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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Prisoners beside the Road near Homs
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1943
image: A British soldier guarding a group of German Prisoners of War. The prisoners sit in a group under a bank, one is wounded with is head bandaged and his arm in a sling. A second British soldier 'digs-in' on the rise above.
Italian POW, Tobruk, 1943
(art) Made by: Preis, Eli 1943
No description available
Italian POW, Tobruk, 1943
(art) Made by: Preis, Eli 1943
No description available
Italian POWs at Carpenter's Shop, Tobruk, 1944
(art) Made by: Preis, Eli 1944
No description available
Prisoners at Gwalal
(art) Made by: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving 1942
image: prisoners-of-war gathered in a ring and guarded by British troops. In the centre background, they are being loaded onto trucks. A Bren Gun Carrier is visible on the left and hills can be seen in the background.
Study for Cesena: the Barrack Room of a Basuto Pioneer Company Under Winter Conditions
(art) Made by: Bawden, Edward 1945
image: A sketch of the right half of an interior of a barrack-room, with a Basuto Pioneer sitting in the immediate foreground.
Soldiers
(art) Made by: Bawden, Edward 1945
image: A sketch of a group of soldiers sitting and standing in a line. Some of them could be Basuto Pioneers, as they are wearing slouch hats. Below the main sketch is another smaller drawing of a group of soldiers wearing fatigue caps standing by a tree.
The Battle of Egypt, 1942: Italian Prisoners in a Corps Prisoner-of-War Cage
(art) Made by: Gross, Anthony (CBE) (RA) 1942
image: Nine Italian prisoners of war are held captive in a camp secured with tall barbed wire fencing. Four are standing and the other five are seated.