by John Nichol
Carter, Eric, Force Benedict (Hodder & Stoughton, 2014)
Cawthorne, Nigel, The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Spitfire (Anness Publishing, 2012)
Cheesman, E. C., Brief Glory (Air Transport Auxiliary Association, 2011)
Collett, Max, Personal War Diary
Crook, David, Spitfire Pilot (Grub Street, 2008)
Curtis, Lettice, The Forgotten Pilots (Self-published, 1998)
Deere, Al, Nine Lives (Goodall Publications, 2009)
Delve, Ken, The Story of the Spitfire: An Operational and Combat History (Greenhill Books, 2007)
Docherty, Tom, Swift to Battle: No 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action (Pen & Sword, 2009)
Douglas-Hamilton, Lord James, The Air Battle for Malta (Mainstream, 1981)
Duncan Smith, Wilfrid, Spitfire into Battle (John Murray, 2004)
Dundas, Hugh, Flying Start: A Fighter Pilot’s War Years (Penguin, 1988)
Farish, Greggs and McCaul, Michael, Algiers to Anzio with 72 and 111 Squadrons (Woodfield, 2002)
Franks, Norman, The Greatest Air Battle: Dieppe, 19th August 1942 (William Kimber, 1979)
French, Ken ‘Paddy’, My Early Life (Eburon Academic, 2013)
Furniss-Roe, Bill, Believed Safe (William Kimber, 1987)
Glancey, Jonathan, Spitfire: The Biography (Atlantic Books, 2006)
Hillier, Mark, Sinanan, Dieter and Percival, Gregory, Westhampnett at War (Yellowman, 2010)
Hillier, Mark, Sinanan, Dieter and Percival, Gregory, To War in a Spitfire: The Diary of an American Spitfire Pilot (Yellowman, 2011)
Holmes, Ray, Sky Spy: From Six Miles High to Hitler’s Bunker (Airlife, 1989)
Hough, Richard and Richards, Denis, Battle of Britain (Pen & Sword, 2007)
Hughes, Tom, My Valley, the Clouds! (Personal Memoir, 2005)
Hyams, Jacky, The Female Few (History Press, 2012)
Isby, David, The Decisive Duel: Spitfire vs 109 (Little, Brown, 2012)
Johnson, Johnnie, Wing Leader (Goodall Publications Ltd, 1990)
Kingcome, Brian, A Willingness to Die: Memories from Fighter Command (The History Press, 2006)
Lane, Brian, Spitfire! The Experiences of a Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot (Amberley, 2009)
Levine, Joshua, Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and Battle for Britain (Ebury, 2007)
Lewis, Jon E., Spitfire: The Autobiography (Constable & Robinson, 2010)
Lucas, Laddie, Five Up (Wingham, 1991)
McKinstry, Leo, Spitfire: Portrait of a Legend (John Murray, 2007)
March, Peter, The Spitfire Story (Sutton Publishing, 2006)
Marsden, Barry, Portraits of Heroes (Amberley Publishing, 2011)
Moulson, Tom, The Millionaires’ Squadron (Pen & Sword, 2014)
Myers, Jay (compiled and edited), Securing the Skies 1940–2015 (RAF Museum, 2015)
Neil, Tom, The Silver Spitfire (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013)
Nimitz, Chester and Potter, E. B., Sea Power (Prentice Hall, 1960)
Owen, David, Dogfight: The Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt BF109 (Pen & Sword, 2015)
Paisey, Alan, Duty Hails the Sunrise – An Evader’s War: The Story of Terry Kearins – Fighter-Bomber Pilot, Evader, Farmer (Hatherley, 2014)
Peart, Alan, From North Africa to the Arakan: The Engrossing Memoir of a WWII Spitfire Ace (Grub Street, 2012)
Price, Alfred, Spitfire: A Documentary History (Macdonald and Jane’s, 1977)
Quill, Jeffrey, Spitfire: A Test Pilot’s Story (Arrow Books/Crecy, 1985/1996)
Robertson, Robbie, Memories: For Connie – Wife and Spitfire (Personal Memoir, 2007)
Roddis, Joe and Hillier, Mark, In Support of the Few (Yellowman, 2013)
Schrader, Helena, Sisters in Arms (Pen & Sword, 2006)
Scott, Allan, Born to Survive (Ellingham, 2013)
Shores, Christopher and Williams, Clive, Aces High (Grub Street, 1994)
Tangye, Nigel, Teach Yourself to Fly (Hodder Education, 1938)
Tangye, Nigel, Facing the Sea (William Kimber, 1974)
