Cracking book you have there old chap…..i treasure mine!
The Spitfire myth (i.e. that it won the BoB) is a story of propaganda, dash, excitement and the exotic! It was the first ‘peoples’ fighter taken to the hearts of a nation because of the fighter fund, shape, ‘secrecy’ etc etc….books posters etc…fantastic stuff….there is another thread about the P51……it could be argued that the moral effect of the Spitfire was probably as important as any ‘guns and bullets’ war effect it had.
We’ve just moved house and in doing so I’ve unearthed a long forgotten book “The Royal Air Force in pictures” published by Country Life Ltd, London, in 1941 (MCMLXI).
It contains about 100 pages of photographs and text about the RAF’s (and Fleet Air Arm’s) aircraft, trainers, bombers, fighters, general purpose, target aircraft, rotaplane, coastal reconnaissance, troop carriers, army cooperation and fleet air arm. Plus it’s packed full of wonderful advertisements including AC Spark plugs, DE HAVILLAND, Splintex, Roberston oil cooling, and many more. These are all un-numbered pages (so it’s maybe 150 pages in total). I’m loving it.
What really strikes me is it’s “time capsule” quality and I’m taken by some of the statements it makes.
The Cover opens with “Today we are all air-minded” which immediately made me flash to Brett Holman’s wonderful blog.
The Hawker Hurricane: “A fighter whose name will for ever be linked with the great victories won by the Royal Air Force over the Luftwaffe in mid-August and mid-September of 1940 …”
No mention of the Battle of Britain nor the Spitfire in that context.
And the “Vickers-Armstrongs Spitfire. Most famous of all fighting aeroplanes in the world …”
R J Mitchell is credited as designer, but no mention whatsoever of Supermarine.
What’s going on? Have I got a 1941 time capsule? I’ll answer that, “Yes.” So … when did we adopt the current naming conventions, “Battle of Britain” and “Supermarine Spitfire”
cheers Don
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