Dilip Sarkar: 11 books

The Battle of Britain started on 10 July 1940, ending 16 weeks later on 31 October 1940. The Luftwaffe’s intention was to destroy Fighter Command, domination of the skies being crucial to Hitler’s invasion plan. During that fateful summer, young RAF fighter pilots, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes,...

Although there were many more Hawker Hurricanes than Supermarine Spitfires engaged in the epic conflict fought over southern England in the summer of 1940, the public's imagination was captured by the shapely and charismatic Spitfire. According to legend, however, the Hurricane executed far greater...

Spitfire and Hurricane fighter pilots recount their experiences of combat during the Battle of Britain. 2,927 aircrew of RAF Fighter Command fought and won the Battle of Britain in 1940, 544 lost their lives in action. They flew to battle in Spitfires and Hurricanes, Defiants and Blenheims, although...

An amazing array of leaflets, books and manuals were issued by the Air Ministry during the Second World War to aid pilots in flying the Supermarine Spitfire, here for the first time they are collated into a single book. An introduction is supplied by expert aviation historian Dilip Sarkar. Other sections include aircraft recognition, how to act as an RAF officer, bailing out, and so on.

The elliptical shape and mighty roar of the Supermarine Spitfire continues to inspire people all over the world. During the Second World War, the Spitfire became the icon of Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in those dark days of 1940 when Britain stood alone. Today it remains a symbol of great national...

During the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone, defying the Luftwaffe’s aerial assault – the prelude to a proposed seaborne invasion. Fighter Command faced this challenge against overwhelming odds with immeasurable courage and tenacity, the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, immortalising these...

The Imperial War Museum site at Duxford is rightly recognised as the premier aviation museum in Europe, hosting exciting air shows and where the evocative sight and sound of an airborne Spitfire can be experienced most days. Back in the dark days of 1940, however, when Britain alone defied Nazi Germany,...

Johnnie Johnson is a character literally straight out of the pages of ' Boys Own'. By the end of the Second World War the RAF Spitfire pilot was a household name in Britain, feted by Churchill and Eisenhower. Although he missed the Battle of Britain, when slow- flying bombers were abundant and easy...

Though less iconic than the nimble Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane was a vital stalwart in the British war effort. The Hurricane was a more stable gun platform than the Spitfire, more rugged, and was used in more challenging theatres of war. An amazing array of leaflets, books and manuals were issued...

Spitfire Voices represents an important oral history of the Spitfire from the fighter pilot's perspective. Drawing upon the personal letters, diaries and memories of their families and comrades, the author recounts the deeply moving stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The book features...

HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, infamously torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she became the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in...