Overview

The Spitfire was one of the most - perhaps the most - successful fighter designs of all time and its service career linked the biplane era with the jet age. Yet the Spitfire is much more than just a superb flying machine. During World War 2 it occupied a unique place in the psyche of the British people and many believed it played a major part in saving the nation from defeat during the grim days of 1940. The wing design gave it a distinctive silhouette which led to its almost legendary status during the Battle of Britain, and its inimitable drone was immediately recognizable to those on the ground. Even now, those who lived through the Battle of Britain can instantly recognize the sound of a Spitfire in the sky. The Spitfire was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft and was the only Allied fighter in production throughout the war. This new handsome history looks in detail at the development of the Spitfire from its heroics in the Battle of Britain right through action in the European Theatre, Pacific Theatre and the South-East Asian theatre when it was the backbone of RAF Fighter Command. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire saw service in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, carrier-based fighter, and trainer; it was built in many different variants, with two different types of engine and several wing configurations. Commissioned especially to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this striking book will be a fitting tribute to one of the greatest symbols of British wartime success and victory, and provides everything any aviation enthusiast or historian could wish to know about this irreplaceable British icon.

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9781857803242

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Reviews

An authoritative history of this iconic fighter by a renowned aviation author -- Ben Dunnell, Editor Aircraft magazine The story of the Spitfire could not be told completely in a book of this size, but what the author has done is to condense it into a mixture of development information and combat history, so as not to overwhelm the average reader. What I find most attractive is the large number of excellent photographs, some of which were used as a reference for the colour profiles. This is not an ultimate reference, but it does give the reader a good idea of what it was like in front line service, during and after WW2 and with a landscape format both the photographs and the colour profiles are shown to their best advantage. * MAM September 2010 * Just another spitfire book? No, not really, despite the fact that this title is not the first to feature the coupling of the author to this subject. Although material wise, there is not much new, with the text expanding on the concept, design and development of probably the most famous fighter plane of all time, it will be presentation that will sell this book. Beautifully printed in hard cover and glossy stock paper format, this publication was especially commissioned to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and traces the development of the spitfire from its Supermarine Schneider Trophy winning seaplane origins through its iconic performance during the Battle of Britain and later in European, Pacific and South East Asian theatres to service beyond the end of World War II. Developed through the many variants, the Spitfire served not only as a fighter but also in the roles of photo reconnaissance, fighter-bomber and carrier based fighter. It also served with a number of nations particularly post war. The book is beautifully illustrated with an excellent selection of high quality black and white period photos, some of which will be familiar to readers but several that will be quite new- these being complimented with some very fine colour profile drawings, colour photos of preserved and restored examples technical data tabled and a number of indicies. And the photos are not just of the aeroplane itself, there are some 'atmospheric' images of ground crews at work on the aircraft, factory production lines along with images of a number of Spitfire 'drivers'- some that will be familiar to all of us. Yes it is another Spitfire book but it is one of superb quality and provides more than a fitting tribute to this great aeroplane. As such, it is certainly worth the dollars and a most appropriate addition to any enthusiast's and modeller's libraries. * Modelart October 2010 * IT'S SPITFIRE and Battle of Britain book publishing season! Whenever a significant anniversary comes around for either of them, so does a swathe of new books. In the case of the Battle it's the recent 70th anniversary and with the Spitfire it's the 75th birthday coming in March. A quick look at my bookshelf revealed no fewer than 36 Spitfire books - including three of my own and five others by Dr Price. And that's not counting technical publications, pilot's notes and lots of other stuff. It seems we have an insatiable appetite for Spitfires whether it be real ones, models, books or DVDs. The demand will always be there. So what does this one offer? If you're a diehard Spitfire book collector, probably not much that's new in terms of information, but the information presented is useful and comprehensive. Lots of 'breakout boxes' and tables help create a good overall Spitfire history within the book's 14 chapters and three appendices. The landscape format encourages the use of large photographs of which there are many, supported by some colour profiles. The Battle of Britain book has also seen much of its material appear before but again, this package is well researched and well written. If you're planning to acquire just one book on the subject, this will do nicely. Divided into phases of the Battle, the text is supported by maps, diagrams, breakouts on people and equipment, and insights from some who took part on both sides. There is an excellent selection of photographs and appendices cover a number of subjects to round out the story. It's a good, solid work - as you'd expect from Alfred Price. * Aero Australia * Easily considered as a companion volume to the author's Battle of Britain (From Classic, another of Ian Allan's imprints), Supermarine Spitfire is a picture-led summary of the immortal fighter. Given the extensive past writings of Dr Price on the subject, I expected the text to be all too familiar, but, as with Battle of Britain, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course there is nothing new about the story, but the manner of its telling is fresh and the presentation delightful. Key elements of the tale are pulled out into ""feature boxes"", as are first-hand accounts, deployment summaries, comparisons with enemy fighters, etc. The comparison between the Spitfire Mk1 and Bf 109E used in Battle of Britain is repeated, but it is equally valuable in both books, and her a later pairing of Mk VB and Fw 190A-3 makes it all the more relevant. But, for all the author's good work, where this book really excels is in its illustrations and the quality of their reproduction. The photographs are well chosen and well captioned, used large enough to be really impressive and reproduced to a very high standard. The lack of artwork that concerned me in Battle of Britain is remedied her in six colour profiles, all of them excellent, although the Mk XVIII seems just a little ""overdone"" compared with the others. No doubt seasoned enthusiasts will already have plenty on the Spitfire in their libraries, and this book will offer little in the way of new information. But for its photographs alone it must be worth a look, and for readers looking anew at the subject, there is much to recommend about this book. * Flypast *

Author Information

Dr Alfred Price served as an aircrew officer in the Royal Air Force where he flew with the V-Force and specialised in electronic warfare and air fighting tactics. In a military flying career spanning 15 years, he logged over 4,000 flying hours. Since 1974, he has been a full-time writer aviation on subjects and has written more than 46 books. He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

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