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Concept
Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939)
Summary
Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Defence of the Reich
| partof = the Western Front of World War II
| image = Heligoland Bight.jpg
| image_size = 280px
| caption = The Heligoland Bight
| date = 18 December 1939
| place = Heligoland Bight and North Sea, Germany
| result = German victory
| combatant1 =
| combatant2 =
| commander1 = Richard Kellett
| commander2 = C.A. Schumacher
| units1 = No. 9 Squadron RAFNo. 37 Squadron RAFNo. 149 Squadron RAF
| units2 = Stab./Jagdgeschwader 1II./Jagdgeschwader 77II./Trägergruppe 186(N)./Jagdgeschwader 26I./Zerstörergeschwader 76I./Jagdgeschwader 26
| strength1 = 22 Vickers Wellington bombers
| strength2 = 44 fighter aircraft
| casualties1 = 12 bombers destroyed3 bombers damaged57 killed
| casualties2 = 2 Bf 109s destroyed2 Bf 109s severely damaged. 1 Bf 109 non-combat1 Bf 109 lightly damaged2 Bf 110s severely damaged7 Bf 110s lightly damaged2 pilots killed2 pilots wounded
11 sailors killed 30 sailors injured
| notes =
| campaignbox =
The Battle of the Heligoland Bight was the first "named" air battle of the Second World War, which began the longest air campaign of the war on 3 September 1939, the Defence of the Reich. After the declaration of war, RAF Bomber Command began operations against Nazi Germany but limited their attacks to those targets that were purely military and had little risk of civilian casualties. This largely limited their efforts to attacks on the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) warships in German ports to prevent their use in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Early operations led the RAF to conclude that fighter aircraft were not a serious threat against modern bombers. They were also marked by a lack of coordination and minor issues like bad weather and communication problems that meant none of these early operations was very intense. The RAF implemented changes to ensure more aircraft could be launched more rapidly to make up for these issues.
On 18 December 1939, a force of three squadrons was launched against capital ships anchored in the Wilhelmshaven area.
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