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The Battle of Britain, 1940, was one of the most famous air battles in the history of warfare and it is a story of ruthless organisation, brilliant control and command. But at its heart is one particular figure, a legend ever since - the RAF fighter pilot. And one particular plane - a piece of...

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...

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 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.

Spitfire first became a household word during the Blitz, but it was not the first service the valiant aircraft had performed. At Dunkirk a year earlier, pilots had provided aerial support as the allied forces began their evacuation from France. In an attempt to answer the questions of the man on the street, Brian Lane, who wrote under the pseudonym of B. J. Ellan, tells of what it is that a fighter pilot thinks and feels when he is fighting in the skies, from the sunlit coast of Belgium to the lovely countryside of Kent.

From drawing board to preservation, this publication examines how the Spitfire evolved during WWII, developing with each mark to meet the ever increasing demands that were placed on it. This legendary British aircraft is compared with its contemporaries, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Hawker Hurricane, along with in-depth analysis of how Spitfires fared in various theatres of battle. This is the perfect tribute to a true British icon.

One of the few RAF aircrew to play a central part in two of the Second World War's most momentous events, the Battle of Britain and D-Day, Cyril 'Frank' Babbage was a survivor. He wasn't just an immensely skilled pilot; he was also blessed with extraordinary good fortune.

At the outbreak of the Second World War D. M. Crook, of No. 609 Squadron AAF, was at Yeadon, still undergoing his training; by the winter of 1939-40, he had his wings. Successfully applying to return to his Squadron, then on defense duties in northern England, Crook began to familiarize himself with their new fighter: the Spitfire. Soon they were posted to RAF Northolt, and it was at this time that Crook, much to his chagrin, was left grounded, undergoing knee surgery as they flew over Dunkirk.

The year is 1483. Just as beautiful Lady Arabella Grey, the young cousin of England's King Richard III, speaks her wedding vows to Sir Jasper Keane, the Scotsman Tavis Stewart, Earl of Dunmore, abducts Arabella as payment for Jasper's murder of his fiancee. Irresistibly, deliciously, Arabella surrenders to her enemy with fierce abandon - knowing that there may be only one way to get what is rightfully hers....

Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Channel Dash, North Africa, Sicily, Dieppe, D-Day, and the fight against the V1 menace—Group Captain Bobby Oxspring saw action in many of the most famous battles of the Second World War. His memoir, Spitfire Command, is a remarkable account of life as one of The Few, charting his journey through the war, flying all marks of the Spitfire—from the Mk I to the Mk XIV—right through to when he ended operational duty just a week before the war ended.

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.

When a violent nor'wester hits Grand Cayman, a cargo ship is caught in the maelstrom, and several containers are lost to the ocean floor… unless AJ Bailey and Reg Moore can recover the precious contents belonging to Reg's wife, Pearl. Eighty years in the past, at the height of World War II, an Air Transport Auxiliary pilot ferrying planes to RAF airfields in the southern coast of England, becomes the victim of a bold lie in a story missing from the history books.

Names like Douglas Bader and Robert Stanford Tuck are well known. They are household names because they belonged to that small band of Second World War fighter pilots who applied themselves to their deadly business with quite exceptional vigor, achieving commensurate success and enshrinement in public memory. Equally vigorous, and undoubtedly deserving of similar recognition and acclaim, was a Canadian named Edward Francis John, or "Jack", Charles - yet almost no one has heard of him.