'The most beautiful aircraft ever designed' is how many remember the Spitfire today. Together with the more numerous and legendary Hurricane, it was used by just a few hundred pilots to halt the advance of the German war machine in 1940. Just why was the Messerschmitt 109 better than the Hurricane? Why did the Hurricane shoot down three times more German bombers than the Spitfire? Why was the Heinkel 111 the most successful bomber of the era? Why was the Stuka dive bomber so feared? What happened to the two squadrons of Defiants that fought in the battle? This beautifully illustrated book answers these and many more questions about the Aircraft of the Battle of Britain.