Malta Spitfire : The Buzz Beurling Story

by George Beurling, Leslie Roberts

In the summer of 1942, twenty-five thousand feet above Malta, RAF Spitfires fought combat after bitter combat with clouds of German and Italian bombers and fighters. One of those Spitfire pilots was the Canadian George Beurling who, in fourteen flying days, destroyed twenty-seven Axis aircraft, damaged eight others and probably destroyed three more. Malta Spitfire tells Beurling's remarkable story and that of the outnumbered but dogged Spitfires which, day after day, climbed into the skies to defend the most bombed patch of land in the world. George Beurling was posted to Malta in 1942 and soon earned a tremendous reputation as a single-minded and determined pilot. He was gifted, prompting a superior to remark that µhe was a wonderful pilot; and an even better shot'. Malta Spitfire is a fighter pilot's story told by a fighter pilot sitting in the cockpit of his aircraft. The gripping narrative places the reader virtually at the controls of the plane, climbing to meet marauding Germans, diving down against bombers or dodging Italian fighters. This is aerial warfare in the words of one of its best exponents and a tale of skill and bravery in the face of tremendous odds.

Genres: War, History, Nonfiction, Biography, World War II, Memoir

247 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great autobiography of top Malta ace George Beurling. Written in 1943 after his return to Canada, this book gives great insight into a real-time life of a fighter pilot during the siege of Malta and throughout the book we are introduced into the rich cast of characters that made up the Knights of Malta. The start of the book is also great as he describes his love for flying and the long and interesting journey to becoming a fighter pilot with the RAF. A nice addition in the end is short biographies of the pilots mentioned in the book. Highly recommended for World War 2 enthusiasts.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amazing autobiography of the best World War II Canadian pilot.
This was a great historical read and it was very well written by the author (especially since he was not really a writer). It described vividly the hardships that George had to overcome just to be able to fly, not mentioning the hardships in the air. Overall, it was a wonderful book with the author being frank and writing in a very approachable style. I loved the style, facts and the beautiful illustrations!

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading books about World War II that were written during the war, before anyone was sure how it would end. This is a perfect example.

George Beurling was a Canadian who was obsessed with flying at an early age. He was born in 1921, which made him the perfect age for a combat pilot when World War II broke out. It wasn't as easy as you might think for a Canadian to get to England and join the RAF as a fighter pilot in 1939-40, and Beurling's saga takes up about the first quarter of the book. He eventually made it and was assigned to a Spitfire squadron, racking up a couple of aerial victories making sweeps over occupied France during a period which was pretty quiescent, air-war-wise, in the post-Battle of Britain days of 1941.

Beurling finally came into his own in 1942, when he was posted to a Spitfire squadron defending the tiny island of Malta, an Allied-held speck in the otherwise "Axis lake" of the Mediterranean between Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt. Malta and its several airfields was crucial to the Allies because it gave them a base from which to harass Rommel's army in North Africa, and to intercept supply convoys to Rommel from Europe. The Axis, of course, also recognized Malta's significance as a thorn in their side, and attempted to eliminate it with constant bombing raids, most originating from Sicily and consisting of mixed German and Italian air forces.

It was into this cauldron that Beurling and his squadron mates were thrown. The bulk of this book is an almost day-by-day chronicle of his squadron's activities, usually reacting to flights of Axis bombers but occasionally making offensive sweeps over Axis airfields in Sicily. Beurling, in first person, describes in florid detail the many aerial victories he scored during this time, including 27 in just a 14-day period during that summer of 1942.

Beurling was injured during a return flight to England at the end of October 1942, and his recuperation in hospital gave Canadian writer and journalist Lesle Roberts an opportunity to sit down and interview him about his Malta exploits. The result was this book, largely written in the first person as a biography, but with occasional breaks where Roberts inserts episodes of his interviews with Beurling.

The language of the book is rife with casual slang of the time, which adds to the book's immediacy (I've no doubt it was intended as a major propaganda and recruiting tool) and authenticity; but it makes some passages hard to read--especially when Beurling talks of fellow pilots and friends who were killed in action, and he harshly downplays the strong feelings he must have had on these (far too frequent) occasions.

This review pertains to my hardcover (apparently) first edition, published in 1943 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. It contains a few mediocre charcoal sketches of Allied and Axis aircraft in action.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Striking autobiography with writing help. Beurling described his life and career to Leslie Roberts while recovering from a crash near Gibraltar. So the book covers Beurling's efforts to become a pilot, then to get into a shooting war. The 1st person narrative is compelling and reminds us of the recent past, and how different it was.

Beurling is not a braggart, but he was certainly very competent, and knew it. The end notes with short career summaries of all the pilots encountered in the book is interesting. The core of the book is Beurling's narrative, and it's a quick read and well worth it.

[Lonibus · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Beurling, a W.W.II Canadian ace who shot down 28 Germans and Italians over Malta, tells his story.His enthusiasm for flying and his admiration and respect for his fellow flyers comes through on every page. Excellent!

[Donna McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

What an amazing gift this js . Some of those 250,000 Maltese that survived this battle and siege were my relatives. I am happy to read 'the rest of the story'. Thanks for making it available!

