Last of the Few

18 Battle of Britain Fighter Pilots Tell Their Extraordinary Stories

Dilip Sarkar (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

224 Seiten

2011 | 2nd Revised edition
Amberley Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-4456-0282-0 (ISBN)

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Spitfire and Hurricane fighter pilots recount their experiences of combat during the Battle of Britain. 2,927 aircrew of RAF Fighter Command fought and won the Battle of Britain in 1940, 544 lost their lives in action. They flew to battle in Spitfires and Hurricanes, Defiants and Blenheims, although it is the two former fighter types - single-seaters both - that still inspire and capture our imagination. The legendary legless fighter 'ace' Douglas Bader once said that the Battle of Britain was 'not won by a few aces, but by the average squadron pilot who collectively did their bit.' One of those men, Peter Fox, described himself and his fellows as mere 'also rans' - but clearly, without them, Fighter Command could not have prevailed. Dilip Sarkar the stories of 18 pilots, researched through personal interviews, correspondence and contemporary archive material. Many of the pilots featured became 'aces' in the Battle of Britain, others achieved such status afterwards whilst others went into action only to be instantly blasted out of the sky without even having seen the enemy. Their collective experience, however, is typical of those who flew Spitfires and Hurricanes in 1940.

Dilip Sarkar has been fascinated by the Battle of Britain since childhood, he remains both moved and inspired by the story of Churchill's fabled Few, those young airmen who stood between freedom and a Britain dominated by Nazi Germany. Since the 1970s he has met and interviewed more Battle of Britain pilots than any other historian. He has researched the subject thoroughly and has published over thirty books, titles which include the only biographical works formally endorsed by the families of both Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader and Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson. In 2003, Dilip was made an MBE for services to aviation history, and elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Historical Society in 2006. He lives in Worcester. For more information please see www.dilipsarkarmbe.co.uk.

Glossary Introduction 1. Pilot Officer C.F. Currant: 605 Squadron, Hurricane Pilot 2. Flight Lieutenant P.M. Brothers: 32/257 Squadrons, Hurricane Pilot 3. Sergeant R.C. Nutter: 257 Squadron, Hurricane Pilot 4. Sergeant J. Stokoe: 603 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot 5. Pilot Officer G.H.E. Welford: 607 Squadron, Hurricane Pilot 6. Squadron Leader B.J.E. Lane: 19 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot 7. Sergeant B.M. Bush: 504 Squadron, Hurricane Pilot 8. Sergeant G. Stevens: 151/213 Squadrons, Hurricane Pilot 9. Pilot Officer W.L.B. Walker: 616 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot 10. Sergeant T.G. Pickering: 501 Squadron, Hurricane Pilot 11. Flight Sergeant G.C. Unwin: 19 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot 12. Sergeant D.G.S.R. Cox: 19 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot 13. Pilot Officer K.A. Lawrence: 234/603 Squadrons, Spitfire Pilot 14. Pilot Officer R.L. Jones: 64/19 Squadrons, Spitfire Pilot 15. Sergeants D.H. Nichols & P.H. Fox: 56 Squadron, Hurricane Pilots 16. Sergeant K.A. Wilkinson: 616/19 Squadrons, Spitfire Pilot 17. Pilot Officer W. Cunningham: 19 Squadron, Spitfire Pilot Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Index

Zusatzinfo	55 Illustrations
Verlagsort	Chalford
Sprache	englisch
Maße	124 x 198 mm
Gewicht	254 g
Themenwelt	Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Luftfahrt / Raumfahrt
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► 1918 bis 1945
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
ISBN-10	1-4456-0282-2 / 1445602822
ISBN-13	978-1-4456-0282-0 / 9781445602820
Zustand	Neuware