Supermarine Spitfire I/II

This new book is the 6th title in the Polskie Skrzydla series. The previous ones were all in Polish only. This is the first one in English. The book is in a 11 3/8” x 8 3/8” soft-cover format. It is 48 pages in length.

The book is about Polish pilots, flying Spitfires (Mk. I and II) for the RAF. The Polish Air Force tried, unsuccessfully, to buy Spitfires in 1939. A great many Polish pilots, in exile, subsequently flew Spitfires for the RAF, from 1940 until 1943.

The book is profusely illustrated with 169 black and white wartime photos and five in color. A further five are color shots of Spitfires in museums. There are 33 full color profile paintings showing the camouflage and markings of Spitfires flown by Polish pilots.

These profiles are partially super-imposed over photos of the actual aircraft being illustrated. This is a new way of doing profiles in a book, for me. Usually profiles are on pages by themselves. However, it does not distract that much. Added to the mix are illustrations of five wartime documents.

Author Wojtek Matusiak is one of the foremost Spitfire historians of the day, and has published extensively in both Polish and English. This impeccably researched book will be of interest to aviation historians, enthusiasts, and model builders.

I want to thank Roger Wallsgrove, Editor-in-Chief of MMP for this review sample.