Spitfire II/V vs Bf 109F: Channel Front 1940–42 (Duel, 67)

After the Battle of Britain, the British Royal Force was directed to "lean into" northern France, to keep the pressure on the Luftwaffe while restoring a spirit of offensive operations. This change coincided, more or less, with the fielding of the Spitfire V, a faster fighter capable of operating at attitudes comparable to its German counterpart. The Luftwaffe was just fielding the F model Bf109 fighter..."Spitfire II/V vs Bf109F" is an Osprey Duel Series book covering the fight over the Channel Front during 1940-42. The author is Tony Holmes; illustrations are by Jim Laurier and Gareth Hector. The narrative introduces the change in British strategy and the advent of two new fighter variants. The heart of the story is a detailed account of the aerial combat between the respective fighters. The takeaway is in an excellent concluding analysis, which clearly identifies a winner in the Channel Front fight. The results may surprise even keen students of aerial combat during the Second World War. The text is nicely supported by an excellent collection of period photographs and modern illustrations. Well-recommended.

Okay, I'll admit it: apart from reading many books about the Battle Of Britain and RAF Bomber Command, I really don't know the full story of the RAF in WWII. This particular offering from the Duel Series does a lot to help uninformed readers like me understand what was going on in the West during the years between the end of the Battle of Britain and the initial arrival of the USAAF in theatre. I really appreciated the many period photographs and the use of the pilots' own word to illustrate what the fighter war was like in 1941-42. The text was particularly helpful in understanding the development of the Spitfire from Mk.I to Mk. II and then to Mk.V and in parallel the development of the Bf-109 from "Emil" to "Friedrich". It was very interesting to note that JG 2 and JG 26 kept Bf-109Fs on hand even after the FW-190A entered service in numbers because of the former's superior high altitude performance - something the Luftwaffe would sorely need once the units of the Mighty 8th hit their stride in the coming years. In any case, this book in my opinion is well worth your time and attention for the informative picture it paints of the Channel Front in the mid-war years.

I am a huge and appreciative fan of the Osprey Duel series of profiles and this volume by the series editor Tony Holmes superbly captures an amazing era in aviation history when British and German air forces dueled over the English Channel and it's coasts. The Spitfire and Bf/Me 109 were cutting edge technology for their time and this volume preserves their history with succinct text, terrific photos, and amazing artwork! Aviation enthusiasts and scholars will treasure this work!

This is an excellent, albeit brief, account of the clash between the Bf-109F and the Mark II/V Spitfire.

Pictures and photos are great but some of the text seemed rehashed to me.

I really enjoy how this series compares the people and machines. .

Simply a wonderful read of the subject and thoroughly researched.

all good

Post Battle of Britain, taking the fight to the continent. Probably the best and most efficient version of the 109, as a dogfighter, over their own territory can only end in tears, their height advantage meant the Spitfires were nearly always at a disadvantage. Well illustrated and a good read but would have liked it a bit longer.

Ein technischer Vergleich über den Ärmelkanal der Anfang der 1940-er Jahre hinüber, zwischen ca. Oktober 1940 und dem September 1942, mit Vergleichen zwischen den Jagd- Protagonisten der RAF und der deutschen Luftwaffe.Der Supermarine Spitfire Mk. II und dem direkten Nachfolger Supermarine Spitfire V, mit Varianten von Va bis Ve, unterschiedlich in der Flügelbewaffnung, und ihren damals ebenbürtigen deutschen Gegenspielern den Bf- 109F.Die deutschen Jagdmaschinen hatten nur die Hälfte der Bewaffnung der Spitfires, feuerten aber ihre Waffen über dem Rumpf, sehr gut synchronisiert mit hoher Feuerrate, durch den Propellerkreis, oder sie schossen ihre Maschinenkanonen von 15mm oder 20mm Kaliber (MG151/15 oder MG151/20) durch eine gegossene Bohrung des Daimler Benz 601 Flugmotors durch die hohle Propellernabe.Die deutschen Geschosse folgten also genau der Visierlinie, die der Pilot anvisiert hatte! Die Salven der Flügelbewaffnung der Spitfire konnten je nach Kurvenlage des Flugzeuges durchaus um mehrere Meter variieren!

Probably one of my favourite duel books in the air combat category. Very interesting read on the British return to flights over France, and the rather rough time they got thanks to the Germans new 109 F. There’s plenty of writing on the Battle of Britain and the ‘great allied victory’ that it was, and so history seems to skip over this period of time in books. Covering all the allied mistakes and being brutally honest about the losses they sustained for no real reason when the Germans held all the cards, this is a very interesting account, and nice to see more German accounts than most fuel books have to offer. The coverage on the aircraft is as good as always, picking up exactly where the previous duel title on these two aircraft left off, and not dwelling in the design and development of the aircraft as a whole, but jumping right to the improvements and deployment of the new F model 109 and the Spit II and V. Great book

Like most of this series this book takes a larger conflict and takes a close up look at a small section of it with the customary thoroughness. None of the information is particularly new but in this format and price point it is difficult to beat.

A good overview of the machines and tactics in the period just after the Battle of Britain. Great for enthusiasts specifically interested in the competition between these two famous aircraft. Explains how evolving tactics and technology was critical in both the RAFs and Luftwaffe’s battle for supremacy over the channel in late 1941 and into early 1943