Spitfire: A Very British Love Story

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It didn’t take long to fall in love with the Spitfire. Pilots, mechanics, land girls, civvies – they all fell under her spell.’ This is no ordinary history book. This is no run-of-the-mill, over done book on a very famous plane. This is a book which shines a light into the soul of the Spitfire: it tells the story of the people. As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes.' While not incredibly clear in the beginning of the book, Nichol’s follows several former Spitfire pilots throughout the book using their experiences and stories to bring life and love to the story as well as connect his chapters. Upon introduction to each of these pilots, there is always the line “and that’s when he knew he wanted to fly fighters,” and sadly by the tenth time it gets monotonous and gives a slow, repetitive start to the book.

Spitfire Books | Imperial War Museums Spitfire Books | Imperial War Museums

The testaments of these nineteen to twenty-few-year-olds takes us to a time it is hard to put ourselves into; it is hard to imagine how our own youths would take up this mantle if they had to. A really interesting look into the history and use of the Spitfire, one of the most renowned planes from the Second World War. Of course you can't just write a story of the plane, so the heart of this book are the short vignettes of the pilots and (a few) groundcrew who lived and worked with the plane through the war. Partly I think the answer lies in its name. The plane’s lead designer, R.J.Mitchell, wanted to call it the Shrew, thereby demonstrating that, however brilliant he was as a designer and engineer, he would never have made it as a marketing man. The name Spitfire was chosen by the Chairman of the Supermarine company. The striking design of the aircraft is also part of the reason, the elliptical wings and tailfins giving it an unmistakeable profile. The human elements of this book are astonishing. Particular highlights are reading about the Women's ATA and their role in ferrying planes for the war. The heroic story of Jean Maridors sacrifice to save a hospital in Kent. I also found it fascinating on the pilots views post war and how they missed the war due to the adrenaline and structure it gave them.

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This is a truly fascinating book from so many angles. I suspect that many, like me, would view the Spitfire as being synonymous with the Battle of Britain, but then having a very sketchy picture thereafter. This book inks in that sketch in effect by telling the story of the second world war through the contribution of this one aircraft. Supermarine Spitfire ML407,affectionately known as'The Grace Spitfire',was originally built at Castle Bromwich in early 1944 as a Mark IX single seat fighter and served in the front line of battle throughout the last twelve months of World War II with six different allied Squadrons of the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force. A superb and compelling book. Brilliantly written with some incredible and astonishing stories; it is gripping, moving, emotional and sometimes humorous – just perfect' Ultimate Warbird Flights is a family business with over 35 years of experience operating WWII fighters and vintage aircraft.

Spitfire!: The Experiences of a Battle of Britain Fighter Pilot

With 35 years of continued flight operations, we are the longest standing provider of Spitfire Flight Experiences and are passionate about providing you with the finest Spitfire Flight Experience available anywhere in the UK. That's Air Marshal Cliff Spink rounding out John Nichol's love letter to Supermarine's legacy. And what a love letter. Short on development technicalities, but long on the experiences and lives of the men and women who flew and fought in the Spitfire over England, Europe, the Med, North Africa, the Far East and Russia. Their love for the aircraft shines through, and some of the tales will quite literally take your breath away. Spitfire' was a book depicting the everyday struggles of WWII for the brave pilots who would be forced to handle the spitfire on a heroic route to the nazis. As a member of the post Second World War generation who grew up on Biggles and the accounts of the battle of Britain, the Supermarine Spitfire has always been a thing of beauty for me. As the aircraft that saved Britain from being overrun in 1940, as the most beautiful of aeroplanes in all its variants, it is quintessentially British. Key Publishing Limited, Units 1-4, Gwash Way Industrial Estate, Ryhall Road, Stamford, Lincolnshire, PE9 1XP, UK

Witnesses tell the story of this amazing achievement

The book was published in 2018 and is a compilation of stories about the experience in WWII. The stories focus on the heartbreaking tales of those who had to serve and sometimes give up their life for us to be here today. As soon as I saw the cover of this book, I knew I just had to read it. Oddly, it wasn’t until I actually started reading this book that I remembered a time when I was 14 or 15 my Dad took me to an airshow as a father/daughter outing about three hours’ drive from where we lived. I was completely fascinated.

