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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Collections search

No Surrender 12
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a man walks along a paved street with what appears to be a pile of newspapers under his arm. The wall beside the street is covered in a graffitti depiction of a British riot soldier wearing uniform, helmet and holding a truncheon, with a skull-...
No Surrender 13
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a man to the right stands making petrol bombs, petrol-filled glass bottles with cloth rags for fuses. He looks down at a man lying unconscious on the ground beside him, whilst another man walks casually towards the background.
No Surrender 8
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a man and a woman stand in the foreground in front of a wall, which has 'IRA' scrawled in graffitti. The man gestures at a helicopter that flies overhead. The woman crouches down, a bottle and can in either hand, with another bottle on the ground...
No Surrender 9
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a man stands naked with his arms up and his clothes piled on the ground at his feet. In front of him another man kneels on the ground with his hands behind his back. A forearm, upon which is a Union Jack symbol, points at the standing man's back.
No Surrender 14
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1987
image: a man with his hands bound together with metal chains stands behind a cage-like metal fence. Beside him are three other men, two of them wearing glasses, who appear to be shouting and gesturing.
Wasteland 11
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a building site with several workmen constructing a building, with a large image of an old man dominating the foreground. There is a mother with two children in the lower foreground and an old woman standing to the right. Various political...
Wasteland 12
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a crowd of Ulster Unionists on a political march in Belfast, Northern Ireland, protesting against the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. They stand in front of a political leader, who makes a speech into microphones mounted on a lecturn...
No Surrender 1
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a view through a window of a desolate urban scene. A long wall divides the view, the wall itself covered with various graffitti, including the marks of the IRA. Buildings within the wall are similarly covered in graffitti, with large metal...
No Surrender 2
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: a mother and her two children standing in front of a border post, with a tall fence, watchtower and numerous surveillance cameras in the background. The woman holds her daughter's hand and pushes a pram containing her young son.
No Surrender 4
(art) Made by: Davies, Anthony 1986
image: two riot police wearing helmets and holding truncheons bend over a prostrate man lying on the ground. The feet of another person lying on the ground are visible in the left foreground.