The Battle of Britain
Aircrew from Australia

Their Aircraft and a Modeller’s Guide

by Peter Roberts

Busybird Publishing

Reviewed by Graham Carter

"Not Another BoB book!” I hear you say, but this one is different in a couple of important ways. It focuses on the contribution of that group of airmen from Downunder and on their individual stories during and, sometimes, after the battle. Just as importantly it looks at their mounts and gives details that will help accurate models to be produced but is not a how-to book as there are no specific builds in it.

This is a substantial A4 book of 260 pages and reflects the research by the author. Paper is semi-matte and a thin glossy card cover holds it together. It appears to be strongly bound and should cope with frequent handling and reference-seeking. It begins with a twenty-page explanation of the lead-up and conduct of the Battle and includes the identification procedure for the thirty-five Australians who came to fight in the squadrons involved. This was not an easy task as Peter explains due to different definitions used at the time as to what an ‘Australian’ actually was in the eyes of the British. As in the rest of the volume, the author lists copious references for his information. A list of the men, their rank and the squadrons they served in is then provided.

There then follows a section on the aircraft used by these pilots, principally Hurricanes and Spitfires but a couple of Blenheim fighters and Defiants. Camouflage information is discussed and  some details about the variations in equipment on these airframes such as mirrors, canopy variations, access panels and aerials. This gives the modeller some excellent details, but was the source of one tiny little pedantic niggle from me. Remember that I was a teacher for several decades and spelling is one of my issues. On pages 30-1, 38 and 40 the author repeatedly refers to the aerodynamics of mirrors as being ‘fared’ and ‘faring’ when the correct words are ‘faired’ and ‘fairing’. I realise that we all know what he means but it just leapt out at me. It certainly does not detract from the very useful drawings that will help enhance any model, or the book as a whole.

Then begins the most interesting and useful section of the volume. Beginning on page 53 we find the personal story of each of the thirty-five men. Each is accompanied by a photo, serial number, service history and subsequent fate, some of which was tragically short but a few survived long after the war. These stories make great reading and are given anywhere from three to eleven or twelve pages, each accompanied by an exhaustive list of references and sources for follow-up. This truly is a labour of love and the author acknowledges the assistance of many people in his opening pages.

Each story is accompanied by a detailed look at the aircraft flown by the pilot, its specific markings and colours as well as any special markings, some of these illustrated by a photo. A coloured profile of each plane by our own Juanita Franzi (whose name is unfortunately spelt incorrectly on page 2).

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This book enables a modeller to make pretty much any Hurricane, Spitfire, Defiant or Blenheim fighter accurately, from the Battle, if they know the codes and serial. It identifies equipment, camouflage and markings that the aircraft likely carried

The book concludes with a look at the memorials and museums that can be visited to relive or just study the aftermath and I, for one, know that these are just so important and a sobering reminder of the significance of this aerial battle. Curiously, I could find no reference to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight which has such a high profile at air shows and events each year in England!! This may be an oversight on my behalf but I did trawl pretty thoroughly through the pages and was not helped by a lack of an Index, although I imagine that this would have been a monumental task given the amount of information in the book.

The book is certainly a tour de force for the author and will appeal to a lot of historians, modellers and just Joe Blows who are interested in this iconic period of war-time history. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with these interests, especially those of us here Downunder.

This is a book you will come back to over and over either for inspiration, entertainment or information.

Thanks to Peter Roberts for the sample

Review Copyright © 2024 by Graham Carter
This Page Created on 9 August, 2024
Last updated 20 August, 2024

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