Spitfire People
Spitfire People

Author: Paul Beaver

Publisher: Evro Publishing Limited

Published: 2016-02-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781910505052

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This book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people - some famous, others not - ranging from politicians to pilots. Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people, some famous, others not. Without the courage and tenacity of some leading political and military figures and the hard work of lesser-known mortals, there would have been no Spitfire, no Battle of Britain and no ultimate victory in 1945. Many people in positions of power played their part in the ultimate success of the Spitfire, but a few staked their reputations on a radical design that brought together the best in British design, technology and ingenuity. This book tells many significant individual stories. - Political people: Sir Winston Churchill (voice in the wilderness and wartime leader), Air Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman (senior champion of the Spitfire in the Air Ministry), Lord Beaverbrook (Minister for Aircraft Production). - Design and development people: Reginald Mitchell (chief designer 1934–36), Joe Smith (chief designer 1936–47), Jeffrey Quill (test pilot), Ernest Hives (Rolls-Royce experimental head and key player in the design of the Merlin engine), Sir Stanley Hooker (mathematician and Merlin engine developer), the ladies of Vickers Supermarine at Trowbridge (factory workers). - Operational people: James ‘Johnny' Johnson (highest-scoring Spitfire ace), Henry Cozens (first squadron commander), Geoffrey Wellum (youngest Battle of Britain pilot), Douglas Bader (Spitfire wing leader and inspirational disabled pilot). - Experimental people: Tony Martindale (RAE Farnborough test pilot), Eric ‘Winkle' Brown (chief naval test pilot and the first man to land a Seafire on an aircraft carrier). - Heritage people: Ray Hanna (Old Flying Machine company), Carolyn Grace (the only female owner/pilot in the world), Phill O'Dell (chief test pilot at Rolls-Royce and Spitfire display pilot). - Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Flying the Icon: Spitfire
Flying the Icon: Spitfire

Author: Jarrod Cotter

Publisher: Fighting High

Published: 2016-09-15

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780993212987

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A unique insight into what it is like to fly one of the most widely-recognised and popular aircraft in the history of aviation - the Spitfire.

Spitfire on My Tail
Spitfire on My Tail

Author: Ulrich Steinhilper

Publisher: Crecy Publishing

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781872836003

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Ulrich describes his 150 grueling missions as a fighter pilot par excellence, until being shot down and captured over England in October 1940.

The Spitfire
The Spitfire

Author: Philip Kaplan

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2017-07-31

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 1473898544

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“An amazing tribute to the people who designed, built and flew it—a comprehensive history of one of the most beautiful aircraft ever manufactured.”—Books Monthly The magnificent Vickers Supermarine Spitfire, together with its able partner the Hawker Hurricane, saved Britain from Nazi invasion in the summer of 1940 and irrevocably changed the course of the Second World War. This book from Philip Kaplan celebrates one of history’s most important weapons in a glorious new light. A British national icon, the Spitfire is the best-known symbol of the war years for generations of Britons. From the deep, haunting growl of its Rolls-Royce engine, to the elegant style of its elliptical wing, it is perhaps the most famous and revered combat airplane ever built. Kaplan investigates just what it is that fuels the Spitfire’s compelling mystique. During wartime, it held an unrivaled reputation amongst Allied and Axis airmen. Today, it continues to hold aviation enthusiasts in thrall. Kaplan highlights the immeasurable contributions of Spitfire designers Reginald J. Mitchell and Joseph Smith, test pilots Jeffrey Quill, Mutt Summers and Alex Henshaw, and ace Spitfire pilots including Al Deere, Sailor Malan and Pierre Clostermann. All added to the legend of this lovely, but deadly, little fighter. “Can be considered a ‘Potted History’ of the Spitfire and its military and civilian service, with particular emphasis being placed on the restoration of AR213. On that basis it will probably appeal to Spitfire aficionados in particular and to aviation and war-bird enthusiasts in general.”—NZ Crown Mines

Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire

Author: Alfred Price

Publisher: Haynes Publishing UK

Published: 2018-11-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781785215742

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The legendary Supermarine Spitfire receives the famous Haynes manual treatment with the full co-operation and authorisation of the Royal Air Force. Here is a unique perspective on what it takes to own, restore and operate a Spitfire, as well as an insight into the engineering and construction of this remarkable fighter aircraft. This highly detailed book is based around the Spitfire Mk IX at RAF Coningsby.

Spitfire Girl
Spitfire Girl

Author: Jackie Moggridge

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-07-03

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 1781859884

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The inspiring memoir of the remarkable Jackie Moggridge: ATA girl, Spitfire expert and pioneer. 'We had returned to a different world. We had taken off in peace at nine-thirty and landed in war at noon.' Jackie Moggridge was just nineteen when World War Two broke out. Determined to do her bit, she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary. Ferrying aircraft from factory to frontline was dangerous work, but there was also fun, friendship and even love in the air. At last the world was opening up to women... or at least it seemed to be. From her first flight at fifteen to smuggling Spitfires into Burma, Jackie describes the trials and tribulations, successes and frustrations of her life in the sky. What Amazon readers are saying about Spitfire Girl: 'There is something for everyone in this remarkable autobiography, adventure, romance, flight, struggle, victory. Must read!' 5* 'An amazing book by an inspirational woman' 5* 'Drama, aircraft, relationships... it's all there in this great page-turner!' 5* 'I am left with real admiration for Jackie Moggridge, truly an amazing lady' 5* 'Brilliant book. What an amazing women she was' 5*.

Spitfire Pilot
Spitfire Pilot

Author: David Crook

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2008-06-30

Total Pages: 111

ISBN-13: 1909808792

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“A brilliant first-hand account of the life of a fighter pilot” in World War II (The Spectator). Spitfire Pilot was written in 1940 in the heat of battle, when the RAF stood alone against the might of Hitler’s Third Reich. It is a tremendous personal account of one of the fiercest and most idealized air conflicts—the Battle of Britain—seen through the eyes of a pilot of the famous 609 Squadron, which shot down over one hundred planes in that epic contest. Often hopelessly outnumbered, David Crook and his colleagues, in their state-of-the-art Spitfires, committed acts of unimaginable bravery against the Messerschmitts and the Junkers. Many did not make it—and Crook describes the absence they leave in the squadron with great poignancy. Includes an introduction by historian Richard Overy

Spitfire, Return to Flight
Spitfire, Return to Flight

Author: Brendon Deere

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9780473167110

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The history of the Spitfire and Spitfire PV270, the career of Alan Deere, the experiences of the pilots in the Battle of Britain and the modern pilots, a detailed look at the restoration of this Spitfire and a photographic view of this Spitfire in action.

The Silver Spitfire
The Silver Spitfire

Author: Tom Neil

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Published: 2013-02-28

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0297868144

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A brilliantly vivid Second World War memoir by one of 'the Few' Spitfire fighter pilots. Following the D-Day landings, Battle of Britain hero Tom Neil was assigned as an RAF liaison to an American fighter squadron. As the Allies pushed east, Neil commandeered an abandoned Spitfire as his own personal aeroplane. Erasing any evidence of its provenance and stripping it down to bare metal, it became the RAF's only silver Spitfire. Alongside his US comrades, he took the silver Spitfire into battle until, with the war's end, he was forced to make a difficult decision. Faced with too many questions about the mysterious rogue fighter, he contemplated increasingly desperate measures to offload it, including bailing out mid-Channel. He eventually left the Spitfire at Worthy Down, never to be seen again. THE SILVER SPITFIRE is the first-hand, gripping story of Neil's heroic experience as an RAF fighter pilot and his reminiscences with his very own personal Spitfire.