The Battle of Britain Bunker, Uxbridge

In the third part of my Top Secret Underground War Bunkers series, I visit the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge, West London.

Plotting table in the operations room at the Battle of Britain Bunker

The Battle of Britain Bunker served as the operational hub for RAF Fighter Command’s No.11 Group during the Second World War, where the coordination of the Battle of Britain took place.

The Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition and Visitor Centre

In response to the growing threat from Nazi Germany, RAF Fighter Command was established in July 1936, under the leadership of Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. Dowding had even considered the need for an underground operations room as early as that same year.

The Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition and Visitor Centre sign

World War II started on 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France’s declaration of war on Germany two days later, on 3 September 1939.

The war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, though many say that the official end date was on 2 September 1945 with the formal surrender of Japan.

The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was the first major air campaign of World War II, fought largely above London and the South East from July 1940 to September 1940.

Following Dunkirk and the Fall of France, Hitler had hoped to bring the war to a quick end with the invasion of Britain.

But for the invasion, codenamed Operation ‘Sealion’, to have any chance of success, the Germans first had to secure control of the skies over southern England and remove the threat posed by the Royal Air Force.

They began by attacking coastal targets and shipping operating in the English Channel. Then they started attacking airfields and communication centres.

But the Germans underestimated the damage it was inflicting. In thinking they had broken the RAF, on September 7, 1940, they switched to targeting London. Whilst the raids had a devastating effect, they gave the RAF a bit of breathing space, and they regrouped.

On September 15, 1940, Fighter Command repelled yet another massive attack.

The Luftwaffe was experiencing severe losses, and these were unsustainable. The chances of a Summer invasion of Britain ran out. They had failed to take control of the skies.

The Battle of Britain was over.

The Battle of Britain Bunker

Construction of the bunker at Uxbridge commenced in February 1939. It was completed just ten days before the outbreak of World War II.

It was home to RAF Fighter Command’s No. 11 Group, which was responsible for defending southeast England from attacks by the Luftwaffe throughout the war.

The bunker was part of an air defence system developed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, known as The Dowding System.

Dowding brought together the RAF, ground defences and the latest in radar technology to create a single coordinated defence system. And the bunker was at the centre of the whole operation.

Under the command of Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, No. 11 Group shot down more than 1,000 German aircraft during the Battle of Britain, each one having been controlled by Fighter Command, in Uxbridge.

Exactly how Fighter Command managed to defeat the Luftwaffe in the skies above Britain from a Bunker in Uxbridge is extremely complex and I feel beyond the scope of this blog, so I highly recommend that you visit soon.

The Battle of Britain Bunker Tour

The Bunker tour lasts for more than an hour. My guide was extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic and passionate about the Battle of Britain and the bunker.

The Operations Room is a series of rooms 60 feet (18 metres) underground, accessible via 76 steps:

Nomadic Backpacker descending the 76 steps to the Operations Room at the Battle of Britain Bunker

Entrance to the Battle of Britain Bunker

The Guard Room:

The Operations Room and the Battle of Britain plotting table:

Quote from Churchill:

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few

During the Battle of Britain, the two most renowned fighter aircraft deployed against the Luftwaffe were the British Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire Mk I.