The Battle of Britain : The Greatest Air Battle of World War II

by Richard Hough, Denis Richards

A definitive account of the three-month air battle in 1940 between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. The victory of the Battle of Britain ranks with Marathon and the Marne as a decisive point in history. At the end of June 1940, having overrun much of Western Europe, the Nazi war leaders knew that they had to defeat the Royal Air Force Fighter Command before they could invade the British mainland. With a finely-struck balance of historical background and dramatic renderings of RAF and Luftwaffe engagements over the English countryside, Hough and Richards offer a history that is at once deep and wide-ranging. They offer insight into how the British laid the groundwork for victory through aircraft research and production, the development and implementation of command and control structures, and research into new technologies, the most important of which was radar. Hough and Richards also utilize first-person accounts of the battle whenever possible, rendering the battle scenes with cinematic intensity. A compelling introduction to one of the most important battles of World War II, The Battle of Britain pays tribute to the men about whom Winston Churchill would remark, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." 100 illustrations, 7 maps

Genres: History, Aviation, Military History, Military Fiction, World War II, War, Nonfiction

413 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Richard Alexander Hough was a British author and historian specializing in naval history. As a child, he was obsessed with making model warships and collecting information about navies around the world. In 1941, he joined the Royal Air Force and trained at a flying school near Los Angeles. He flew Hurricanes and Typhoons and was wounded in action.

After World War II, Hough worked as a part-time delivery driver for a wine shop, while looking for employment involving books. He finally joined the publishing house Bodley Head, and then Hamish Hamilton, where he eventually headed the children’s book division.

His work as a publisher inspired him to turn to writing himself in 1950, and he went on to write more than ninety books over a long and successful career. Best-known for his works of naval history and his biographies, he also wrote war novels and books for children (under the pseudonym Bruce Carter), all of which sold in huge numbers around the world. His works include The Longest Battle: The War at Sea 1939-45, Naval Battles of the Twentieth Century and best-selling biographies of Earl Mountbatten of Burma and Captain James Cook. Captain Bligh and Mr Christian, his 1972 account of the mutiny on the Bounty, was the basis of the 1984 film The Bounty, starring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson.

Hough was the official historian of the Mountbatten family and a longtime student of Churchill. Winston Churchill figures prominently in nine of his books, including Former Naval Person: Churchill and the Wars at Sea. He won the Daily Express Best Book of the Sea Award in 1972.

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strong point of Hough & Richards is the attention they lavish upon the evolution of the RAF up to the very summer of '40, when some lessons learnt over France were hastily incorporated. Once divorced from Navy and Army, Air Marshall Dowding is the name most & rightly associated with the development of Fighter Command into a second Shield of the Isle, built upon radar and Hurricanes, with the state-of-the-art Spitfire scrambled in smaller numbers upon every early warning.

There's some attention to Bomber Command - once the realisation sunk in that the bomber didn't always get through, whatever Me 109 force their raids sapped away from the Channel was welcome - but Fighter Command is the mirror up to which the Luftwaffe is held. Built up as a tactical air force, it switched targets between July and September from shipping to radar stations to Spitfire wings to the London Blitz. It was tasked to fight a war for which it wasn't equipped, to an objective it couldn't define. Goering also consistently misinterpreted the statistics: he lost more pilots over water than Dowding over his home turf, while the aircraft industry kept (tight)pace with lost aircraft.

These are the main lines sketched artfully. What I don't understand is how, with 300 participants alive and interviewed, the course of the battle can retain a dull feel ? The interspersed eyewitness accounts don't seem to fit in. Many are parked in the "Scrambles" section at the end of the book.

It's hard to tell most days from the next, with the exception of Atlertag, and after the Luftwaffe bombers fly up the Thames with the idea that it'll lure the remains of Fighter Command, things peter out.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most authoritative and detailed study of 'The Battle of Britain', published in 1990 as the 'Jubilee History'.
The two authors, Richard Hough and Denis Richards have produced a fitting account of 'their finest hour'. It makes for a very enjoyable read, full of information covering the RAF's Fighter Command during the months of 1940. What I found striking was the development, many years prior to hostilities, of the effective air defences set up by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. If England slept during the inter war years, the head of Fighter Command certainly did not. He built his air defences into a fully coherent network of squadron bases, equipped with modern fighters, ground crews, telecommunication links and early warning coastal radar stations. With this efficient structure in place the glorious 'few' certainly prevented invasion.

[James L · Rating 4 out of 5]

First full treatment of the Battle of Britain I've ever read.

[Brian Miracle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting study of the Battle of Britain. The book actually starts with discussion of the German bombing campaign against Britain in World War 1 and the British defensive measures. The authors discuss the development of the various aircraft types on both sides, the British development of radar, and the range limitations of the German aircraft. They also show how, even during the appeasement years, Britain was building up its fighter force in expectation of the battle to come.

During the Battle of France, Fighter Command’s commander, Hugh Dowding, resisted sending additional squadrons to France to preserve his force for the defense of Britain. This, among other things, was a key factor in the British victory.

The authors detail the battle, weaving in personal stories from both ground and air personnel, including Germans. They also pay tribute to all the support personnel, including the role of women in the battle.

I recommend this book for those seeking to study the Battle of Britain.

[Michael Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read on the battle of Britain. Especially loved the last chapter that contained various eyewitness accounts from pilots to air crew and including WAAC testimonies.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent recount of the Battle permeated with various anecdotes and individual stories.

[Beth/Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed. Explains how close the outcome really was.

[Robert Drumheller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author provided many detailed references of the battle. The writing style of the author allowed the book to come to life as I was reading it. A good account from the British point of view.

[Curt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long on statistics and short on personal experiences.