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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Pleureuses d'un jour/Un petit drapeau M'sieur
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: A city park; in the centre of the composition, an elderly bourgeois, dressed in city clothes with top hat, monocle and cane, proffers a coin to an attractive young Red Cross collector. He stands in profile facing left and smiles lasciviously at...
Victime de l'Art ... [Victim of Art]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: Interior of an artist's studio in Montmartre: in the foreground of the composition sits a young woman on a high posing stool. She is in profile facing right, dressed in her day clothes and holding a newspaper. Her gaze is directed at a young...
Mélancolie [Melancholy]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: To the left of centre of the composition, the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II and his son, Crown Prince Wilhelm (Little Willy), both in profile looking to the right. The Crown Prince is in the foreground, seated upon a milestone which bears the legend...
Un ... zéro en chambre [One...no Shells in the Chamber]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: The bedroom of a courtesan: she sits to the right by her bed, her dress hanging over the chair arm, and is about to remove her chemise. Her head is turned over her shoulder to her client. He is an elderly bourgeois; standing in front of an...
Victime Boche [Boche Victim]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: The interior of a butcher's shop; in the centre of the composition stand two figures facing each other in profile. To the left, a heavy-jawed and avaricious butcher with badly cropped hair and wearing a white but slightly stained apron. He holds...
Victime de la vieillesse [Victim of Old Age]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: The hallway of an apartment block; at the left, in profile facing right, a young man descends the staircase. He is formally dressed, bowler hat, frock coat, high-heeled shoes tied with bows, a cane carried behind his back. A cigarette hangs from...
Victimes du pessimisme [Victims of Pessimism]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: A petit bourgeois interior; in the centre of the composition, the elders of a family sit around a small square, draped table, presumably following their evening meal. To the left, seated in a high-backed chair placed towards the viewer, is an...
Victime du sommeil ... [Victim of Tiredness]
(art) Made by: Domergue, Georges 1915
image: A bourgeois bedroom: in the centre of the composition, the lady of the house, her beribboned head turned away from the viewer begin to undress. She stands with her hands behind her back unlacing her dress. She speaks to her portly husband,...