he was moved out of Fighter Command to training duties.
Q 30Where was Fighter Command HQ, where radar and observer reports were filtered?
Bentley Priory
Bentley Priory's filter room merged duplicate radar reports of each raid into one track, then phoned it on to the group headquarters that directed the fighters.