Taylor, Jimmy, One Flight Too Many (Greystones, 2012)
Todd, Ann, The Eighth Veil (William Kimber, 1980)
Vigors, Tim, Life’s Too Short to Cry (Grub Street, 2006)
Wagner, Ray and Nowarra, Heinz, German Combat Planes (Doubleday, 1971)
Wellum, Geoffrey, First Light (Penguin, 2009)
Wilkinson, John, The Lord Is my Shepherd: An Extraordinary Account of Aerial Combat over Europe During WWII (Two Geez Co, 2016)
Wood, Derek, The Battle of Britain (Bracken, 1990)
Zlobin, Igor, Spitfires over the Kuban (Lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/index.htm)
PICTURE CREDITS
Endpapers © Geoff Nutkins, www.aviartnutkins.com
Integrated
pagelink © Helen Nock
pagelink © Sarah Quill
pagelink © Diana Barnato Walker
pagelink, pagelink © Dundas Family Archive
pagelink © Bernard Brown
pagelink © Key Publishing
pagelink, pagelink, pagelink © Mark Hillier
pagelink, pagelink © 1940 Media Ltd
pagelink, pagelink, pagelink, pagelink © Erik Mannings
pagelink © Mary Ellis
pagelink © Joy Lofthouse
pagelink © Allan Scott
pagelink, pagelink, pagelink © Alan Peart
pagelink © HistoryNetArchives
pagelink © 41 Squadron Association
pagelink © Alan Paisey
pagelink © Getty Images
pagelink © Jane French
pagelink, pagelink © Tangye Family Archives
pagelink © Scott Blyth
pagelink © Barry Perks
pagelink © C Rosscow Family
pagelink © Ann Holmes
pagelink © Chris Bird
Plate Section
1, 2, 17 © Craig Sluman
3, 5, 6 © 1940 Media Ltd
4, 21, 23, 24 © John Nichol
7, 8 © Helen Nock
9 © Claire Hartley
10 © Harald Joergens Photography
11, 18 © Mark Hillier
12, 13, 14 © Scott Blyth
15 © John Dibbs
16 © Barry Perks
19 © Alan Peart
20 © Andy Perkins
22 © Chris Bird
25 © Ann Holmes
List of Illustrations
1. Engineers from the RAF Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight working on the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine of the Spitfire Mk IIa at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
2. Squadron Leader Duncan Mason displays the RAF BBMF Mk IIa Spitfire. This is the only Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940 that is still flying.
3. Pilots of 19 Squadron at RAF Fowlmere relive a dogfight after returning from a sortie in summer 1940.
4. Spitfire engineer Joe Roddis and the author at Goodwood airfield in 2016.
5. Spitfires of 222 Sqn at RAF Hornchurch scramble to meet an incoming raid during the Battle of Britain, Summer 1940.
6. Engineers prepare a batch of Spitfires prior to delivery to squadrons in 1944.
7. A Spitfire and Hurricane from the RAF BBMF at Gloucester airport. Spitfire veteran Ken Farlow looks on and fulfils a final wish to see his beloved Spitfire one last time.
8. When the RAF BBMF groundcrew were told about Ken’s service history, they were delighted to give him a personal tour around the Spitfire.
9. The RAF BBMF Spitfire Mk XVI starts its engine at RAF Coningsby.
10. A cockpit view of Spitfire TD314, built at Castle Bromwich in late 1944 and still flying with Aero Legends.
11. Engineer Joe Roddis (right) and pilot Terry Kearins, who had returned to duty after being shot down, relax on the wing of a Spitfire at Merville, France, in 1944.
12. US pilot John Blyth’s Photo Reconnaissance Spitfire Mk XI PA944.
13. John (far left) enjoys a well-earned cigarette.
14. And after he escaped a c
rash-landing in it on 12 September 1944.
15. ATA pilot Mary Ellis celebrates her 100th birthday in 2017 by taking the controls of a twin-seat Spitfire over Sussex. Shadowing her is one of the Spitfires she delivered during WWII whilst in the Air Transport Auxiliary.
16. Photo Reconnaissance Pilot Jimmy Taylor, who was shot down over Holland on 19 November 1944, with one of the RAF BBMF’s PR Mk XIX Spitfires at RAF Coningsby in 2016.
