Last of the Few: The Battle of Britain in the Words of the Pilots Who Won It - Couverture rigide

Arthur, Max

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1616083085 ISBN 13 : 9781616083083

Editeur : Skyhorse Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

After the fall of France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler’s inevitable invasion attempt. For the German army to land across the channel, Hitler needed mastery of the skies—the Royal Air Force would have to be broken. So every day throughout the summer, German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day, and civilians watched skies crisscrossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires and Me-109s. Britain’s very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer’s battle: Its air defenses were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds, “The Few,” as they came to be known, bought Britain’s freedom—many with their lives. More than a fifth of the British and Allied pilots died during the Battle of Britain. These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. Their stories are as riveting, as vivid, and as poignant as they were seventy years ago. We will not see their like again.

A propos du livre

Quatrième de couverture

After the fall of France in May 1940, Britain stood alone to face Hitler's inevitable invasion attempt. Within weeks, he had assembled a vast fleet ranged along the French coast. But before the German Army could land across the Channel, Hitler needed to achieve mastery of the skies. His biggest obstacle, the small and under-resourced Royal Air Force would have to be broken.

And so began the Battle of Britain: thirteen terrifying weeks which saw 2,500 young RAF pilots pitted against the larger and more experienced German forces of the Luftwaffe high above the English Channel.

During that fateful summer, Britain's air defences were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds, The Few, as they came to be known, bought Britain's freedom - many with their lives.

These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. Their stories are as riveting, as vivid and as poignant as they were seventy years ago.

Lauded by Churchill as The Few...The survivors of that campaign are now in their eighties or nineties, their ranks thinning by the year... Max Arthur brings together the voices of the living and the dead to recreate the events of July-October 1940, when vapour trails against a blue sky marked the battle to save civilisation - Daily Telegraph

Entertaining and moving ... This is a brilliant introduction for anyone seeking to understand the origins and outcomes of the battle. A dramatic tale, well told

- News of the World

No one can relive the battle except the men who fought it, and here they are in a tide of telling testimony...expertly tracked down and anthologised by out foremost oral historian of war, the self-effacing Max Arthur...Read it and remember.- Daily Mail

Présentation de l'éditeur

Bestselling author Max Arthur's landmark oral history of the Battle of Britain, sharing the voices of those who were there.

After the fall of France in May 1940, the British Expeditionary Force was miraculously evacuated from Dunkirk. Britain now stood alone to face Hitler's inevitable invasion attempt.

For the German Army to be landed across the Channel, Hitler needed mastery of the skies — the RAF would have to be broken — so every day, throughout the summer, German bombers pounded the RAF air bases in the southern counties. Greatly outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command scrambled as many as five times a day, and civilians watched skies criss-crossed with the contrails from the constant dogfights between Spitfires and Me-109s. Britain's very freedom depended on the outcome of that summer's battle.

Britain's air defences were badly battered and nearly broken, but against all odds, 'The Few', as they came to be known, bought Britain's freedom — many with their lives.

These are the personal accounts of the pilots who fought and survived that battle. We will not see their like again.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Skyhorse Publishing
• Date d'édition: 2011
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1616083085
• ISBN 13: 9781616083083
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 304
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible