Editing RAF Fighter Command (section)

=== Battle of Britain ===
{{see also|RAF Fighter Command order of battle 1940}}
[[File:Piloci 303.jpg|thumb|Shot of the fighter pilots of the Polish [[No. 303 Squadron RAF|303 Squadron]], 1940. Foreign fighter squadrons began forming in July 1940.]]
During the late 1930s Fighter Command expanded greatly and replaced its obsolete [[biplane]] squadrons – generally outfitted with [[Bristol Bulldog]], [[Gloster Gauntlet]] and [[Hawker Fury]] biplane fighters leading up to, and through the period of its founding – with the [[Hawker Hurricane]] and the [[Supermarine Spitfire]]. Fighter Command was tested during the [[Battle of Britain]] in the summer of 1940 when the German [[Luftwaffe]] launched an offensive aimed at attaining air superiority over the [[English Channel|Channel]] and the UK as a prerequisite to the launch of a seaborne invasion force (codenamed [[Operation Sea Lion]]). Fighter Command was divided into several groups, each defending a different part of the UK. [[No. 11 Group RAF|11 Group]] took the brunt of the German attack, as it controlled southeast England and [[London]]. It was reinforced by [[No. 10 Group RAF|10 Group]], which covered southwest England, [[No. 12 Group RAF|12 Group]], which covered the [[English Midlands|Midlands]] and [[East Anglia]], and [[No. 13 Group RAF|13 Group]], which covered the North of England and Scotland. [[No. 14 Group RAF|14 Group]] was established on 26 June 1940. [[No. 60 Group RAF|60 Group]] was established to run the [[Chain Home]] radar stations in early 1940. In the end, the Germans failed to attain air superiority, although the RAF had been eating severely into its reserves during the battle, as had the Luftwaffe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/archive/why-the-luftwaffe-failed-to-secure-air-superiority-in-wwii/|title=September 1945: Why the Luftwaffe failed to secure air superiority in WWII|date=19 September 2024|publisher=The Engineer|access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>