What Do You Know About the World's Most Famous Air Battles?

In 1940, German bombers and fighters sought air superiority over Britain. But the Royal Air Force (RAF) sent its many fighters into the skies in hopes of protecting the motherland from a Nazi invasion.

The Battle of Britain was the first major air-to-air battle in human history. Planes clashed all over the English Channel … where many of them met their watery end.

Operation Sealion was Germany's planned ground invasion of Britain. But before the Nazis could initiate the operation, they first had to decimate the RAF and claim air superiority using the Luftwaffe.

The RAF is legendary for deploying its Hurricanes and Spitfires to scatter German fighters and blast German bombers into the sea. The RAF's dedication under fire made its pilots heroes of WWII.

In July 1918, the Americans were told to push back the Germans. More than 1,400 Allied aircraft were gathered for a major offensive that became the Battle of St. Mihiel.

The Allies gathered about 1,400 planes … the Germans had 500. But the Germans were entrenched in their positions and had no plans of moving, no matter how many bombs the Allies dropped.

The RAF and its allies lost about 1,700 precious planes in the ferocity of the Battle of Britain. Germany lost even more planes -- about 2,000 total.

In March 1943, U.S. planes attacked a convoy of Japanese ships meant to reinforce troops at New Guinea. The Americans inflicted heavy losses on the convoy, and most of the reinforcements never reached their destination.

The Americans lost 13 men -- the Japanese? About, 2,900, and perhaps far more. It was a devastating blow to Japan during a critical juncture of the war.

On June 3, 1942, U.S. bombers attacked a Japanese naval convoy. The bombers didn't accomplish much, but it was the start of one of the world's most famous air battles.

At the Air Battle of St. Mihiel, losses from air-to-air combat were pretty even. But the Allies got the upper hand by bombing Germany's airfields, which were soon nearly unusable.

By the time Midway began, the Douglas TBD Devastators were obsolete. The planes were blasted into the sea, and most of the men were killed.

German bombers struggled to reach Britain's distant airfields because their escort fighters just didn't have enough range for such a long trip. The result? Britain's forces had a safe place to hide in preparation for battle.

American dive bombers used their mad skills to ricochet bombs off of the waves and into the sides of Japanese ships. And some dove straight at the enemy, dropping their deadly loads when their planes were just a few hundred yards from enemy ships.

In the WWII Battle of Kursk, thousands of German and Soviet tanks clashed -- it was the biggest tank battle ever. But it was also a huge clash of warplanes.

During the Battle of Kursk, which lasted about two months, both sides were bloodied in the air. Altogether, about 5,000 planes were destroyed.

Germany's air force was supremely confident in its ability to subdue the RAF in the Battle of Britain. One commander predicted the battle would be over in just a few days.

For three months, the Battle of Britain raged, often in full view of English citizes on the ground below. It was one of WWII's key turning points.

One Luftwaffe bomber accidentally dropped its munitions on central London (even though their orders said not to attack civilian targets). The accident caused a major escalation in the Battle of Britain, as an enraged Winston Churchill began bombing civilian targets in Germany.

The Battle of Midway was devastating to Japan, which lost four carriers and numerous other vital ships. The tremendous American victory reshaped the rest of the Pacific War.

Eventually, Hitler realized he wasn't going to win the Battle of Britain anytime soon … so rather than be patient, he attacked the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front.

On April 12, 1951, just 30 North Korean MiGs brazenly attacked a much larger group of American planes, shooting down several bombers before escaping without harm. It was "Black Thursday," when American officials realized that MiG fighters were very fast and very deadly.

The Battle of El Mansoura was part of the Yom Kippur War. On Oct. 14, 1973, Israel's planes met Egypt's … and for an hour, the two sides fought one of the longest jet battles ever.

Israel went on the offensive at the Battle of El Mansoura, but dozens of Egyptian jets met them in opposition. The Egyptian pilots won the day, forcing the Israelis to give up on their primary objectives of the battle.

At the June 1944 Battle of the Philippines Sea, the Americans were launching an amphibious invasion … and the Japanese swooped into to stop them. American ships and plans decimated Japanese air attacks, destroying perhaps 600 of them.

As the Americans downed plane after enemy plane, it was obvious that they had the upper hand. At the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," it seemed that maybe there was hope that the U.S. could put the war to rest.

After Black Thursday, American commanders in Korea realized that the Communist's MiG fighters were much faster than American planes. They paused all bombing campaigns for months trying to devise new attack strategies.

In August 1942, the Dieppe Raid was meant to help the Allies grab a French port back from the Nazis. Instead, Allied planes were scattered, leaving landing troops exposed. The raid was repelled by the Germans, and it would be nearly two more years before an amphibious assault called D-Day finally breached the Atlantic Wall.

In June 1982, Israel attacked Syria's air defenses at the beginning of the 1982 Lebanon War. Their planes smashed Syrian SAM batteries and shot down nearly 90 planes.

At the Air battle over Niš, Soviet and U.S. pilots mistook each other for the Germans … and they began to fight. In the aftermath, the U.S. apologized profusely for the error.