I don't wish to detract from the role of the RAF in the Battle of Britain but I take particular issue with this:
Originally Posted by
Danny42C
...The Navy ? Hitler had his dive and torpedo bombers stationed all along the French coast. And are we going to put capital ships into the Channel within range of this land based air power ? (what would happen then was to be amply demonstrated off Malaya in 1942): Singapore, reliant on the Navy for defence, was lost in two weeks.
Moreover, the Navy was already fully stretched fighting the "Battle of the Atlantic", and a long way from winning it at that stage. It was "Touch and Go" for them...
No need for capital ships, just seaworthy vessels equipped with small and medium calibre guns and able to produce a wake. They would have made small, difficult targets for bombers, especially at night or once they were in among any invasion fleet. The Germans had no torpedo bombers to speak of in 1940 and their anti-shipping bombing was still relatively ineffective; only six British destroyers were sunk during the entire Dunkirk evacuation.
The Kriegsmarine had only a handful of destroyers and not much else following the Battles of Narvik while the Royal Navy had all these vessels at its disposal around the UK coast, most of which were perfectly capable of sinking or capsizing canal barges, auxiliaries and other small craft: