The Battle of Britain was one of the crucial conflicts in the history of civilisation. It started officially on 10 July 1940 and ended on 31 October 1940. Hitler's plans for the invasion of England were thwarted by two types of fighter aircraft, the Spitfire and Hurricane, and a relative handful of young pilots, The Few.This fine book tells the momentous story of this unequal struggle, from the key events leading up to it, by graphic day-by-day accounts recording the action and commentary on the strategy.The author's personal knowledge of key figures means that there are many thrilling first-hand accounts by the aces, such as Peter Townsend, Bob Standford Tuck, Douglas Bader, Richard Hillary, Sailor Malan and other great men.This well-rounded book covers the contributions of Fighter Command's three Groups (10, 11 and 12) as well as the key roles played by RAF and WAAF groundstaff without whose tireless efforts the Battle would have been lost.A superb book which is unlikely to be bettered in its class.John Frayn Turner is a distinguished historian and author. Pen and Sword have published numerous of his books including VCs of the Second World War, Service Most Silent and Periscope Patrol. He is the author of Douglas Bader - The Biography and The Bader Wing.He lives at Leatherhead, Surrey.