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50 free Battle of Britain trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 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 50 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 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Britain officially dates the battle from 10 July 1940 until which date?
31 October
German historians reject that cut-off and treat the battle and the Blitz as one campaign running to May 1941.
Q 02On Battle of Britain Day, how many German aircraft were shot down against 26 RAF losses?
60
Two massive waves were repulsed by every aircraft in 11 Group; two days later Hitler postponed the invasion.
Q 03Churchill's speech that gave the battle its name was delivered on which date in 1940?
18 June
The battle is unusual in being named more than three weeks before the accepted date on which it began.
Q 04What was the codename for the planned German invasion of Britain?
Operation Sea Lion
Directive No. 16 of 16 July ordered preparations; Grand Admiral Raeder kept insisting a crossing could not happen before 1941.
Q 05Who commanded RAF Fighter Command throughout the battle?
Hugh Dowding
He had opposed the 1930s doctrine that the bomber would always get through, betting on radar and fast monoplane fighters instead.
Q 06Who was Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe?
Hermann Göring
His 30 June directive ordered the destruction of the RAF and never mentioned an invasion at all.
Q 07Adlertag, the planned opening day of the Luftwaffe's main assault, translates as what?
Eagle Day
Göring finalised the plan on 6 August with Kesselring, Sperrle and Stumpff: Fighter Command was to be destroyed in four days.
Q 08Poor weather delayed Adlertag until which date?
13 August
The day before, Erprobungsgruppe 210 had hit four radar stations; three were back on air within six hours.
Q 09Which date is commemorated as Battle of Britain Day?
15 September
It marks the day the Luftwaffe's largest daylight attack was decisively beaten back over London and the South East.
Q 10Which day, with the greatest casualties on both sides, was dubbed 'The Hardest Day'?
18 August
It effectively ended the Stuka's part in the campaign; Göring withdrew the dive bomber to preserve the force.
Q 11On what date did the Blitz begin, with nearly 400 bombers hitting London's East End docks?
7 September
The RAF had expected airfield attacks; 12 Group's first official Big Wing took twenty minutes to form up and missed its target.
Q 12When war broke out, Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires by about what ratio?
2:1
By mid-1940 both types had converted to 100 octane fuel, adding about 30 mph at low altitude.
Q 13How many .303 Browning machine guns did the Spitfire and Hurricane each carry?
Eight
Damaged German bombers sometimes limped home with up to 200 .303 hits; the Bf 109's 20 mm cannon shells did far more damage.
Q 21How many of the 2,936 aircrew on the RAF roll of honour for the battle were non-British?
595
About one in five: 145 Poles, 127 New Zealanders, 112 Canadians and 88 Czechoslovaks led the list.
Q 22Which nation supplied the most non-British pilots, 145 in all?
Poland
New Zealand came second with 127; the list also included 9 Americans and individuals from Jamaica, Barbados and Newfoundland.
Q 23Which port did Fiat BR.20 bombers of the Italian Air Corps attack in their first raid?
Harwich
Mussolini's Corpo Aereo Italiano claimed nine British aircraft before leaving in January 1941; its real score was far lower.
Q 14Why could the Bf 109 dive away under negative g when Merlin-powered fighters could not?
Its DB 601 used fuel injection
The Merlin's carburettor starved under negative g, so RAF pilots had to half-roll before diving after a 109.
Q 15The twin-engined Bf 110 was designated Zerstörer, meaning what?
Destroyer
It was a failure as a long-range escort; on 13 and 15 August it lost 13 and 30 aircraft, the equivalent of a whole Gruppe.
Q 16Which turret-armed RAF fighter without forward guns was pulled from day fighting?
Boulton Paul Defiant
It had fooled German pilots over Dunkirk because it looked like a Hurricane from behind; the trick did not last.
Q 17The Ju 87 dive bomber, withdrawn after heavy losses, is better known by what name?
Stuka
It was too slow and vulnerable after pulling out of a dive, and was mostly diverted to shipping before going to the Eastern Front.
Q 18Which Luftwaffe bomber, with a distinctive wing shape, was used in the greatest numbers?
Heinkel He 111
The Ju 88 was the fastest and suffered lower losses; the Do 17 was slowest with the smallest bomb load.
Q 19Which unit was the highest-scoring fighter squadron of the battle?
No. 303 (Polish)
It joined the fight two months late; Dowding said he hesitated to say the outcome would have been the same without the Poles.
Q 20Which Czech airman with 303 Squadron was credited with the battle's highest RAF score?
Josef František
He had flown with the Polish and French air forces before reaching Britain and flew as a guest of the Polish squadron.
Q 24Who commanded Luftflotte 2, responsible for bombing south-east England and London?
Albert Kesselring
He championed attacking London directly, while Sperrle wanted to keep pounding the air-defence infrastructure.
Q 25Luftflotte 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 26What did the Luftwaffe call its four-aircraft fighter formation made up of two pairs?
Schwarm
The basic pair was the Rotte, leader and wingman about 200 metres apart; the idea went back to Oswald Boelcke in 1916.
Q 27Idiotenreihen, 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 28Which 74 Squadron leader devised the 'fours in line astern' formation?
'Sailor' Malan
It was a variation on the German Schwarm and a vast improvement on the three-aircraft vic.
Q 29The 'Big Wing' tactic championed by Leigh-Mallory was pioneered by which pilot?
Douglas Bader
Park's report found that from 11 September to 31 October the Big Wing managed just 10 interceptions and one German aircraft destroyed.
Q 30Who commanded 11 Group, which bore the weight of the battle over south-east England?
Keith Park
His tactic was to send single squadrons to break up raids; post-war analysis agrees it was the right call for 11 Group.