In pictures
The Battle of Britain's 'hardest day'
In 1940 the Royal Air Force resisted major aerial attacks from Germany in what became known as the Battle of Britain. One moment is sometimes singled out as the ‘hardest day’ of the fighting – 18 August. One of the many sites targeted that day was Kenley, an airfield just south of London.
Map of fighter defences
- Date
- 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 41/16
Map showing as far as Sheffield at the top and Bristol on the left side, with air bases marked.
Kenley Station operations record book with site plan
- Date
- December 1939
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 28/419
Plan of RAF Kenley aerodrome, with blue, yellow and red coloured sections.
HQ Fighter Command operations record book
- Date
- August 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 24/507
Typewritten table with columns for Place, Date, Time and Summary of Events.
Kenley operations record
- Date
- August 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 28/419
Typewritten table with columns for Place, Date, Time and Summary of Events, with daily entries.
Report about the attack on Kenley
- Date
- 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 41/16
Typewritten page with 18 numbered points each describing a detail, eg '16. No poison gas was used.'
111 Squadron combat report
- Date
- August 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 50/43/89
Printed form completed by typewriter and signed by Sergeant Wallace.
Casualty reports from the Battle of Britain
- Date
- 1940
- Catalogue reference
- AIR 81/3484
Tidy handwritten list of four people's names and next of kin.
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A dramatic plea for Churchill’s help from Bletchley Park
In 1941, four Government Code and Cypher School cryptanalysts, including Alan Turing, made a stunning appeal directly to Winston Churchill.