24 Disturbing Pictures From The Battle Of Britain

A bus lies in a large crater in Balham, London, the morning after a German air raid on Oct. 15, 1940. During the raid, a bomb exploded on Balham high street, destroying part of the tube station beneath.

Two German Dornier planes fly over the Silvertown area of London's Docklands for a bombing run in 1940.

At Biggin Hill on Sept. 14, 1946, Royal Air Force pilots "scramble" at the signal as they did during the hectic days of the Battle of Britain.

Vapor trails (left) from RAF planes in the skies over England recall the convolutions of British and German pilots fighting throughout the summer of 1940. A barrage balloon (right) falls in flames during an air attack on Aug. 11, 1940.

The scene over London after heavy German air raids during the Battle of Britain.

A German Me 110 on a mission above the white cliffs of the English Channel coast in 1940.

Hermann Göring in France in 1941. Göring was commander in chief of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces.

A German pilot (left) paints the tail unit of a Me 109 aircraft, marking 32 air victories. Another German pilot (right) notes how many British and French aircraft he has shot down during the autumn of 1940.

A huge area of debris in London after heavy German air raids during the Battle of Britain.

A milkman makes his normal rounds through piles of rubble after an air raid in London.

The library at Holland House in Kensington, London, was extensively damaged by a Molotov "bread basket" firebomb.

Mannequins blown onto the pavement by a bombing raid on London.

A building (left) set ablaze by heavy German air raid attacks. Londoners (right) shelter from air raids in a tube station during World War II.

Weary Londoners catch up on sleep in the safety of a tube station, which was taken out of service and converted into an air raid shelter.

Children (left) sleep on the floor of a school following an air raid in which their London homes were destroyed. The Storre Brothers (right) entertain their companions while sheltering from a World War II air raid in Piccadilly Circus tube station in 1940.

Fireboats battle flames after a German air raid.

Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI and mother of Queen Elizabeth II, talks to residents of a bombed-out area of London on Sept. 11, 1940.

A Me 110 bomber (left) is shot down by a Hurricane fighter plane over Goodwood, Sussex. Local newspapers (right) kept a running tally of the planes and airmen lost on both sides.

In this undated photo, a child stands in front of the Battle of Britain Memorial in Kent.