THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II

by Richard & Denis Richards Hough ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 13, 1989

An unsentimental and unaffected account of how the outnumbered RAF fought the Luftwaffe to a standstill during the summer and early autumn of 1940, forcing Hitler to defer his planned invasion of an isolated England. Without scanting the airmen's contribution, Hough (Born Royal, Mountbatten, etc.) and Richards (author of the official WW II history of the Royal Air Force) make clear the vital roles played by a host of others in the outcome of the Battle of Britain. Between wars, for example, government ministers and military commanders far-sightedly developed an air-defense network whose radar systems provided early warning of raids--and the means to deploy interceptors. In like vein, industry supplied replacement planes in sufficient quantities, and ground crews working under the gun of constant assaults kept them operational. The availability of 100-octane avgas (which vastly improved the performance of Spitfires and Hurricanes) also proved a decisive factor, as did the resilience of the civilian population enduring the fiery horrors of the Blitz. Even so, the authors recount, the Battle was very nearly lost until the Germans (at the Fuehrer's behest) began targeting urban centers instead of air bases, military installations, and aircraft factories. This overconfident miscalculation, they show, gave the battered RAF time to regroup. In addition, Hough and Richards convincingly discredit some enduring myths, including the notion that Chief Air Marshall Hugh (""Stuffy"") Dowding was relieved of command at the instigation of Young Turk officers. Nor, they demonstrate, did decrypts of the enemy's Enigma code afford intelligence on German attacks. A wide-ranging, painstakingly documented, and comprehensive appreciation of a turning-point engagement. The text (already published in the UK) is handsomely illustrated with contemporary photos (from German as well as British sources), plus paintings, portraits, cartoons (e.g., from Punch), newspaper tearsheets, and maps.

Pub Date: Nov. 13, 1989

ISBN: 0393307344

Page Count: -

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1989

Categories: NONFICTION