nouveau

contrary to the GR listing, published 1977. possibly to some degree a 3 star is warranted, a notch off Beevor or Atkinson in war writing (although the latter two are writing several decades later), certainly better than Deighton's fiction.

very detailed, complex account of battle of britain that clearly eliminates the simplistic "british had better octane fuel" "germany should have attacked factories" explanations. point by point, the twists and turns of the battle of the BMW Messerschmitt 109s and 110s vs. Hurricanes and Spitfires. the familiar aspects of the air-war, "the race to build more fighters;" the relative failure of the 110s heavy-fighter concept (too heavy to dogfight, too light to bomb), the mixed-reception of the hurricanes themselves (all kills attributed by German casualties to spitfires as matter of pride) are covered, as the minute decisions of Fighter Command and Goering.



for the military buff; for the aviation specialist; for the ww2 reader.