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Spitfire Ace: Flying the Battle of Britain by Martin Davidson, Martin Davidson, James Taylor
scorpio53's review
3.0
This book contains many recollections from British aircrew and ground crew and also a few from German aircrew. It was surprising to read that many young men, some not much over 18 or 19 years of age were soon flying hurricanes and spitfires within 6 months of leaving school.
There are some interesting stories of youthful exuberance when given a spitfire to fly with free rein over the skies of England with unlimited fuel.
After the hijinks comes the more serious business of the air war over Britain and the strategic decisions taken to prepare the country for attack from the air. Again thankfully there were missed opportunities when the enemy could so easily have defeated the beleaguered air force which would have had a different ending to the Battle of Britain.
Churchill's famous quote "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" not only refers to the pilots who undertook to protect our air space, but also the inventors of both the Spitfire an Hurricane planes they flew and the many ground crew who maintained and repaired them.
Without the advent of our radar early warning system the pilots could not have been directed to the incoming raids to intercept them.
There are some interesting stories of youthful exuberance when given a spitfire to fly with free rein over the skies of England with unlimited fuel.
After the hijinks comes the more serious business of the air war over Britain and the strategic decisions taken to prepare the country for attack from the air. Again thankfully there were missed opportunities when the enemy could so easily have defeated the beleaguered air force which would have had a different ending to the Battle of Britain.
Churchill's famous quote "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" not only refers to the pilots who undertook to protect our air space, but also the inventors of both the Spitfire an Hurricane planes they flew and the many ground crew who maintained and repaired them.
Without the advent of our radar early warning system the pilots could not have been directed to the incoming raids to intercept them.
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