How the Spitfire Won the Battle of Britain

Dilip Sarkar understands perfectly the mysteries of air tactics and strategy. --Peter Townsend - Battle of Britain Fighter ace


Finally lays to rest the myth that the Hurricane won the Battle of Britain rather than the numerically inferior, yet more glamorous, Spitfire. Although there were many more Hawker Hurricanes than Supermarine Spitfires engaged in the epic conflict fought over southern England in summer 1940, the public's imagination was captured by the shapely and charismatic Spitfire. According to legend, however, the Hurricane executed far greater damage on the enemy than all other defenses combined, and was therefore the unsung hero of our 'Finest Hour'. New research, though, confirms that the Spitfire, although less in number, was in fact supreme, and destroyed an equal number of enemy machines to the more numerous Hurricane force. Featuring interviews with pilots who flew to war in both Spitfires and Hurricanes, and following a detailed analysis of combat reports and casualty records, Dilip Sarkar shatters the myth and argues a persuasive case proving that the Hurricane was markedly inferior to the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain - which could have been won by Spitfires, but not Hurricanes, alone. A controversial thesis likely to provoke lively debate, the evidence presented by this retired police detective and expert aviation historian is nonetheless indisputable.