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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Baking Native Bread
(art) Made by: McBey, James 1917-06-21
image: a view of a large room in which Egyptian cooks are in the process of kneading and baking bread. They work at long benches containing large sink-like recesses, within which the dough is contained.
An Oven : the bread for the front is baked at the base
(art) Made by: McBey, James 1917-06-21
image: three men of the British Army Service Corps stand before a huge oven, with a large tray full of loaves of bread to the right.
Ruhleben Prison Camp : the queue for bread from Denmark
(art) Made by: Jungman, Nico 1916-12-05
image: A long queue of numerous prisoners lines up outside a building of a prison camp. The queue forms an incomplete circle, stretching from the right foreground to the centre background. In the background a racecourse stand, a watchtower and two thin...
Malthouse at Writtle (used as Billets 1914); On Leave, 1916
(art) Made by: Rose, Geoffrey K (MC) 1916-08
image: an annotated sketch of a malthouse, with the kiln and cowl section housed between two larger sections of the building. There are trees in the background to the left.
The Bakeries, Dieppe, 1919
(art) Made by: Lavery, John (Sir) (RA) (RSA) 1919
image: A view along the length of the interior of a large bakery. Female workers, wearing caps covering their hair, can be seen at work. One woman on the right appears to be working on a large mound of dough on a table.
QMAAC Cookhouse, Rouxmesnil, 1919
(art) Made by: Lavery, John (Sir) (RA) (RSA) 1919
image: The interior of a Queen Mary's Auxiliary Army Corps cookhouse, which appears to be housed in a Nissen hut with a curved ceiling. There are large cookers with chimneys going up to the ceiling in the centre of the room. Six QMAAC women are shown at...
Food is ammunition - Don't waste it
(posters) Made by: Sheridan, John E (artist) 1918
whole: The image fills the upper three-quarters of the design with text in orange and green underneath it. All is set against a black background image: A wickerwork garden basket filled with vegetables and fruit. In the background, depicted in silhouette...
The Ordnance CO's Cookhouse, Henriville, Boulogne,
(art) Made by: Lavery, John (Sir) (RA) (RSA) 1919
image: The interior of a cookhouse with female workers preparing food. To the right is a line of cookers with long black chimneys rising to the ceiling, with women tending to them. Several British soldiers can be seen looking through the window on the...
In Billets, Winter: Rations Up
(art) Made by: Budd, Herbert A 1921
image: A scene showing distribution of rations among British soldiers billeted in a ruined farmhouse. A horse-drawn cart is delivering the rations in the left foreground. Some women are mingling with the soldiers, one holding a large basket. A woman is...
Untitled
(art) Made by: Léandre, Charles Lucien
image: two figures are positioned at the top of a hill in the foreground. The figure to the left stands holding a crucifix and a burning torch, fanning the raging battle that goes on beneath him, to the left. The more typically Christ-like figure to the...