17. Squadron Leader Duncan Mason in the RAF BBMF Spitfire Mk IX over Derwent reservoir.
18. Spitfire engineer Joe Roddis and former WAAF Betty Wood at Goodwood airfield in 2009, five years after the wartime friends had been reunited.
19. Alan Peart with his niece Heather Peart, then a RNZAF pilot, on Anzac Day 2006 in Hamilton, New Zealand.
20. Veteran Allan Scott, 96, prepares for another Spitfire flight at RAF Biggin Hill in March 2017.
21. ATA pilots Mary Ellis (left) & Joy Lofthouse with the author at a reunion in 2017.
22. Brian Bird in 1946.
23. And with Air Vice Marshal Cliff Spink before his Spitfire flight in 2014.
24. Ken French at home in 2016 discussing his Spitfire experiences with the author.
25. Ray Holmes appears on an episode of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in 2002 with the chandelier he removed from the Reich Chancellery, scene of Hitler’s last stand, in 1945.
1. Engineers from the RAF Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight working on the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine of the Spitfire Mk IIa at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
2. Squadron Leader Duncan Mason displays the RAF BBMF Mk IIa Spitfire. This is the only Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940 that is still flying.
3. Pilots of 19 Squadron at RAF Fowlmere relive a dogfight after returning from a sortie in summer 1940.
4. Spitfire engineer Joe Roddis and the author at Goodwood airfield in 2016.
5. Spitfires of 222 Sqn at RAF Hornchurch scramble to meet an incoming raid during the Battle of Britain, Summer 1940.
6. Engineers prepare a batch of Spitfires prior to delivery to squadrons in 1944.
7. A Spitfire and Hurricane from the RAF BBMF at Gloucester airport. Spitfire veteran Ken Farlow looks on and fulfils a final wish to see his beloved Spitfire one last time.
8. When the RAF BBMF groundcrew were told about Ken’s service history, they were delighted to give him a personal tour around the Spitfire.
9. The RAF BBMF Spitfire Mk XVI starts its engine at RAF Coningsby.
10. A cockpit view of Spitfire TD314, built at Castle Bromwich in late 1944 and still flying with Aero Legends.
11. Engineer Joe Roddis (right) and pilot Terry Kearins, who had returned to duty after being shot down, relax on the wing of a Spitfire at Merville, France, in 1944.
12. US pilot John Blyth’s Photo Reconnaissance Spitfire Mk XI PA944.
13. John (far left) enjoys a well-earned cigarette.
14. And after he escaped a crash-landing in it on 12 September 1944.
15. ATA pilot Mary Ellis celebrates her 100th birthday in 2017 by taking the controls of a twin-seat Spitfire over Sussex. Shadowing her is one of the Spitfires she delivered during WWII whilst in the Air Transport Auxiliary.
16. Photo Reconnaissance Pilot Jimmy Taylor, who was shot down over Holland on 19 November 1944, with one of the RAF BBMF’s PR Mk XIX Spitfires at RAF Coningsby in 2016.
17. Squadron Leader Duncan Mason in the RAF BBMF Spitfire Mk IX over Derwent reservoir.
18. Spitfire engineer Joe Roddis and former WAAF Betty Wood at Goodwood airfield in 2009, five years after the wartime friends had been reunited.
19. Alan Peart with his niece Heather Peart, then a RNZAF pilot, on Anzac Day 2006 in Hamilton, New Zealand.
20. Veteran Allan Scott, 96, prepares for another Spitfire flight at RAF Biggin Hill in March 2017.
21. ATA pilots Mary Ellis (left) & Joy Lofthouse with the author at a reunion in 2017.
22. Brian Bird in 1946.
23. And with Air Vice Marshal Cliff Spink before his Spitfire flight in 2014.
24. Ken French at home in 2016 discussing his Spitfire experiences with the author.
25. Ray Holmes appears on an episode of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in 2002 with the chandelier he removed from the Reich Chancellery, scene of Hitler’s last stand, in 1945.
INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Page numbers in italic type refer to photographs.
