Spitfire

Portrait of a Legend

By: Leo McKinstry

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The gripping saga of the plane that carried Britain through the Second World War.

In June 1940, the German Army had brought the rest of Europe to its knees. 'Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world will move forward into broad, sunlit uplands,' said Churchill. The future of Europe depended on Britain.

A self-confident Herman Göring thought that it would be only a matter of weeks before his planes had forced Britain to surrender. The courage, resourcefulness and brilliant organisation of the RAF were to prove him wrong. By late September 1940, the RAF had proved invincible, thanks to the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire. It exceeded anything that any other air force possessed. RJ Mitchell, a shy and almost painfully modest engineer, was the genius behind the Spitfire. On the 5th March 1936, following its successful maiden flight, a legend was born.

Prize-winning historian Leo McKinstry's vivid history of the Spitfire brings together a rich cast of characters and first hand testimonies. It is a tale full of drama and heroism, of glory and tragedy, with the main protagonist the remarkable plane that played a crucial role in saving Britain.

©2007 Leo McKinstry (P)2007 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

K5404, 5404? Narrator can you read????

An amazing book, well read, with just one niggle. As admittedly an everlasting fan of the spitfire since I was 10 it grates that the narrator has consistently mis-read the number for the prototype! It’s K5054.

Fills in the gaps.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It started from scratch, and finished when the Spitfire production ended. It is very detailed and enjoyable, outlining each marks strengths and weaknesses, as well as that if it’s main opposition. It also clarifies many of the misconceptions that previous authors have propagated as did not have access to some of the material released lately.

A good read for all, in a traditionally researched

although mssr Mckinstry performed his usual thorough and well researched history, I did detect a note of revisionism in this later listened to volume in his trilogy. Other than that small quibble, I found the book to be entertaining and nearly 100 % accurate, although his horsepower quotations in particular, are, I believe in particular to American aircraft, off, and slightly misleading. Thunderbolt hp ratings did not approach 2700 hp until later in the war, long after spit mk5 was put into service, and like spit, was also a beneficiary of continuous development throughout deployment. Original p47s were rated at 2,000 hp, and later water injected for war emergency power of, I think, around 2400 hp. Later C series p&w r2800 did produce 2800 hp, according to late Peter Bowers of Wings and airpower magazines. All in all, Mr Mckinstry has greatly added to a long line of research, and I would like to thank him for his labor of love