Spitfire

Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II / the Violent Century: Weapons Book #6

by John Vader

An illustrated guide to the Supermarine Spitfire, used by the Royal Air Force and Allies in World War II, with an introduction by Air Vice Marshal and flying ace James Edgar Johnson.

"Men came from every corner of the free world to fly and fight in Spitfires. Men from countries where freedom had a meaning in their minds. A babel of tongues chattered in her cockpit, and all came to love her for her throughbread qualities.

Today there are only a handful of Spitfires still flying, and seldom can be heard taht nostalgic whistling call ass she arcs across the sky. But occassionally, after all these years, I am privileged to fly in that familiar cockpit again when the song of her Merlin engine brings back a hundred memories of those valiant years."
—Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson, from the Introduction

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of research went into this. Good to have read it.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 2 out of 5]

First published by Ballantine in 1971 but previously published in 1969, 'Spitfire' is one of many titles in Ballantine's Illustrated History of World War II series. This short potted history of the Supermarine Spitfire is informative enough, but relies too often on myths lifted from other discredited histories. As with most of the volumes in the series, a good choice if photos is spoiled by extremely poor reproduction on poor quality paper. Not one that I would recommend, as there are so many better books out there on the Spitfire.