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.

Main menu

IWM London
London
Open daily 10am - 6pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December

Admission is free
- What's On
- Visiting Information
IWM North
Manchester
Open daily 10am - 5pm
Last admission 4.30pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December

Admission is free
- What's On
- Visiting Information
IWM Duxford
Cambridgeshire
Open daily

Summer 10am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm

Winter 10am - 4pm
Last admission 3pm

Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information
Churchill War Rooms
London
Open daily 9.30am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information
HMS Belfast
London
Open daily 10am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information

Collections search

A Sunday Morning with the Home Guard: Storming an Enemy Post
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1941
image: A country lane with a group of home guards rushing along. They are turning a corner, through a gate next to a small low building. There is one man, further down the lane, lagging behind.
A Sunday Morning with the Home Guard: Advance on the First Objective
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1941
image: A group of Home Guards moving through parkland towards a large house. The men at the front, near the house, are lying on the ground while the others appear to be running.
Limestone Quarry Trucks
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: crates of quarried stone sitting in wheeled trucks on rails that end at the quarry face. In the background there is a third crate which is empty, and a figure standing nearby.
Lime Quarry Trucks
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: a number of red quarry trucks, the foremost of which is filled with limestone. They run on tracks which run to the quarry face on the left. A worker is visible at the quarry face.
Limestone Quarry
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: some figures stand on a rocky ledge loading rocks into small carts on tracks in the quarry.
The Quarry Truck
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: a detailed image of a quarry truck on a railway track filled with lumps of stone, with a face of the quarry visible behind. Other filled quarry trucks are also visible further down the track.
Men in the Quarry
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: in the foreground there are two figures facing towards the jagged peaks of rock in the background. There are tracks curving towards the background on which there are small carts.
The Lime Quarry
(art) Made by: Sutherland, Graham (OM) 1943
image: a two tiered white rock emerges from a flat landscape with a road winding towards the left under a dark sky.
Sign-posts, 1940
(art) Made by: Seago, Edward Brian 1940
image: A pile of sign posts stacked up haphazardly in front of a shed in a rural setting. The pile is surrounded by neat stacks of planks and piping.
Turning a New Stall in a Coalmine
(art) Made by: Evans, Vincent
image: A view inside a coal mine at the point at which a tunnel splits into two. In the tunnel on the right a man is crouching next to a large pile of rocks. In the tunnel on the left there is a cart, behind which a man wearing a flat cap is standing....