Stories

Second World War Stories

Discover stories of how Britain and America’s relationship during the Second World War affected millions of people around the world.

"Doc" Kennedy plays the piano before changing for dinner in comfortable surroundings of the piano room at Stanbridge Earls. © IWM D 14530
STORY

"Flak Flarms": Red Cross Rest Homes and the war of emotions

Situated in large English country houses and hotels, rest homes were set up by the Eighth Air Force and jointly run by the Red Cross to provide an antidote to the mental stresses of air combat. They aimed to prevent emotional breakdowns among crew members by "returning them to a world they knew before".

B-29 Superfortress of the 9th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force in flight. ©IWM (FRE 11984)
STORY

B-29 Superfortress: The aircraft that bombed Hiroshima

The B-29 Superfortress is arguably the most important and controversial aircraft in human history. With the dubious honour of being history’s deadliest bomber and the only aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon in combat, its story is one of ground-breaking innovation, unimaginable destruction and decisions that would dictate the course of the 20th century.
A formation of B-17s of the 305th Bomb Group during a raid over Schweinfurt ©IWM
STORY

Black Thursday: The Second Schweinfurt Raid

On Thursday 14 October 1943, B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force amassed for an all-out air offensive on the production plants of Schweinfurt. The long-range penetration into Germany would become a pivotal moment in the American strategic bombing campaign, earning the nickname "Black Thursday".

Aircraft stories

Find out how American airpower has played a key part in conflict throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

B-29 Superfortress of the 9th Bomb Group, 20th Air Force in flight. ©IWM (FRE 11984)
STORY

B-29 Superfortress: The aircraft that bombed Hiroshima

The B-29 Superfortress is arguably the most important and controversial aircraft in human history. With the dubious honour of being history’s deadliest bomber and the only aircraft to drop a nuclear weapon in combat, its story is one of ground-breaking innovation, unimaginable destruction and decisions that would dictate the course of the 20th century.
McDonnel Douglas Phantom FGR.2, XV499, of No. 41 Squadron based at Coningsby, in flight and displaying a weapons load of cluster bombs, Sparrow and Sidewinder AAMs. © IWM (CT 75)
STORY

The F-4 Phantom II: America's most prolific jet fighter

In 1958, McDonald Aircraft Corporation delivered a prototype, twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, long-range fighter -  a design the US Navy could not ignore: the F-4 Phantom II. It would go on to become the most-produced American jet fighter in history and an icon of the Cold War. 
Ground personnel clears an F-111 for take-off on 14th April 1986 US National Archives
STORY

Operation El Dorado Canyon: Raid on Libya

In retaliation for the deadly bombing of a West Berlin nightclub in April 1986, US President Ronald Reagan ordered an attack at the heart of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Ten days later, F-111s took off from RAF Lakenheath for what would become the longest combat fighter mission in history.
Human stories

Discover the stories of the people whose lives have shaped, and been shaped by Anglo-American collaboration since the First World War.

"Doc" Kennedy plays the piano before changing for dinner in comfortable surroundings of the piano room at Stanbridge Earls. © IWM D 14530
STORY

"Flak Flarms": Red Cross Rest Homes and the war of emotions

Situated in large English country houses and hotels, rest homes were set up by the Eighth Air Force and jointly run by the Red Cross to provide an antidote to the mental stresses of air combat. They aimed to prevent emotional breakdowns among crew members by "returning them to a world they knew before".

A formation of B-17s of the 305th Bomb Group during a raid over Schweinfurt ©IWM
STORY

Black Thursday: The Second Schweinfurt Raid

On Thursday 14 October 1943, B-17 Flying Fortresses of the Eighth Air Force amassed for an all-out air offensive on the production plants of Schweinfurt. The long-range penetration into Germany would become a pivotal moment in the American strategic bombing campaign, earning the nickname "Black Thursday".

Rhoda Robinson standing by her portrait UPL 34879
STORY

Rhoda Robinson's Red Cross Aeroclub

Rhoda Robinson was one of thousands of members of the American Red Cross sent to Britain to set up Aeroclubs at Eighth and Ninth Air Force bases. Through their hard work, service clubs were transformed into morale-boosting 'homes away from home'.

Recent conflict stories

Find out how Britain and America’s relationship has endured and been challenged through the turbulence of global events in the 21st Century.

Rescue workers World Trade Center, New York 19 Sept 2001 US Public Domain
STORY

What were the September 11 attacks?

On the morning of 11 September 2001, 19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger planes in the United States.
British soldiers in a camp in Kuwait during Operation 'TELIC', the invasion of Iraq, 2003. ©IWM (OP-TELIC 03-010-18-192)
STORY

The 2003 War in Iraq explained

Explore the events that led from the 11 September attacks to US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair invading Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Crop of Saddam Hussein dog toy ©IWM (EPH 207)
STORY

The complex legacy of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein led Iraq from 1979 to 2003. During his rule he projected an image of himself as Iraq’s most influential leader and a courageous moderniser, but at the same time his repressive regime killed thousands of people.
Cold War stories

Find out how global tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States and its allies effected the latter half of the 20th Century.

McDonnel Douglas Phantom FGR.2, XV499, of No. 41 Squadron based at Coningsby, in flight and displaying a weapons load of cluster bombs, Sparrow and Sidewinder AAMs. © IWM (CT 75)
STORY

The F-4 Phantom II: America's most prolific jet fighter

In 1958, McDonald Aircraft Corporation delivered a prototype, twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, long-range fighter -  a design the US Navy could not ignore: the F-4 Phantom II. It would go on to become the most-produced American jet fighter in history and an icon of the Cold War. 
Ground personnel clears an F-111 for take-off on 14th April 1986 US National Archives
STORY

Operation El Dorado Canyon: Raid on Libya

In retaliation for the deadly bombing of a West Berlin nightclub in April 1986, US President Ronald Reagan ordered an attack at the heart of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime. Ten days later, F-111s took off from RAF Lakenheath for what would become the longest combat fighter mission in history.
. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and U.S. President George Bush signing bilateral documents during Gorbachev's official visit to the United States US Public Domain
STORY

George H W Bush, from pilot to President

George Herbert Walker Bush was an aviator in the US Navy, and 41st President of the United States, his experience during the Second World War shaped the wars of the 20th Century.