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

ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "COLDITZ CASTLE" (photographs) Made by: Unknown 1941
Lieutenant Leo de Hartog holding 'Moritz', one of the two dummy heads of POWs made to mislead German guards during daily roll calls. Oflag IVC, Colditz. 'Moritz' and 'Max' (second dummy) were made of plaster by a fellow Polish POW and painted by another...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer 1941
Senior officers of the Oflag IVC in front of Colditz Castle chapel. From left to right: Unidentified Yugoslavian Army Captain; Colonel de Smet, Belgian Army; Admiral Józef Unrug, Polish Navy; General Tadeusz Piskor, Polish Army; Colonel David Stayner,...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer
Group of Dutch Navy officers and 'Moritz', one of the two dummy heads of POWs made to mislead German guards during daily roll calls. Oflag IVC, Colditz. Standing from left to right: Lieutenant Gijs van Nimwegen, Lieutenant Diederick van Lynden,...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "COLDITZ CASTLE" (photographs) Made by: Unknown 1941
Senior officers of the Oflag IVC in front of the Colditz Castle chapel. From left to right: Seated - Admiral Józef Unrug, Polish Navy; General Tadeusz Piskor, Polish Army; General Le Bleu, French Army. Standing - unidentified Yugoslavian Army Captain;...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "COLDITZ CASTLE" (photographs) 1941-05-12
The rope of bed linen hanging on the west front of the guardhouse after the Polish Army Officers, Lieutenant Mikołaj Surmanowicz and Second Lieutenant Mieczysław Chmiel, had been caught in mid-air, sliding past a window. Oflag IVC, Colditz Castle.
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer 1941
Group of Polish POWs in park at the Colditz Castle, Oflag IVC. From left to right: Front row, seated - Major Mieczysław Markiewicz; Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz Wyderko; Colonel Jerzy Boreysza; Lieutenant Władysław Zimiński; Major Marewicz (Morawiec ?);...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer
Distant view of the Colditz Castle, site of the Oflag IVC POW camp.
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer 1941
Group of Allied POWs, pilots of various air forces, in the courtyard of the Colditz Castle, Oflag IVC, in front of, probably, the French contingent quarters. From left to right: Front row - unidentified airman; Second Lieutenant of the Polish Air Force (...
ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR AT OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
part of "BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945" (photographs) Made by: German official photographer 1940
Group of senior Polish officers, prisoners of war at Oflag IVC, Colditz. They are probably standing in front of the French POWs quarters. From left to right: Captain (Naval) Marian Majewski, Colonel Władysław Smolarski, General Tadeusz Piskor, Admiral...
Collection: BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR 1939 - 1945
(photographs)
Set of 10 photographs depicting Allied POWS (British, Polish, Dutch, French, Belgian and Yugoslavian) in Oflag IVC, Colditz and Polish POWs in Oflag VIIIB in Silberberg/Srebrna Góra (one photograph only). All photographs (except one, depicting Christmas...