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.

Main menu

IWM London
London
Open daily 10am - 6pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December

Admission is free
- What's On
- Visiting Information
IWM North
Manchester
Open daily 10am - 5pm
Last admission 4.30pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December

Admission is free
- What's On
- Visiting Information
IWM Duxford
Cambridgeshire
Open daily

Summer 10am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm

Winter 10am - 4pm
Last admission 3pm

Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information
Churchill War Rooms
London
Open daily 9.30am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information
HMS Belfast
London
Open daily 10am - 6pm
Last admission 5pm
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December
- What's On
- Visiting Information

Collections search

The American Base, River Foyle, near Londonderry
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1944
image: a gun boat moored at a small jetty with low hills in the distance. A motor launch sails by towards the shore.
The Cruiser HMS Enterprise at Simonstown, South Africa : Christmas 1945
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1945
image: HMS Enterprise moored in an enclosed dock. There is an anchor lying on the quay side in the foreground, while mountains rise up in the background.
An AA Battery : River Medway
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1943
image: a view looking down on several anti-aircraft guns, including two Bofors guns, in gun emplacements with a few soldiers moving around in between the maze of walls in the battery. The battery is positioned on the coast with the sea and a small dock...
An AA Battery
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1943
image: Two figures stand in the centre of a road in the foreground. Behind them, just off the roadside, is a gun battery. An anti-aircraft gun points up to the sky, surrounded by a circular stone wall and sandbags. The rooftops of a large town lie...
Rendezvous in Scotland
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1944
image: some Merchant Navy ships at sea with mountains and in the distance.
A Royal Observer Corps Post, Rottingdean
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1944
image: a view looking down on two observers, one wearing headphones, facing upwards towards the sky with binoculars and a aircraft range finder. They stand in a small brick enclosure on a hillside near the coast.
Hangars Under Construction, RAF Camp, Henlow
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA)
image: a view across a airfield where there are four curved, three semi-circular hangars in a row and a fourth under construction in the distance. There is a Hurricane fighter in the hangar nearest the artist.
A Parachute-landing
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1940
image: Five paratroopers have landed on the ground and are grappling with their open parachutes. The soldier in the right foreground has a green parachute and another man behind has a red one. In the right background, other paratroopers are in the...
A Camouflaged Sniper watching his Target, Llanberis, North Wales
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1943
image: a head and shoulders depiction of a British infantry sniper in training in Wales. The sniper is shown wearing camouflaged kit and black face paint, aiming his rifle at a distant target.
Training at a Battle School, Llanberis, North Wales
(art) Made by: Pitchforth, Roland Vivian (RA) 1943
image: a view looking down on British Army training exercises in the lake in Llanberis. There are two rowing boats full of soldiers in the water, surrounded by explosions and clouds of smoke. Rows of soldiers are also lying on the bank, pointing their...