Britain at War Magazine Great Air Battles of World War Two Special Issue

Great Air Battles of World War Two? The word means ‘great’ in terms of scale and importance. It isn’t a glorification of war, writes Editor Tom Allett.

Great Air Battles of World War Two, a 116-page special by the team behind FlyPast, recalls the heroism from some of the most critical aerial confrontations of the European and Pacific combat theatres from 1939-1945.

You will find action from the RAF’s first desperate and ultimately disastrous air raid skirmishes, followed by the Battle of Britain’s literally ‘hardest day’. Moving to the Mediterranean theatre we study the heroic defence of Malta. Many of you will know of the story of Faith, Hope, and Charity, the three legendary Gloster Gladiators said to have led Malta’s aerial defence - but could their ‘fame’ be better described as ‘fable’?

Japan’s shock 1941 attack upon Pearl Harbor brought the Unites States, somewhat unprepared, into what was now a truly World War. The US learned a bitter lesson as its Marine pilots were forced to fly obsolete aircraft in combat, often at the cost of their lives, yet they ultimately emerged triumphant in the battle for Midway Island in a battle that changed the course of the Pacific war.

The many mass combats that raged in the day and night skies of Europe were certainly numerically the largest the world has ever seen. By day, and often without Allied fighter support, the American B-17s and B-24s, flying at the edge of their performance, slugged it out with Luftwaffe fighters day after day while the RAF night bombing campaign kept the pressure up ‘around the clock’.

Combats associated with Allied bomber strikes against Regensberg, Schweinfurt, and Nuremberg will forever be remembered when people discuss courage in combat. These desperate battles involved the most famous Allied and Axis fighters and bomber aircraft of World War Two and this publication serves as a tribute to those who took part. Lest we forget.