The Battle of Britain and other Aerial Adventures

Very inspiring as a ten year old - 64 pages and still useful, even today!

As a 65 year old member of the Airfix generation, the film of The Battle of Britain was hugely inspiring to my ten year old self ‘back in the day’. To coincide with the launch of the film in 1969 there was a plethora of Battle of Britain merchandise available including the rather modest tome you see above. I remember buying a copy of this from a bookshop and paying 25p for the privilege and it has stayed with me ever since. That in itself is quite remarkable given the number of house moves since my days on the Isle of Sheppey! With only 64 pages you could be forgiven for thinking that this is a relatively lightweight tome but what it lacks in pages it more than makes up in terms of what I would call, succinct writing, The main types involved in the battle are described so for the RAF we the Spitfire, Hurricane, Defiant and the Blenheim. The Luftwaffe feature the Bf109, Bf110, Ju87, Ju88, Do17P and Z and the He111 P and H. It includes technical specifications, line drawings, side profiles (sadly in black and white) and plenty of photographs. I remember being thrilled by this book and even now, it is a very tidy piece of work.

This is a cracking read and I am delighted to have a copy in my library at long last. This edition is revamped version released in 1990 to mark the 50th anniversary. Needless to say, there is a tale behind the acquisition of this book….

The next book is altogether rather more detailed. The Narrow Margin, written by Derek Wood with Derek Dempster, was described as “One of the most carefully researched and authoritative accounts of the whole circumstances surrounding the Battle of Britain, and recognised as such by RAF historians.’ High praise indeed and in fact, this was the book that supplied much of the data for the film the Battle of Britain.

I saw this book listed on eBay from a seller that had five copies. Unfortunately, the picture used was of a pristine version - not the copy you see above. Now I know that this book only cost £5.80 but that is not the point. I challenged the seller and would have been quite happy for an exchange to have taken place for a better looking version but instead, and without any fuss, he immediately refunded me in full and said to keep the book anyway. Being rather particular about my books I will probably get a copy in better condition at some point but it is not urgent. It is a wonderful book though, full of all the information an aspiring Battle of Britain aerial gamer would want and with a marvellous selection of period photographs.

Other Aerial Adventures

I have been expanding on my Axis and Allies: Angels 20/Bandits High collection with some additional aircraft beyond my planned Battle of Britain collection, which has now changed quite dramatically. I have reconfigured my collection on a two or four basis meaning that the models will be organised in, you’ve guessed it - twos or fours. For the Battle of Britain I shall be fielding four each of Spitfire, Hurricane and Bf109E with a pair of Bf110Cs. I will also acquire a pair of resin Stukas at some point, not sure about bombers yet but I can fall off that bridge when I get to it.

I have sufficient models for three other theatres - Eastern Front 1941, Pacific 1942 and over the Reich 1943/44. The Eastern Front collection will have four Bf109Es, a pair of Bf110Cs, a pair of FW190As and for the Russians there are presently four lend lease Hurricanes. I am looking to add to these to balance out the Germans but am unsure as to what models to get, maybe Yak1s if I can get them.

For the Pacific I have four Zeros (two A6M2 and two A6M3), a pair of Ki 43 Oscars and four Ki 61 Tony. The Americans have four Wildcats, and two each of P39 and P40.

The final part is the ‘Over the Reich’ selection consisting of a pair of  Bf109Gs, four FW190As, two each of P38J, P51B and P51B and something a little out of the ordinary, two Fleet Air Arm Martlet Mk.IV (used over Norway).

The number of models is quite modest but remember they are 15mm scale. The original models are pre painted but I reckon there will be a fair amount of repainting or adding specific decals to ‘pimp’ them up.

On top of all this I have been feverishly beavering away typing up additional rules and generally tinkering with the base game, supported by and collaborating with fellow aviators, Messrs Fox and Huband (Mr Huband has the Korean War in his sights using 1:200th Blood Red Skies models). 

For now though, my blizzard of aerial activity needs to be parked, albeit temporarily, so that work can resume on the new book.

In closing though, I have to say that taking time out for a couple of distractions -aerial and the coastal wars stuff - has really given me a mental boost. A change is as good as a rest or so they say!