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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Land Drainage: Overtime
(art) Made by: Casson, Bernard
image: a rural scene with women of the Women's Land Army working on land drainage. Four cranes are being used to create and maintain a series of drainage ditches filled with water. One of these cranes to the left has sunk into a water-logged patch of...
Women's Land Army Reclaiming Land for the Buckinghamshire War Agricultural Committee
(art) Made by: Trivick, Henry Houghton 1944
image: A member of the Women's Land Army ploughs a tree lined plot of land, driving a tractor trailed by a plough.
Loading Logs on a Tractor at a Banffshire Lumber Camp
(art) Made by: Gabain, Ethel Leontine 1941
image: Five 'land girls' load logs onto a trailor, pulled by a tractor.
Women's Land Army : Ditching
(art) Made by: Daniels, Leonard 1943
image: in the foreground a landgirl stands with her foot on a tree stump as she turns down the top of her boot. Behind her three other, similarly dressed women stand in a stream, digging. Two men stand in the field in the background watching the women at...
Land Army Girls going to Bed
(art) Made by: Dunbar, Evelyn Mary 1943
image: Interior of a billet with bunk beds and Women's Land Army girls preparing for bed.
Milking Practice with Artificial Udders
(art) Made by: Dunbar, Evelyn Mary 1940
image: Three Land Army girls practising with artificial rubber 'udders', learning the milking technique.
A Canning Demonstration
(art) Made by: Dunbar, Evelyn Mary 1940
image: interior of a village hall with two women demonstrating the preservation of fruit and vegetables, watched by an audience of women
Women's Land Army Dairy Training
(art) Made by: Dunbar, Evelyn Mary 1940
image: Inside a dairy with women washing equipment and another rolling a milk-churn in centre foreground
Land Girls unloading Flax
(art) Made by: Lavrin, Nora
War Artists Advisory Committee purchase