Second World War

Operations of the second world war era of the Royal Air Force.

7 Operations Profiled
Featured Operation

Operation Overlord

6 June–30 August 1944

success

How the RAF helped shape Operation Overlord through strategic bombing, airborne delivery, air cover and sustained support in Normandy.

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Era Second World War

Chronological Timeline · 7 operations

1940 10 July–31 October
Southern England, the English Channel and adjacent airspace

Battle of Britain

How the Battle of Britain saw RAF Fighter Command defeat the Luftwaffe’s attempt to gain the air superiority needed for invasion in 1940.

success
1943 16-17 May
Ruhr Valley, Germany

Operation Chastise

On the night of 16–17 May 1943, 617 Squadron breached the Möhne and Eder dams using Barnes Wallis's revolutionary bouncing bomb, in one of the...

success
1944 17–25 September
Netherlands

Operation Market Garden

How the RAF supported Operation Market Garden through transport aircraft, glider towing, fighter control and resupply in September 1944.

failure
1942 19 August
Dieppe, France

Operation Jubilee

How the RAF supported Operation Jubilee at Dieppe and what the air battle revealed about amphibious operations in 1942.

failure
1943 24 July–3 August
Hamburg, Germany

Operation Gomorrah

How RAF Bomber Command carried out Operation Gomorrah against Hamburg using concentrated area bombing and the new Window countermeasure.

success
1944 6 June–30 August
Normandy, France

Operation Overlord

How the RAF helped shape Operation Overlord through strategic bombing, airborne delivery, air cover and sustained support in Normandy.

success
1942 8 November –13 May 1943
French North Africa and Tunisia

Operation Torch

How the RAF supported Operation Torch through airfield seizure, tactical air power and the wider struggle for air superiority in North Africa.

success