Table Of ContentThree kings, from left to right, the Duke of Windsor – formerly Edward VIII –
George V and George VI.
First published in 1986 by
Patrick Stephens Limited, London as Fight for the Sky.
Republished in Great Britain in 2004 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
An imprint of
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street,
Barnsley,
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
© Bruce Barrymore Halpenny, 1986
9781783460120
The right of Bruce Barrymore Halpenny to be identified as the Author of this
Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission
from the Publisher in writing.
Printed by CPI UK
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Glossary
Introduction
Acknowledgements
CHAPTER ONE - Fighter Airfields
CHAPTER TWO - Operational Fighter Pilots
CHAPTER THREE - Fighter Groundcrew
CHAPTER FOUR - Armourer’s Duties
CHAPTER FIVE - The Battle of Britain
CHAPTER SIX - Going Sick
CHAPTER SEVEN - ‘Grub Up’
CHAPTER EIGHT - Off Duty
CHAPTER NINE - A Fighter Squadron is Born
CHAPTER TEN - Four Months’ Operational Service
CHAPTER ELEVEN - A Canadian on a Fighter Station
CHAPTER TWELVE - The Hurri-bomber
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - They Shot Down the First Mistel
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Hurricane IId ‘Tankbuster’
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - The Doodlebugs
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Typhoon Pilot
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - ‘Flying Desert Rats’
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - Desert Airfield
CHAPTER NINETEEN - Mohawk Fighter Squadrons
CHAPTER TWENTY - Fighter Command’s only VC
Index
Glossary
AACS Anti-Aircraft Co-op School.
Ace An aeroplane combat pilot who has brought down at least five enemy
aircraft.
Ack-ack Anti-aircraft gun or its fire.
ADGB Air Defence of Great Britain.
AEAF Allied Expeditionary Air Force.
AFC Air Force Cross.
AFS Advanced Flying School.
AI Aircraft interception.
Ammo Ammunition.
Angels 7 Enemy aircraft at 7 o’clock.
AOC Air Officer Commanding.
AOC-in-C Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
AP Armament Practice (Bomb).
ARW Air Raid Warden.
AVM Air Vice Marshal.
Bandit Enemy aircraft.
Base Home aerodrome.
Belly landing To crash land an aeroplane with wheels up.
Bf Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Messerschmitt).
Blood wagon or meat wagon Ambulance.
Bought it Killed or shot down.
‘Cab rank’ Small formations of patrolling fighters and fighter-bombers on
immediate call for close tactical support.
CD Canadian Forces Decoration
Chiefy Flight Sergeant.
‘Circus’ Code name for an operation by bombers or fighter-bombers, escorted
by fighters and designed primarily to bring enemy fighters into action.
C&M Care and Maintenance.
CO Commanding Officer.
‘Crossbow’ The offensive and defensive measures to counter the V-weapon
attacks.
DCM Distinguished Conduct Medal.
D-Day 6 June 1944, code name ‘Overlord’. Allied armies began landing in
Normandy with support from both Tactical and Strategic Air Forces.
DFC Distinguished Flying Cross.
DFM Distinguished Flying Medal.
DI Daily Inspection.
‘Diver’ The code name given to the FZG76, the V1 (flying bomb).
DROs Daily Routine Orders.
Duff No good.
DZ Dropping Zone.
EFTS Elementary Flying Training School.
‘Erk’ An Aircraftman or Aircraftwoman in the Royal Air Force.
F Fighter.
FB Fighter Bomber.
Fighter ‘Roadsteads’ Code name for low level attacks on ships, whether at sea
or in the harbour.
Flak Anti-aircraft fire.
FR Fighter Reconnaissance.
Fw Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau.
GCI Ground Controlled Interception.
‘Gong’ Medal.
GP General Purpose (Bomb).
GSU Group Standardization Unit.
He Heinkel.
HE High Explosive.
‘Hercules’ Projected German invasion of Malta in 1942. (The Italian code name
was C-3.) HQ Headquarters.
Hurri Hurricane.
IAF Indian Air Force.
IAS Indicated Air Speed.
i/c In charge.
Intruder Operations Offensive night patrols over enemy territory intended to
destroy enemy aircraft and disrupt flying.
‘Kipper Patrols’ Protecting fishing fleets in the North Sea.
Kite Aeroplane.
Lighters Flat bottomed boat or barge that is mainly used for unloading or
loading ships not lying at wharves.
Mae West Life saving waistcoat inflated if wearer falls into the sea, a name
derived from its resemblance to the bust of the famous actress.
MC Military Cross; Medium Case (Bomb).
Me Messerschmitt AG.
MO Medical Officer.
MT Motor Transport.
NAAFI Navy, Army and Air Force Institute.
NCO Non-Commissioned Officer.
‘Noball’ V-weapon launching sites, storage and manufacturing centres.
OBE Order of the British Empire.
Ops rest Non-operational duties.
OTU Operational Training Unit.
PoW Prisoner of War.
Props Propellers.
PRU Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.
RAAF Royal Australian Air Force.
RAF Royal Air Force.
RAFVR Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
‘Ramrod’ Code name for an operation similar to ‘Circus’ except that its
principal objective was the destruction of a specific target in daylight and the
fighters used cannon.
RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force.
Recce Reconnaissance.
RFC Royal Flying Corps.
‘Rhubarb’ Code name for low-level strike operation mounted in cloudy
conditions against enemy fringe targets in occupied countries by pairs of aircraft
against road and rail traffic.
‘Rodeo’ Code name for fighter sweeps over enemy territory without bombers.
RN Royal Navy.
Description:Overview: This is the story of Allied fighter pilots and the part they played in all the principal operational theatres of World War II. It also tells of life on the wartime airfield and how ground crew kept the aircraft ready for action either in the bitter cold of a Scottish winter or the swelteri
