Un Duel D'Aigles: RAF contre Luftwaffe

by Peter Townsend

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, return to the exciting first days of air warfare and see how these early events ultimately shaped this seminal struggle. A stirring survey--led by a pilot who himself took part in the conflict--traces the battle's background from the defeat and destruction of the Kaiser's air force to the long days of 1940 when Spitfires and Messerschmitts fought to the death over England. The colorful, dramatic, and evocative stories tell of dogfights in the sky, ruthless political maneuvers, legendary heroes (like the "Red Baron")--and then show how all this led to the furious air combat that saved Britain from German invasion.

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

549 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, CVO, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953. Townsend is best known for his ill-fated romance with Princess Margaret. Despite his distinguished career, as a divorced man there was no chance of marriage with the princess and their relationship caused enormous controversy in the mid 1950s.

Peter Townsend spent much of his later years writing non-fiction books. His books include "Earth My Friend" (about driving/boating around the world alone in the mid 1950s), "Duel of Eagles," (about the Battle of Britain), "The Odds Against Us" (also known as "Duel in the Dark") (about fighting Luftwaffe night bombers in 1940-1941), "The Last Emperor" (A biography of King George VI), The Girl in the White Ship (about a young refugee from Vietnam in the late 1970s who was the sole survivor of her ship of refugees), The Postman of Nagasaki (about the atomic bombing of Nagasaki), and Time and Chance, (an autobiography). He also wrote many short articles and contributed to other books. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

Duel of Eagles provides a cursory story of the development of military aviation during World War I as well as a comprehensive history of the development of both the RAF (Royal Air Force) and what was to be the Luftwaffe during the 1920s and 1930s, culminating in the Battle of Britain, during which both forces were pitted against each other in aerial combat over Britain between July and October 1940.

Townsend – a fighter pilot who himself had commanded a Hurricane squadron (No. 85) in the Battle of Britain --- writes really well and shows how knowledgeable he is about the subject of this book. Plus, from time to time, he shares with the reader his own combat experiences during 1939-40, which makes this book extra solid as far as I’m concerned. There are also 24 pages of photos and an extensive index and glossary for those diehard aviation enthusiasts eager to read Duel of Eagles.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this is a first person account of Townsend's early WW2 experience, along with anecdotes from pilots and flight crew of both sides in the 1930s and up to September 1940. That is all excellent, and the interleaving of Goering vs Dowding's decisions, and the actions of Park, Kesselring and co. makes for great reading.

The first 1/3rd of the book was tough going. The detailed description of the politics of the RAF vs RN and RA, then the development of the Luftwaffe in parallel were not well served by the style of interwoven descriptions. The short statements about different individual pilots' lives just interrupt the narrative that is uneven.

Overall it's a good read, especially once I started skipping over the overly detailed (for me) political history.

Britain's shameful treatment of Dowding and Park is sad reading. Leigh-Mallory comes off poorly, but that could be based on Townsend's obvious bias. At any rate, it's a first person account mixed with some well researched history of the interwar years. Probably needed better editing (like this review).

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over last thirty years or so, military history books written or translated into English have constituted a major part of literature that I like to read. No matter how hard I try, I cannot recollect reading a book in that genre that seems as quintessentially ‘English’ as “Duel of Eagles”. Written only 30 years after the legend of Battle of Britain took shape, by a man who actually led one of RAF squadrons into battle against Luftwaffe, it is filled to brim by English patriotism, stiff upper lip and absolute and unreserved pride in the achievement of ‘the few’. And rightfully so!

The passion and emotional engagement of the author makes this volume into very engaging and surprisingly compassionate read. The human aspect of the story told in this book is very tangible, often painfully so. In my opinion therein lies the main strength of this book - the reader gets sincere, frequently uncomfortable insight into the psyche of the young men who did their best to kill each other in French and British skies that fateful summer of 1940. Sense of duty that drove them, exhilaration of combat and joy of surviving yet another day, constant fear of being maimed or burned to death, the utter exhaustion, sorrow over friends lost often in front of ones eyes and quite often pure disgust over the constant slaughter of both friend and foe – this odd mix of emotions is perfectly depicted by author and leaves a very poignant, lasting imprint on reader’s mind.

