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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TYNESIDE STORY [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hughes, Ken (Production individual) 1943
A dramatised account, with actors from a local theatre company, of the reopening for war production of the Tyneside shipbuilding yards closed down by the Depression.
WOMEN AWAY FROM HOME [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hankinson, Michael (Production individual) 1942-09
Some of the problems inherent in the conscription of women for factory work, in the form of three case histories.
ROYAL OBSERVER CORPS [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hankinson, Michael (Production individual) 1941-12
The functions of the Royal Observer Corps, a voluntary civilian organisation founded in 1925 and called by the commentary “the eyes of the air force.”
CANTEEN COMMAND [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hankinson, Michael (Production individual) 1943-11
Survey of the services provided by NAAFI.
BIRTH OF A TANK [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hankinson, Michael (Production individual) 1942-06
Construction of Valentine tanks; the film's purpose is to explain the value of planned sub-contracting, precisely carried out, and it follows production from a small part of a shock absorber to completed tanks, the commentary explaining each process.
OUT WORKING [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Gunn, Gilbert (Production individual) 1944-10
Outworking, "taking work to the workers", as a partial solution to the manpower problem in total war.
MEN FROM THE SEA [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Hughes, Ken (Production individual) 1943-08
Fictional 'case histories' are used to illustrate what follows a U-boat attack for the crews of damaged ships.
THE STAR AND THE SAND [Main Title]
(film) Made by: UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION (Production sponsor) 1944
The story of the camps set up in the Sinai Desert in January 1944 to accommodate Yugoslav refugees from the Nazi counter-offensive against Tito.
FIREWATCH DOG [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Gunn, Gilbert (Production individual) 1943
Second World War British Ministry of Information newsreel trailer reminding the public to fully extinguish all cigarettes.
IS YOUR JOURNEY REALLY NECESSARY? [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Gunn, Gilbert (Production individual) 1942
Second World War British Ministry of Information newsreel trailer asking the public to restrict their journeys in order to save fuel for the war effort.