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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Indian Prisoners escaped from the Turks
(art) Made by: McBey, James 1918-11-08
image: three Indian men, previously prisoners of Turkish forces, sit on the ground on a small earth mound. Behind them to the right an Indian Army trooper stands before some horses and a tent. Further back further horses are grazing on flat land near...
Salon des Humoristes [Salon of the Cartoonists]
(posters) Made by: Neumont, Maurice (artist) 1918
whole: the image occupies the whole, with the title and text integrated and positioned down the right-hand side, in orange and in black. Further text is integrated and positioned in orange, lower left. All set against a white background. image: a cartoon...
Your Bombers in Action
(posters) Made by: Unknown (artist)
whole: the four images are positioned in the lower three-quarters, each held within a narrow black border. A badge featuring an elephant and a tree is placed in the lower right, held within a black circular border. The title and main text are separate...
Austrian Prisoners driven in from the Austrian Lines, 1918
(art) Made by: Carline, Sydney W 1918
image: A scene at dusk of a column of Austrian prisoners-of-war in greatcoats and carrying packs. They are guarded by an Italian officer on a grey horse, holding an upraised sword, the tip resting on his shoulder.
"Kamarad"
(art) Made by: Orpen, William 1917
image: a sketch of the head of an unshaven German prisoner of war, his left hand held palm out towards the viewer, a speech bubble with the word 'KAMARAD' to the right of the image. There is a small sketch of a horse and another of a nurse leaning to her...
Tending Rabbits, Milag Nord
(art) Made by: Worsley, John 1944-04-01
image: a prisoner of war stands with his hands in his pockets, looking at the artist. He is standing with a small rabbit enclosure containing a hutch and two rabbits, surrounded by a low fence. Two more POWs are crouching down, cleaning out the hutch.
Motor Transport Troops and German Prisoners. Chaulnes, Autumn 1918
(art) Made by: Dodgson, John A 1918
image: A crowded scene with British soldiers and German prisoners amongst a construction site. Three British soldiers, one German prisoner and a small dog stand in the centre of the composition next to a motorcycle with debris in the foreground. The...
Study for 'Motor Transport Troops and German Prisoners. Chaulnes, Autumn 1918'
(art) Made by: Dodgson, John A 1918
image: A crowded scene with British soldiers and German prisoners amongst a construction site. Three British soldiers, one German prisoner and a small dog stand in the centre of the composition next to a motorcycle with debris in the foreground. The...
British Escapers Brought Back in Chains to Mecheria Internment Camp, Algeria
(art) Made by: Cook, John Kingsley 1942
image: A line of six British prisoners trudge through the desert. They move from right to left, their bare heads bent and linked together by a long chain attached to their wrists. They are accompanied by three horsemen and a soldier on foot. The guards...
A Turkish Sniper
(art) Made by: McBey, James 1917-11-07
image: in the centre there is a side view of a prisoner of war, a Turkish sniper, seated dejectedly on the ground. Beyond him a soldier stands by a horse, and several figures beyond him. In the background the landscape is lined by the walls of Jerusalem.