The Spitfire

Author : John Nichol
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 531 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2018-05-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9781471159220

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Spitfire by John Nichol Pdf

THE SUNDAY TIMES NON FICTION BESTSELLER WHSmith NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 'The best book you will ever read about Britain's greatest warplane' Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Fighter Boys ‘A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine’ Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607 'As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes' Mail on Sunday magazine The iconic Spitfire found fame during the darkest early days of World War II. But what happened to the redoubtable fighter and its crews beyond the Battle of Britain, and why is it still so loved today? In late spring 1940, Nazi Germany’s domination of Europe had looked unstoppable. With the British Isles in easy reach since the fall of France, Adolf Hitler was convinced that Great Britain would be defeated in the skies over her southern coast, confident his Messerschmitts and Heinkels would outclass anything the Royal Air Force threw at them. What Hitler hadn’t planned for was the agility and resilience of a marvel of British engineering that would quickly pass into legend – the Spitfire. 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. Here are edge-of-the-seat stories and heart-stopping first-hand accounts of battling pilots forced to bail out over occupied territory; of sacrifice and wartime love; of aristocratic female flyers, and of the mechanics who braved the Nazi onslaught to keep the aircraft in battle-ready condition. Nichol takes the reader on a hair-raising, nail-biting and moving wartime history of the iconic Spitfire populated by a cast of redoubtable, heroic characters that make you want to stand up and cheer.

Author : Robert Bracken
Publisher : Erin, Ont. : Boston Mills Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Spitfire (Fighter plane)
ISBN : 1550461486

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Spitfire by Robert Bracken Pdf

Read the stories told by the Canadians who flew or serviced the most famous fighter aircraft of World War II -- the Spitfire. Forty stunning color profiles of the most famous of the Canadian Spitfires by well-known aviation artist Ron Lowry complete the best Canadian aviation book published in years.

Author : Frederick Chamier
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1860
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OXFORD:590216289

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The Spitfire by Frederick Chamier Pdf

Author : Eric B. Morgan,Edward Shacklady
Publisher : Key Publications
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Spitfire (Fighter plane)
ISBN : 0946219486

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Spitfire by Eric B. Morgan,Edward Shacklady Pdf

"A revised and expanded detailed reference of the Spitfire. The book documents information on more than 22,500 aircraft and offering over 2000 illustrations, including scale plans, action photographs and camouflage and markings artwork." -- Blackwells.

Author : Fenella J. Miller
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2019-10-10
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781788548410

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A Wedding for the Spitfire Girl by Fenella J. Miller Pdf

1942 – The war rages on and Ellie must do her bit! Ellie Simpson isn't your usual Spitfire pilot, but then with the world at war nothing is quite as it used to be! The ATA is calling upon its most expert and trusted pilots to deliver the precious bombers wherever they're needed, and Ellie, who can fly a Spitfire as well as the boys on the frontline, is their newest recruit. Giving her all to a job she loves leaves Ellie precious little time for Squadron Leader Jack Reynolds. And while Ellie is brave enough to take the controls of a Spitfire, it takes a different kind of courage to open her heart to love once again. With her friends and family in constant danger she realises that their love is strong enough to stand the test of all the hardship the war can throw at them. An emotional historical fiction that tells the story of friendship, camaraderie and triumph over adversity.

Author : SARAH MILLER
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2012-12-11
Category : Juvenile Fiction
ISBN : 9781471103599

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Miss Spitfire by SARAH MILLER Pdf

Annie Sullivan was little more than a half-blind orphan with a fiery tongue when she arrived at Ivy Green in 1887. Desperate for work, she'd taken on a seemingly impossible job-teaching a child who was deaf, blind, and as ferocious as any wild animal. But if anyone was a match for Helen Keller, it was the girl who'd been nicknamed Miss Spitfire. In her efforts to reach Helen's mind, Annie lost teeth to the girl's raging blows, but she never lost faith in her ability to triumph. Told in first person, Annie Sullivan's past, her brazen determination, and her connection to the girl who would call her Teacher are vividly depicted in this powerful novel.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Sphere
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1990-01
Category : Spitfire (Fighter plane)
ISBN : 0708844383

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The Spitfire Log by Anonim Pdf

A tribute to the famous aeroplane from men who flew or admired them including Johnnie Johnson, Cecil Beaton, Douglas Bader and Richard Dimbleby. The story of its creation is described and information is given on where the planes can be seen today.

