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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Collections search

One Hour Before Dinner- Waiting To Get Hot Water for Dish Washing
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1917
image: a scene in a camp. Prisoners stand around in groups in a small yard. To the left is a row of huts. To the right prisoners stand in line with a row of buckets. Amongst the crowd two prisoners carry a barrow of coal towards a hut in the background...
Waiting For Dinner In The Huts
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1916-06-01
image: a view along a long, wooden hut in an internment camp. Bunks line the walls and clothing and fabric hang from hooks on the bunks and from the wooden beams. Down the centre of the room there is a row of wooden tables, laid with enamel plates and...
Overnight Snowfall Melting Into Slush
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1917-04-11
image: a scene in a camp. Prisoners stand around in the melting snow in a small yard between some wooden huts. In the background, on the other side of a wire fence, is a row of huts stretching towards some low hills.
Last Supper Before Returning Feb. 1919
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1919-02-23
image: a view along a table inside a wooden hut in an internment camp. A group of men sit around the table eating from enamel plates. On the left two men stand to serve the food. There are bunks along the wall either side of the table and clothes and...
Storm and Rainbow, Symbol for Near End of War 1918
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1918-08-23
image: a view across a camp with prisoners standing around in the foreground and some low huts surrounded by a perimeter fence behind them. In the distance there are some low hills with a rainbow rising up to a dramatic cloudscape.
View of A POW Camp, Isle of Man, 1915-1919
(art) Made by: Kenner, George 1918-05-01
image: a view looking down at the camp from a hillside, with a seated prisoner in the foreground. The camp stands in a valley and consists of rows of low huts, surrounded by a high wire fence. On the hillside in the foreground prisoners in brown clothing...