Eagle Day: The Battle of Britain

Superb account of the battle from initial stages through the height and climax of the battle, I loved the countless anecdotes, some funny, some sad, some grim, some victory, some defeat, some life, some death, one German fighter pilot in deep trouble in his twin-engined Messerschmitt belly-lands at an English farm, but ploughs into the farmhouse killing most of the family, including children, the pilot is in tears and inconsolable, and comforted by surrounding residents who race to the scene.At an RAF fighter-field, a Dornier bomber bellies in shot-up by British fighters, grinds to a metallic halt. An RAF ground officer cautious but intrigued approaches the eerily still wreck, looks up to find himself staring from metres away at the wrong end of one of the bombers machine-guns in the cockpit, and a German rear-gunners face squinting through the cross-hairs gunsight at him. The RAF man freezes, believing this is his final moment, but nothing happens- the gunner has been hit and killed instantly during the fight above, and is still manning his gun defending his aircraft, frozen in his final living pose.A Polish RAF pilot shoots down another Dornier bomber filled with the hated Nazi occupiers and torturers of his homeland, follows it closely as it makes a skilful crash landing, and sees survivors inside the bomber scrambling to exit and safety. The Polish pilot sees no reason there should be any escape from his victim, and puts a long carefully-aimed burst into the wrecked bombers cockpit- there will be no live Luftwaffe prisoners for the Home Guard and British Army to round up this time.Another German bomber ploughs in stricken elsewhere and its men receives different treatment from the defenders- RAF pilots and ground-crew leap from cover on the still under-attack airfield and prize their way into the aircraft to rescue the trapped German airmen inside struggling to escape the burning wreck- at this moment, with these men they have minutes ago fought and tried to kill, there are no Germans, no British, no enemies, just fellow pilots and the universal horror of airmen trapped burning in aeroplanes. An Me109 with with Luftwaffe 'Experten' aboard comes upon a frantically-climbing Hurricane squadron from the 5## Auxiliary Air Force units, unaware of the Germans presence, the Hurricanes climb serenely in line astern, the German begins with the rearmost man, picks off 4 of the Hurricanes and sends them flaming, while the rest of the squadron continue climbing oblivious to the rape of the squadron behind them.....New Zealand RAF legend and daredevil Al Deere's Spitfire is bombed by a Stuka while taking off,the Spitfire flips upside down, fuselage snapped in two, Deere dangles inverted from his straps, unable to free himself, almost unharmed but soaked in spurting gasoline from the Spitfires ruptured full tanks, as fires begin to crackle in the shocked amputated Spitfires wreck. If you only buy one book of the many on the legendary B

The author, Richard Collier, has chosen the six weeks period from August 6 to September 15, 1940 for an account of the Battle of Britain "daylight air battles that were fought over the English Channel and across southern Britain; a short period that may have determined the western world fate." This is the story of the pilots, aircrews, support personnel, and commanders of the RAF and Luftwaffe who fought for air supremacy while Germany was preparing to invade Britain. First hand and eyewitness accounts supported by official documents provide the details for the text, which is fast-moving and very readable. The narrative moves chronologically from mid-August 1940 through the September 15. The Luftwaffe initially launched devastating attacks against British radar sites and RAF stations such as Biggin Hill and Manston with the intent to either destroy the RAF on the ground or in the air as RAF fighters defended the stations. This tactic created a serious problem for RAF Fighter Command as limited aircraft and pilots had to be dispersed to defend multiple locations. RAF pilots were under great stress as "The mounting losses now decreed that a pilot's expectation of life was no more than eighty-seven flying hours." "One moment the pilots were sprawled on the dusty grass at dispersal, swapping stories, the next they were staring unbelieving at scores of German planes flying in perfect stepped-up formation." By September pilot wastage was approaching 120 men a week and aircraft losses exceeded production.Lacking is the usual Hollywood approach to air combat that opens with "There I was at 20,000 feet when I spotted the enemy." Instead Colliers presents first hand and eyewitness accounts of the air battles, which are well presented and informative. For example, the author writes, "Then, in his last moment, feral instinct once more saved Red Tobin's life. In the second of closing in, something prompted him to make one last check, swinging the Spitfire violently to port, and as he swung back on the last weave of all he saw, almost dead astern, three yellow-nosed Messerschmitt 109s." Humor is also included in the text: at Homefield, Kent the butler "did the rounds of the velvety lawn after each dog-fight, sweeping up spent machine-gun bullets as deftly as ever he brushed crumbs from a damask table cloth." In another case when a RAF pilot made a wheels-up crash landing near an Elizabethan garden, "a country gentlemen of the old school stepped courteously forward to greet him" with a glass of brandy for his unexpected guest.The text outlines critical command problems. The British commander Air Vice-Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding lacked trained pilots despite a two-week crash course for replacement pilots as losses outstripped the training unit's yield. From 1438 men available, by September 3 pilot strength had slumped to 840, "a casualty rate which assured the Germans victory in just three weeks." When Germany shifted to massive bomber raids to force the RAF into

Over the years I have read many books about the Battle of Britain and of those I consider this the best. It is extremely well written and describes how the challenges were met even though the pilots were so fatigued. Some bits of humour (Come and meet 145 squadron.Nice chaps-all two of them )throughout it.Brief mention of three American pilots who later left to join the Eagle Squadron.One of them(Shorty Keogh) was so small(4ft 10in) he had to use two air cushions and his parachute pack to see through the windscreen of his Spitfire.