In the original timeline, at the start of WWII, Germany, having swept through Europe with lightning speed, set its sights on Britain, even drawing up plans for the invasion known as "Operation Sea Lion." However, the English Channel presented a barrier that necessitated an amphibious air-sea operation. At that time, the German Navy was inferior to the British in both quality and quantity, so British leadership believed Germany's primary objective would be to gain air superiority.
Britain had three strategies to choose from: first, 'air control on the ground,' where bombers would destroy German aircraft on the ground, but this was beyond Britain's capabilities at the time. Second, 'air control in the air,' involving continuous air patrols, which would consume vast resources and was essentially passive defense. Third, 'air control from the ground,' leveraging the advantages of homeland defense by optimizing the deployment and management of resources to take command of aerial combat. Clearly, the third option was more suitable for Britain's situation.
Britain's choice of 'air control from the ground' was well-founded. Britain was one of the earliest countries to invent and widely use radar. Radar was a key piece of equipment in securing British air victories. As early as 1937, Britain had established its first radar intelligence center. Subsequently, 29 radar stations were set up along the eastern and southern coasts, forming a chain of radar early warning systems. According to air defense arrangements, the British mainland was divided into six air defense zones, each comprising several sub-zones, with a combat squadron responsible for air defense duties in two to seven sub-zones.
The Battle of Britain showcased the prototype of information warfare. Radar stations collected air situation data and reported it to the radar intelligence center. After aggregating information from various stations, a comprehensive air defense situation map for Britain was created, allowing commanders to allocate combat resources based on the real-time air situation. Guided by radar, the British could deploy one-third of their fighters in the southern region, with the rest spread across central and northern Britain as a reserve air defense force. This approach not only created a layered defense but also reinforced the overall air defense capabilities, effectively enhancing regional air defense efficiency. Radar gave the British air force more timely and powerful situational awareness, achieving one-way transparency on the battlefield.
In the early stages of air combat, the German focus was on destroying British radar stations and airfields. The primary task for the British was to test the warning capabilities of their radar and explore methods for radar-guided aerial interceptions. During this phase, both sides had mixed gains and losses. On August 15, 1940, German aircraft attacked radar stations at Dover, Pevensey, Rye, and Ventnor in southern Britain, causing them to cease functioning. However, Germany did not capitalize on this attack. On August 30, six radar stations in five air defense sub-zones were destroyed, bringing the southern radar network close to collapse, marking the worst day for the British air force in the Battle of Britain.
Britain learned from combat experience and continuously improved its radar early warning capabilities. On July 11, 1940, a radar station detected an unknown number of aircraft. The air defense sub-zone commander sent out six Hurricanes for interception, only to find it was a formation of 40 fighters and bombers. After this incident, the British air force refined its radar air situation warnings, reporting the number of enemy aircraft to better allocate combat resources. Churchill understood the importance of radar, emphasizing, "We must prioritize the radar field with as much urgency as we do the air force." This shows how pivotal radar technology was at the time.
As the Battle of Britain intensified, German intelligence learned that although the British radar network was severely damaged, it was still emitting signals, leading them to believe the core sections of the British radar stations were underground and unaffected by bombings, still operational. Misled by this intelligence, the Germans ceased bombing British radar stations.
In Wilhelm's view, this was an utterly foolish decision.
However, at this time, because German fighters surpassed British ones in both number and performance, the British air force adopted a defensive posture, and Wilhelm didn't pay much attention to British radar. With the upcoming invasion of the British mainland, Wilhelm decided to destroy the British air defense radar first.
Although the distribution of British radar was top secret, with German intelligence only managing to uncover a few locations, for Wilhelm, who had come from the future, this was a minor issue. After all, in later declassified military documents, the British themselves had meticulously mapped out their WWII radar positions.
"Air raid alert! Air raid alert! German aircraft invasion! Large-scale German aircraft invasion!" The radar operator, watching the screen intently, issued the alert with a lack of energy. The signals on the radar screen were merging into one, indicating a massive number of reflections approaching British soil.
But what could an alert do? German air raids had become almost daily visitors.
Even though the radar stations issued timely warnings, the air force wouldn't scramble to meet the threat, allowing German aircraft to drop bomb after bomb, leaving British cities in ruins. Not just the air force, even the ground-based anti-aircraft units had ceased firing in recent days. German air squadrons were coming and going freely, almost like visiting relatives.
"Got it, record it." The on-duty radar officer sighed lightly, equally listless as he gave the order. General Dowding had said not to report unless the German formations approached London. But it was rumored that London was already being leveled by German shells and missiles, so what was there to fear from bombers?
Just as he closed his eyes to rest for a moment, the radar operator reported, "Sir, you might want to see this; the German air formation has broken up; they seem to be dispersing!"
"Hmm?" The radar officer quickly walked over to the screen and indeed saw unusual fluctuations. "They've dispersed? Why would they disperse here?" According to the radar, these German formations had just reached the British coastline, far from inland cities, so why disperse here?!
As the radar officer hesitated about whether to report this anomaly to Dowding, a massive explosion not far away shook the area, and the radar screen went white, showing nothing.
"What's happening?!" The powerful shock waves penetrated the thick concrete walls of the radar station, and the officer felt the floor beneath him tremble.
The Germans were bombing?!
But this area was desolate for miles around, with only well-camouflaged radar antennas on the surface; how could the Germans...
Boom!
Before he could think further, a massive aerial bomb crashed through the roof of the radar station, embedding itself in the floor not far from the radar officer.
"!!" The radar officer felt his heart stop as he rigidly watched the delay mechanism on the bomb stop spinning.
"Boom!" Accompanied by a fierce explosion, a powerful shockwave along with blazing flames swept through the entire radar station, destroying everything it touched.