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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Living Quarters on a Dispersed 'Z' (Rocket AA) Battery Site
(art) Made by: Sorrell, Alan 1943
image: a hutted camp with Nissen huts set amongst trees, with RAF airmen walking and cycling along the road in the foreground, seemingly on their way back to the camp. On the corner of the side road that leads to the camp is a sign marked 'Z Site',...
A Hutted Encampment
(art) Made by: Sorrell, Alan 1943
image: a detailed view from above of an RAF camp set amongst trees. The camp is full of Nissen huts with troops walking and cycling along the connecting roads, the main one of which runs from the bottom right corner in the foreground to the top left in...
Canadian Troops replacing Track
(art) Made by: Lamb, Henry (MC) (RA) 1941
image: four Canadian troops struggle to replace tank track in the countryside. Three troops stand with their backs to the viewer, along the side of the tank while the fourth lies on the ground, partially under the tank, holding a rope taught.
A Command Post, H.A.A. : Royal Canadian Artillery
(art) Made by: Lamb, Henry (MC) (RA) 1942
image: an anti-aircraft battery. On the left is a soldier keeping look out. On the right three other soldiers lean against the brick walls of the battery. Behind them a large piece of equipment stands covered in a green tarpaulin. An anti-aircraft gun...
An Air Raid Warden at Kano, Northern Nigeria
(art) Made by: Trevelyan, Julian (RA) 1942
image: A night scene of the town of Kano, in Nigeria. In the foreground the air raid warden stands holding what appears to be a long trumpet. He wears a white robe and a tin hat. Behind and around him the townspeople carry out their routine activities of...
A CH (Chain Home) Radar Station on the East Coast
(art) Made by: Rawlinson, William Thomas 1946
image: Standard steel transmitter towers in the foreground with wooden receiver towers in the background. In the foreground are piles of tires, some vegetation and a line of barbed wire fencing.
A Covering for a Gun-site
(art) Made by: Richards, Albert 1942
image: soldiers at work in a clearing, assembling a framework which is partly covered in tarpaulin. There is snow on the ground and several soldiers are prodding the tarpaulin with sticks to dislodge the snow from the roof of the structure.
A Liaison Officer arriving at the HQ of an Armoured Division
(art) Made by: Freeth, Thomas 1943
image: the liaison officer reaches into a parked Dingo while a second soldier stands at his side holding a white board. They are in a clearing in a wood. In front of the jeep there is an armoured command vehicle parked under a suspended camouflage net.
Divisional HQ in Convoy at First Light
(art) Made by: Freeth, Thomas 1944
image: a scene at dawn. Army trucks, accompanied by motorbikes, drive in convoy through the countryside, along a straight road over a hill, away from the artist.
A Roadside Market Scene
(art) Made by: Ferguson, T 1940
image: a group of peasants gather around a stack of baskets filled with corn on the side of a road. The road runs through cornfields towards mountains in the distance.