Fighter Boys : Saving Britain 1940 (2024)

Patrick Bishop has written a straightforward, traditional (no revisionist nonsense here!) and very readable history of fighter command through 1940 - the battles of France and Britain. Enlivened by lots of eyewitness accounts, like his Bomber Boys, this is as much a social history as a military one. And despite the romantic cover photo Patrick Bishop avoids sentimentality until the very end, instead managing to be unflinching yet sympathetic.

The Battle of Britain was one of the seminal events of the 20th century. It was a battle in which Britain was fighting for its very survival throughout the summer and autumn of 1940 against a brutal, authoritarian regime (the Third Reich) which bestrode Norway and Western Europe as a seemingly unbeatable Colossus following its blitzkrieg victories of the spring. This was a battle in which air power for the first time in warfare was the decisive element in a military campaign.

Patrick Bishop does a masterful job in evoking the personalities, aircraft, and spirit of RAF Fighter Command (Britain's defender) and its nemesis, the Luftwaffe. Next to Stephen Bungay's "The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain" (which I had the pleasure of reading a decade ago), this is one of the most readable, poignant, and comprehensive accounts of the Battle of Britain likely to be found anywhere. I would recommend it not just for aviation enthusiasts or students of the Second World War. But also for anyone who loves to read stories of compelling human interest. This is a book to be cherished and reread again and again, with thanks and gratitude.

I would describe this book as more of a social history rather than a military history, although it is that too. The primary focus of Fighter Boys is the pilots who took part in one of Britain's most famous World War Two victories - the Battle of Britain during 1940. I suppose everyone is familiar with this tale of 'The Few' against the might of the Luftwaffe, whose aim originally was to knock out the RAF as a prelude to a Channel invasion, which failed quite drastically. By the end of 1940 it was over, and Operation Sealion, the code-name for the invasion, was shelved and forgot about due to quite crippling losses the Luftwaffe sustained by the skill of the pilots of the RAF, as well as Germany preparing for the invasion of Russia in 1941. I think Hitler wanted Britain to sue for peace more than embarking on an actual invasion (if he did manage to knock out the RAF, he still would have had to deal with the Royal Navy). However, through staunch determination, skill, great aircraft design (at least with the Spitfire and Hurricanes), the might of the Luftwaffe were thwarted in every way, suffering deadly, irreplaceable losses, just as much as the RAF in many ways.

The book contains many first hand accounts from survivors, and I found that you become attached to some of their stories and characters. It begins with the formation of the Royal Flying Corps during WW1, the interwar years and the RAF Volunteer Reserves which proved essential during 1940 to have a stream of replaceable trained pilots during 1940, but not on a mass scale. It really starts with the Battle of France and Dunkirk and the massive casualties the RAF received at the hands of the more skilled Germans, who had some veteran pilots having served both in Spain and Poland. I suppose you could call it a 'baptism of fire' during May/June 1940, which would alter the RAFs operational strategy during the 'Battle of Britain' for the better. The book focuses also on the class basis of the pilots, and there is a general understanding that most came from Middle to Upper Class backgrounds and Public educated men. Whilst this is true to a large extent, many pilots also came from upper-working class backgrounds, and their average age was between 18 to 25 years old. I think there was certainly an 'elitist' attitude amongst the 'Fighter Boys', as they were known as at the time, but also a great camaraderie within their ranks too. Many personal accounts are contained here, some quite chilling, detailing some gruesome ends of shot-down pilots. There is a technical aspect to the book too, reading about the differences between the handling of a Spitfire and a Hurricane was quite interesting, as well as their improving tactics as they, outnumbered usually, faced hundreds of Messerschmidt 109s and bombers. The RAF was also an international force, having pilots from New Zealand, Australia, Poland (the famous 303 squadron) and Canada and America (11 from America served prior to their being involved in WW2, so maybe the film Pearl Harbour had just a little bit of accuracy which I once dismissed as a patriotic film that skewed the truth). As the Battle of Britain developed, with the Luftwaffe switching from attacking RAF bases to bombing industrial cities such as London etc, the 'Fighter Boys' started to gain an almost romantic appeal within Britain - they were seen as heroes and had a more laid back discipline than the other Army ranks, allowing to wear their top button undone and kitted out in a more personal touch than what was allowed for other services. The book also mentions the WAAF (Womens Auxiliary Air Force), who proved vital in plotting incoming raids and so on, but the main focus, apart from mentioning some relationships between the WAAF and pilots, is the RAF.

