THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER – SPITFIRE – ‘The best book you will ever read about Britain’s greatest warplane.’

‘A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine.’ Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607 

Achtung, Spitfire! 

Bestselling author John Nichol’s passionate portrait of this magnificent fighter aircraft, its many innovations and updates, and the people who flew and loved it, carries the reader beyond the dogfights over Kent and Sussex. Spanning the full global reach of the Spitfire’s deployment during the Second World War, from Malta to North Africa and the Far East, then over the D-Day beaches and into Europe, the story is always accessible, effortlessly entertaining and full of extraordinary spirit. 

Here are edge-of-the-seat tales and heart-stopping first-hand accounts: of battling pilots, some forced to bail out over enemy territory; of sacrifice and wartime love; of aristocratic female flyers; of the mechanics who braved the Nazi onslaught to keep the aircraft in battle-ready condition. Nichol takes the reader on a hair-raising, nail-biting and highly moving wartime history of the iconic Spitfire, populated by a cast of heroic characters who make you want to stand up and cheer.