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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The Field Cashier's Office at Berneville
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: A farmyard with soldiers going in and out of a building on the right via a double staircase. One soldier stands to attention next to the stairs. There are two military vehicles in left side of the image. Two bare-bottomed children are playing in...
Firing on the Ranges
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: Three British officers chat to each other in the foreground. In the background a soldier stands with his arm in the air, signaling for a field gun to be fired.
With the 300th: Lunch in the Nieppe Forest
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: Two soldiers lean against the back of a truck in the forest, drinking from a bottle. There are two other soldiers in the background, reading a map.
With the 300th: Working Party in the Rain, April 1940
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940-04-01
image: A working party wearing capes and helmets stand huddled together, next to a house with shutters. One of them is looking away down the road, towards an approaching truck. image verso: Study for the finished drawing overleaf. Line drawing of the...
With the 300th: Gun Positions
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image:The scene is at the edge of a wood. Foreground left and background left there are guns dug in, manned by two gunners. Right, leaning against a tree is another soldier standing. Before him, also leaning against the tree is a motor cycle.
With the 300th: Outside the Billets at Merris
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: A group of soldiers in a doorway. One is squatting on the doorstep, smoking a pipe. To their right is a washing line hung over a fenced garden.
With the 300th: The Sergeants' Mess at Merris
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: A domestic interior in which three soldiers are sitting around a table. In the foreground a sergeant leans near the stove, chatting to a woman who appears to be sewing.
With the 300th: A Farmyard at Merris
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940
image: A view of a French farmyard. To the right is a group of soldiers with their backs to us, reporting to their Sergeant Major. A soldier at the back is being harassed by a caged black dog. To the left a soldier is climbing a ladder to the hayloft and...
With the 300th: Parade Outside the Battery Office at Merris, April 1940
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940-04-01
image: A platoon stands easy in the road, to the left side of the image. There is a house, the ground floor of which is a café. At the other side of the street right, left of which is a flat landscape.
Bofors at Tournai, May 1940
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1940-05-01
image: A view of a lorry full of soldiers is parked in the town square of Tournai. A covered anti-aircraft gun is attched to back of the lorry. In the foreground there is a motorbike parked. On the other side a sentry stands with his gun aimed at the sky.