The losses amongst the pilots however was staggering in all regards (leave alone the larger losses the Germans received). Of 2,917 men who served in Fighter Command during the summer of 1940, 544 were killed and another 795 died before the war was over. After the Battle of Britain was won and Hitler withdrew most of his Luftwaffe to the Russian adventure, Fighter Command had to escort bombing raids against Northern France and Fighter Sweeps, that also inflicted a lot of casualties and imprisonment as they were no longer over safe shores - and these were veteran pilots hard to replace. An interesting social history more than anything, and as I said you become attached to some of the pilots throughout the book which makes it a page turner and very readable. I recommend just for the pilots stories, plus you get a semi-chronological history too about the main events of 1940 and development of the RAF. 4.5 stars, rounded to a 4.

Baptized during the fire of World War II, Great Britain’s Royal Airforce corps of fighter pilots have become the stuff of legends. Dubbed the “Fighter Boys,” these young men, mostly between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, were all that stood between their island home and the German invasion. In the months of the “phony war,” during the doomed Battle of France, the Fighter Boys provided the support and peace of mind needed by both their own people back home and their French allies. During the German Operation Sealion and the Blitz over London in 1940, they were the only thread that held their country together.

But at the heart of England’s renowned fighter pilot corps were ordinary men, who had to learn to deal with the stress and the fear of flying into battle, who had to cope after watching friends and brothers being shot from the sky, who had to keep going, to keep fighting after they had been pushed beyond all limits.

In this remarkable book, Bishop has pulled together the lives of these men—most of them barely old enough to shave—and bound them together within the epic story of a world at war. His tale begins slowly, outlining the birth of fighter pilots during World War I and exploring the world of the RAF before the outbreak of hostilities. Faster and faster the story spirals until we, side by side with these boy pilots, are swept onto the battlefronts of France and, eventually, the desperate Battle of Britain.

Although he never loses sight of the overall picture, Bishop manages to portray the human theme with a singular energy and pathos that leaves the reader’s heart aching as each plane finds a grave alongside all those that fell the day before. Wonderfully researched and documented, Fighter Boys is a definitive look into the lives of a most extraordinary group of men.

This was one of the first histories of the Battle of Britain which I started to read, and it was a work which I put aside, came back to, and put down again, and eventually finished about a month or two later. Many books I stop reading are never finished so it is partly a testament to the qualities of this work that I returned to it several times. It provides valuable insight into the lives of the pilots, analysing social and psychological dimensions. One of the most memorable sections focuses on the struggle of many to overcome the terror of facing a vastly numerically superior enemy. Another section discusses the irony of many of the pilots' experiences of mortal combat contrasted with their lack of sexual experience. Through these details, the fragility of the pilots' humanity was excellently conveyed. Although many parts of this work were fascinating, there was a certain lack of narrative coherence in the structure which meant that I was not sufficiently motivated to continue reading in places, but which also meant that it was relatively easy to re-commence my reading. In retrospect, I think interspersing the reading of this book with complementary reading of pilots' biographies, oral histories, and chronological accounts was an excellent way to build up a more nuanced picture of the pilots and the Battle of Britain.

Nearly 3000 fighter pilots fought for the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. 18% of them died during the German air offensive of 1940, and another 27% had been killed by the end of the war. Rather than writing another account of the battle from a tactical or strategic perspective, Bishops writes a sort of group biography of the Fighter Boys. The battle itself gets fair treatment, for sure, but this is a history of the pilots, not the battle.

The English Army and Navy were historically a reflection of their society’s classes. Commissions went to the nobility and to the rising gentry. Private soldiers and seamen were from the working classes. The RAF’s fighter pilots were a new thing. Pilots were traditionally officers, but the technical skills need to fly and fight meant that family of origin couldn’t play as prominent a role in their selection. Most pilots were from well off families who could afford a public school (what in American would be called a “private school”), but many came up via technical schools. The relative egalitarianism of the pilot ranks were part of the stage being set for a post-war society.

