<sod>The battle can be roughly divided into four phases:<eod>
<sod>The battle covered a shifting geographical area, and there have been differing opinions on significant dates: when the [[Air Ministry]] proposed 8 August as the start, Dowding responded that operations "merged into one another almost insensibly", and proposed 10 July as the onset of increased attacks.{{sfn|Overy|2001|pp=61–62}} With the caution that phases drifted into each other and dates are not firm, the [[Royal Air Force Museum]] states that five main phases can be identified:<ref name="RAF Museum phases">{{cite web | title=Introduction to the Phases of the Battle  -  History of the Battle of Britain  -  Exhibitions & Displays  -  Research | website=RAF Museum | url=http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/online-exhibitions/history-of-the-battle-of-britain/introduction-to-the-phases-of-the-battle-of-britain.aspx | accessdate=28 March 2016}}</ref><eod>