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 Last Message
(art) Made by: Hatherell, William 1918
image: a Red Cross nurse seated at the bedside of a dying soldier. The soldier lies weakly with his head propped up on pillows, a bandage running over one eye and across the side of his face. The nurse holds a pad and pen in her hands and is taking down...
What a Red Rag is to a Bull - The Red Cross is to the Hun
(posters) Made by: British Red Cross Society (publisher/sponsor) 1918
whole: the image occupies the majority of the upper half, held within a black border. The title is separate and positioned across the top edge and across the centre, in black and in red. The text is separate and positioned in the lower half, also in...
Motor Ambulance
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N 1918
image: a view along a road with a small two berth motor ambulance garage on the right. The garage is supported with wooden beams and covered with sandbags, with two motor ambulance parked inside and a man standing at the front of the foremost vehicle....
Dug-outs, Promontoire
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N 1917
image: a series of dug-outs and huts built into terraces on the slope of a hill on the Western Front. They have been built into the slope and extended with sandbags, planks of wood and corrugated iron. Wooden stairs link the terraces and several men are...
St Thomas, Argonne, Poste de Secours
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N
image: a view of a medical aid post housed in some damaged stone buildings. The post itself has two doors and three windows, with the remains of a stone wall on the floor above. A French soldier stands by the door to the left, which is open. Several...
La Veille Dompierre, Champagne : Kitchen Car and Billet
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N 1917
image: a man of the British Red Cross sits on an earth bank washing something in a large bucket of water. To the right is a motor ambulance used as a mobile kitchen, with the rear door ajar and a broom leaning against the back. A wooden ramp leads up the...
Treslon. A Dug-Out
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N 1918
image: an interior view of a cellar being used as a dug-out for living quarters by British medical personnel. A medical orderly, who appears to be reading, sits with his back to the viewer beside a small table. His greatcoat hangs from a wooden strut...
The Tunnel, Fort Tavenne
(art) Made by: Cotterell, Arthur N 1917-05-01
image: a view along railway tracks leading into a large tunnel built through a hillside. A man pushes a cart along a narrower set of tracks that runs parallel to the railway, with various debris littering the foreground. A group of men stand immediately...
Vauxhall Wharf: Loading BRCS Stores
(art) Made by: Spradbery, Walter E (DCM)
image: a view of Vauxhall Wharf on the banks of the river Thames in London, with boxes of medical supplies being transferred between an open-topped barge and a Red Cross truck. There is a large crane on the right and warehouses can be seen on the horizon.
A BRCS and OSJJ Officer in France
(art) Made by: Mackey, Haydn Reynolds (MM) 1918
image: A three quarter length portrait of an officer of the British Red Cross and St John's Ambulance. He wears a thick greatcoat and steel helmet, with a red cross armband on his left arm. He stands in front of a motor ambulance marked with a red cross...