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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A Whippet Tank
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: a front view of a light Whippet Tank standing on broken ground with a row of trees in the background. Two heavy tanks are visible in the background, moving left to right.
At Work at the Dollis Hill Experimental Ground
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: two men at work on a Mark IV Female tank at the Experimental Depot for Tanks at Dollis Hill. One man crouches down at the bottom of the tank whilst the other pulls on a length of rope or cable, as they appear to be winching the tank up in order to...
A Whippet Tank at the Dollis Hill Experimental Ground
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: a side view of a Whippet Tank at the Experimental Depot for Tanks at Dollis Hill. Depot buildings and trees are visible in the background to the left. To the right there is a bare field with a single tree and a telegraph pole in the distance.
A Tadpole Tank
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: a rear view of a Mark IV Male tank, adapted with a 'tadpole' tail not visible within the composition, moving up a bank of broken ground. The sky appears overcast, and a biplane is in flight in the upper left of the picture. The whole image is...
A Whippet Tank at the Dollis Hill Experimental Ground
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: an angled view of a Whippet Tank seen from behind standing on broken ground at the Experimental Depot for Tanks at Dollis Hill. This is set against a background of sight screens, used to prevent the experiments from being seen, beyond which is a...
A Mark IV Tank - The Experimental Ground, Dollis Hill, London, N.W.
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: a Mark IV tank stands side on facing left on broken ground. At the rear of the tank stands a man in overalls and blue cap, leaning on a spade. To the right is the roof of a shed where the tank has been stored. A few trees are visible in the...
The Doctor
(art) Made by: Nevinson, C R W (ARA) 1916
image: a scene at a dressing station with the wounded being treated by medical orderlies and a doctor. In the foreground a soldier sitting up on a stretcher on the floor cries out in pain as a doctor examines his head wound. Other figures pass in the...
Survivors at Arras
(art) Made by: Nevinson, C R W (ARA) 1918
image: the facade of a few houses in a cobbled street in Arras. The central building has a tobacconist's shop on the ground floor. Those either side have suffered bomb damage, their roofs reduced to just wooden frameworks.
A Flooded Trench on the Yser
(art) Made by: Nevinson, C R W (ARA) 1916
image: A view looking down a trench surrounded by a flooded landscape. The trench is protected by sandbags and it is raining.