Description
RAF Fighter Command was created in 1936 and merged with the present RAF Strike Command in 1968. Between these years its fighter squadrons became the saviours of Britain and created a legend for themselves as 'The Few'.
In this compelling history, Chaz Bowyer examines the struggle of Air-Vice Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding to bring his Command to a war footing. He analyses the efforts made to equip the RAF with the new Hurricane and Spitfire fighters and to train sufficient pilots; and he discusses how these men, from the ex-Royal Flying Corps veterans to the student-flyers, became fighter pilots skilled în combat.
The planes they flew were just as important as the men who flew them - and Chaz Bowyer describes the development of the fighter and fighter tactics. He shows how the concept of the fighter as a defensive weapon shifted during the war towards the idea of a 'flying gun platform' designed for offensive warfare. Perhaps just as crucial in victory were the weapons, machine-guns and cannons; the development of weaponry and air tactics, from the V-formation to the 'Big Wing' air-fleet, are also closely scrutinised. Written by an aviation-historian who served for twenty-six years in the RAF, Fighter Command reveals the expertise that won this elite force the superb reputation it enjoys today. ISBN:9780722118085
