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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LIFE BEGINS AGAIN [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Douglas, R (Production individual) 1942
The latest methods of rehabilitating injured men so that they can resume work.
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...
A FEW OUNCES A DAY [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1941-10
An explanation, by means of animated 'Isotype' diagrams, of the need for salvage.
NIGHT SHIFT [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1942-05
The story of a single night-shift at a factory producing guns for tanks (No 11 Royal Ordnance Factory, Newport, Wales ).
WORKER AND WAR-FRONT MAGAZINE ISSUE NO 3 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1942-11
A newsreel highlighting the part played by ordinary working men and women in Britain's war effort featuring reports about the speedy unloading of ships' cargoes by Britain's dockers, the unexpected benefits of the scrap metal drive for ordinary Britons,...
CHINA [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1942
A sympathetic look at "the storm centre of the war in the Far East".
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1941-10
Books in Britain's war effort: film contrasts the deliberate Nazi book-burning of 1933 with the accidental burning of books in London in the Blitz, and with Britain's special efforts to step up book production and circulation.
WORKER AND WAR-FRONT MAGAZINE ISSUE No 11 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1944-04
A wartime newsreel highlighting the part played by ordinary working men and women in Britain's war effort featuring a report on the manufacture of portable wire mesh tracking, a 'Make Do and Mend' exchange scheme for children's clothing and a short...
WEST INDIES CALLING [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1943
Film records and illustrates a BBC broadcast by West Indians in Britain to explain to the British people the West Indians' contribution to the war effort.
WORKER AND WAR-FRONT MAGAZINE ISSUE NO 12 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1944-09-01
A wartime newsreel highlighting the part played by ordinary working men and women in Britain's war effort featuring an exhibition on the plans for the post-war reconstruction of a London borough, how a female Post Office worker persuaded her employers to...