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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Dop Dopter and D24. Two Tanks, Polcapelle
(art) Made by: Mudie-Cooke, Olive
image: a view along a road at Poelkapelle in Flanders, with two disabled British tanks by the roadside. To the right one of the tanks appears to have sunk into the siding, leaning slightly to the side. The tank to the left lies completely on its side,...
Derelict Tanks
(art) Made by: Paterson, Emily M
image: a landscape of a road with the remains of tanks on either side, amongst the trunks of blasted trees.
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.
Tanks Out of Action Left on Cambrai Battlefield, October 15th 1918
(art) Made by: Rose, Geoffrey K (MC) 1918-10-15
image: a sketch of three knocked out British tanks in a flat, largely featureless landscape.
A Derelict Tank, Ypres
(art) Made by: Hill, Adrian
image: a bleak battlefield landscape, with a tank in the centre right on the horizon.
Inverness Copse
(art) Made by: Holden, WFC 1919
image: a view of bomb damaged Inverness Copse on the Western Front; a landscape of mud, flooded shell holes, blasted trees and debris. On the horizon are two bombed out, abandoned British tanks.
A Derelict Tank, D.22, 1917
(art) Made by: Hill, Adrian 1917
image : a tank stands in a battlefield landscape. A number of graves marked by wooden crosses surround the tank.
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...
Tanks Passing Along a Road in France
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: three British Mark IV tanks advancing along a tree-lined road in northern France. The first and third of the tanks are Male, with six pounder guns in sponsons on the side, whilst the second is Female. All three tanks carry unditching beams...
Mark V Tanks Manoevering at Bovington, Dorset
(art) Made by: Adeney, W Bernard 1918
image: a Mark V Tank, covered in mud, teeters on the edge of the crest of a hill. Another tank disappears to the left at the bottom of the hill, while a third climbs a steep summit. Three figures stand on the top of a hill in the background.