During the summer of 1940, the skies over Great Britain are alive with snarling, twisting, darting fighters and bombers. The Battle of Britain is at its peak, and the Royal Air Force is struggling for its very existence. In the long-awaited sequel to Dragon Flight, Andy Duncan, a twenty-one-year-old Canadian airman and son of World War I ace Jimmy Duncan, is focused on piloting a Supermarine Spifire against the best that Nazi Germany can throw at the beleaguered English homeland. But when Duncan needs to hitch a van ride to the white cliffs where his squadron is stationed, the driver is Emily Smith-Barton, a buxom strawberry blonde corporal in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Duncan is completely captivated by her loveliness and, as Emily enters his chaotic life, hopes of a brighter future dangle like a tantalizing carrot before him. But Duncan's dream of a more peaceful existence will only become reality if he and the fighter boys of the 689 Squadron can survive the brutal killing fields five miles above a patchwork countryside that has suddenly become more precious than gold.

It all starts with the release of fidgety, suspicious Percy Talbott from state prison after serving a five-year sentence. We don't know why, only that she's released and on her way to Gilead and its "colors of paradise." But when she arrives it is February and bitter cold, and the only one around to meet her is restless Sheriff Joe Turner, who takes her to the Spitfire Grill to help the aging Hannah Ferguson run the diner. All is gray, dismal and listless around them, and the characters are in the "winter of their lives" emotionally and spiritually.

The Supermarine Spitfire was a classic design, well known for its efforts in defending British shores during the Second World War. However, while Reginald Mitchell is rightly celebrated for his original design of the Spitfire, the role of Joe Smith in the development of the Spitfire is often overlooked. Smith was an integral member of the design team from the earliest days, and on Mitchell’s death in 1937 he was appointed design office manager before becoming chief designer. Smith’s dedicated leadership in the development of the Spitfire during the war, as well as his efforts on post-war jet aircraft, deserve their place in history. Charting the fascinating history of Supermarine from 1913 to 1958, when the company ceased its operations in Southampton, shortly after Joe Smith’s death in 1956, this book tells its story through the eyes of apprentices and many other members of Smith’s team. Marvellous photographs add to the sense of what it was like to work under Joe Smith at the drawing boards of one of Britain’s most famous wartime aviation manufacturers.

In the bitter air fighting over Western Europe during the last year of the war, no fewer than 37 pilots became aces flying Merlin-engined Spitfires, whilst 72 other aces increased their scores flying them. This book traces the achievements of the pilots flying the iconic Spitfire in Northwest Europe, and examines how the steady technological improvements that were made throughout the Spitfire's service life improved its capabilities in the air. Based at airfields throughout southern England, Merlin engine Spitfires provided the bulk of the air cover for the D-Day landings and it was an RCAF Spitfire which claimed the first ever ME 262 jet kill. 36 colour profiles covering a broad spectrum of nationalities, units, pilots, theatres and markings complement thorough research throughout this comprehensive account of these crucial fighter aircraft.