This thread should be renamed the "BOB THREAD"!!
Anyway, as much as this has been an argument over numbers and the meaning of numbers, we have to keep in mind the conclusion of what happened in the BoB.
A better view than just numbers may be to put yourselves in the position of the LW & RAF commanders, and also to look at some historical facts. I'll try to make this as short as possible. (hard!)
HERE BEGINS THE ESSAY
The LW tried a campaign which aimed at getting the RAF into the fight and crushing them by force. They had met the RAF in France and done well. They knew that the RAF force in the UK wasn't THAT big. So did the British, - Dowding gave his statement to Churchill about the situation and just so managed to keep what he considered to be a minimal force.
The campaign was rather logical, starting with radar stations, then airfields, then after the RAF would submit, the aim was to paralize shipping and navy ops. (Well, ok, the first phase was basically anti-shipping strikes)
However, after weeks and weeks of fighting, and claims of more than 1xRAF value of British fighters shot down, the RAF seemed to be as strong as ever, and kept shooting down an increasing number of LW planes. Bombing London did also not seem to break the morale (like Warsaw, Rotterdam and such) of the people, but the LW losses just raised streaching that "far" inland.
The RAF with half the force of the LW, less experienced pilots, and a combat doctrine that was somewhat lagging behind (i.e. Vic's vs finger four's), however had some advantages.
Most importantly, the defence system was set up nicely, in a way which was more advanced than the German way (the Germans were actually quite as well advanced in radar techniques). Secondly, the British fighters were of the best quality the Germans had yet met. There was no more an absolute superiority in speed, and the LW could also not benefit from chaos and confusion of an advancing frontline. This was a rather static duel, and now the weapons were equal.
So, The might of the LW was not enough. That was a shock to the Germans, - however the might of the LW was also a shock to the British. The RAF was on its last legs when the battle was directed towards London, what the RAF did not know was that the LW was very weary as well. After bombing London heavily, the city population was actually on the verge of revolt, - the very much hoped for consequence of sustained bombing by the LW.
However, they did not know that. The RAF could defend London better than themselves (!) From the LW pont of view, all effort was in vain. The British just seemed to learn fast, grow fast, and as a concequence improve their kill rate. A month after the "Adlertag", the last "50" Spits scored better than ever, leaving LW high command in deep thought about how much there was left. They knew their reserves, but failed completely at guessing at the RAF status.
The RAF won the day. The first time that the excellent and mighty LW met a proper and properly controlled air force at only half their size, they had to back off. They got close to succeeding, but they didn't know how close, nor how to follow it up.
The British had a different look upon it. The suffered severe casualties, their capital burned, the RAF almost gave up, they came close to rebellion. But the score against the LW kept going up. Eventually, the LW concluded that the RAF, or the British for that sake, could not be defeated in a blitz, just kept at bay. They turned to another business. That gave the BOB a definate British victory. And the German assumptions also became their own undoings.
Here endeth the essay
