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German soldiers enjoying a leave in Calais. In the summer of 1940 the military of the Wehrmacht had the feeling of being
invincible.
A German 210-millimeter cannon mounted on railway carriage fires from the area of Calais towards Dover.
In the coasts of the Pass of Calais, shortest distance between France and England, the Germans deployed many railway artillery
pieces of large caliber to bombard the British facilities located on the other side of the pass. To the barrel of the cannon shown
on this photograph has been installed an extension to increase its standard range to distances of up to 110-115 kilometers.
A German fixed artillery piece of large caliber, emplaced next to the Pass of Calais, is ready for sending its projectiles beyond
the cliffs of Dover. The effect of the artillery used against the British facilities at the other side of to the pass was
mainly psychological.
A Short Sunderland seaplane bomber in service with the Royal Air Force Coastal Command. The movilization against the much feared
German landing was absolute in England.
A Messerschmitt Me Bf 110 flying towards England. This aircraft, mistakenly used as bomber, was
considered mediocre by many; actually it was an optimal heavy fighter and as such it achieved brilliant results until the end of
the conflict.
A German squadron commander gives the last instructions to the crewmen before taking off for a mission during the Battle of Britain.
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A long-range cannon of the Kriegsmarine emplaced next to the English Channel. From Calais, where the Germans have arrived after a
fast and spectacular advance, the Germans can see, during clear weather conditions, the "white rocks of Dover". The English coast
seems at the reach of hand.
A German 280-millimeter cannon mounted on railway carriage fires towards Dover from the area of Calais.
These artillery pieces entered service in 1940 and had a maximum range of 52 kilometers, being so able of reaching the coasts of
Dover from those of Calais. By using special projectiles fitted with rocket propulsion that distance could be largely extended.
"At 2000 kilometers from their airfields". So it writes in February 1941 the German magazine Signal under this photograph showing
Italian aviators in an airfield of the Belgian coast. The Italians took part in the Battle of Britain as well.
A British artillery piece of large caliber fires against the French coast from its emplacement at Saint Margaret, east of Dover.
These fixed batteries were equipped with long-range naval cannons.
The British resorted to every system to defend against the threat of a German invasion. In this photograph we can see one of the
many captive balloons that the coastal service installed in barriers to difficult the attacks from enemy aircraft.
Three German aviators move the crank that starts the engine of a dive bomber
Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. The whistle that this aircraft could emit when diving,
through a device known as "Trumpet of Jericho", became ominously familiar for thousands of English inhabitants.
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