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Battle of Britain Day remembered

  • RAF Spitfire Fighter Pilots scramble to get airborne.
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    RAF Spitfire Fighter Pilots scramble to get airborne.
  • Two German Dornier 217 planes pass over the burning bombing targets of the Beckton Gas Works at Silvertown, a suburb in the southeast of London, during the Battle of Britain in autumn 1940.
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    Two German Dornier 217 planes pass over the burning bombing targets of the Beckton Gas Works at Silvertown, a suburb in the southeast of London, during the Battle of Britain in autumn 1940.
  • London, Oxford Street. John Lewis's department store was hit during one of the early raids in the blitz, September 1940
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    London, Oxford Street. John Lewis's department store was hit during one of the early raids in the blitz, September 1940
  • A policeman checks for gas leaking from this street lamp following a daylight raid In October 1940.
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    A policeman checks for gas leaking from this street lamp following a daylight raid In October 1940.
  • Winston Churchill inspecting bomb damage in the House of Commons debating chamber on May 11, 1941.
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    Winston Churchill inspecting bomb damage in the House of Commons debating chamber on May 11, 1941.
  • Battle of Britain: British soldier examining the wreckage of a downed German plane.
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    Battle of Britain: British soldier examining the wreckage of a downed German plane.
  • London firefighters are searching for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed printing works, after a night of German firebombings on the British capital.
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    London firefighters are searching for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed printing works, after a night of German firebombings on the British capital.
  • Trailing black smoke, a British RAF fighter plane goes down over an unknown location in England, in December 1940.
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    Trailing black smoke, a British RAF fighter plane goes down over an unknown location in England, in December 1940.
  • The forward machine gunner is seen sitting at his battle position in the nose of a German Heinkel He 111 bomber plane, while en route to England in November 1940.
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    The forward machine gunner is seen sitting at his battle position in the nose of a German Heinkel He 111 bomber plane, while en route to England in November 1940.
  • The burned-out wrecks of London taxicabs in Leicester Square reflect the damage done by the German firebombing night raids on Britain's capital, November 8, 1940
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    The burned-out wrecks of London taxicabs in Leicester Square reflect the damage done by the German firebombing night raids on Britain's capital, November 8, 1940
  • The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is standing out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings during heavy attacks of the German Luftwaffe in London.
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    The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is standing out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings during heavy attacks of the German Luftwaffe in London.
  • German bombs miss their targets and explode in the sea, during an air raid on Dover, England, in July 1940.
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    German bombs miss their targets and explode in the sea, during an air raid on Dover, England, in July 1940.
  • A crowd of British citizens gathers around the wreckage of a German bomber, after it was brought down by British RAF fighters, in March 1940, at an unknown location in England.
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    A crowd of British citizens gathers around the wreckage of a German bomber, after it was brought down by British RAF fighters, in March 1940, at an unknown location in England.
RAF Spitfire Fighter Pilots scramble to get airborne.
Two German Dornier 217 planes pass over the burning bombing targets of the Beckton Gas Works at Silvertown, a suburb in the southeast of London, during the Battle of Britain in autumn 1940.
London, Oxford Street. John Lewis's department store was hit during one of the early raids in the blitz, September 1940
A policeman checks for gas leaking from this street lamp following a daylight raid In October 1940.
Winston Churchill inspecting bomb damage in the House of Commons debating chamber on May 11, 1941.
Battle of Britain: British soldier examining the wreckage of a downed German plane.
London firefighters are searching for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed printing works, after a night of German firebombings on the British capital.
Trailing black smoke, a British RAF fighter plane goes down over an unknown location in England, in December 1940.
The forward machine gunner is seen sitting at his battle position in the nose of a German Heinkel He 111 bomber plane, while en route to England in November 1940.
The burned-out wrecks of London taxicabs in Leicester Square reflect the damage done by the German firebombing night raids on Britain's capital, November 8, 1940
The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is standing out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings during heavy attacks of the German Luftwaffe in London.
German bombs miss their targets and explode in the sea, during an air raid on Dover, England, in July 1940.
A crowd of British citizens gathers around the wreckage of a German bomber, after it was brought down by British RAF fighters, in March 1940, at an unknown location in England.

A selection of images to commemorate the Battle of Britain Day, 15 September. Seen as one of the most crucial battles of the Second World War it raged from July to October 1940, with an eventual British victory that effectively securing the safety of the country under recently elected Prime Minister Winston Churchill.