Bishop surveys the wealth of diaries, interviews, and memoirs left behind by the the pilots. He gives us their impression of training and battle. He lets of ride along as they party, go on leave, and fall in love. He gives us a glimpse of their camaraderie and the loss they felt (and did not feel) when a fellow pilot was killed. The breadth and depth of the source materials allows Bishop to paint a convincing portrait of the pilots who dealt Hitler his first real loss and who allowed Britain to remain the European center of Allied activity against Germany.

The Battle of Britain is one of the mythologised events that everyone growing up in Britain knows something about: the Spitfires, the Hurricanes, 'the Few'. Even today I still get a curious tingle down my spine when I see a Spitfire overheard - there's just something about those planes, and a large part of that is because of this myth, a myth that Churchill deliberately created almost before the fighting had even begun. He was a man who understood how important myth and legend can be, especially when stiffening morale and defiance.

This is more of an anecdotal history than a systematic recitation of facts and figures. It draws on personal testimony, diaries and interviews from the pilots themselves, and as such it really does bring the era to life in a very personal and honest way. It omits a great deal of technical and mechanical information, so if you're looking for information about planes and formations and tactics, this is not the book for you.

One of the things Bishop particularly highlights is this idea of the pilots as heroes, as something extraordinary, more so than other combatants in the war. Again, this is all part of 'the Few' myth, but it's not something the pilots themselves would have agreed with. He cites many examples of pilots themselves considering the soldiers on the ground as far braver, or the bomber pilots, or the civilians below. The fighter pilots saw themselves as doing their duty, no more or less than anyone else during the war. That we consider them heroes is another matter entirely.

Brilliant book full of information,,,,,,,,,,,

Fighter Boys is about the Battle of Britain Fighters. would read this again and again. wonderful book.

A book with the voice of those who took part in the Battle of Britain. Absolutely authentic, poignant, replete with great courage and tragedy. The last chapter is particularly moving. The Author traces the history of Fighter Command as it struggled to prepare itself against what was coming despite, at time, contrary demands of Churchill. As the toll mounts, Air Marshal Hugh Dowding, at Fighter Command tries to keep up the strength of his squadrons knowing fully well that the great German Effort was yet to come. Between him and Air Commodore Keith Park, they organise, hone tactics, the early warning and reporting systems, so that when 'Eagle Day' arrives, Fighter Command is just about ready. And as has often happened, once they have saved the day, they are discarded. History has, however, been kind to them. It is the Fighter Boys, from all walks of life, who step up to save Britain who are the real heroes. As one of them mentioned, when flying above the green fields of Britain, the protective instinct was so great that they were willing to throw away their lives, remaining debonair, at times diffident, laughing, reckless and always ready to go to it. A unique breed. Britain wont forget them and so must we not if we value pure courage and love of our land

Outstanding book, and well worth the read. Really succeeds in putting the reader into the heads of the young men fighting the air war above Britain ...

The variety of schools, rank, wealth and privilege made fighter command the most diverse elite in the British military. The RAF was required to be a meritocracy. A lot of working-class people ended up commanding upper class pilots. The Auxiliary Air Force was the stuffiest and snobbiest of all branches of the RAF (Whites was its club of choice).

The secret to being a great pilot was avoiding sharp movements, being able to relax and feeling the plane with your buttocks.

Moral, not straight shooting carried the RAF (many of whom were poorly trained, or were pushed through with little training).

British/French fighters had one wing painted black and the other white to differentiate themselves from the Luftwaffe.

Once Clementine/Winston were inspecting a Spitfire and Clementine was about to press the fire button, when Winston was in front of the plane’s guns. Churchill often inflated figures on German casualties and the general description of battle (much like Mr Johnson)

Many pilots nearly lost their lives falling asleep when they were about to land through extreme exhaustion. Others fell into vomiting/shaking and extreme nightmares. Others had floods of tears when going to sleep, yet they all KBO. Others developed twitches that when spotted by other people, the person would twitch back as to alert the person that they were twitching (it was polite etiquette).

