Some 340,000 British and French troops have by now been rescued from Dunkirk, but a million Allied soldiers are now prisoners of the Germans

Charles de Gaulle broadcasts to the French nation from London, declaring himself the leader of the Free French

The British government gives recognition to Charles de Gaulle as official leader of the Free French

Increased German U-boat activity after the fall of France launches the crucial Battle of the Atlantic

Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of England, under the codename Operation Sea Lion

The Battle of Britain reaches its most intense phase, with 1500 German planes involved in a single day's assault

The first German night-time bombing raid on London signals the start of the Blitz on British cities

The US government provides 50 destroyers to boost the British escort of convoys in the Atlantic

After the summer's losses in the air, Hitler orders the effective cancellation of operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of Britain

Coventry suffers a raid of such intensity that the new technique becomes known as carpet bombing

The de Havilland Mosquito, a multi-purpose wooden aeroplane widely used by the RAF in World War II, makes its first flight

British aviator Amy Johnson is reported missing over the Thames estuary when flying on a mission for the Air Ministry

English composer Michael Tippett completes his oratorio A Child of our Time (not performed until 1944)

British author Rebecca West publishes an account of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon

Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy in the Nazi party, flies to Britain on a bizarre secret mission

A Gloster E.28/39 air frame becomes the first craft to fly with a Whittle jet engine

Germany's latest battleship, the Bismarck, is sunk in the Atlantic with the loss of nearly all her 2222 crew

Roosevelt and Churchill publish a joint Atlantic Charter, foreseeing a future free from 'Nazi tyranny'

The British aircraft carrier Ark Royal is sunk by a U-boat in the Mediterranean

A report by UK economist William Beveridge proposes a wide-ranging social security programme for postwar Britain

Leslie Howard directs and stars in The First of the Few, about the creator of the Spitfire, with music by William Walton

David Lean and Noel Coward create a classic wartime film, In Which We Serve about the crew of a naval destroyer

A rich hoard of Roman silver is unearthed near Mildenhall, in Suffolk

English children's author Enid Blyton introduces the Famous Five in Five on a Treasure Island

Arthur Harris is put in charge of British Bomber Command, and is later much criticized for his ruthless approach