Spitfire The Combat History

No fighter aircraft in history has evoked such enthusiasm as the Supermarine Spitfire. Beloved by all who flew it, the Spitfire and its naval version, the Seafire, fought in every theatre of war. In fact, the Spitfire was the only Allied fighter aircraft to see continual front-line service from 1939 to 1945, and its combat career went beyond that. In the immediate postwar years, Spitfires saw action in
Malaya, Indo-China and Israel, where they played a great part in assuring the infant Israeli Air Force's air supremacy over its Arab foes, while Seafires fought in Korea.
In this superbly illustrated and intensely readable book, leading aviation historian Robert Jackson charts the Spitfire's combat career across the world, from its earliest skirmishes against the Luftwaffe over the North Sea to its final actions of WW2 against the Japanese in Burma, and also deals with operations by the Royal Navy's Seafires in European and Far Eastern waters.
Through the eyes of its pilots, Spitfire enthusiasts will discover what it was like to fly unarmed photo-reconnaissance Spitfires over Germany, dodging enemy fighters at the edge of the stratosphere, and to dive-bomb V-1 sites later in the war. Each chapter provides a comprehensive account of the Spitfire's ongoing development and its combat career in the various roles it had to perform under the stresses and demands of war. In the chapter on the Battle of Britain – the action for which the Spitfire will always be best remembered – the author gives a day-by-day account of victories and losses, with the names of the pilots involved and their fate.
All in all, the book is a remarkable account of a truly remarkable fighter aircraft and the men who flew it to victory.

by Robert Jackson
Published by Airlife 1995 1st edition. 194pp profusely illustrated, index, appendix, 19x25 mint, including d/j.





Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.

other titles which may be of interest:
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The Spitfire Log £10.00 find out more

The Spitfire V Manual £30.00 find out more