World War II in Photographs
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1940
THE AIR WAR
There was no pause in the war in the air. Even before the
Battle of Britain proper began, British and German
aircraft attacked shipping and the RAF mounted raids,
often using leaflets rather than bombs, on Germany.
ABOVE
An RAF raid on an airfield in northern
France. Two Focke-Wulf Fw58
Weihe aircraft are clearly visible.
RIGHT
An RAF crewman prepares to
unleash leaflets onto Germany.
OPPOSITE
In late June 1940 a Blenheim
bomber flies over a blazing
German tanker in the Channel.
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THE DEFENCE OF THE REALM
"Don't you know there's a war on?" was a common rejoinder
in wartime Britain, but by the summer of 1940 it was
impossible not to know it. Defence precautions went on
apace, Local Defence Volunteers (later called the Home Guard)
were formed, and there was a whiff of invasion in the air.
ABOVE
Royal Marine guards, at the
entrance to the Admiralty,
looking across Horse Guards Parade.
LEFT
Farm machinery and fencing
form barricades in a
Northumberland village, June 6.
BELOW
European governments-in-exile in
Britain had their own armed forces:
here Czech leader Dr Eduard Benes
reviews his troops at Cholomondley
Park, near Chester in July.
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1940
ABOVE
The formation of Local Defence Volunteers
was announced on May 14, and within 24 hours
a quarter of a million men had volunteered. This
contingent has no equipment but distinguishing
armbands, though several First World War
veterans proudly wear their medals. The force
was soon renamed the Home Guard, and its units
were affiliated to the army's county regiments.
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LEFT
Preparations for Operation Sealion,
the intended German invasion of Britain,
included experiments with amphibious tanks.
OPPOSITE
A Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF)
operator plots targets. Primitive radar
was heavily dependent on skilled users.
^IGHT
There were 20 "Chain Home" radar
stations, whose 300-ft masts enabled
the detection of high-altitude long-range
targets. The twelve sites of "Chain
Home Low", for lower targets,
became operational only in July 1940.
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1940
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1940
ABOV
The Operations Room at RAF Bentley
Priory, Fighter Command's headquarters.
Symbols representing squadrons are
moved across the map, while senior officers
in the gallery above control the battle.
LEFT
Civilian volunteers of the Royal Observer
Corps reported the numbers, direction and
type on incoming aircraft. Here an observer
plots the height of a German formation.
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ABOVE
Tethered barrage balloons were flown
on likely approaches to targets, forcing
attackers to remain above them to
avoid hitting their cables.
The 3.7-inch gun was the mainstay of
anti-aircraft defence. Batteries generally
fired a barrage of shells, fused to bust at
the estimated height of approaching
aircraft, into the attackers' path.
FOLLOWING PAGES
Pilots of the Spitfire-equipped 610
Squadron await the order to scramble at
RAF Hawkinge on the south coast in July.
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LEFT
1940
ABOVE
Pilots relied on hard-working ground
crew. Here the wing-mounted
machine-guns of a Hurricane Mk 1
are re-armed: care is taken to avoid jam-
inducing kinks in the belted ammunition.
RIGHT
Two Hurricanes from 501 Squadron
scramble from Hawkinge, August 16.
Although the Hurricane was slower than
the more modern Spitfire, it nevertheless
played a distinguished part on the battle.
OPPOSITE
One of the war's classic photographs:
A Heinkel He 111 over Wapping on
"Black Saturday", September 7, the
first day of the offensive against London:
300 tons of bombs were dropped and about
2,000 civilians killed or seriously injured.
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