The Battle of Britain

The battle begins, summer 1940
The battle begins, summer 1940

After defeating France in June 1940, Hitler assumed Britain would sue for peace but ordered his armed forces to prepare for invasion. Hermann Goering assured him that a sustained air assault would destroy the RAF, winning the air superiority needed.
A Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over London, September 1940
A Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over London, September 1940

July 1940 saw German planes target shipping in the Channel, drawing the RAF into combat, before radar stations, communications centres and airfields faced round-the-clock bombing in August. The battle reached a climax with attacks on London in September.
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)

Joan 'Elizabeth' Mortimer, Elspeth Henderson and Helen Turner of the WAAF. All three received the Military Medal for courageous conduct during attacks on Biggin Hill airfield. Biggin Hill suffered a total of ten major attacks between 30 Aug and 5 Sept.
Non-British personnel in the RAF
Non-British personnel in the RAF

A group of pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Squadron RAF return from a sortie. The first Polish squadrons were formed in the summer of 1940. Pilots came from several other countries, including Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand and the USA.
Sector 'G' Operations Room at RAF Duxford
Sector 'G' Operations Room at RAF Duxford

RAF Duxford was a Sector Station in 12 Group, responsible for defending the Midlands and East Anglia. As the fighting intensified, Duxford's squadrons were called on to support 11 Group's defence of London and the south-east.
Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF
Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF

Despite incessant attacks, the RAF's defences held. The Luftwaffe could not continue, and in the autumn switched to 'nuisance' raids and night operations. The failure to defeat the RAF convinced Hitler to postpone his invasion plans indefinitely.

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The Harvest of Battle
(art) Made by: Nevinson, C R W 1919
image: The aftermath of a battle showing a muddy and flooded battlefield. A long line of wounded men, some with limbs bandaged, men carrying their comrades, straggling from right to left. Corpses lie in and around water-filled shell holes. Artillery...
Evening, After A Push
(art) Made by: Gill, Colin U 1919
image: The original line, which the advancing army leaves behind in its forward movement, remains desolate and encumbered with the debris of battle. A dead German soldier lies at the foot of a smashed tree trunk while British soldiers holding rifles...
GERMAN NEWSREEL ITEMS [Allocated Title]
(film) Made by: Messter Woche (Production company) 1915
Composite reel of German newsreel items on Eastern Front in 1915, plus separate items on crashed Zeppelin L31 and Turkish item on Mohammed V.
German Prisoners : the Deputy Controller's Camp, Rouen
(art) Made by: Lithiby, Beatrice (OBE)
image: beyond a pathway and low wattle fence and gate, prisoners in uniform are working among the wooden huts of a camp, carrying and inserting large wooden stakes. A soldier stands guard, while in the distance a small female figure carries buckets.
Interrogation
(art) Made by: Dodd, Francis (RA) 1919
image: A German prisoner-of-war is being interrogated by two British officers. One of the officers is seated at a table scattered with the prisoner's papers, while the other rests his arm on the table edge leaning towards the prisoner, who stands before...
Motor Transport Troops and German Prisoners. Chaulnes, Autumn 1918
(art) Made by: Dodgson, John A 1918
image: A crowded scene with British soldiers and German prisoners amongst a construction site. Three British soldiers, one German prisoner and a small dog stand in the centre of the composition next to a motorcycle with debris in the foreground. The...
Study for 'Motor Transport Troops and German Prisoners. Chaulnes, Autumn 1918'
(art) Made by: Dodgson, John A 1918
image: A crowded scene with British soldiers and German prisoners amongst a construction site. Three British soldiers, one German prisoner and a small dog stand in the centre of the composition next to a motorcycle with debris in the foreground. The...
Dieppe
(art) Made by: Orpen, William 1917
image: A view of the Café des Tribunaux, Dieppe. There are French soldiers seated around tables outstide underneath the awning, and more soldiers sitting on the balcony. In the bottom left a group of German prisoners of war are being marched into the...
A Captured German Munition Dump
(art) Made by: Orpen, William 1917
image: a scene of the remains of a German ammunition dump. There are three dead German soldiers slumped in the foreground amongst boxes of ammunition. A column of British soldiers marches along the road beyond to the right of the composition. They walk...
German Prisoners by the Roadside
(art) Made by: Orpen, William 1917
image: four German prisoners-of-war in the foreground, three standing and one sitting on the ground, look towards a column of British infantrymen marching along a road running across the composition. Two of the POWs have bandaged heads. There are some...