RAF Fighter Command Losses of the Second World War Volume 2

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{detailed description}Volume 1 of Fighter Command Losses met wide acclaim and has established the series as a powerful reference source for historians and enthusiasts in the same manner as Midland's popular Bomber Command Losses series.
After the dark days of 1940-41 when the RAF managed to hold off the threat of the Luftwaffe, this volume sees Fighter Command firmly on the offensive with more and more strikes into German-held territory, either escorting medium bombers, finding 'targets of opportunity' or undertaking operations designed to simply draw up, engage and wear down the Luftwaffe fighter units.
Although exciting for the participants, such operations were extremely risky and a high proportion of the 1,800-plus RAF losses sustained during these two years were attributed to ground fire, all too often without any obvious material gain.
New types were added to the RAF's inventory during this period - the Hawker Typhoon and North American Mustang -while the Luftwaffe acquired the feared Focke-Wulf Fw190 'Butcher Bird', which was to have the upper hand until the arrival of the Spitfire IX in July 1942.
In November 1943, with the invasion of Europe in mind, the available British forces were split. Under the control of Allied Expeditionary Air Forces, Fighter Command was retitled 'Air Defence Great Britain' and the offensive units brought together as the '2nd Tactical Air Force'.
Norman Franks has written more than 30 books on the history of the Royal Air Force and Fighter Command in particular.
This work continues where Vol. 1 left off, recording the operational losses on a day-by-day basis, identifying the units, crews and the aircraft type, also the service serial number and code letters, where known. Fifty-three illustrations complement the loss details and appendices include regular reviews of the assets available to the Royal Air Force, a list of principal Wing Leaders and inter-related names and aircraft with Volume 1.
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Norman Franks
published by Midland Publishing 1998 1st edn. 157pp illus. 15x23 paperback
{condition}fine
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