The Narrow Margin; The Battle of Britain and the Rise of Air Power, 1930-40

New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1961. First U. S. Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. Format is 5.75 inches by 8.5 inches. 536 pages. Illustrations. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. Pencil erasure residue on fep. DJ has some wear, tears, soiling and chips. Derek Wood was a noted writer on aviation and defense topics. Derek Dempster was a volunteer for the Royal Air Force in WWII and began his writing career after the war, The authors spent two years examining pertinent British and German records, and interviewing participants in the struggle that followed Dunkirk. The maps and photographs are expert and the appendices include drawings of all bombers, commands and casualty numbers of both sides and listings of all targets attacked. One of the best tactical recountings of the Battle of Britain. Derived from a Kirkus review: In The Narrow Margin the authors have given us as clear, compact and microscopically close a reading of the Battle of Britain as anyone could want. Certainly the battle which marked the advent of controlled scientific warfare, the defense strategy still used today, must be considered one of the crucial events of our time. And the authors leave nothing out: the formation and expansion of the RAF, the Luftwaffe development with its Messerschmitt, the Fighter Command and its Spitfire; the rise of Nazi Intelligence, the brilliant uses of radar and antiaircraft, the ROC, the training of men, the detailing of missions; Churchill and his canniness, the deftness of Dowding, the grotesque inflexibility of Goring and Sperle- all of it's there, as tight and tense as a net. As for the battles themselves, they're divided into five phases, between 11 July and 30 October, and then set against a complete operational day-to-day diary. Condition: Good / Fair.

Keywords: WWII, Battle of Britain, Airpower, Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe, Anti-Aircraft, Biggin Hill, Winston Churchill, Goering. Anti-aircraft, Balloon Barrage, Bawdsey Research, Radar, Bomber Command, Hugh Dowding, Fighter Command, Erhard Milch, Keith Parks

[Book #76542]

Price: $37.50

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