The Luftwaffe mounted mass daytime raids against RAF bases and later London, hoping to gain air superiority and force Britain to make peace – preparations for invasion began.

Britain possessed a radar-controlled air defence system and a powerful Royal Navy. Public morale did not crack, high German losses forced a change in mid-September to sporadic and less effective night bombing, and the arrival of autumn weather made invasion impractical.

The battle demonstrated to Germany (and the USA) that Britain could not be easily knocked out of the war. The Americans sent help; Hitler decided that he needed to invade the USSR.