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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Kut, 22 July 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view across the roofs of Kut in Mesopotamia from the roof of a house, a narrow street running from the centre foreground to the upper left. A grove of date palms grow in the distance, upper left. A felucca is moored on the bank of the River...
Native Craft on the Tigris, Amara, Mesopotamia, 20 July 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view of the banks of the River Tigris. There are boats moored by the shore with several figures standing by. Date palms line the shore in the upper mid-ground.
Kut-el-Amara, 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view across a bomb damaged quarter of the city of Kut in Mesopotamia, seen from the roof of a house. Date palms grow between the houses, and the horizon is flat with only desert beyond the city boundary.
Kut, 22 July 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view across a walled area in Kut in Mesopotamia from the flat roof of a house. The roof of another house stands in the lower right. A grove of date palms grow behind the wall in the mid-ground, and there is a felucca moored on the bank of the...
Sketch of a Cloud of Smoke, 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a quick sketch of a cloud of black smoke from an explosion, with hills in the background.
Lebanon Mountains South of Tripoli, 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view of the Lebanon mountains with villages dotted on the slopes. The flat valley floor is shown in the right foreground.
Sketch of a Citadel, Lebanon, 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view along a track road towards an ancient mound, possibly the remains of a citadel or fort. Two figures leading two pairs of camels are in the right of the composition, with the buildings of a village to the left.
Indian Camp, Al Hillah, near Babylon, 4 July 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a view of an Indian Army camp among a grove of palms. A large tent dominates the centre of the composition, with two smaller two-man tents off to the left. An Indian soldier wearing a turban stands in the centre right.
Study for 'Flying Over the Desert at Sunset, Mesopotamia, 1919' (IWM ART 4623)
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: a rough sketch of a bright sun blazing over a Mesopotamian landscape with an RAF biplane in flight and the Euphrates River visible below. The drawing is annotated with colour notes.
Flying Over the Desert at Sunset, Mesopotamia, 1919
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1919
image: An unnaturally bright sun blazes over a landscape with a river. There is an aircraft flying over the desert in the lower right of the composition.