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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WORKER AND WAR-FRONT MAGAZINE ISSUE NO 1 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1942-05
A newsreel highlighting the part played by ordinary working men and women in Britain's war effort featuring reports on a scheme to enable women war workers to buy food during working hours, the production of sand filters for aircraft and tank engines, a...
THE HARVEST SHALL COME [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Imperial Chemical Industries (Production sponsor) 1942
A film that calls upon the British people to maintain their wartime commitment to agriculture and the prosperity and well-being of everyone who works on the land after the war by telling the story of Tom Grimwood, an ordinary Suffolk farm labourer...
EXERCISE JANTZEN [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Army Kinematograph Service (Production company) 1943-07-22
Four-reel edited film with commentary and animated maps describing Exercise Jantzen, a large-scale amphibious exercise on the Pembrokeshire coast in July 1943, aimed at practising the supply organisation for a corps landing, and discussing the lessons of...
GWR EMERGENCY HEADQUARTERS ALDERMASTON [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Great Western Railway, Photographic Department (Production company) 1945
Colour film record of the Great Western Railway depot at Aldermaston, Berkshire, in 1944-45 (?).
LADIES ONLY [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Southern Railway (Production sponsor) 1942
British women take over jobs normally performed by men on the railways.
HOME DEFENCES [Allocated Title]
(film) Made by: War Office Film Unit (Production company) 1940-09-23
An armoured train on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway in Kent.
YOU CAN'T DECLARE PEACE [Allocated Title]
(film) Made by: Air Ministry (Production sponsor) 1945-04-09
Mute unedited rushes for a cancelled film project by the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit, showing industrial works (probably a coal gas works) in an unidentified part of the UK.