The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

others, has gained an iconic reverence not given to any other. The Me 109E
might have been better for air-to-air fighting than the Spitfire Mk I in 1940,
but Mitchell’s plane was only at the beginning of its development back
then. Subsequent models, complete with fuel injection, cannons and ever
more powerful engines, were quite superb. No wonder that generations of
children have built models of this beautiful aircraft, or that thousands still
flock to air shows every summer to watch them fly. Certainly, watching the
silhouette of those elliptical wings and hearing that deep roar of the Merlin
never fails to be a highly moving experience.
There are some fifty still flying or close to flying, but there is one
model, above all, that has special reverence for me. My fascination with the
battle began with David Crook’s wartime memoir Spitfire Pilot, and since
then I have always had a special interest in his old squadron, 609 (West
Riding). One of the squadron’s Spitfires from the Battle of Britain remains.
It was not flown by David Crook, but by that other 609 Squadron hero,
John Dundas. Go to the Imperial War Museum in London and it can still be
seen, suspended by wires from the ceiling. A favoured spot is on the second
floor, along the balcony overlooking the atrium. From there it is possible to
look down upon it, at its sleek, curving lines, and into the cockpit. It is
always very still and quiet up there, but with a bit of imagination it is
possible to see the Spitfire, not in some hall, but high in the burning blue
above southern England, pirouetting and swirling, guns spitting bullets, and
in a deadly duel with an Me 109. In fact, half close your eyes and one can
even see John Dundas sitting in the cockpit, leather flying helmet around
his head, leaning forward despite the straps of the harness, concentration
etched on his face. He is not dead at the bottom of the English Channel, but
suddenly very much alive.