Author : Andy Brockman,Tracy Spaight
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 450 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2020-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780750995375

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The Buried Spitfires of Burma by Andy Brockman,Tracy Spaight Pdf

Rumours of buried Spitfires from the Second World War have spread around the world for seventy-five years. In April 2012, the press reported that the UK had negotiated an agreement with Myanmar for the recovery of twenty crated Spitfires, reportedly buried after WW2. Astonishingly the agreement came about through the single-minded determination of a farmer, David Cundall. Armed with a high-tech survey showing mysterious shapes under the surface of Yangon International Airport, David's expedition is equipped with JCB excavators. But instead of Spitfires, the team unearths a tale of fake history. The Buried Spitfires of Burma explores what happened next as David Cundall's dream unravelled over the course of a historical 'whodunnit' that spans seven decades and three continents. It follows one of the most bizarre stories since the sensational Hitler Diaries hoax.

Author : James Valcq,Fred Alley,Lee David Zlotoff
Publisher : Samuel French, Inc.
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Drama
ISBN : 0573629307

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The Spitfire Grill by James Valcq,Fred Alley,Lee David Zlotoff Pdf

It all starts with the release of fidgety, suspicious Percy Talbott from state prison after serving a five-year sentence. We don't know why, only that she's released and on her way to Gilead and its "colors of paradise." But when she arrives it is February and bitter cold, and the only one around to meet her is restless Sheriff Joe Turner, who takes her to the Spitfire Grill to help the aging Hannah Ferguson run the diner. All is gray, dismal and listless around them, and the characters are in the "winter of their lives" emotionally and spiritually.

Author : Jonathan Glancey
Publisher : Atlantic Books Ltd
Page : 275 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2014-08-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780857895103

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Spitfire by Jonathan Glancey Pdf

Updated edition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It is difficult to overestimate the excitement that accompanied the birth of the Spitfire. An aircraft imbued with balletic grace and extraordinary versatility, it was powered by a piston engine and a propeller, yet came tantalisingly close to breaking the sound barrier. First flown in 1936, the Spitfire soon came to symbolize Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940. Spitfire: The Biography is a celebration of a great British invention, of the men and women who flew it and supported its development, and of the industry that manufactured both the aircraft and the Rolls-Royce engines that powered it. It is also about the ways in which the sight, sound and fury of this lithe and legendary fighter continue to stir the public imagination worldwide more than eighty years on.

Author : Lance Cole
Publisher : Pen and Sword Aviation
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Aeronautical engineers
ISBN : 184884896X

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Secrets of the Spitfire by Lance Cole Pdf

This book tells the tale of the brilliant aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone MASc, HonFRAes, FAIAA,AFIAS, FCASI, HonOSTIV. As R.J. Mitchell's chief aerodynamicist, it was Shenstone who designed the Spitfire's wing - the wing that gave the Spitfire it crucial advantage in the Battle of Britain and beyond. A quiet man, Shenstone never sought glory for his work, yet in recent years he has been credited as the man who persuaded Mitchell to adopt the ellipse - a modified ellipse that was unique in its shape and its combined use of two integrated aerofoil sections. Shenstone's knife-edge shape reached far back into early aeronautics for its inspiration. This book also names the other forgotten Spitfire design contributors who were Mitchell's men - Mr Faddy, Mr Fear, Mr Fenner, Mr Shirvall, a Prof Howland and others. Intriguingly, Shenstone had left his native Canada and early training as an RCAF pilot, to study at Junkers and then under the father of the delta wing - Alexander Lippisch in Germany in the early 1930s. There, he became immersed in delta wings and flying wings. He also became a glider pilot. The story of how Beverley came to be in the right place at the right time is revealed for the first time. So too are the enigmatic tales of his involvement with the military, the intelligence world, Lord Beaverbrook , the USAF, and Canadian aviation. During the war Shenstone worked at the top secret Wright Patterson air force base and was involved with the Air Ministry and the pro-British movement in America when Shenstone worked for Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, the unsung hero behind British defence procurement. Shenstone achieved high office - a President of the Royal Aeronautical Society, technical director at BOAC, chief engineer at BEA and a consultant to several aircraft makers. He was courted by Avro, de Havilland and Vickers, and was the force behind the renaissance of human-powered flight. Using exclusive access to his family documents, his unpublished autobiography and many notes and stories, as well as forensic research, this book details for the first time, a new twist to the Spitfire's story and the secrets of its advanced science. A tale of design and military intelligence reveals a story of a man whose name should be more widely known in the UK, Canada and the aviation world. SELLING POINTS: * Illustrated throughout * Evokes a golden age of aviation design and development * Relay's the story of one of History's most overlooked heroes of aviation design ILLUSTRATIONS: 20 mono photos

Author : Jacky Hyams
Publisher : Michael O'Mara Books
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2017-10-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782438175

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Spitfire Stories by Jacky Hyams Pdf

Spitfire Stories, published in association with Imperial War Museums, is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines of the Second World War. The Spitfire is the world's most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky. Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it - engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families. Spitfire Stories recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the iconic Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane's creation - and went on to marry a movie star. Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums' unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

Author : Nick Meikle
Publisher : Casemate
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2014-04-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612002538

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Malloch's Spitfire by Nick Meikle Pdf

The story of one of history’s greatest fighter aircraft from WWII to its remarkable restoration in 1980 Rhodesia: “an aviation classic-in-waiting” (Airscape). In 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force retrieved a World War II–era Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22. But while the RAF was embroiled in the Bush War, the dream of restoring the aircraft was frustrated by international sanctions. That’s when legendary pilot John “Jack” McVicar Malloch took control of the project. Not only had Jack flown Spitfires during World War II, he was also uniquely positioned to circumvent sanctions through his airfreight company, Air Trans Africa. With ingenuity, passion, and a team of trusted engineers, Jack realized the dream of putting Spitfire PK350 back in the air on March 29, 1980. In Malloch’s Spitfire, author Nick Meikle tells the full story of this remarkable restoration and reveals some fascinating insights about the aircraft. The reader is taken on a journey through the Spitfire’s life, beginning with her first test flight in 1945. The project’s lead engineer and many of the surviving pilots who flew her also share their memories. For two years, PK350 delighted those fortunate enough to see her fly. Then, on what was planned to be her last flight, Malloch’s Spitfire never returned to base.

Author : Alfred Price
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 374 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2012-09-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780752477091

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Spitfire by Alfred Price Pdf

The narrative description and condensed history of the Spitfire’s construction, combat career and post-war service, bought together to tell the complete, concise history of the world’s most famous aircraft of all time and undoubtedly the finest fighter of World War 2. When Spitfire at War first appeared in 1974, it enjoyed critical acclaim, for the aircraft had never been described in such terms and detail before. It was followed by a second volume in 1985 and a third volume in 1990. All three volumes sold well and are hailed as classic works on the subject. These important works have been out of print for more than a decade, thereby denying them to the current breed of aviation buffs. The time has come to re-issue the three books as a single volume, the author ‘cherry-picking’ the choice cuts to produce the finest title on the mighty and beloved Spitfire.

Author : Jon E. Lewis
Publisher : Robinson
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2013-02-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472107824

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Spitfire: The Autobiography by Jon E. Lewis Pdf

A celebration of the machine and the men who took to the skies in defence of Britain. It is also the dramatic illustration of a little understood truth: the Spitfire did more than win the Battle of Britain - it won the war. It was not Stalingrad which turned the corner of the war against Hitler, it was the Spitfire in the summer of 1940 when RAF Fighter Command destroyed the myth of Nazi invincibility. Praise for his previous books: London: The Autobiography: 'Fascinating ... brings the story of London to life' Good Book guide The English Soldier: The Autobiography: 'A triumph' Saul David, author of Victoria's Army 'Harrowing, funny and often unbelievable book.' Daily Express '[A] compelling tommy's eye view of war from Agincourt to Iraq' Daily Telegraph