Images

A 1943 photograph of Albert Speer (1905-81), German Minister of Armaments during the Second World War (1939-45). He is shown here inspecting the Atlantic defences. (German Federal Archives)

A 1943 photograph of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 (ME-109) factory. It was the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). (German Federal Archives)

A 1940 photograph of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Me 109), the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). (Imperial War Museums Collection)

The cockpit of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 (Me 109), the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). (National Museum of the United States Air Force)

A Messerschmitt Bf 109 (ME-109), the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). Taken at Thunder Over Michigan airshow in 2006.

A Messerschmitt Bf 109 (ME-109), the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). Shown with desert camouflage. Taken at the Flying Legends airshow in 2015.

An Me 109 Buchon, aka Messerschmitt Bf 109, the principal German fighter plane of the Second World War (1939-45). Taken at the Flying Legends airshow in 2017.

A photograph of Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, Air Chief Marshal of the RAF and Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command from 1942 to 1945. Harris was adamant that heavy area bombing of German cities would bring a quicker end to World War II (1939-45...

A photograph of burnt-out residential buildings in Hamburg following the firestorm created by the RAF bombing campaign Operation Gomorrah of July 1943. (Imperial War Museums Collection)

Château des Réaux, chouzé-sur-Loire, Indre-et-Loire, France. The castle's history can be traced back to the 14th century when it belonged to the Countess of Sancerre. It then became the property of Jean Briçonnet (d. 1493), the first mayor...