by Gordon Riley Peter Arnold and Graham Trant
ISBN 978-1-84426-886-3
A-Eleven Publications Ltd, 17 Park Hill, Old Harlow, Essex CM17 0AE
10in x 8in hardback; 564 pages, illustrated
£75 plus p&p

This massive tome is Volume 1, dealing with Spitfires Mks I to XII, while Volume 2 will cover the later marks and all Seafires.That volume will also contain appendices listing all known identities, a chapter on preservation, a list of Spitfires/Seafires which nearly survived the scrapman in the 1950s and 1960s and an extensive summary of those aircraft which featured in the film Battle of Britain; this volume will be published in the middle of 2011.

Having whetted the appetite for the next book, what of this one? It had its origins in Spitfire Survivors, published in 1984, further editions of which sparked considerable interest and indirectly helped in the formation of Historic Flying Ltd, one of the leading Spitfire restorers in Europe.

The three authors have three lifetimes of research between them —so it would take a bold reviewer to question any of their findings. Certainly this is an impressive volume, with the foreword appropriately written by the late Alex Henshaw, who test-flew most marks of Spitfire as chief test pilot at the Castle Bromwich factory.

Many of the illustrations have come from private individuals and include such unusual items as Spitfire wreckage in Sweden, Australia and Russia, to name only a few.There are also illustrations of some of the pilots who flew those aircraft shot down in various parts of the world. Details are given of each aircraft’s history from birth to death and there are also some wartime colour illustrations.

Aircraft are covered in mark order, each mark having a separate table of survivors and their locations — it may come as a surprise to read that some 16 Mk Is survive in various forms from wrecks to flyers. Some parts of various marks which have been recovered and are in private ownership seem
to have disappeared, so this book may encourage their owners to come forward.

The publisher has decided to offer the book in two editions: colour, as listed above, or with illustrations in black-and-white where the reference becomes ISBN 978-1-84426-887-0, priced at £55 plus p&p. This approach represents a bold and unusual departure and will presumably be repeated for Vol 2.

For more information, visit the website www.spitfiresurvivors.co.uk

This is an excellent Spitfire history, with high production values, and we look forward to Volume 2 with interest.

Mike Hooks

RATING: ΘΘΘΘΘ