This permanent exhibition at Duxford looks at the people and machines involved in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz of 1940 - 1941. They also explore Duxford's past, especially its history as a fighter airfield, and the air defence of Britain.

Walking through the exhibition in Duxford's Hangar 4, which was actually used in the Battle of Britain, you can see how the dramatic events of the Summer of 1940 unfolded month by month.

You can also examine closely the aircraft that Royal Air Force's Fighter Command used to defend Britain from German air attack. The elegant, legendary Spitfire and the sturdy, reliable Hurricane are displayed alongside the mementoes and recollections of the brave 'Few' who flew them. Together they poignantly evoke the thrilling, terrifying atmosphere of the Battle.

The Battle of Britain

Hurricane Mk IIBs of 601 Squadron, 1941. (IWM neg CH3517)

The Battle of Britain was an air battle in the Summer of 1940 between the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) and Royal Air Force's Fighter Command. Hitler, Germany's Nazi leader, wanted to clear the way for an invasion of Britain by winning control of the skies over Britain.

The Battle started in July 1940 with Luftwaffe attacks in the Channel and continued as Fighter Command was drawn into combat. The intensity of the Battle increased in August and September as the Luftwaffe targeted the RAF's radar stations, airfields and communications centres. Civilian industrial sites were also bombed. Fighter Command was not really able to concentrate its strength and turn the Battle to its own advantage until the Luftwaffe suddenly switched their attention to the bombing of London in September, marking the beginning of the Blitz.

There were sixteen tense weeks of air fighting and bombing, but the Luftwaffe failed to defeat Fighter Command. Britain remained in the war, its air force undefeated.

The Few

"Never was so much owed by so many to so few" The Prime Minister

Two thousand, nine hundred and forty-five men in the RAF were officially recognised as having taken part in the Battle of Britain. These were the men Churchill referred to as the 'Few', when he said  "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

The voices of the 'Few' speak for themselves:

From dawn to dusk the sky was entirely filled with Messerschmitt 109s and 110s [after shooting down a Nazi pilot] I realised then that I had felt neither pity nor sorrow for that man. If I were to die, I ask nothing better than to go the same way.
Flying Officer Richard Hillary, No. 603 Squadron, killed in action 1943.

The Messerschmitt 109 was most feared, that was a tough customer, they were well flown... They were good, damn good.  When you became engaged with a German formation it was every man for himself... We were frightened... it was an awful gut fear.
Flying Officer Alan Deere, a New Zealand pilot of No. 54 Squadron

You can hear these and other Imperial War Museum sound extracts in full in the exhibition.

The Many

'They also serve'

In July 1940 Britain found itself in the front line of the war against the Nazis.

Thousands of ordinary men and women signed up for war work. You can see a barrage balloon winch, anti-aircraft gun, searchlight and ambulance in the exhibition and imagine what it was like to suddenly find yourself part of the huge war effort. You can also see a man at work in an Observer Corps post, studiously watching the skies for enemy aircraft.

The war involved everybody, from Air Raid Wardens and Home Guard volunteers, to child evacuees and mothers trying to make the rations last the whole week.

The Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe aircrew around a briefing model (MH5321)

For the British, the Battle started in July and ended in October when the German daylight attacks ceased. For the Germans, the Battle opened in August and continued throughout the winter of 1940-41 (the period the British know as the Blitz) and only ended when Germany launched its huge attack on Soviet Russia in June 1941.

Unlike the British, the Germans were fighting over enemy territory - if they crashed, or bailed out, the war was over for them.

In the exhibition you can see a Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Luftwaffe's greatest fighter at the time, looking exactly as it did when it crashed in a field in Sussex in 1940. What did it feel like to be that Bf 109's pilot, or the little boy who watched the aircraft come down?

The Blitz

Reconstruction of an Aderson Shelter in the exhibition

At the climax of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe started daylight raids on London - the Blitz. By the end of the war, hardly a town or city in Britain had not been bombed.

Raids became particularly fierce again in 1944 and 1945 when V1 pilotless flying bombs and V2 rockets terrorised London and the South. V1s were famously known as 'Doodlebugs' and you can see one in the exhibition.

What was it like to live through these bombing raids? You can get some idea by looking in the exhibition's reconstructed Anderson Bomb Shelter. Although Anderson Shelters were usually dug into the garden, this one has been constructed on the hangar floor so that you can look inside.

Exhibition List

ARP warden seen in exhibition

Aircraft
Bristol Fighter (First World War)
Hawker Hurricane
Messerschmitt Bf 109
Supermarine SpitfireBristol Blenheim
Cievra Autogiro
Heinkel 111 tail fin and engine
V1 Flying Bomb on launch ramp
Gloster Meteor

Ground Defence
Leyland Mobile Workshop (First World War)
Standard Beaverette Armoured Car
Picket Hamilton Fort
3.7" Anti-aircraft gun
Searchlight
Fordson WOT Balloon Winch
Air Raid Precautions Shelter
Austin Auxiliary Fire Service Truck
Nash Ambulance

You can also see RAF and Luftwaffe uniforms, medals and memorabilia in the small Battle of Britain exhibit room.

Further Reading

There are hundreds of books about the Battle of Britain, but here are just a few that you may find interesting. Ellan, B J Spitfire 1942, John Murray Wartime account of Brian Lane's experience as a fighter pilot and as commander of Duxford's No. 19 Squadron. Addison, Paul and Crang, Jeremy (eds) The Burning Blue: A New History of the Battle of Britain 2000, Pimlico A very recent collection of articles, from both British and German viewpoints, which re-assess all aspects of the Battle and the myth that quickly grew up around it. Deighton, Len Battle of Britain 1980, Jonathan Cape An excellent, readable introduction to the events of 1940. Well illustrated with maps and photographs. Hough, Richard and Richards, Denis The Battle of Britain 1990, Coronet Books A complete history of the Battle and much of its context. Excellent appendices and a vital reference work. Terraine, John The Right of the Line - The RAF in the European War 1939-45 1985, Hodder and Stoughton Part Three forms a reliable and strongly analytical account from inside the RAF, including tactics, the 'Big Wing' and the truth about losses. Wynn, Kenneth G Men of the Battle of Britain (60th Anniversary Edition) 1999, CCB Associates A complete list as possible of the men that fought for the RAF during the Battle of Britain. It includes biographical details and photographs and is a vital reference. Overy, Richard The Battle, Summer 1940 2000, Penguin Books This brief, readable account not only looks at the course of the Battle and Hitler's plans for invasion, it also questions the place of the Battle in the war overall.

Fighter Command pilots 'scramble' 1940 (HU49253) Heinkel 111 over London, Sept. 1940 (C5422)