Malta Spitfire Aces

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #83

by Steve Nichols

The siege of Malta during World War 2 is one of the great epics of aerial warfare. In 1942, it was described alternately as both a 'fighter pilot's paradise' and 'the most bombed place on earth'. During the peak of the Axis efforts against Malta, it suffered 154 consecutive days and nights of bombing, 100 nights more that London suffered during the Blitz.

The destruction of Axis convoys by Malta-based aircraft proved to be one of the decisive factors in the defeat of Rommel's forces in North Africa. This vital position would have been lost if it had not been for the successful defence of the island by a handful of greatly outnumbered Royal Air Force fighter squadrons. In the brutal and unforgiving air war over Malta only the very best fighter pilots succeeded, and all too often that was no guarantee of living another day. This book details the heroic story of the Spitfire Aces based on Malta. Drawn from an international team of Australians, British, Canadians, New Zealanders, Rhodesians and South Africans these pilots fought against extreme deprivation, physical hardships and overwhelming odds in one of the most crucial and decisive air battles of World War II.

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2008

Reviews

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-done number in this long running series and Steve Nichols seems to have drawn upon a strong base of resources in terms of pulling this work together. One thing I particularly like about it is that there is strong coverage of the carrier-based reinforcement effort. About the only thing that gives me a little pause is that the aircraft profiles seem a little washed out as compared to the photos that they're derived from; though that might reflect the artist trying to capture the effect of the hard Mediterranean sunlight.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 2008, 'Malta Spitfire Aces' in number 83 in the 'Osprey Aircraft of the Aces' series of aviation titles. Following what is by now an established format, the text covers various stages of the military background with some well chosen photos, plus 10 pages of well captioned colour artwork profiles and finishing with 2 pages of 1/72 scale plans of the Spitfire variants featured. A useful addition to the reading matter available on a well documented military campaign.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Malta Spitfire Aces is a very good book; it specializes in the airplanes, and dogfights over and on Malta. This book does not only tell the facts about the Maltese pilots, but it also gives facts about every single plane that set foot on Malta during WW2. But only the Spitfires no other plane, it explains what those individuals did in Malta, and any dog fights they had untop of Malta; for example the British would park any plane they wanted in Malta, then go and fight off the Nazis. Overall I give these book 5 stars and well make sure a lot of people read it.