SPITFIRE GROUNDCREW UNDER FIRE: An RAF 'Erk's' War from the Battle of Britain to D-Day and Operation Bodenplatte

1-248100

Examines how RAF groundcrew kept Spitfires flying under fire, ensuring pilots could battle the enemy. The bond between pilots and their groundcrew was often an immensely powerful one. Each day they took to the sky the pilots put their lives in the hands of the fitters to keep their engines at maximum efficiency, the riggers who maintained the airframe and refueled the aircraft, or the armourers who serviced the guns and loaded the bombs. The ground crew, the 'Erks', were only too aware of the responsibility they bore. Everything had to be done correctly, often under enormous time pressures and far from ideal conditions. Specifically looks at one groundcrew's perspective during D-Day. Contains 120 illustrations.