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written during the war with Buzz and a co-author. Minor propaganda. However outlines the spirit of the man and gives an in-site into "Screwball Beurling. It is a bitter sweet tail and is a touchstone for anyone interested in Canadian Aviation and WWII aviation.

[Laurent · Rating 5 out of 5]

in my opinion the Canadian pilot George Burling is one of the most daring pilots the allies ever saw during ww2

[Bruce Sutherland · Rating 5 out of 5]

In addition to being an outstanding book about flying, its an excellent review of the Second World War battle for the strategic island of Malta

[IKO · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great account of one of the more interesting fighter pilots and the passioniate tale of the Malta-siege.

The part about being accepted as a fighter pilot is just as interesting as the exploits as fighter pilot themself. He was an extraordinary character and the Malta circus was just up his alley. His passion for flying, shooting down Germans and his comrades oozes through these pages. The tragic end of some of these men is heartbreaking (especially his close friends Hester and Willy the Kid).

Furthermore, the character of Beurling was also completly different from what I expected, reading other accounts/books which mention him. He does not come over as an arrogant einselgänger who left his wingman hang out to dry. Quite the contrary in fact.

I found this an enthralling tale, altough maybe not with the same depth as Denis Barnham's account.

When I started typing this review I had selected 4 stars, however, after completing this piece I made it 5-stars, as I really consider this a must-read account of the Malta-story, which's importance for the outcome of the second world war is often forgotten, but which according to me was a pinnacle for the allied success.

[Michael Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty gripping memoir covering the evolution of an ace fighter pilot named George "Buzz" Beurling. The book begins with his youthful determination to fly and the great lengths he went to, to become an RAF pilot. His obsessive focus on all aspects of flight prepared him for the fight over Malta in 1942, where the Royal Air Force was vastly outnumbered and outgunned by the Germans and Italians were were determined to blast the British off of that tiny island. Once there, Beurling shot down an amazing 27 enemy planes in 14 flying days, cementing his reputation. An afterword by Billy Bishop's son, Arthur, gives a more objective view of Beurling, which rather undercuts the author's glowing depiction of his character and accomplishments. I was left with the conclusion that, though Beurling may have been an astonishingly good fighter pilot, he wouldn't likely be someone I'd like to work with or know.

[Davina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder, given when this was written, how accurate this was. Certainly, there were prohibitions which were to prevent revelations which might help the enemy. He's still an interesting character. Many of the notable characters in aviation have, like George, been obsessed with flying. It's also notable that he took such interest in deflection shooting, which apparently marksmanship was something many never mastered. George did. Wonder if the voice is an accurate portrayal of the author. This tells some of the story regarding the great challenges Malta had for survival, including the convoys, the many UXB's, and the early days where there were so few aircraft and pilots. It's a very quick read.

[Spad53 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly ordinary fighter ace ghostwritten story, written during the war. Beurling was called "Screwball" Beurling , and reading between the lines of this, you can understand why. The jargon is a bit tedious, and somehow he didn't seem like a nice chap, actually quite normal for fighter aces I've heard. What was interesting is the first-hand description of Malta during the siege, an unusual insight.
It was quite good, but only for really interested aviation enthusiasts.

[Doug Rawden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the siege of Malta. Written during the War as well. Well Recommended

[Todd Kehoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the earlier days of WWII when the war was raging there was no clear side who was going to win.

The book starts off with George Beurling wrote an autobiography during WWII in 1943 as a memoir of the air battle of Malta being defended by the British in 1942. The book starts off with George wanting anything to be a pilot in Canada, his home country. Eventually he sneaks off to England to fight in the RAF after their heroic air victory over Hitler & his Nazis in the Battle of Britain which left England on a meager amount of pilots left.

Eventually, he makes his way into the RAF fighting over England & France only to later get transferred to the Mediterranean to small important island of Malta in between Italy (still on the axis side) & Africa. It was the Battle of Britain on a smaller scale but just as important. The war was raging in Africa, the Germans & Italians were throwing everything they could to take the little island of 250,00 people & three RAF squadrons defending it.

He shot down 25+ aircraft making a it a pain for the Axis forces to take this little island that was a key the resupply the Nazi Afrika Corps commanded by General Rommel.

It’s a book that covers an important air battles before the Americans got in the war. It’s his autobiography written in the middle of the war when the future was in doubt, I’ll take his word for it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book! In the late 30's Beurling got a job at 28 cents per hour so he could afford $10 per hour for flying lessons - now that is dedication. He tried the Chinese, Finnish and Canadian air forces before he was finally accepted by the RAF. The majority of the book takes place at Malta where he and his comrades were often out numbered 10 to 1. The book was written in 1943 so there is a real sense of currentness to it. There is bravado on the pilots part and total disdain for the enemy! No post war reflection here. And to top things off he is Canadian!

[Gary Boland · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic book chronicling the siege of malta in 1943. Incredibly interesting how relief pilots had to fly from aircraft carriers near gibralter (couldn't go much closer because of the U-Boat thread) and then navigate by compass to malta only to find massive 200 aircraft enemy squadrons attacking malta 3 times a day and the island could only muster 2 aircraft in response at a time owing to fuel shortages.

[Phillip Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, How no one has made a movie of this guy I'll never know but they probably should.