Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain [Hardcover]

Len Deighton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1977

Len Deighton shows how the human factor influenced every twist and turn of the close-fought Battle of Britain. He makes clear how machines played a vital role in the fight for Britain's survival.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Deighton has managed to give the whole event a clarity which it lacked. Above all, the machines mattered, and on those he is tremendous.”–New Statesman

“Compelling reading.”–Financial Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Len Deighton is the author of more than thirty books of fiction and non-fiction including internationally acclaimed histories of World War II. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; 1st Eng edition (September 15, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0224014226
• ISBN-13: 978-0224014229
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,139,137 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three months that changed the world, September 6, 2000

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighter (Hardcover)

This is the most valuable summary in print of the RAF's challenge to Germany's invasion plans for the British Isles. Beginning by describing how 'history is swamped by patriotic myths about the summer of 1940', Deighton invalidates any theories of heroes versus villains in this account. The Nazi war machine swept across Western Europe in a stunning series of victories. Only the English Channel and the RAF remained as the final barriers to invasion. It was the Luftwaffe's burden to remove the second obstacle leaving the first to be crossed with minimal opposition. Deighton's excellent account shows how close the Luftwaffe came to success. In fact, credit for the RAF's accomplishment may well come to rest on the shoulders of one man, Hugh Dowding.

Deighton takes us through the background of weapons development, from radar to the tracer bullet, explaining how the two sides were closely matched in technology. The long-standing dispute over whether the Bf109 or the Spitfire was superior rests only on how far the pilots were prepared to push their aircraft. The number of pilots in opposition are another matter. For every active RAF pilot, the Germans had four fighter pilots or bomber crews, ranging from central France to the Norwegian coast.. Deighton explains how Dowding husbanded his resources, enabling him to keep sending aircraft against the bomber fleets. All logic suggested the RAF should have been destroyed, but Dowding's strategy and pilot skill resulted in postponement of the German invasion.

Deighton brings clarity to this complex period by breaking the story into four main themes. Keeping the daily events of the battle until last, his prepatory chapters show vividly what the pilots faced and what factors led to victory or defeat. Readers of his fiction know how well he presents characters. This historical account also displays that talent admirably. Commanders, pilots, ground forces all come to life in his depiction. There are both good and bad at all levels and he pulls no punches in discussing them all.

To those who feel Fighter is simply 'military history', it must be stressed that the Summer of 1940 was a magnificent expression of human endeavour. Pilot and crew bravery, tenacity in striving for goals on both sides is presented with Deighton's fine prose. Deighton shows that today's world would be drastically different had the Luftwaffe succeeded in its attempt to clear the way for an invasion. This book is a choice selection for an understanding of what the Battle of Britain was all about.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Here's why the Battle of Britain was won, January 5, 2001

By 

Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fighter (Hardcover)

This book is as an admirable example of the good old rule in journalism: "Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable."

It's fitting. Much of the victory credit belongs to a Canadian newspaper publisher in England, Lord Beaverbrook. As Minister of Aircraft Production, he provided so many aircraft that the Royal Air Force ended the Battle of Britain with more aircraft than when it started. For both sides, the crucial elements were production and tactics -- German aircraft production didn't peak until 1944. As for tactics, the entire German war effort was based on "lightning victories" such as the defeat of Poland and France. The British relied on their old standby of being able to outlast any enemy.

Granted, everyone "knows" about the Battle of Britain. Deighton challenges the comfortable old myths about the war, and points out that a lot of "what we know" just isn't so. The Germans deny there ever was a "Battle of Britain;" later in the war, they'd lose more aircraft in a single day of combat than during the entire August-September 1940 campaign against England. The British victory is hailed as equal to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, a myth Deighton neatly punctures.

A major element is the incredible blunders and mistakes by Germans and British. War is truly a case of victory going to whoever makes the least mistakes. These range from strategic and production decisions made in the mid-1930s, to Adolph Hitler's fatal hubris in the summer of 1940 that "the British have lost the war, but they don't know it; one must give them time, and they will come around." Hitler only understood lightning victories; the British relied on being able to outlast their enemies.

Without going into technical detail that would swamp the average reader, Deighton masterfully explains why choices such as a lighter breech-block on the Oerlikon MG FF was a handicap for German pilots, as was the British decision to use nitro-cordite ammunition after everyone else switched to nitro-cellulose. Such details, explained in clear and concise form, are the treasure of this book.

Add them up, and it becomes clear why Germany could not win World War II. The British, for all their stupidity, had a democratic system in which errors could be corrected. Germany had a dynamic leader, and the military knew it was better to procrastinate than to suggest corrections to his decisions.

In short, from the Battle of Britain to VE-Day, Churchill spent the war being sometimes wrong and often being corrected. Hitler spent the same time being sometimes right, without his errors ever being corrected. That may not seem like much, except this book ties it all together to clearly illustrate the inevitable outcome of democracy versus a closed society.

Deighton has done a masterful job. He explains the "when, where, who, when and how" of the Battle of Britain as do most histories. Most important, he explains "why" it was won. Those six words are the "six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew)" of Rudyard Kipling and all journalism, which Deighton employs as a master.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More facts with less bias, this book has more meat & potatos, August 3, 2002

By 

Stan Steenhuis (Honolulu, Hi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fighter (Hardcover)

Better than the "Coffee table books" that sing adoring praises of the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots, this book better reflects the thoughts and minds of both sides on a moment-by-moment basis than any other so called "analysis" work. With interviews and photos from both sides, this book captures the daily life of a RAF or Luftwaffe pilot and gives a better story about the 'Big Picture' than anywhere else. The hand drawn cartoons by the luftwaffe pilots are worth the price of the book alone.