Spitfire Aces of the Channel Front 1941-43

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #131

by Andrew Thomas, Chris Thomas (Illustrations)

Eighty years after the Spitfire was first developed, it remains an icon of military aviation. Though many associate its victory during the Battle of Britain as the high point in the history of the Spitfire, the years following were of equal importance. Having weathered the initial storm, at the start of 1941 Fighter Command took the fight to the Germans with offensive missions over the Channel.

This book reveals how RAF squadrons, first using the Spitfire I and II and then, following the introduction of the Bf 109, the cannon-armed Spitfire V, embarked on a range of missions which included one of the most important air battles of the war, over Dieppe on August 19, 1942. Alongside British pilots were squadrons manned by exiled Europeans and pilots from the RAAF, RCAF, and RNZAF. In just three years, over one hundred of these racked up ace status in the Spitfire.

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2016

About the author

Andrew Holmes has worked as Osprey's aerospace editor since 1989, having previously served as an author/photographer for this publishing house. He established the critically acclaimed and hugely popular Aircraft of the Aces series in 1994. Andrew Thomas is one of Britain's most prominent RAF researchers, having published numerous squadron histories. He is presently a serving officer in the RAF.

Please refer to Andrew R. Holmes for the American author who writes on aviation security and geopolitics (amongst other topics).

Reviews

[KOMET]

This book offers a first-rate story of the struggles Fighter Command faced between 1941 and 1943 to wrest air supremacy from the Luftwaffe over the Channel Front with the different variants of the Spitfire. There are also plenty of quality photos and color illustrations of the Spitfires flown by those fighter pilots - British, Canadian, Australian, Free French, Belgian, Polish, Dutch, New Zealander, Norwegian, and South African - who 'made ace' during those crucial years. I greatly enjoyed reading this book.