The Spitfire Girls Fly for Victory

The Spitfire Girls #2

by Jenny Holmes

A heart-warming, romantic story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity that fans of Donna Douglas, Nancy Revell and Elaine Everest will adore.

Bobbie Fraser, Mary Holland and Jean Thornton are Atta Girls - part of the Air Transport Auxiliary team flying planes between bases. Their work is dangerous and they constantly put themselves at risk, but their courage always comes through.

Now there's a new girl joining the ranks - Canadian Viv Robertson, who is bright, brash and brave. But can Viv settle into British life with the other girls? And when life on the ground leaves them as vulnerable as in the air, can they stick together through the tough times ahead and ultimately fly to victory?

421 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2020

About the author

Jenny Holmes lives in a beautiful part of Yorkshire and sets her sagas in the industrial heartland nearby. She enjoys horse riding, gardening and walking her dog in the dales. She also writes children's books as Jenny Oldfield.

Reviews

[Tracey]

This book is part of a series, unfortunately I haven't read the first book. The story follows four girls serving the RAF by flying planes around the country during world war two. I found the technical stuff a bit boring but the more personal stories were good, especially the mystery surrounding the new housekeeper.

[Julie]

The Air Transport Auxiliary - the Atta girls amongst them - was a group of pilots who took enormous risks to deliver planes in Britain during the Second World War. This second novel featuring a group of these young women in the series by Jenny Holmes, titled for the most exciting and impressive of the planes they flew. I am confident that this book could be enjoyed as a stand alone novel as the characters develop within the story, and the plot stands largely alone. Three main characters, Jean Thorton, Bobbie Fraser and Mary Holland all featured in the first novel, and in this book they are all flying a variety of planes in different, often challenging circumstances. They also have lives that are really interesting, as romance or even just involvement have their moments. A new character, Viv Robertson, arrives to upset many apple carts; with her Canadian background and Hollywood experiences she is a very different, determined young woman.

One of the most impressive things about this book is the immense amount of research that goes into it on a technical level, as the women fly very different types of planes during the novel, each with their own advantages and challenges. So not only do the Spitfires, which are lovingly described, feature, but also the older planes or “crates” which may well have some definite dangers. This is not a textbook of their controls, fuel capacity and way they should have performed, but how they felt to fly, especially in specific conditions. The routes that the women take, which all offer their own challenges, are well described, as the incidents which may affect each fight. Not that this is an overly technical read; the women are given lives and emotions outside their duties, living in a large house with the owners appearing and those that actually work on the planes. Each character is treated with understanding, and develops throughout the narrative.

The book opens in March 1944, with the newly married Jean helping Mary to make a dress to go and visit her “Sweetheart” wearing, as Mary is nervous of making her way to meet the man that she loves. Jean and her new husband are eager to find their own house away from the official accommodation so they can be together, and the cottage comes with a lot of work. Bobbie, on the other hand,has strong memories of a sort of relationship which was disastrous, so is more hesitant about getting involved with another man. Into their established world arrives with a squeal of wheels Viv, with her borrowed sports car and her amazing confidence which partly covers her desperation to fly the planes and help in the war effort. As the book proceeds, two young men appear on the scene who challenge two of the women to rethink their attitudes to those who own the house and a local racehorse stables. When a mysterious young woman is introduced into their midst she has quite an effect on the others in the house.

This is a totally absorbing book which recounts vividly fictional accounts of the women who made a vital contribution to the war effort in delivering planes to the correct airfields. It is frank about the cost to the women who were part of the Atta ranks, the risks they ran, the way they had to have relationships affected by war. Informative but never dry, this really brings the women alive as they flew planes in circumstances their male counterparts would perhaps not risk. Each portrait is very three dimensional, with lots of depth, and altogether this is a very enthralling book.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty]

