BATTLE OF BRITAIN MUSEUM

Background

The Battle of Britain was an air battle in the Summer of 1940 between the German Air Force the Luftwaffe) and Royal Air Force (RAF). 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, drawing the RAF Fighter Command into combat. The intensity of the air battle increased in August and September as the Luftwaffe targeted the RAF's radar stations, airfields, and communications centers. The 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 London Blitz.

The Battle of Britain, sixteen weeks of dog fighting and bombing, lasted four months. The Luftwaffe failed to defeat the RAF and the threatened invasion of Great Britain never occurred. England's victory ruined German hopes of a swift end to the war in western Europe and, frustrated, Hitler turned his attention to Russia. The Battle of Britain ensured that England remained free and able to support the Allied war effort. Without having a secure bases close to the European mainland in the British Isles, it would have been impossible achieve the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.

	"Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few. "

Battle of Britain Museum

England's largest collection memorabilia from the Battle of Britain is displayed at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum. Located on the grounds of the actual WW II Hawkinge fighter base which was the RAF field closest to enemy-occupied France--- only some ten minutes flying time away from the Luftwaffe fighter airfields in the Pas-de-Calais. In addition, the airfield was easily with range of German artillery and was often shelled by German shore batteries along the French coastline.

The museum's purpose is to maintain the memory of the Battle of Britain and those airmen and support personnel who battled the Luftwaffe in 1940. Despite the passing years, visitors can get a good sense of life at Hawking as they explore the museum's landmarks and buildings. When it opened in 1981, the museum's first displays were located in the airfield's old control tower but the complex now includes five additional buildings. The most popular exhibits are probably the full-scale replica aircraft parked outside the exhibit halls. These include, for example, a Hawker Hurricane and a Submarine Spitfire.

On the other hand, equally interesting to others are the parts of crashed planes on display, many with some background as to who was in the plane--- RAF or Luftwaffe airman--- whether he survived the crash. (However, in most instances, only things that could be found were the planes' engines, some of which were discovered ten or twelve feet feet underground.) As well, the museum offers a large collection of British and German 1940s flying equipment, artifacts recovered from over six hundred aircraft from both sides shot down in combat, an art gallery, and even a display of props from several WW II-themed movies.

The Battle of Britain Museum is open from April through the end of September. There is no admission charge but donations are very welcome since the facility, essentially run by run by eight volunteer staff members, is entirely self-supporting and its continued existence depends completely visitors' generosity.

Unfortunately, due to the growing problem of theft of aviation artifacts in recent years, security allows no cameras, video recorders, notebooks, or other types of recording devices are allowed in the Museum. This is to avoid drawing outside attention to specific items that are on display. Also due to a recent theft from the museum, no bags, except women's purses, are allowed in the museum.

(Factoid: The airfield's main runway area, once buzzing with Spitfires and Hurricanes, is now a housing development.)

Hurricane Replica

Messerschmitt 109 Restoration

Spitfire Replica

Battle of Britain Monument

Opened in July 1993, the Battle of Britain Memorial is in the shape of a giant three-bladed propeller carved into the ground with the statue of a lone airman sitting on the propeller hosing looking out to sea. There is a nearby memorial wall listing the names of some three thousand pilots who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain and displaying the insignia of the RAF fighter squadrons that flew from Hawkinge fighter base. There are also small memorials dedicated to individual pilots lost in the Battle of Britain.

Memorial marking the spot where P.O. Roy A. Marchand, age twenty-two, crashed his Hawker Hurricane on September 15, 1940, remembered as "Battle of Britain" day. Marchand was credited with four victories before he was shot down by a Nazi Messerschmitt on his third combat mission of the day.

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." Winston Churchill

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