Battle of Britain Control Room

Battle Of Britain Bunker

Useful Information

Location:	At RAF Uxbridge, West London. Near Hillingdon House.
Open:	Only by appointment! All year Mon-Fri 10-14. [2012]
Fee:
Classification:	World War II Bunkers
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	RAF Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, Middlesex, Tel: +44-1895-238154. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

late 1930's	bunker built.
15-SEP-1940	used as controll room during the Battle of Britain.
1958	closed by the RAF.
1970s	restored to its current state, opened to the public.
2000	fully restored as a private museum.

Description

The underground operations room was used during World War II. Today's exhibition tries to revive exactly the state it had on the morning of 15th September 1940.

Before the war, the RAF Fighter Command divided the country into geographic areas named Fighter Groups. No 11 Group covered London and southeast England and was based here at Uxbridge. An underground operations room was built nearby Hillingdon House within the grounds of the RAF Depot Uxbridge.

The two level bunker was built in the late 1930s. It has two entrances, a main entrance with two flights of stairs and and a ventilation plant in between, and an emergency exit on the other end of the bunker. 50 meters from the emergency exit is a small brick blockhouse with the still working generator, which provides electricity for the bunker.

The main point of interest is of course the Ops Room with its large irregularly shaped, angled plotting table showing the group and sector boundaries and the various airfields. Small flagged blocks could be pushed into place to show the positions of the various squadrons. Tote boards at the rear of the room show the state of all aircraft by coloured lights.