Winged Warriors of Empire

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24723, 27 September 1941, Page 4

Winged Warriors of Empire

In his broadcast on February 9 of this year Mr Churchill expressed the nation’s thanks to those men who had stood between the Nazis and their goal. “After the heavy defeat of the ■German Air Force by our fighters in. August and September,” he said, “ Herr, Hitler did not dare to invade this island, though he had every need to do so, and though he had made great preparations.” The full dramatic account of the rise of the Fighter Squadron, which did so much to alter Hitler’s plans, cannot fail to meet with many appreciative . readers, and the author of this book has made the most of the thrilling story he has had to tell; at times he has made too much of it, indeed, and appears to have overwritten deeds, the barest recording of which could not fail to evoke our ad-miration-and interest. To begin with, full credit is given to the man responsible for the early organisation of

the Fighter Command;, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowdipg. Obviously, here is a man of ability and character, whose judgment has ' had a profound effect on the course d£ the War. He made an exhaustive audy of airfighting in Spain, and 'it was mainly through what he learnt of conditions there, for instance, thht he advocated eight machine-guns iov the planes which were to out-manoeuvre and outfire the Nazis. The Rattle for Britain is dealt with mainly by taking instances of actions agaijist heavy odds; the accounts given byj pilots of their encounters are recorded and familiar names are met with, including Squadron Leader Bader and several New Zealanders. A graph iof comparative losses in the Battle of | Britain, and a number of photographs,, add to the attractiveness of the book; which comes to us from Whitcombe >and Tombs. E. R. D.