Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 5 : Late Marque Spitfire Aces 1942-1945

In September 1941 the first Fw 190s appeared over occupied France and the English Channel. The new German fighter was greatly superior to the Mk V Spitfire which equipped most of Fighter Command's day fighter units. RAF pilots were far from reticent about the qualities of their formidable new opponent. Their reports were relayed up the chain of command, gathering force as they did so, until the arrived on the desk of the Commander in Chief Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas. Adding his powerful voice to the clamour, Douglas wrote to the Ministry of Aircraft Production demanding a fighter that could engage the Focke-Wulf from a position of equality, or, preferably, of superiority. The Ministry, in its turn, relayed his demand to the aircraft manufacturers. Although the Spitfire is undoubtedly best known for its exploits against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, its later war service with Fighter Command on all fronts against the Axis alliance was equally as important. This book features the exploits of pilots who turned the tide against the Luftwaffe on the Western European and Mediterranean fronts, as well as the Japanese in the Far East, flying Spitfire Mk VIs, VIIs, VIIIs, IXs XIIs and XIVs. Names like Johnnie Johnson, Neville Duke and Donald Kingaby, plus a myriad of lesser known British, Polish, Canadian, American, Australian, Czech, Free French, New Zealand and Norwegian pilots, and their aircraft, are all covered in this book. Text by Dr. Alfred Price with illustrations by Chris Davey.

Contents

• A New and More Potent Spitfire
• Enter the Griffon-Engined Spitfire
• Ramrods, Rodeos, Roadsteads, Rhubarbs and Circuses
• The Leading Aces
• Spitfire versus the V1 Flying Bomb
• Four Major Improvements
• Australian Spitfire Aces 1942-45
• Appendices