Q 01/05

The Battle of Britain's official end, 31 October 1940, fell during which German night-bombing campaign against British cities?

A) The Blitz

B) Operation Steinbock

C) The Baedeker raids

D) The V-1 flying bomb campaign

Answer · why

A) 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 02/05

On Battle of Britain Day, Ray Holmes rammed a Dornier bomber that crashed onto which London railway station?

A) Victoria

B) Waterloo

C) King's Cross

D) Paddington

Answer · why

A) 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 03/05

Billy Fiske, one of the first Americans killed flying for the RAF in 1940, had won Olympic gold in which sport?

A) Bobsleigh

B) Rowing

C) Ice hockey

D) Skiing

Answer · why

A) Bobsleigh

Bobsleigh: with the United States still neutral, Fiske got into the RAF by passing himself off as a Canadian.

Q 04/05

What was the codename for the planned German invasion of Britain?

A) Operation Felix

B) Operation Loge

C) Operation Barbarossa

D) Operation Sea Lion

Answer · why

D) 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 05/05

Who commanded RAF Fighter Command throughout the battle?

A) Hugh Dowding

B) Sholto Douglas

C) Trafford Leigh-Mallory

D) Charles Portal

Answer · why

A) 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.