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...
MALTA CONVOY [Main Title]
(film) Made by: British Movietone News (Production company) 1944
A dramatic eye-witness account by Royal Navy Commander Anthony Kimmins of Operation 'Pedestal' (10 - 15 August 1942), the Royal Navy's bold and ambitious attempt to resupply the besieged island of Malta that narrowly succeeded in achieving its object...
Tanks - a Minstry of Information Exhibition
(posters) Made by: Ministry of Information (publisher/sponsor) 1941
whole: the image occupies the whole. The title and text are integrated and located in the lower half, in red, in white, and in red held within a black inset. image: a depiction of a Crusader tank driving up a hill, set against an overcast sky. text:...
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...
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...
Together
(posters) Made by: Ministry of Information (publisher/sponsor) 1939
whole: the image fills the majority of the design, with text, in yellow, contained within a black horizontal band at the bottom. All is surrounded by a plain white border. image: a group of seven British empire military personnel in uniform. From left to...
WORKER AND WAR-FRONT MAGAZINE ISSUE NO 9 [Main Title]
(film) Made by: Paul Rotha Productions (Production company) 1944-01
A wartime newsreel highlighting the part played by ordinary working men and women in Britain's war effort featuring London taxi drivers in the Home Guard, women manufacturing diamond wire dies for the production of electrical wiring and felling timber...
MEMORY OF THE CAMPS [Allocated Title]
(film) Made by: McAllister, Stewart (Production individual) 1945
Fine-cut mute version of a documentary based on archive film of the concentration camps liberated by British and American forces in Western Europe, and the extermination camps freed by the Red Army in Eastern Europe, intended for screening to German...