Battle of Britain Bunker

The **Battle of Britain Bunker** is an underground operations room at RAF Uxbridge, formerly used by No. 11 Group Fighter Command during the Second World War. Fighter aircraft operations were controlled from there throughout the War but most notably during the Battle of Britain and on D-Day. Today it is run by Hillingdon Council as a heritage attraction with attached museum. A new visitor centre above ground opened in March 2018.

The Bunker is located at RAF Uxbridge, not far from Uxbridge town centre and Uxbridge Underground station.

## Background

As the location of No. 11 Group RAF's Operations Room, The Battle of Britain Bunker was one of the key parts of the world's first integrated air defence system. Often known as the "Dowding system" (after Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Commander-in-Chief Fighter Command at the time of installation), the system linked Fighter Command with Anti-Aircraft Command, Barrage Balloon Command, the Observer Corps, Chain Home Radio Direction Finding (radar), and the intelligence services. Under the system, these organisations worked together for the first time in order to achieve one goal: the successful defence of the UK's airspace.

No.11 Group was an important part of the system for several reasons: Firstly, as one of four group headquarters, No.11 Group's Operations Controller was responsible for making key decisions that would affect the outcomes of aerial battles - how many fighter aircraft to scramble, which type of aircraft, which squadrons to use, when to scramble them, where to scramble them from, where to scramble them to, etc. Secondly and also due to its role as a group headquarters, No.11 Group was responsible for organising and coordinating the activities of seven sector stations at which its fighter squadrons were based - RAFs Kenley, North Weald, Debden, Biggin Hill, Tangmere, Hornchurch and Northolt. And thirdly, the Bunker and its Operations Room were the prototypes by which the other five group headquarters (No. 9 Group at RAF Barton Hall, No. 10 Group at RAF Box, No. 12 Group at RAF Watnall, No. 13 Group at RAF Newcastle and No.14 Group at Raigmore) were planned and constructed.

The Operations Room displayed various pieces of information in different ways, which the controller would then use in order to make his important decisions. The location of both enemy and friendly aircraft formations was displayed using numbered blocks on a map table. The current activities of No.11 Group's squadrons e.g. "At Standby", "Enemy Sighted", "Ordered to Land", etc. were displayed on a "tote" board using a series of lights. Current weather conditions at No.11 Group's sector stations were indicated with a system of coloured discs. And the passage of time was tracked using a coordinated system of clock and coloured indicators. All information was received from either Fighter Command headquarters or the sector stations via telephone.

## Use of the Battle of Britain Bunker in The Film

Footage illustrating the operation of the Dowding system that controlled the fighter squadrons was filmed in the Operations room in the Bunker, as was the scene depicting the visit of Prime Minister Winston Churchill.