PG 242, a description of a German officer taking notes on which British Officers treated him well for when the Germany invited Britain (copied by Dads Army?)

PG 275. Lyme bay mentioned when saying pilots went off to celebrate a successful day. The first Air Raid by the Luftwaffe at night on London was actually a navigation mistake, which led to an uncontrollable chain of events. Churchill responded by bombing Germany and from then on Germany put more resources toward bombing London.

Lord Downing was promptly sacked on 25 November 1940, the reason being that he was exhausted and that the war had entered a new phase. He also struggled to form relationships with people and fell out with Churchill.

After the Battle of Britain many pilots actually lost their lives attempting pointless missions over France to attack enemy outposts, while others got office jobs and missed the thrill of battle.

I gave up on this book - I dont know why it didnt hold my interest as I am a bit fan of books set in wartime and the RAF in particular.

I got about half way through and whilst it may be a great historical and factual record of events, it lacked the human element for me. This may have emerged if I had stuck with it but I am afraid I couldn't keep going.

Well researched and put together novel. Gave an excellent sense of who comprised fighter command. Sprinkled in some strategic and operational stuff along with the human element.

Had a good chapter that focused on the Germans which was nice.

Overall, the quotes from the pilots were well weaves into the overall narrative. At times I didn’t notice they were quotes.

This was my 2nd attempt with this book and I made it all the way through this time. I guess I was expecting a Stephen Ambrose experience and this was not up to that level. The first half was hard to get into but once he got into the stories of the people it was much more interesting. There were several mis-spellings and grammatical errors in the text as well.

I loved this from start to finish. It was well written very descriptive of both the proud men and women of the RAF during world war 1 and 2 who tirelessly defended our country.
The book contained many stories which included many happy moments as well as some very sad ones also as many pilots lost their lives on both sides.

Fascinating insight into the emotions and psychology behind the pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. You get just enough of the military history and development of the planes & strategies to give a good framework, but the focus remains squarely on the stories of the pilots. Sometimes the stories are overdone and repetitive, but it still is a solid book.

I wanted to like this book. Having had a lifelong fascination with WW2 and especially the Battle of Britain, I really, really wanted to like this book. But it was just soooooo ploddddddding. A book about flight ought to soar; this book just sort of shambled along.

The Battle Of Britain has been described and glorified, embellished, distorted, exaggerated and misrepresented, however, this book gets down to the true facts and has been well researched. If you want the true facts presented in a absorbing fashion, this is your book.

I was moved by the sacrifice and the humanity AND the Times they lived in. Must have been frightening. A true portrait of courage, not only of the flyers but of all who cared for them and the institutions that made their exploits possible.

A collection of short bios of many RAF fighter pilots, up to and during the Battle of Britain. This is not a history of the battle - read one of those before cracking this one open, it's very specialized.

Excellent book, full of information and facts, history at its best.
The difference between the fighter pilots and bomber crews is fascinating.
A book well worth reading.

Well written. Goes in depth into the lives of the men who were the RAF.

The summer of 1940 and all that was at stake is clearly and meticulously laid out here in this excellent documentation of the Battle of Britain. A must for history buffs

Confirms my long standing opinion that if I could be transported back in time to fight in any war, it would be as a RAF pilot around the time of the Battle of Britain.

A pretty good book about how the RAF fought against the Nazi's in France and then helped defend Britain against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.

Ah, the Brits.

Normally, while I'm reading a book, I find myself pulled to a theme in my thoughts. For some reason, this book didn't get me on a single thought, so please excuse my disordered ramblings.

It is always amazing to me how very different the American and British views of the same events can be. This book is so much broader and yet seems much more genuine that Kershaw's The Few. I know Kershaw was focusing on a much smaller selection of pilots - the dozen or so Americans to participate in the Battle of Britain - but when his story is slotted in next to Bishop's broader (and yet shorter) history, it just feels pale in comparison.

