Spitfire vs Bf 109: Battle of Britain

Tony Holmes

may 2020 · Duel Kitab 5 · Bloomsbury Publishing

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Churchill's words, 'never was so much owed by so many to so few', came to encapsulate how, in a few critical months, the entire fate of the British Empire, if not the war, hung in the balance, to be determined by a handful of pilots fighting tirelessly in the skies over Britain. Tony Holmes describes the Battle of Britain, the clash between the Spitfire I/II and the Bf 109E - detailing not only the key elements of both aircraft types - the airframe, engine, armament and flying characteristics, but also the pilots' training and tactics accompanied by diagrams of actual flight formations. The growing influence of radar and the efforts of British air defences are also examined, as are real-life engagements - from both German and British perspectives. With a wealth of first-hand accounts from the veterans who strapped themselves into these legendary machines as well as illustrations and cockpit-view artwork, this book puts the reader in the midst of a dogfight, providing a unique insight into one of the greatest duels of history in the world's first major aerial battle.

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Tony Holmes has worked as Osprey's aerospace editor since 1989. He established the critically acclaimed and hugely popular Aircraft of the Aces series in 1994. Tony has written more than 20 books for Osprey in the past 17 years. He has had a lifelong fascination with the Battle of Britain and is in contact with the surviving veterans of this critical conflict.

Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives in New Hampshire. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, from 1974–78, and since he graduated with honours, he has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration. He has been commissioned to paint for the US Air Force and has aviation paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon. Mark Postlethwaite is a leading aviation artist and currently does all the cover artwork for the Aircraft of the Aces and Combat Aircraft series for Osprey Publishing and is based in Leicester, UK. Mark completed the battlesene painting in this volume.