A-20 bomber aircraft, 216
Abbeville, 176, 245
Aeroplane, 128
Afrika Korps, 138, 185, 186, 211, 216, 225 (see also North Africa; Rommel, Erwin)
prisoners from, 229, 230
Air Force Cross, 16
Air Training Corps, 70
Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), 116, 121–2, 124, 125, 128, 129–30, 131, 133, 134–5, 237, 323, 331, 337, 341, 343, 378, 387, 401
Beaverbrook’s praise for, 135
and war’s end, 378–9
women in, see Spitfire aircraft: and women
aircraft carriers, Spitfire missions launched from, 136–7, 154 (see also Wasp, USS)
Aitken, Max, 130–1, 133, 389
Algeria, 56, 184, 186, 187 (see also North Africa)
and Luftwaffe counter-attack, 210
Allen, Pilot Officer Johnny, 44, 45–6
Amersfoort, 372
Amiens, 242
Anzio, 295, 300
Apennines, 369
Arab–Israeli War, Spitfires in, 405
Ashdown, Flt Lt E. F., 397
Asquith (later Strawn), Marjorie, 184, 188, 211, 212, 214, 216
Strawn’s reunion with, 229
Atlas Mountains, 186, 198, 213, 218
Avro Anson aircraft, 134, 237, 238
Avro Tutor aircraft, 26
B17 Flying Fortress aircraft, 4, 223, 262, 265–70 passim
and losses, 266
B52 aircraft, 4
Bader, Douglas, 94–5, 102, 103–4, 105–6, 220, 389, 390
as POW, 106, 390
Bader, Thelma, 106
Bardsley, Edith, 241, 244, 254
Barnato, Barney, 35
Barnato Walker, Diana, 35–6, 35, 124–6, 129–33, 237–9, 322, 326, 331, 337–8, 341–4, 387–9
and husband’s crashed plane, 388–9
Barnato, Woolf ‘Babe’, 35, 124
Battle of Britain, 7, 8, 125, 134, 141, 152, 170, 177, 200, 259, 264, 319, 357, 367, 390
Churchill’s speech on, 56–7
penultimate fatality in, 91
and pilot training, time for, 258
RAF hit by, 116
under way, 59
witnessed heroics during, 78
Battle of Britain, 398
Beaufighter aircraft, 25, 199, 228
Beaverbrook, Lord, 53, 55, 130, 135, 389, 405
Beckett, Samuel, 26
Belgium:
Allies push into, 340
and Brussels liberation, 341
and German paratroopers, 39
Bell, Jack, 45
Benson, 238, 264, 360–1, 376–7
Berkeley, HMS, 181
Béthune., 104–5
Biarritz, 377
Biggin Hill, 58, 59, 76, 83, 118, 173, 176, 254, 255, 399
US pilots at, 256
Bird, Sgt Brian, 6–12, 27–8, 68–70, 258–9, 366, 367–71, 406
death of, 11
final Spitfire journey of, 9–11
wartime hits taken by, 8–9
Birkenhead Advertiser, 86
Bisdee, Sq. Ldr John, 137, 142
Blenheim aircraft, 99–100
and defence of France, 40
and Dieppe, 179, 181
Blitz, 74, 78–9, 86�
��8, 267–9
Malta bombing compared with, 140
Blyth, John, 54–5, 118–20, 334, 335–7
Bob, Hans-Ekkehard, 73
Bologna, 368, 371
Bomber Command, 4, 124, 231, 241, 361, 366
Bône, 189, 208
bumpy airstrip at, 191
Boomkamp, Jan, 395
Boston aircraft, 179, 203, 242
Bou Saâda, 221
Bradman, Donald, 258
Braid, James, 104
Bremen, 346, 363
Bristol, German bombing kills commuters in, 231–2
British Expeditionary Force (BEF), in France, 38–9, 41
Broadhurst, Grp Capt. Harry, 167, 172–3, 176, 181–2, 227
Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to, 182
Broadway, Burma, 307–8, 310
Brown, Bernard, 48, 49, 58–9, 62, 83–5
Brussels, liberation of, 341, 342
Bryson, Butch, 68
Buchenwald, 372, 393
Buckingham Palace, 86–7, 134, 360
Burma:
Broadway airstrip in, 307, 310
harassing enemy’s rear in, 310
Japan–Allies air battle over, 313–17
loss of, 309
Busse, Henry, 188
buzz-bombs, see V1 flying bombs
Byrd, Joseph, 184, 185, 186
Caen, 236, 338
Cap Bon, 144, 207, 227
Castle Bromwich, 24–5, 29, 55, 61, 102, 223
Chamberlain, Neville, 23, 24
Churchill replaces, 38
and start of WWII, 28
Chaplin, Charlie, 19
Charnock, Harry ‘Chas’, 200–4, 296
shot down, 201
Checketts, Johnny, 242, 245–52, 256
Chernetsov, Kapt. Viktor, 320–1
Chindits, 308, 310, 311
