Spitfire!
The Experiences of a Fighter Pilot
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Narrated by:
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William Huggins
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By:
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Brian Lane
About this listen
“What is it like up there?”
Spitfire first became a household word during the Blitz, but it was not the first service the valiant aircraft had performed. At Dunkirk a year earlier, pilots had provided aerial support as the allied forces began their evacuation from France.
In an attempt to answer the questions of the man on the street, Brian Lane, who wrote under the pseudonym of B. J. Ellan, tells of what it is that a fighter pilot thinks and feels when he is fighting in the skies, from the sunlit coast of Belgium to the lovely countryside of Kent.
Having been with the squadron since the beginning of the war, as a flight commander and C.O., the character and bravery of the men he knew and served with are deftly rendered.
Self-deprecating and richly detailed, Spitfire! is a classic Battle of Britain memoir, and one of only a few to be published in that dramatic period of history.
©2015 Brian Lane (P)2019 Brian LaneListeners also enjoyed...
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Brilliant account of WW2 flying
- By John on 06-14-17
By: Murray Peden
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Fighter Group
- The 352nd “Blue-Nosed Bastards” in World War II
- By: Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war’s most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.
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This is a fantastic, through, in depth, and personal history of the 352nd fighter group.
- By S. H. Moore on 02-23-21
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Bomber Pilot: A Memoir of World War II
- By: Philip Ardery
- Narrated by: James Killavey
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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"The sky was full of dying airplanes" as American Liberator bombers struggled to return to North Africa after their daring low-level raid on the oil refineries of Ploesti. They lost 446 airmen and 53 planes, but Philip Ardery's plane came home. This pilot was to take part in many more raids on Hitler's Europe, including air cover for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This vivid firsthand account records one man's experience of World War II air warfare.
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Fascinating...and true story
- By Loretta on 06-24-15
By: Philip Ardery
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An Officer, Not a Gentleman
- The Inspirational Journey of a Pioneering Female Fighter Pilot
- By: Mandy Hickson
- Narrated by: Mandy Hickson
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Flying a multi-million pound fighter jet in hostile territory is not an everyday career, and it comes with a high degree of pressure and responsibility. It’s a dream job that takes years of ambition, training and commitment, but for Mandy Hickson, it was a dream that became reality. Find out about Mandy’s incredible journey to become one of the UK’s first female, fast-jet pilots and how she overcame many obstacles to develop the skills to succeed in such a demanding career.
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These reviews are getting hard to trust
- By Justin Campbell on 02-18-22
By: Mandy Hickson
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Incredible Victory
- The Battle of Midway
- By: Walter Lord
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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On the morning of June 4, 1942, doom sailed on Midway. Hoping to put itself within striking distance of Hawaii and California, the Japanese navy planned an ambush that would obliterate the remnants of the American Pacific fleet. On paper, the Americans had no chance of winning. They had fewer ships, slower fighters, and almost no battle experience. But because their codebreakers knew what was coming, the American navy was able to prepare an ambush of its own.
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Very informative
- By Jim Walters on 08-27-18
By: Walter Lord
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Life's Too Short to Cry
- The Compelling Story of a Battle of Britain Ace
- By: Tim Vigors
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It is not often that a long-hidden gem of a manuscript is published, bringing a moment in WWII history to vivid life for today’s audiences. Geoffrey Wellum’s First Light was one example. The memoir of Timothy Vigors is another. Born in Hatfield but raised in Ireland and educated at Eton and Cranwell, Vigors found himself in France in 1940 flying Fairey Battle bombers. After the Fall he joined the fighters of 222 Squadron, with whom he saw frantic and distinguished service over Dunkirk and persevered through the dangerous days of the Battle of Britain, when he became an ace.
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Excellent
- By Ethan on 03-24-21
By: Tim Vigors
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Surprised at Being Alive
- An Accidental Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam and Beyond
- By: Robert F. Curtis
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Sometimes you do everything right, but it just isn't your day. A part fails and your helicopter comes apart in flight, or, another aircraft runs into you and the pieces of both fall to the ground below, or the enemy gunner pulls the trigger at just the right moment and his rounds find your aircraft in exactly the right spot to take it out of the sky. Whichever way it happens, it wasn't your day.
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An Exciting Vietnam war history book it is not.
- By Peter Leo on 07-05-20
By: Robert F. Curtis
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Pacific Glory
- World War II Navy, Book 1
- By: P. T. Deutermann
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Marsh Vincent, Mick McCarty, and Tommy Lewis were inseparable friends during their naval academy years, each man in love with the beautiful, unattainable Glory Hawthorne. Only Tommy wins her heart and marries Glory after graduation. Different skills set the three men on separate paths in the Navy, but they are all forever changed by the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941.
Glory, now Tommy’s widow, is a tough Navy nurse still grieving her loss while trying to save lives at the Pearl Harbor naval hospital.
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Best of PT Deutermann
- By MM on 11-27-11
By: P. T. Deutermann
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Wingman #1
- Wingman
- By: Mack Maloney
- Narrated by: Terence Aselford
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Abridged
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Disarmed and leaderless, the United States is united no longer! Evil Russian warlords have reduced the Capitol to a smoking pile of radioactive rubble. While the destitute citizens are frozen in a state of panic, one man steps forward to seek retribution. He is a brilliant ace fighter pilot: Hawk Hunter, a lone warrior on a mission to keep alive the indomitable spirit of a forgotten dream called "America".
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Interesting
- By Audiobook Addict on 02-14-11
By: Mack Maloney
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Vulcan 607
- By: Rowland White
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Shoulder to shoulder with Strategic Air Command B-52s throughout the Cold War, the big delta-winged Vulcans of the Britain's V-bomber force faced down the Soviet threat to the West. In 1982, they were just months from retirement when they flew in anger for the first time. It was to be a record-breaking mission of breathtaking audacity: a single bomber launched from a remote island airbase to carry out what would be the longest-range air attack in history. An 8,000-mile round-trip.
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Wow, incredibly gripping and entertaining
- By MortonC on 09-10-24
By: Rowland White
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The Fighting Corsairs
- The Men of Marine Fighting Squadron 215 in the Pacific during WWII
- By: Jeff Dacus
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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From historian and columnist in Leatherneck and Armor magazines, this is the exciting, personal account of a marine fighter squadron in the South Pacific during the critical days of 1943, when the tide turned against the Japanese. Based on individual interviews and wartime documents, this is a thrilling narrative of the marines who lived, and died, during the toughest battles of the entire war.
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The Fighting Corsairs
- By Thomas S. Connelly on 05-10-21
By: Jeff Dacus
What listeners say about Spitfire!
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. H. Moore
- 05-28-21
Good show lad good show
This book is pretty down to earth. This guy was no ace and it depicts the life of the average flier well. Some action. Lots of flying and not finding the enemy. Worth and listen and not too pricey.
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3 people found this helpful