Why do people persist with the idea that Britain

[MontyB]

was ever under a realistic threat of German invasion?

In 1940 I can understand the fear that Germany may have tried to invade but in 2016 we know that even in 1940 they could never have done so so why does this myth persist.

For German aircraft to have operated over Britain put them at the limit of their range, the majority of the Kriegsmarine was sitting at the bottom of Norwegian Fjords and the Royal navy outnumbered its opposition by a ratio of nearly 10 to 1 and was safely parked up in ports outside Luftwaffe range.

At best Germany could have landed some of its Fallschirmjäger and most of an Infantry division before the Royal Navy completely overwhelmed the invasion lanes and the RAF destroyed too many German air transports to allow further large scale landings or resupply.

German losses would have irreplaceable while the British were operating over friendly territory and falling back on shorter supply lines, at best the Luftwaffe may have gained air superiority over a small part of southern Britain but any base's there would have been pounded day and night to the point of being unusable.

 

[BritinBritain]

After the fall of Dunkirk the 3rd Division was the only fully equipped unit, and taken over by Montgomery. However, there were thousands of ex WW1 vets, despite being in their 40's and 50's would have given any German para a run for his money.

The Royal Navy had without a doubt command of the English Channel and North Sea, I believe rightly or wrongly, that the Royal Navy would have destroyed any German Naval fleet attempting to land troops and or vehicles, and the Royal Air Force would have fought off the Luftwaffe.

 

[MontyB]

After the fall of Dunkirk the 3rd Division was the only fully equipped unit, and taken over by Montgomery. However, there were thousands of ex WW1 vets, despite being in their 40's and 50's would have given any German para a run for his money.

The Royal Navy had without a doubt command of the English Channel and North Sea, I believe rightly or wrongly, that the Royal Navy would have destroyed any German Naval fleet attempting to land troops and or vehicles, and the Royal Air Force would have fought off the Luftwaffe.

Exactly and I can understand the fear Britain had in 1940-41 with its military in a state of rebuilding and a seemingly unstoppable Germany military just across the channel but by surely by now we should all know and understand the fact that there was never even the remotest chance of a successful German invasion, yet we still get books, documentaries and people repeating the same misconceptions and outright myths today.

I am a huge fan of history and see it as an every developing pool of knowledge so these sorts of things annoy the crap out of me.

 

[BritinBritain]

After the fall of Dunkirk, there was a lot of uncertainty in the country, the Germans had shown to be unstoppable, it was only the English Channel that stopped them. As history shows, roads signs and railway station signs were taken down, churches were forbidden to sound their bells only in case of an invasion, people were buying whatever food they could to stash away, rumours were increasing daily, people were even told to look for German para's dressed as nuns.

Beaches were fortified with land mines and oil pipes to set fire to any landing craft that had got through. In effect, people were scared.

Even Alex Henshaw (Spitfire test pilot) stated "If we win this war, we'll be bloody lucky.

 

[LeEnfield]

If the Germans had attacked right after Dunkirk then they might have been successful. If they had launched a airborne attack on a place like RAF Manston and took the airfield then it have been resupplied by JU 52's. The flight time from France would have been around 15 minutes . From Manston which is right on the coast they could have spread out and taken one of the many little ports around this area. The Royal Navy would have contend with lines of U Boats, minefields, and the Stukas.
When the British left Dunkirk they left behind all their equipment, and it was not until the Battle of Britain was taking place did the UK start to build coastal defenses. By the end of of 1940 the south coast was covered in minefields, Pillboxes and miles of barbwire.
As I was lived in this area during this time I think I can say just how unprepared we were

 

[papasha408]

If the Germans had attacked right after Dunkirk then they might have been successful. If they had launched a airborne attack on a place like RAF Manston and took the airfield then it have been resupplied by JU 52's. The flight time from France would have been around 15 minutes . From Manston which is right on the coast they could have spread out and taken one of the many little ports around this area. The Royal Navy would have contend with lines of U Boats, minefields, and the Stukas.
When the British left Dunkirk they left behind all their equipment, and it was not until the Battle of Britain was taking place did the UK start to build coastal defenses. By the end of of 1940 the south coast was covered in minefields, Pillboxes and miles of barbwire.
As I was lived in this area during this time I think I can say just how unprepared we were

Hitler's only chance of forcing a peace with Great Britain was to capture the entire expeditionary force at Dunkirk. That they let the force return to England by design or by accident was truly one of Hitler's biggest mistakes.

 

[MontyB]

Hitler's only chance of forcing a peace with Great Britain was to capture the entire expeditionary force at Dunkirk. That they let the force return to England by design or by accident was truly one of Hitler's biggest mistakes.

I agree although even with the entire BEF in German hands I doubt Britain would have come to terms as long as Churchill was running the show.

I also agree with LeEnfield that Germany's only chance for a successful invasion was to be hot on the heels of the Dunkirk evacuation while the RAF, BEF and RN were in a high state of disorganisation, however, there was no chance this could happen due to the large loss of ships during the Norwegian campaign.

But the second the Royal Navy had organised itself the Germans lost any chance of a successful outcome, it is very much my opinion that it was the Royal Navy that ensured Britains survival in 1940.