Editing Battle of Britain (section)

====Fighter formations====
[[Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945)|Luftwaffe formations]] employed a loose section of two (called [[Schwarm|''Rotte'']] [pack]), based on a leader (''Rottenführer'') followed at a distance of about {{cvt|200|m|yd}} by his wingman, ''Rottenhund'' pack dog or ''Katschmarek'', the turning radius of a Bf 109, enabling both aircraft to turn together at high speed.<ref name="Bungay 2000, p. 259." /><ref>{{harvnb|Stedman|2012|p=58}}</ref> The ''Katschmarek'' flew slightly higher and was trained always to stay with his leader. With more room between them, both could spend less time maintaining formation and more time looking around and covering each other's [[Blind spot (vehicle)|blind spots]]. Attacking aircraft could be sandwiched between the two 109s.<ref name="Price 1980, pp. 12-13">{{harvnb|Price|1980|pp=12–13}}</ref> The formation was developed from principles formulated by the [[World War I|First World War]] [[flying ace|ace]] [[Oswald Boelcke]] in 1916. In 1934 the [[Finnish Air Force]] adopted similar formations, called ''partio'' (patrol; two aircraft) and ''parvi'' (two patrols; four aircraft), for similar reasons, though ''Luftwaffe'' pilots during the [[Spanish Civil War]] (led by [[Günther Lützow]] and [[Werner Mölders]], among others) are generally given credit.<ref>Nikunen, Heikki. [http://www.saunalahti.fi/~fta/fintac-1.htm ""The Finnish Fighter Tactics and Training Before and During the WW II."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607103944/http://www.saunalahti.fi/~fta/fintac-1.htm |date=7 June 2011 }} FI: ''Saunalahti,'' January 2006. Retrieved: 26 April 2008.</ref> The ''Rotte'' allowed the ''Rottenführer'' to concentrate on shooting down aircraft but few wingmen had the chance, leading to some resentment in the lower ranks where it was felt that the high scores came at their expense.<ref>{{harvnb|Bungay|2000|pp=163–164}}</ref> Two ''Rotten'' combined as a ''[[Finger-four|Schwarm]]'', where all the pilots could watch what was happening around them. Each ''Schwarm'' in a ''Staffel'' flew at staggered heights and with about {{cvt|200|m|yd}} between them, making the formation difficult to spot at longer ranges and allowing for a great deal of flexibility.<ref name="Bungay 2000, p. 259."/> By using a tight "cross-over" turn, a ''Schwarm'' could quickly change direction.<ref name="Price 1980, pp. 12-13"/>

The Bf 110s adopted the same ''Schwarm'' formation as the 109s but were seldom able to use this to the same advantage. The Bf 110's most successful method of attack was the "bounce" from above. When attacked, ''Zerstörergruppen'' increasingly resorted to forming large [[Lufbery circle|defensive circles]], where each Bf 110 guarded the tail of the aircraft ahead of it. Göring ordered that they be renamed "offensive circles" in a vain bid to improve rapidly declining morale.<ref>{{harvnb|Weal|1999|p=50}}</ref> These conspicuous formations were often successful in attracting RAF fighters that were sometimes "bounced" by high-flying Bf 109s. This led to the often repeated misconception that the Bf 110s were escorted by Bf 109s.