There's planes to deliver, and a war to be won. Bobbie Fraser, Mary Holland and Jean Thornton are Atta Girls-part of the Air Transport Auxiliary flying planes between bases. Taking to the air in anything they're given, their work is dangerous but their courage always comes through. Now there's a new girl joining the ranks-daredevil Canadian stunt pilot Vivienne"Viv" Robertson, who is bright, brash and brave. But will Viv settle into her new home with the other girls? And when life on the ground leaves them as vulnerable as in the skies, can they stick together through the tough times ahead and ultimately fly to victory?The ATA during the war, had 1250 men and women ferrying a total of 309K aircraft of 147 types, without radios, no instrument flying instruction and at the mercy of British weather.The ATA's HQ was at White Waltham airfield near Maidenhead, Berkshire from February 1940-November 30th 1945. Men and women came from all over the world to join the ATA. Eventually, 25 nation's were represented, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. There were pilots from Chile, China, Russia and India. Pilots were based at 14 Ferry Pools as far apart as Hamble, near Southampton and Lossiemouth near Inverness,Scotland.Several ferry pools were near aircraft factories which were priority targets for the Luftwaffe. The peak monthly output from the Spitfire factory at Castle Bromwich was 320 machines, so it was necessary to move aircraft away to relative safety as soon as production finished. Depending on their level of experience and training, ATA pilots could be called on to fly any one of the 147 different aircraft types from anything to anywhere.The main guidance was a thin volume of Ferry Pilots Notes- a pocket sized flip pad of basic do and don't for every aircraft in service. ATA classified aircraft into 6 classes: light single engined, advanced single engined, light twin engined, advanced twin engined, four engined and flying boats. Pilots were allocated a classification according to the types of aircraft they'd been cleared to fly.

[Sandra]

I have loved catching up with the girls and when a new girl joins them from Canada Mary.Bobbie and Jean have a job keeping the new girl Viv in line.As Viv settles in a couple of things shock her the first is when she takes a risk while flying and the second is she jumps to conclusions.Anna becomes housekeeper at the grange and the girls do their best to make friends.I can highly recommend this book Jenny Holmes writes a story that draws you in.5*

[Trudie]

This is the 2nd book I've read in the Spitfire girls series and I don't know why but I struggle a little to warm to the characters. Although, once I do I'm hooked. This also features Anna, a polish refugee who is employed as a maid and her sad story.

[Isobel Gilbert]

I realised when I started this that it was number 2 in a series. It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. An easy holiday read with pleasant characters. I will probably try and find the 3rd book....just to 'finish the war with the Atta Girls'!

[Annette O'grady]

a really enjoyable book really got me thinking that was there with them

[M Pridding]

Great book

I really enjoyed this book it was a pleasure to read i could not put the kindle down i do recommend it

[Della Oliver]

I was not sure about reading this book as I was not that impressed with the previous book however this was very enjoyable and i am now looking forward to book 3

[Paula]

Another great ww2 series this is the second book I loved it following the lives of the atta girls doing their bit for the war got to wait for book 3 now

[Angela Brown]

A lovely easy to read book of friendship and romance.

[Sharron Tennant]

thanks for the escapism 😊

[Clare O'Beara]

Having read this book I bought another copy for a gift. We meet young women who delivered planes to airfields across Britain during WW2. This book is second in a series and introduces a young Canadian pilot from stunt flying performances, who scares her colleagues by behaving irresponsibly in the plane they all want to fly, the latest Spitfire. The women have to fly some biplanes for observation and some planes with major damage going to where they will be stripped for parts.

As social structures crumble during wartime, we also see those with money still driving cars and maintaining posh homes, though with half the house used by the Air Force. Some people with far less wealth feature, including an evacuee from the Continent. And the women pilots have to fly despite knowing their husbands, boyfriends and cousins are facing battle. We see the lead up to D-Day. Details are splendid and it's a great, adventurous read with lots of flying.

This is an unbiased review.

[Shauna Doherty]

Lovely book to read i enjoyed each girls story but would of loved to hear more about anna definitley a real feel good girl power book

[Rona Smithson]

Personally I would have preferred a little more of the ‘chocks away’ action than the book offers but nice, gentle read nonetheless.

[Sandra]

This is what I call a fairly easy, but good, read, fairly typical of WW2 romance cum wartime spirit genre of books.