I would have thought this story had been told so many times that it couldn't be retold differently. So much so I wouldn't have bought even this one except that it was $7 in paperback at Half-Price Books and I needed reading material.
I'm glad I did buy it; David Isby literally takes you down to the nuts and bolts and lays out in exhaustive detail the development of each fighter. For example how the German's lack of access to certain steel alloys limited their aircraft engines' crankshaft designs, details about octane, compression ratios and peak power outputs.
He also lays out in detail the incremental improvements in each fighter, what it entailed and how it was effected, even within a given "mark" or "model". For example the travelling crews from Handley Page literally working around the clock visiting RAF airfields to install constant-speed propellers on fighters on the eve of battle. Or the factory crews on both sides retrofitting armor upgrades to existing aircraft already in service.
Full of the little details that make a good history book so fascinating, like production details and hang-ups on specific components.
Hey, I'm 144 pages into it (out of 454 pages of text) and the Battle of Britain is just now starting
This is understandable; in the context of the uncounted thousands of hours of engineering and science that went into 'em as described here, the concept of these two aircraft going out and actually mixing it up with each other seems almost an afterthought.
I give it two thumbs up.
Birdwatcher
