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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BREATHING SPACE [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Shaw, Alexander (Production individual) 1943-09
Documentary which shows some of the spare-time activities of service personnel and civilians during the war.
TOMORROW IS THEIRS [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Board of Education (Production sponsor) 1940-12
Secondary Education in Wartime.
CEMA [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Dickinson, Desmond (Production individual) 1942
A documentary released in September 1942 about the precursor to the Arts Council, the wartime Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), featuring an introduction by education minister R A Butler, an art exhibition in a factory and live...
VILLAGE SCHOOL [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Board of Education (Production sponsor) 1940-10
A film about the English system of elementary education which, the opening titles allege, would not be tolerated under a Nazi regime.
FRENCH TOWN : September 1944 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Alwyn, William (Production individual) 1945
Portrait of a French town immediately after the liberation.
BRITAIN'S YOUTH [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Shaw, Alexander (Production individual) 1940-10
The cricketer, C B Fry advances his explanation why "when the call to arms came for our men to serve their country in the fighting forces, there was no talk of a C3 nation" - because the British enjoy taking exercise ("we are not a nation of spectators:...
MANPOWER [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Robinson, Robert (Production cast) 1943
A film to illustrate the themes "the nation that wins a war is the one that plans best its use of manpower" and "our man power means every single one of us".
WARTIME FACTORY [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Anstey, Edgar (Production individual) 1940
Documentary portrays the improved welfare enjoyed in wartime by men and women workers at a typical aircraft factory, and the precautions taken against enemy attack.
THE NEW BRITAIN [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Mathieson, Muir (Production individual) 1940-10
Presents the Britain of the years following the First World War as a kind of terrestrial paradise in the making ("a future that was to be happier day after day") marred by only one mistake ("we forgot Germany") which has led to the renewal of war.
TANK PATROL [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Sagovsky, V (Production individual) 1941
A fictional story of the breakout of a British tank trapped behind Italian lines in North Africa.