Spitfire vs Bf 109: Battle of Britain (Duel, 5)

Spitfire vs. Bf 109 is another great addition to the Osprey Duel series. It provides a detailed comparison between the Spitfire (mostly Spitfire I’s) and the Bf 109E. A wealth of information is included ranging from the development of the planes, their technical specifications, and the differences in pilot training and tactics between the Germans and the British. It is ideal for newcomers to WWII aviation and will be an enjoyable read for experts.As nice as this book is, however, there is a major “but” associated with it. Despite being subtitled the Battle of Britain, there is almost no direct information from the Battle of Britain in it. Relatively few combat descriptions are included, and at least half of those that are present deal with the sitzkrieg, the Battle of France, and Dunkirk. The only real mention of the Battle of Britain comes in the 4-page analysis section at the end.So is Spitfire vs Bf 109 worth getting? That depends what you want it for. If you want information about the air war between Aug 13-Oct 31, 1940, you’ll need to look elsewhere. If you’re just starting an in-depth investigation into the Battle of Britain and plan to read several books on the topic, it can be very useful. You can think of Spitfire vs. Bf 109 as being a primer for the battle. Once you've read it, you’ll have a good understanding of two of the major planes types used.

Having bought many Osprey titles in the past i pretty much knew what to expect and wasn't disappointed. As with other books of theirs, there are plenty of photos to go along with the info as well as some color drawings of the aircraft. A nice feature are the ones of the interior of both planes. I also enjoyed the short biographies of several 109 and spitfire aces. As the title indicates this book only concerns itself with the battle of Britain phase of the war so only the early models of the planes are explored. The reader is given a nice background into the development of both types and will come away with a better appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of both. Overall, a relatively short read but highly recommend.

I do not find much fault in the book other than the misspelling of Schein (License) in the book when the author is larding the text with German terms. The other fault, of which neither are the author's, is the repetition of the same paragraph twice on one page. Both of these errors are the mistakes of the publisher. The book illustrates there was little to choose between the two aeroplanes, other than the skill and experience of the pilots who flew them. Both the Spitfire and the Emil were hamstrung by their lack of range, and in the case of the Germans, by the interferrence of Goering and Hitler, and the use of radar by the Brits. The British, on the other hand, were using the vic tactics which put them at a severe disadvantage against the Schwarm formation of the Jagdflieger. I recommend any of the duel series to those interested in military history.

The book is pleasant to look through and easy to read, so I can't say that it's absolutely bad or I was not pleased at all.But my main pretentions are the following.1) Very little or no analyses. It's almost pure compilation. And there is not much info you cannot find in wiki or other free sourses.2) A LOT of white space on the fields. Sure, there could be more interesting diagrams or info.3) Very few schemes (only 4 formation schemes) — no schemes of most common combat maneuvers at all! It's Osprey book (so I think supposedly for the new-comers primarily), so why do not explain with a scheme what the maneuvers mentioned in the book looked like?4) Boring images — really the best pictures you can find there are the ones on the front cover. Even worse, there is almost no truly interesting photos (except the portraits of the aces and couple of shot down fighters). NOT A SINGLE GUN CAMERA SHOT!!!!!!!! Come on, it's a duel series or what???5) Part about the development is good, but too large. OK, the tech info is interesting, but the fight is something I bought this book for. The table to compare the perfomance is quite dull — what the hell do I need the info about height and length of SS and Bf-109 in one table for? Much more interesting would be to put there the perfomance of different types or at different altitudes. Max speed and service ceiling are not the only characteristics that mattered!!!6) The part about pilots' training is one of the most interesting. Unfortunately it lacks any key statistics.7) The maps with airfields are not bad, but not very informative either. No operational radius shown, no areas of main fighting or most common directions of german attacks.8) The part about the combat itself is the key part of the book. And it really gives no idea of what typical Spitfire vs. BF-109 clashes were like during BoB (and different stages of it). It has some examples, but they do not create a complete picture, like "who was atacking more often", "what were the opportunities of the side that was attacked", "what were the most often outcomes' etc. Fail((((.9) The statistics in the end are so scarse... The info of how many SS or Bf-109 were shot down by the best aces doesn't give any idea of which of the planes did the job better. The stats about kills and losses by 3 months of BoB would be much more interesting and show dynamics of fighting, but there isn't anything like it.I've got the impression, that most of the books noted in the bibliography section were not used or used for just a couple of quotes. And that's too bad(((.To sum up, If you want to get some basic info about these fighters and to hold a nice little book — you can buy it. But sure this is NOT a must-have-book for the BoB fans.

One of the duels during the Battle of Britain was the combat between the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the British Spitfire. This book discusses the combat between these two fighters.There is a brief introductory essay to place the planes' duels into perspective. Then, a brief chronology in the histories of these contending planes. As per the standard formula for this series, we then read of design and development, technical specifications, the strategic situation facing Germany and Great Britain. Here, geography is considered, such as the sites where German fighters took off from. The combatants (pilots) are detailed, including a discussion of their training. One interesting feature is a look at the cockpits of the two fighters (see pages 50-51). The book closes with a discussion of the Battle of Britain and how the planes fared against one another. A nice addition to the Duel Series from Osprey Publishing.

A reasonably inexpensive introduction to the air combat over the UK in 1940, marred only by careless use of German words:There is reference to the "A2- Schien [sic]" German pilot's licence. The German word is Schein (pronounced `shine') and spelled with a capital letter as are all German nouns. Schien (`sheen') is gibberish in this context as it means `appeared to be'. If German words are used to impress the reader, they should be spelled properly!

Very enjoyable with a concise summary of the main differences between the two aircraft written in an engaging way. Not an in depth study but enough for a good read.

as advertised

realy nice

Im Jahre 1940 trafen im zweiten Weltkrieg die fast gleichstarken BF-109E auf deutscher Luftwaffe auf die gleichfalls hervorragenden Supermarine Spitfire der britischen Royal Air Force.Während der Schlacht um Frankreich wurden vorrangig Hawker mit hohen Verlusten Hawker Hurricane und Boulten Paul Defiant verwendet, erst gegen Ende, während dem Kampf um Dünkirchen gab Churchill die modernsten Jäger des Königreiches zum Einsatz frei. Von Juni 1940, mit dem Höhepunkt im August desselben Jahres, bis ins Jahr 1941 fochten hauptsächlich die Bf-109E3- E4, und die Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I und Mk.II die Jäger- Luftgefechte über Südengland aus.Die langsame, unhandliche, und schwerere Hawker Hurricane wurde zur Bekämpfung von Stukas und zweimotorigen Bombern der Luftwaffe eingesetzt, wo sie sehr erfolgreich waren. Insgesamt ein hervorragender technischer Vergleich zweier verschiedener technischer Konzepte, die letztendlich mit fast der gleichen Motorleistung und Abmessungen fast das selbe Ergebnis zustande brachten.Der Einspritzmotor der Bf-109 war besser als der R.R.-Merlin mit Vergaser der Spitfire, genauso wie die Bewaffnung mit MG in der Rumpfmitte und 20-mm Kanonen mit Explosiv- Granaten in den Flächen.Die Spitfire konnte enger kurven und stieg schneller, und ihre 8 MG's cal.303 Browning in den Flächen, die auch die Hawker Hurricane besaß, wirkten wie ein Schrotschuß mit durchschlagender Munition.Im Herbst 1940 stellte die deutsche Luftwaffe nach schweren Verlusten ihre Angriffe auf England zunächst ein.Danach entwickelte man in England die verbesserte Spitfire Mk.II., und im deutschen Reich die Bf-109-F!Achtung, alles auf Englisch!