The other part of reading a British author is the differing and increased vocabulary. The interviewed pilots casually mention "debagging" their squadron lead - I had just come across the term "debag" in Reading the OED where the (American) author had been surprised that the term and practice (better know in the Colonies as pantsing) was still in use in the early 20th century. It was only near the end of the book that a discovered that one pilot's constant "lurcher" companion was a dog, not his batman as I had thought (bad enough that I knew what a batman does - not chase criminals in Gotham City).

Finally, I must say it was a it disorienting to be reading about the Battle of Britain at the same time as reading The Hobbit to my daughter. To have the heroic Bard the bowman leading the archers of Laketown in a desperate rushed (and ultimately triumphant) defense against the depredations of the fire-breathing Smaug just seemed to echo the RAF too well. And remember, Tolkien published The Hobbit only two years after the Luftwaffe was even established.

If you want to know nitty-gritty details about the role of the RAF in World War II, this book is for you. Patrick Bishop researched the topic meticulously and built the picture of the war in pixels of information. The sub-title, The Battle of Britain, 1940, belies the scope of the book. Mr. Bishop spent the first quarter of the book discussing warfare in the air during the World War I and the development of the RAF during the inter-war period. He devoted a generous second quarter of the book to the battles of the first half of 1940. The actual Battle of Britain, which began in July, 1940, and lasted through October of the same year, received less than half of the book’s pages.

I purchased this book on the strength of the positive reviews, and because I really enjoyed reading The Sky Suspended, by Drew Middleton. Both Middleton and Bishop worked as journalists during the war, and they offer complimentary views. Middleton focuses more on the big picture of events, where Bishop works in details. I happen to be a “big picture” person, and I really don’t care to know the exact number of aircraft the Luftwaffe could put in the air on any given day, nor the breakdown of the type of planes that they deployed. Details like the number of bullets a spitfire carried, the caliper of said bullets, and how many minutes of fighting that gave the pilot don’t interest me. I love detail people, but I’m not one of them.

I heartily recommend the book to lovers of historical details. If, however, you want the main themes and the big picture without wading through a lot of minutia, you might want to pass on this book.

A book about the struggle of RAF Fighter Command in 1940, told mainly through anecdotes of the pilots that took part. To many people, this means the Battle of Britain, which is covered in some detail. Fortunately, other key events involving Fighter Command in 1940 are also covered, particularly the so-called ‘phoney war’ and the subsequent Battle of France. As well as this, some space is given to the development of air fighting in World War I, and the structure of the RAF between the wars. One of the last chapters deals with the RAF involvement in operations over the continent called ‘Rhubarbs and Circuses’. All of which is relevant – the early parts of the book show how much the RAF suffered from a combination of poor organisation and poor tactics, but gradually evolved changes that came together just in the nick of time. And then, seeming to ignore the lessons of the Battle of Britain, suffered the consequences of carrying out daylight attacks on the continent. Bishop makes quite a few errors in technical details, but these have no real impact on his portrayal of the issues, and the book makes excellent reading.

An informative, in-depth look at the life of the 'Fighter Boys' during the Battle of Britain. The book describes the history behind the formation of the RAF and the situation of the Air Force in the run up to the Second World War.

The book shows how a diverse alliance came together in a difficult time to face almost impossible odds. It is a fitting tribute to 'the few' as it offers detailed explanations of the sorties and the feelings of pilots, commanders and ground crew who took part in the war.

It is an excellent, well-researched collection of eye-witness accounts and reports from wartime; creating a very interesting profile of the people who fought and the planes they piloted. Whilst the book does lack a certain depth when it comes to describing the pilots and their feelings, it certainly delivers all the facts and figures you need to understand the conflict and the loss that the men suffered.

Very enjoyable, very informative.

An interesting, sometimes very poignant history of the personnel who flew during the Battle of Britain. This book comes closest to giving a flavour of what it was like to fight in those aerial battles over Southern England and the idea of the mentality required to do this on a daily basis. There are no real major revelations to be found here; the book stresses the contribution of non-British airmen and places emphasis on the (relatively) more classless aspect of the type of men selected to be pilots. If there is a surprise, it is in the level of fatalities recorded after the battle could be said to have ended. This is a history which forms a useful, more 'human interest' compliment to James Holland's, 'The Battle of Britain', which provides a more technical, more strategic view of the conflict.