A Battle of Britain Spitfire Squadron: The Men and Machines of 152 Squadron in the Summer of 1940

by Danny Burt

Formed at Rochford on 1 October 1918, just weeks before the Armistice that ended the First World War, 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron was originally a night fighter unit equipped with the Sopwith Camel. Its existence was short-lived, for the squadron was disbanded on 30 June 1919.

With war clouds looming over Europe once more, 152 Squadron reformed at Arklington on 1 October 1939, becoming operational just over four weeks later. In January 1940, conversion to Spitfires began and after a period of defensive patrols in the North East, the squadron moved to Warmwell in Dorset to help defend southern England against attacks from the Luftwaffe forces now based in northern France.

Throughout the Battle of Britain, the men and machines of 152 Squadron, call sign Maida, defended the Warmwell sector, which included the vital Royal Navy base at Portland, as part of 10 Group. It is the period from 12 July to 28 November 1940 that the author examines in great depth and detail in this definitive account. This, then, is the story of one squadron’s part in the struggle to defend Britain during those dark days in the summer of 1940.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 7, 2019

Reviews

[JD]

Great concept for a book and well executed. This follows a RAF squadron, 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron, and the time it spent based at RAF Warmwell during the Battle of Britain in 1940. It gives a brief background on the squadron and airfield history, before telling the squadron's story through the lives and service of the 40 young men who flew Spitfires during those dark days. Each pilot is covered with some with more detail as they were with the squadron for a longer time. The fact that 40 pilots served in the unit during this time should be an indication of the battle of attrition during the Battle. All fought valiantly, some died tragically (16 members lost during the Battle), while others were more lucky to survive the battles, but the most tragic stories for me were the five men who lived through the battle just to perish later during the war. The men came from all over the British Empire with some Poles as well and their lives were all very different. What is most striking is the youth of most of them, the stress they had to endure and the way they lived carefree when off duty. Wish there was more squadron based books like this as this was a great read. Highly recommended!!