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...
The Wire
(art) Made by: Russell, J A 1945
image: the tall wire fence of a prisoner-of-war camp. Directly behind the wire fence to the left is a wooden watchtower built on stilts, occupied by a German guard whose head and shoulders are faintly silhouetted against the sky. Another watchtower and...
RAF Signals Vehicles: 83 Group Control Centre, RAF
(art) Made by: Monnington, Walter Thomas (Sir) (PRA)
image: Three RAF signal vehicles surrounded by communication pylons, are situated in a flat featureless landscape. A small tent is pitched to the right of the vehicles.
Stalking the Night Raider
(art) Made by: Nockolds, Roy Anthony 1941
image: a Defiant aircraft flying at night above a moonlit coastline. The beams of two searchlights cross just beneath the plane.
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.
Fortresses taking off from Massicault, North Africa
(art) Made by: Lee, L S 1943-09-01
image: A runway in the desert surrounded by barbed wire. Two Flying Fortresses are preparing to take off. In the distance others can be seen already in the sky.
The Battle of Egypt, 1942: Desert Scene
(art) Made by: Gross, Anthony (CBE) (RA) 1942
image: A desolate, desert scene with a scattering of tents, military vehicles and a solitary Hurricane aircraft.
The Old Flying Control Centre, Sharjah, Arabia
(art) Made by: Hailstone, Harold William
image: A view across an aerodrome in the desert, with a temporary wooden observation tower and aircraft.
Rocket-firing Typhoons at the Falaise Gap, Normandy, 1944
(art) Made by: Wootton, Frank 1944
image: several rocket-firing Typhoons fly above a scene of devastation, with a number of damaged German tanks and vehicles littering the side of a country road. There are a number of buildings of a village behind the road and all is set against a large...