Imperial War Museum tweets to mark Battle of Britain

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Tweets will follow Duxford's Battle of Britain role at the exact date and time they occurred

The Imperial War Museum has turned to Twitter to help commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The museum will tweet on what was happening in 1940 at the fighter base at RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, at the exact time and date seven decades on.

The material will be drawn from its Operations Record Book, which was a daily record of events at the station.

The museum said the social networking initiative would give a "direct insight" into the World War II battle.

'Lost voices'

Every squadron, station and certain other units in the Royal Air Force had to complete an Operations Record Book, known as a Form 540.

Those for RAF Duxford and No 19 Squadron from 1940 show events such as patrols over Dunkirk, the problems encountered with early cannon-armed Spitfires, and the arrival of Czech pilots to form 310 Squadron.

They describe the sorties carried out by No 19 Squadron and pilots' experiences during dogfights over south-east England.

A museum spokesman said: "This exciting new campaign will give a direct insight into Battle of Britain history, and will show how the campaign built in momentum throughout 1940.

"The Operations Record Books are reproduced exactly as they were written during those dark days of 1940, bringing the lost voices of RAF Duxford's personnel vividly to life in this special anniversary year.

"The tweets will show life at RAF Duxford from its daily routines to records of combat which were filed with increasing regularity as the Battle of Britain intensified."