Hitler discarded Sea Lion and turned to Operation Barbarossa against Soviet Russia. In the meantime, however, he saw air bombing as a powerful tool against Britain. Right after cancelling Sea Lion, on August 1, 1940, with Directive No. 17 Hitler ordered an air attack on Britain to crush the Royal Air Force. Hitler realised that the airforce was too big for Germans in 1940 and decided to turn his attention to Soviet Union.