Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe 1944-45
By (Author) Andrew Thomas
Illustrated by Chris Thomas
Illustrated by Mark Postlethwaite
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Osprey Publishing
20th September 2014
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Second World War
Modern warfare
European history
940.544941
Paperback
96
Width 184mm, Height 248mm, Spine 7mm
307g
This book traces the achievements of the pilots flying the iconic Spitfire in Northwest Europe, and examines how the steady technological improvements that were made throughout the Spitfires service life improved its capabilities in the air. Based at airfields throughout southern England, Merlin engine Spitfires provided the bulk of the air cover for the D-Day landings and it was an RCAF Spitfire which claimed the first ever ME 262 jet kill. 36 colour profiles covering a broad spectrum of nationalities, units, pilots, theatres and markings complement thorough research throughout this comprehensive account of these crucial fighter aircraft.
"This book is yet again what one comes to expect from the Osprey 'Aces' series. A well-written narrative of this particular part of the War, interspersed with many stories about individual aces (many in their own words). All this is complemented by nicely-done color plates, lots of good photos, and a few useful appendices." --IPMS/USA
Andrew Thomas joined the RAF to fly straight from school and he has maintained his enthusiastic interest in the history and development of the Service from which he has recently retired. Specialising in the history of the RAF and the Commonwealth Air Forces, he has previously published more than a dozen volumes in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series. Chris Thomas has had profile illustrations published in Air Enthusiast, Aeroplane Monthly, Flypast and Le Fana de l'Aviation. He also illustrated the 2nd Tactical Air Force series with more than 90 profiles of the various types employed by that force.