As so often is the case though, the strength of this book is also its greatest weakness. The strong feelings of the author get in the way of providing a truely objective analysis of the ‘big picture’. In this respect, the book clearly retells the ‘lore’ of Battle of Britain rather than its history. If the reader is interested in ‘proper’ analysis of early history of RAF and Luftwaffe and especially the operational analysis of Battle of Britain, it must be said that there is a multitude of better choices that this volume. “Duel of Eagles” should be regarded as what it is – a beautiful and thoughtful acknowledgement of bravery and ultimate sacrifice of young men wasted in a deadly conflict that never should have happened in the first place.

[Robert Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Townsend was a British fighter pilot during the Battle of Britain. As a side note, he was also the man Princess Margaret wanted to marry but was forbidden by her sister, the Queen.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can scarcely believe this fine work has only 12 reviews thus far.
I found it quite well-written. While the first parts seem slow going, Townsend is carefully setting up the massive undercover development of the Luftwaffe and the slower but still timely development of the RAF (fighter squadrons, radar, and the command and control systems) for their momentous collision. While the end result is well-known, he manages to introduce quite a bit of suspense -- how will the British pull it off given the political and bureaucratic intrigues at the command and cabinet level as well as the enormous losses of men and materiel suffered.
I also enjoyed how Townsend introduced detailed human characters on both sides to illustrate the development of the contending forces and the progress of the conflict itself.

[Drasko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Politically biased but full of compassion for aviators of both sides who had to slog it out in the skies of Britain. Author is conveniently forgetting that Trenchard is one of these who forbid issuing parachutes to British aviators in WW1. So he maybe loved his pilots (author's statement) but he didn't trust them at all. There are number of instances of blind patriotism leading author to some dubious conclusion (especially as book is written 30 years after Battle of Britain) but still well written book which should be read by every aviation enthusiast in the world. This edition has a important flaw. Numerous times Autor is extoling his beloved Hurricane as unsung hero of Battle of Britain and some "bright spark" put a Spitfire on the front page. Seriously??!!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the eye witness accounts and a view from a pilot of a Hurricane who loved the plane and didn't care for all the attention given to the Spitfires during the Battle of Britain. I wished it didn't work so hard to keep it chronologically focused as I admittedly lost track of who was for some people with obvious ones like Dowding, Bader and Goering always ducking in and out of the account. However you really get immersed into the battle where some accounts are horrific, others absurd and some just showing how brave these men had to be. I think if I ever read it again I will keep a notebook beside me.

[Harry Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago and was struck by the detail Peter Townsend includes. His description of both the men, machines and air battles are just incredible. Yes the first part describing RAF history is somewhat “ stuffy” but it is necessary. There is no finishing date because it is a book that I cannot leave behind.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting with WW I, it covers the growth of both the Luftwaffe and the RAF in the interwar period to the Battle of Britain and both the British and German personalities of the principals involved. Interwoven throughout are descriptions of individual and group combats.

[Mark Canfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough first-person account of the Battle of Britain.

[James Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It took me forever to read it - it is written in narrative format rather than really "putting you into the story", so it isn't a page-turner in the normal sense. But it gives a lot of great information about air warfare and how it developed and played such a pivotal role in WW2.

What was most fascinating to me was the camaraderie that the author (a British WW2 pilot himself) described among pilots, whether friend or enemy.

[Karla Goodhouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good account of the Battle of Britian. It is written by an English pilot who fought in the war. He interviewed several German pilots for the book (including a man that he shot down during the battle) and gives an accurate portrayal from both sides.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on the Battle of Britain told from the perspective of a British pilot who fought in the battle. It includes German perspectives, along with blunders on both sides. What was really helpful was the background on the beginnings of both the RAF and Luftwaffe. Highly recommend!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best write ups of the Battle of Britain I have ever read.

[Cws]

XOS-940.54T

[Dwayne Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great account by a RAF pilot who was there.