Spitfire Mk.IX (Building the Airfix 1/24 Superkit) — Key Spitfire Mk.IX (Building the Airfix 1/24 Superkit) — Key

The author could have focused just on the pilot's stories, or how the Spitfire handled itself in battle, however, by choosing to add in some historical facts about WW2 at the same time, I feel as though I have travelled through time, learning more about those 6 years we were at war in a way I wasn’t taught or have read about previously. The way he covers people on the ground too really adds to the depth of what you are reading. A name etched into history thanks to the heroic actions of 'The Few' young pilots holding off the numerically superior Luftwaffe during the height of the Battle of Britain in the early days of WWII. The author of this book, John Nichol, gained an unwelcome bout of fame during the 1991 Gulf War, when the Tornado aircraft in which he was navigator was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. He was captured and paraded on Iraqi TV. His experiences obviously lend him a degree of credibility when writing about military aircraft, and probably also when he interviewed the veterans whose experiences are recorded in this book. A superb journey through the remarkable tale of that British icon, the Spitfire. Brilliantly and engagingly written, this is the most readable story of the aircraft and her pilots that I have ever had the pleasure to read in a period spanning some forty-odd years of personal study and research. Truly stunning.' Andy Saunders, Editor, Britain at War Magazine.

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A love story indeed. It pays homage to the men and women who designed the Spitfire, built her, maintained her and flew her — as well as to the Spitfire herself. The Spitfire was more than an aircraft. It was a symbol of hope, of courage and resilience, and became a legend. With its elliptic wings, it was easily recognisable in the wartime skies and became an icon, giving hope to those Allies civilians watching below. It inspired kids watching to become fighter pilots — on Spitfires. All passengers receive a thorough and comprehensive safety briefing with their pilot, and we welcome relatives and friends to join you at the aircraft both before and after your flight, take photos and watch you take off and land. All of our two seat aircraft are now fitted with 360 ° GoPro cameras, capable of capturing mind-blowing footage of your experience!

Spitfire: A Very British Love Story by John Nichol | Goodreads

This is a book about an aircraft, about a war and about technology, but at its core it is a book about people. It is built around interviews with the men and women who flew and maintained the Spitfire. It therefore gives a personal, direct view of unimaginable horror and indescribable bravery of people who should have been living a carefree life at university. Twenty year old combat veterans, 23 year old squadron leaders. People who don't know if they or their comrades will live another day, or even another hour. People who witness gruesome death as part of combat or as the result of ridiculous, mundane accident. Arguably, no other aircraft has created such strong emotional ties to all who`s ww11 experience connected with the Spitfire in some way, and those emotions are captured within the personal accounts and memories which fill this book, and I can confirm, that being up close to a Spitfire, to listen to the distinctive roar of the mighty Merlin engine is an unforgettable experience. Nevertheless, no matter how good the book may seem, it has some negatives. The stories are from first-hand accounts from those who flew it during WWII, which means that the book instead provides a primitive history of the spitfire instead of diving too deeply into it. However, unlike many similarly formatted books, this one gives accounts of people outside of England and through the subsequent campaigns in Malta, North Africa, Italy, France etc. This makes it stand out from nearly every other one of these books. Bestselling author John Nichol’s passionate portrait of this magnificent fighter aircraft, its many innovations and updates, and the people who flew and loved them, carries the reader beyond the dogfights over Kent and Sussex. Spanning the full global reach of the Spitfire’s deployment during WWII, from Malta to North Africa and the Far East, then over the D-Day beaches, it is always accessible, effortlessly entertaining and full of extraordinary spirit.

The author follows the careers of a group (fewer than 25?) Spitfire pilots AND mechanics, men AND women, Americans, Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians,; Polish and Indian pilots have brief parts, as does one bomber pilot from Jamaica. In the telling he covers the entire war in which Spits saw action, including Malta, Africa, Italy, Burma and the Soviet Union, and the stories include training, scrambles and dog fights, bail outs, captures, the sudden death of comrades, romances, escapes with the French resistance, and, in one unforgettable tale, an RAF mechanic stealing(!) a Spit to make his first flight ever which is purposely INTO(!) a battle zone. As I approached the end of the book I thought this was a solid treatment of the view of the war from the pilots, and was prepared to be let down by the winding down of the war. But the ending was surprising and not what I expected. Instead of heroic welcomes or happy ever afters, the epilogue describes PSTD, divorces, depression and accidental deaths, but it is surprisingly uplifting rather than melancholic. We are introduced to the Spitfire, of course as a fighter, but also in ground support, as a fighter bomber, as a reconnaissance aircraft, and even, in a lighter moment towards the end of the war, as a beer tanker, with barrels fitted to the bomb carriers beneath its wings.