This is the account of machines of war pitted against each other and the combatants who operated them. Step onto the battlefield and immerse yourself in the experience of real historic combat. The aerial duel between Spitfire II/Vs and Bf 109Fs saw a reversal of roles for RAF Fighter Command and the Luftwaffe from the summer of 1940. Now it was the British fighter units that were on the offensive, charged with protecting vulnerable RAF bombers attacking targets in occupied Europe from marauding Luftwaffe fighters. Spitfire squadrons suffered terribly at the hands of the Luftwaffe's fighter force in 1941-42, when a modest number of Bf 109Fs stoutly defended military and industrial targets in France and the Low Countries from RAF medium bombers. By early 1942 the RAF was sending dozens of Spitfire V-equipped units over France in 'Circus', 'Ramrod' and 'Rhubarb' operations, which were opposed by just two Jagdgeschwader (JG 2 and JG 26) with only 150 serviceable fighters between them. Yet, these German units claimed four Spitfires destroyed for every Bf 109F lost in return. With stunning artwork and detailed analysis, this volume provides a pilot's view of the dramatic clashes between these legendary fighters.

Book jacket.