THE GREATEST ACES

Sims, who has been doing this kind of skywriting with less frequency and slightly more authority than Arch Whitehouse, records the World War II achievements and failings of the fighter pilots of the R.A.F. and the Luftwaffe in various theatres, touching incidentally on the U.S. Army Air Force. It is the story of England's ""so few"" piloting their Spitfires and Hurricanes against the ""swarm"" of Messerschmitts and light and medium German bombers. Footnote: contrary to popular belief, the two sides were rather evenly matched during the Battle of Britain. Although strategy and grand designs are mentioned in flight, the book concentrates on the feats of individual flyers--legless Douglas Balder or the Luftwaffe's Heurich Bar. Satisfactory for that self-perpetuating readership.