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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De-lousing Shed, Stalag IVB, Germany 1944
(art) Made by: Charlton, Arthur 1944
image: The interior of a de-lousing shed. Thirteen naked and emaciated men, their heads shaven, sit and stand in the shed. A German guard stands in the open doorway in the far right, and a guard tower can be seen in the distance. Three figures are...
Interior of a Prisoner of War Hut, Stalag IVB, Germany 1944
(art) Made by: Charlton, Arthur 1944
image: The interior of a Prisoner of War hut. Several emaciated and dejected figures sit on wooden bunks stacked three high in the left of the composition. Five more Prisoners and a German guard stand around a large brick stove, on top of which they are...
Prisoner of War, Stalag IVB, Germany 1944
(art) Made by: Charlton, Arthur 1944
image: The interior of a Prisoner of War hut, showing two figures sitting on their wooden bunks. The main figure is bare to the waist, emaciated and holding a metal mess-tin, his jacket hangs from a nail on the wooden strut to his right. The figure in...
Interior of a Prisoner of War Hut, Stalag IVB, Germany 1944
(art) Made by: Charlton, Arthur 1944
image: The interior of a Prisoner of War hut showing rows of wooden bunks with men sitting and lying in them. The centre aisle leads to a window. Light streams into the room illuminating a group of men standing by the far wall.
Interior of a Prisoner of War Hut, Stalag IVB, Germany 1944
(art) Made by: Charlton, Arthur 1944
image: The interior of a Prisoner of War hut. Several emaciated and dejected figures sit at two tables in the lower right, a Red Cross parcel lying on the table in the foreground. Light streams in from an open door centre right, illuminating more figures...
Packing Food Parcels for Prisoners of War at a Red Cross Depot, c.1943
(art) Made by: Meninsky, Bernard 1943
image: A warehouse interior. Three women, dressed respectively in yellow and red dresses and a blue overall, stand behind a packing table lined with open boxes prepared for Red Cross food parcels.