About
The Battle of Britain Bunker preserves the restored underground operations room of RAF No. 11 Group Fighter Command at Uxbridge, the nerve centre from which the aerial defence of London and South East England was directed during the pivotal summer of 1940, when RAF Fighter Command's ability to coordinate fighter squadrons against overwhelming Luftwaffe numbers arguably determined the outcome of the entire Second World War.
Built in 1939 in anticipation of aerial attack, the bunker lies some sixty feet below ground and housed the Operations Room from which controllers tracked incoming enemy raids using information relayed from radar stations and the Royal Observer Corps, plotting aircraft movements on a large table map using coloured markers moved by WAAF plotters, and directing RAF fighter squadrons to intercept German bombers and their fighter escorts in real time.
It was here, on 16 August 1940, that Winston Churchill visited and, upon leaving after witnessing the intensity of that day's fighting, reportedly first uttered to his companion the words that would become one of the most famous lines of the war: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few," later delivered publicly in his House of Commons speech.
Restored and opened to the public by the London Borough of Hillingdon, the site today combines access to the historic underground Operations Room, preserved substantially as it would have appeared during the Battle of Britain, with an above-ground visitor centre and exhibition exploring the wider history of Fighter Command, the RAF pilots and support personnel involved in the battle, and the technological and organisational systems - radar, observer networks, sector stations and centralised control - that gave Britain's air defences their decisive edge during the summer of 1940.
Access to the underground bunker itself is by guided tour only, reflecting both the sensitive, atmospheric nature of the preserved space and practical considerations around managing visitor numbers within a historic confined underground environment, while the above-ground exhibition and visitor centre can be explored at leisure.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Weekday mornings
Busiest: Weekends and school holidays
💡 Book the bunker tour well in advance given its limited capacity and popularity.
💡 Visitor Tips
- Book the underground Operations Room guided tour well in advance - capacity is limited and this is the site's must-see feature.
- The above-ground exhibition can be visited at your own pace without needing to join the bunker tour, if preferred.
- Allow around 90 minutes for the bunker tour alone, plus additional time for the above-ground exhibition.
- Free on-site parking is plentiful, making this an easy site to reach by car from across West London.
- The underground bunker has limited step-free access due to its historic construction - contact ahead if mobility access is a concern.
- Uxbridge Underground station is about 15 minutes' walk away if travelling by public transport.
- Visit around the anniversary of the Battle of Britain in mid-to-late summer for any special commemorative events.
Highlights
The Operations Room
The heart of the site is the restored underground Operations Room, preserved substantially as it would have appeared during the summer of 1940, complete with the large plotting table map over which WAAF plotters moved coloured markers representing aircraft formations tracked in real time using information relayed from radar stations and the Royal Observer Corps.
Standing in this room, guided tour visitors gain a direct physical sense of the centralised, high-pressure command-and-control system that allowed RAF Fighter Command to direct limited fighter resources with a precision and speed that proved decisive against the numerically superior Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.
Churchill's Visit and 'The Few' Speech
The site is closely associated with Winston Churchill's visit on 16 August 1940, one of the most intense days of aerial fighting during the battle, after which Churchill is reported to have first spoken the words that would become his famous tribute to RAF Fighter Command pilots, later delivered publicly as "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
" Interpretation explores this episode in detail, connecting the physical space directly to one of the most celebrated speeches of the Second World War.
The Dowding System of Air Defence
Displays explain the sophisticated 'Dowding System' of centralised air defence, named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, which integrated radar early warning, the Royal Observer Corps' visual tracking, sector airfield control and centralised operations rooms like this one into a coordinated network allowing RAF Fighter Command to direct its limited fighter squadrons with maximum efficiency against incoming raids, a technological and organisational innovation widely credited as decisive to Britain's victory in the battle.
WAAF Plotters and Support Personnel
Interpretation gives significant attention to the women of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force who served as plotters and support staff within the Operations Room, tracking aircraft movements with speed and precision under considerable pressure, highlighting a role often overshadowed in popular memory of the battle by the fighter pilots themselves but essential to the entire system's effective function.
Collections
The Battle of Britain Bunker's principal asset is the preserved underground Operations Room itself, together with its restored plotting table and associated wartime fittings, supplemented by an above-ground exhibition exploring RAF Fighter Command's organisation, the Dowding System of integrated air defence, and the personnel - pilots, controllers and WAAF plotters - who staffed the system during the 1940 Battle of Britain.
Interpretive material draws on official RAF records, personal testimony and Churchill's documented visit to the site to build a detailed picture of how this single underground room functioned as a critical command node during one of the most significant campaigns of the Second World War.
No. 11 Group Operations Room
The restored underground Operations Room from which the Battle of Britain's aerial defence of London and South East England was directed.
📍 Underground bunker
The Battle of Britain and the Dowding System
Exhibition exploring RAF Fighter Command's organisation, radar and observer networks, and the personnel who fought and supported the battle.
📍 Visitor centre
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.